Mary and Takeshi are characters from the Japanese textbook "Genki." Mary is an exchange student from Arizona, and Takeshi is a student at the Japanese university where she is studying. They meet one fateful afternoon when Mary bravely goes up to Takeshi, clearly in awe of his mysterious good looks, and asks him what time it is. Takeshi, in true samurai honor, responds that it's 12:30, and proceeds to ask Mary where she's from, and her major. They then passionately kiss and consummate their love right there on the campus lawn.
As for me and my "Takeshi," we had a somewhat similar beginning. I was also an exchange student in Japan from the U.S. when I met Takeshi. He was a student as well, but not at my school. A friend of mine from my school was also studying in Japan, and met Takeshi on a train. Takeshi is a real backpacker, and was coming back from a trip to the Middle East. He was hairy, dirty, and reading an English book. My friend thought he may be Japanese-American or Canadian, and struck up a conversation. They talked, and exchanged numbers. A few days later I invited my friend to go out clubbing with some other exchange students, and he invited Takeshi. Although I was slightly tipsy when I met him, I can still remember very clearly the first time I laid eyes on him. I was standing in a stairwell to the subway station, and he was coming from the top (street level). Whenever I ask Takeshi about it, he has a very similar memory. He remembers me standing next to our friend and another American girl (a very very pretty girl who 9 times out of 10 would be the first person noticed), but he only looked at me. We talked, danced, and kissed.
As romantic as that sounds, it was at a sketchy dance club in Roppongi, one of the sketchiest districts of Tokyo. And the worst part of it was - I had a boyfriend at the time. My boyfriend and I had been together for awhile, but we just weren't working out anymore. I think I knew we should break up, and was coming more and more to the realization that we just weren't right for each other, but it wasn't until I met Takeshi that all my thoughts and feelings even manifested and came to the surface. It was rough, and my boyfriend took it pretty hard. He was actually coming to Japan in a few months to spend the summer with me, and it was too late for him to back out.
Yeah, I suck. Even now I hate how it all went down. But seeing as how Takeshi and I are just so right for each other, and are now happily married, I wouldn't change THAT it happened, just HOW it happened.
So Takeshi and I began our whirlwind romance among this drama, the back talking from mutual friends, and the destruction of my old relationship. But if everything came easy, it wouldn't be nearly as meaningful.
As for me and my "Takeshi," we had a somewhat similar beginning. I was also an exchange student in Japan from the U.S. when I met Takeshi. He was a student as well, but not at my school. A friend of mine from my school was also studying in Japan, and met Takeshi on a train. Takeshi is a real backpacker, and was coming back from a trip to the Middle East. He was hairy, dirty, and reading an English book. My friend thought he may be Japanese-American or Canadian, and struck up a conversation. They talked, and exchanged numbers. A few days later I invited my friend to go out clubbing with some other exchange students, and he invited Takeshi. Although I was slightly tipsy when I met him, I can still remember very clearly the first time I laid eyes on him. I was standing in a stairwell to the subway station, and he was coming from the top (street level). Whenever I ask Takeshi about it, he has a very similar memory. He remembers me standing next to our friend and another American girl (a very very pretty girl who 9 times out of 10 would be the first person noticed), but he only looked at me. We talked, danced, and kissed.
As romantic as that sounds, it was at a sketchy dance club in Roppongi, one of the sketchiest districts of Tokyo. And the worst part of it was - I had a boyfriend at the time. My boyfriend and I had been together for awhile, but we just weren't working out anymore. I think I knew we should break up, and was coming more and more to the realization that we just weren't right for each other, but it wasn't until I met Takeshi that all my thoughts and feelings even manifested and came to the surface. It was rough, and my boyfriend took it pretty hard. He was actually coming to Japan in a few months to spend the summer with me, and it was too late for him to back out.
Yeah, I suck. Even now I hate how it all went down. But seeing as how Takeshi and I are just so right for each other, and are now happily married, I wouldn't change THAT it happened, just HOW it happened.
So Takeshi and I began our whirlwind romance among this drama, the back talking from mutual friends, and the destruction of my old relationship. But if everything came easy, it wouldn't be nearly as meaningful.
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