Super Star!

What happens when you go to frisbee practice for the first time in three months? You get an interview on Japanese TV.

Apparently, this guy from KBS, the local Kyoto station, was doing a little segment on activities going on by the river, and our practice field is by the river. He stopped in with his cameramen, asked us about the game, and then joined in! We played a few modified points and when we stopped he happened to be standing right by me.

Him (in English): Where are you from?
Me (Eng): America
Him: Do you play frisbee in America? A real team?
Me: Yes.
Him : Do you study here?
Me: Yes.
Him (switching to Japanese): How long are you in Japan?
Me (brain slowly switching to Japanese, stuttering*): One year.
Him: How is the level of this team compared to the US?
Me (being gracious in front of my team): High.

Of course he doesn't realize it, but I have been interviewed by this man before. Two years ago when I ran the Kyoto City Half Marathon, I appeared on his replay of the race show.

You can see me (if you live in Japan, particularly Kyoto) running around and stuttering in Japanese on August 21, 10:30pm on KBS.

*An explanation of the question "How long are you in Japan?" in Japanese: This question is in an ambiguous tense that always causes me confusion. I can never tell whether the person means, "How long have you been in Japan?" or "What is the length of your stay in Japan?" or "How long, from now, will you be in Japan?" In addition, the fact that I was here for a year, went back to the US for a year, and then have been living here again for a year, makes the answer a difficult one. Hence, there is much pausing, blubbering, stuttering as I struggle to decided which version of an answer they are looking for.