Tuesday, April 15, 2008

BEHOLD.....

NISHIOKOPPE'S FACE OF TERROR

Bunta The Destroyer

Women and children weep in his presence. No mortal man can tame him. The Village's only hope?

The amazing calm-assertive, Pack Leader powers of one small child.

This blog post is serving as catharsis for the bad day I had today. Shawn was told at the Bureau of Education office that there have been complaints that Bunta is a "wild animal" and is "scaring people". Bunta is about my only hobby here. I try very hard to be an uber-PC dog owner. I try very hard to remember that Japanese dog culture is different. These complaints spurred something in me I like to call, "J-Rage"; a nasty little side effect of culture shock which just when you think it's subsided, rises like a bile in your subconsious and slowly drives you MAD! It stems from not being able to have a proper conversation about such matters of importance. Sometimes we simply can't explain with our meager Japanese and the phrase book. Deep cleansing breath.....

Ok, now I feel better. :)

PS: A neighbor in Nishio emailed me about this post. She wanted me to know that she sees how hard I'm trying to be a responsible dog owner and that sometimes she too feels frustrated with communication here.....and she's Japanese! It was nice to get her feedback and some perspective that there are aspects of small town life that are the same wherever you are in the world.