出来ません、出来ません (Dekimasen, Dekimasen - I Can’t, I Can’t)

I like to think I’m an easy going guy, and that I like to have new experiences, and that I try to be helpful when I can.

But there are some things I just can’t do.

At Kai’s school, I’m an “isle of man” in a sea of moms. Bringing the kids to school and picking them up is the exclusive realm of moms in Takanawa (we actually live in Kounan, which is the neighboring ward, but the Kounan school was full by the time we arrived, so Kai is at the Takanawa school). The moms are also very involved with school activities. There are at least a few activities at the school each month. Last month the kids recorded a song for the school (see the video in this post), and so did the moms. Despite my limited Japanese, and my being male and gaijin (foreigner), they have been very nice to me and they do their best to make sure I don’t miss out on/escape from any of the activities. For the recording of their song, they wanted me to sing too. I thought I’d give it a try, and while I can read Hiragana, I couldn’t make out the lyrics on the n-th generation photocopy they gave me. So I didn’t participate in that recording.

But last week they were at it again. This time they were practicing a song they wrote for a party next month, thanking the teacher for her work over the past year (the school year ends in March here). And they weren’t going to let me out of it this time. One of them took the time to transcribe the song in Romaji, so I could easily read the lyrics. I’m not much of a singer, but it was a simple tune, so I was doing alright for the first couple of run-throughs. But then they decided to throw in some dance moves, such as some Rockette-style leg kicks. My Japanese is very limited, but fortunately I knew “dekimasen, dekimasen!” (I can’t, I can’t). They were willing to let me off the hook. I didn’t fully understand the conversation that followed, but I think I ended up agreeing to wear a yellow wig and throw confetti instead.

It reminds me of when I was little and my older sisters would try to see what kinds of crazy things they could make me do before I would snap.

I may or may not post photos from the party next month
[tags]Tokyo, Takanawa, Japanese kindergarten[/tags]