Here's a sampling of the adults I teach English to:


Takayuki - Has a lisp, wears pink polo shirts, and talks about musical theater. I have an 80-minute private lesson with him first thing every Saturday morning.

Sachiko - An overly genki girl. Laughs more than anyone should laugh.

Kazuyo - Sachiko's sidekick.

Manabu - Always hangs around after class and teaches me a little Japanese, which I appreciate. Only has one hand, though, which is awkward when the lesson instructions are "cover the English words with your fingers."

Toshi - Always wears loud clothing, and has the look of someone who used to party too hard when he was younger. I always look forward to lessons with him, because I can loosen up and give him a little shit.

Kazuhiko - Something's weird about him. It might be that I have never seen him not fanning himself with a little wooden fan.

Minako - A new student who I initially level-tested. Burst into tears of happiness when she found out that she wasn't the very lowest level.

Harry - A dentist whose real name is Yoshihiko. Speaks English shockingly well. Has managed to eradicate his Japanese accent and replace it with something that sounds vaguely Latino.

Masako - Can see and hear spirits. Stays away from graveyards and the movie Poltergeist.

Takashi - Cool old dude who likes bonsai trees, hates the government, and used to make his living testing pharmaceuticals on animals. During a grammar lesson, one of his example sentences was "My wife is always talking, and I often tell her to stop."

Satomi - A university student. Very fashionable. Deer in headlights expression.

Yoshiyasu - Can barely speak a word of English besides "muscle training." The man likes his exercise.

Toyo - My first impression of this guy was "Dear Lord, he is surely a vampire." Sure enough, his two favorite kinds of movies are "violence movies" and "vampire movies."

Naoko and Tsuneko - Two housewives who are refreshingly quirky and animated. A good contrast to all the tired businessmen.

Yoko - A high-school student. When asked what kind of pet she wants, replied "I want a little pony."

Asao - An old guy with white hair on his head and mesmerizingly long black hair on his fingers.

Daisuke - A hottie.

Satoshi - Will grill you for twenty minutes about your drinking habits, then explain that he has to drink a lot because he "is fat man." Has a tendency to steer the conversation toward the topic of Japanese baths and whether or not I am comfortable with nudity.

Hajime - Seriously messed-up teeth.

Monroe - Real name is Fujio. The only student in an 80-minute advanced class I have taken over for. I suspect the other five or so students dropped out because Monroe tends to dominate conversations to the point that you simply cannot get anything done. Makes things easy for me.

Shinichi - This guy's a piece of work. When asked a simple question, will repeat the question to himself, then alternate between repeating the first word of his answer and sucking his teeth.
Example:
Me: "Shinichi, do YOU think Japanese is more difficult than English?"
Shinichi: "Do you think...Japanese...more difficult...*teeth sucking*...So...*teeth*...So...*teeth*...English...*teeth*...pause...
So...pause...*teeth*...English is..."
(this continues until I answer for him and turn my attention to the better students)
When he does talk, it usually has something to do with "working in the factory."

So in conclusion, my students run the gamut between really cool people I can have a good chat with, and flustered, teeth-sucking businessmen who put me to sleep.

In addition to the ubiquitous teeth-sucking habit displayed by older Japanese men, I've also noticed that a staggering number of the females have a tendency to grunt like guinea pigs when they're confused or make a mistake.

These kinds of things keep me amused.