I teach an adult eikaiwa (ei=english, kaiwa=conversation) class on Monday nights. I've been doing it for 3 years now. We meet in a meeting room in one of the municipal buildings downtown.
For the past 3 years there has been a man at the front desk who is THE grumpiest old man I've ever met. He rarely looks up from his TV program when I come through the door, and if he does, he doesn't say anything. I thought at first that maybe it was just my gaijin-ness (being a foreigner), but no he treats everyone the same way. He's always harsh when he speaks to the students in the class -for example if we try to turn the air conditioner or the heater on without asking permission he'll come banging on the classroom door telling us it's not time yet (there are often predetermined and somewhat arbitrary dates for when things like heaters and fans are to be used in this country, as is the idea that you don't go in the ocean before or after a certain date -regardless of the actual conditions). We also have to pay a monthly rental fee for the room and he will not allow us to start class until it's paid on the first Monday of the month...seriously. I hate to be disrespectful of my elders, but this guy is a jerk.
Well, I don't know what happened to him- maybe he retired, maybe enough people complained and he got turfed, or maybe my students' curses finally worked and the guy fell down a flight of stairs...regardless, he's gone and I couldn't be happier with his replacement. A warm and friendly old guy whom I'd gladly adopt as my grandfather. He says hello to everyone as they come in, he makes sure the room is comfortable when we begin and he's even offered to see me out to me car with an umbrella when he saw I didn't have one (my car was 10 feet away...).
Goodbye Mr. Grumpypants, and WELCOME Mr. Sunshine!!
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