Rule number one

In [Pretty Good Number One](http://prettygoodnumberone.com/), in the chapter _Just an American Girl Eating Tokyo Sweets,_ I talk about sitting in a park eating soy milk ice cream:

> Outside a public park one day, a cafe stand did a brisk business selling iced coffee and tea and cones of soy milk (tōnyu) soft cream. My friend Akira shared a bite with me, and as the smooth, earthy stuff melted on my tongue, I thought about the ignominious fate of soy milk in America.

What I didn’t mention, because I couldn’t figure out how it fit into the book, is that this was also the site of my most absurd linguistic mishap of the whole trip.

We were in Kichijōji, a lovely neighborhood in western Tokyo. It was a Sunday, and our friends Akira and Emi joined us for the day, and we strolled through Kichijōji and nearby Inokashira Park. When we were ready to stop off and have a drink, Akira tried to find a cafe that could accommodate five people. He stepped into a several places in succession, and each time he came out and said, “_Muzukashii._” It means “difficult,” but it is really the Japanese way of saying, “Not a chance.”

Eventually we came across a small grassy square and got our drinks and soy milk soft serve, and while Akira and Iris played, Emi and I talked about movies. She said her favorite movie was _Fight Club._ I thought, hey, this is my chance to say something funny in Japanese. So I stood tall and said:

ファイトクラブを話してはいけません!

Emi recoiled. Of course, I was trying to say, “The first rule of fight club is, don’t talk about fight club.” What came out was more like, “Talking about the movie _Fight Club_ is prohibited!”

I could _not_ figure out how to weasel out of this until finally Akira came over and walked me through it. “In the movie…Brad Pitt said…”

Lesson learned: the first rule of Japan is, don’t try to talk about _Fight Club._

5 thoughts on “Rule number one

  1. Carola Bundy

    I’m wondering when the book will be available “in print.”
    I’ve downloaded the ebook for myself but was hoping to take a print copy with me to Tokyo in May. Our son lives there (for the time being) and has a new baby. It would make a fun gift. I enjoyed “Hungry Monkey.”

  2. mamster Post author

    Hello, Carola. I don’t have any current plans to make the book available in paper. Sorry!

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