Devine voice

It was about a year after I lived in the United States and I was becoming really comfortable with English. I knew I had come a long way since I began learning the language at a conversation school when I was 19. I was standing on what you might say the edge of the world I was used to. There was a river, an imaginary one, in front of me and the other side with houses was clearly visible. I wondered what it would be like to live there and I was ready to go. I think I heard a divine voice that said, “Are you sure you want to go to the other side?” I said yes and went into the river.

Since then, I have not returned to the world of my mother tongue (Japanese). There are no regrets.

Did you bring my bag?

The cashier said, “Did you bring my bag?” as I was waiting for him to ring up my Ebisu beer. I did not bring his bag but did not say that because if I did, he would have thought I was insane - I'm sure of it. 

For those who wonder about his question, it is the store's new code to encourage its customers to bring their own shopping bags. If they did, the store will deduct a percentage from the shopping bills; a green tactic to reduce the use of plastic bags. 

When he said "my" bag, I was giving him a mental lecture that "the personal pronoun of 'my' is used by the person who is speaking and the correct word is 'your.'"He did not hear it because he was not making mistakes in English - I think. In fact, he said it to me in Japanese, "My bag wa motte imasuka?"

I said yes and he charged ¥1,117 for my six pack, instead of the regular ¥1,120.