They shit too much

These were the words uttered by one of my Japanese Teacher's of English this week as we were doing greetings at the start of class. She was referring to geckos and dislike of them.

To my well-trained English ear, "shit" rang out loudly and I caught myself before reacting too distinctly. A moment later, I realized that nobody in the room - except the laughing JTE - knew what the word meant. All was clear.

Until she started to explain what "shit" means. The students were giving her blank looks, I might have been giving her a look with a crooked eyebrow, so she explained how it's similar to the Japanese くそ kuso. I then did my best to explain that it's really only good to use it in private situations, like if one were to stub one's toe or spill some paint or something like that. "Don't say it in front of other people."

But I know it's futile. And it was funny after all! If I knew how to cuss in Japanese, my fellow JETs would never hear the end of it. And I'd be practicing all the time in my car, driving behind any one of the numerous locals who drive at 30 kph (I know for a fact many of the turns can be taken at 70 in dry weather). Waisu desu.