This past New Year's, just like the previous one was spent at my grandparents' house in Yokosuka. It seems like they always have something unwittingly funny to say. That is, they're funny without meaning to be funny. When they try to be funny, well, they're not that funny. Some examples:
The first thing my grandma says to me is "Kyonen yori, motto smaato ni mieru." Meaning "Compared to last year, you look more 'smaato'". The Japanese katakana word "smaato" sounds a lot like "smart" and so, for a few seconds I was all like "Yeah, that's right. I'm looking more and more intelligent by the minute," until I remembered that "smaato" doesn't mean smart at all, but slim (I mentioned this in an earlier blog). Humility immediately set in.
Seems like a lot of other Asian Americans have the same experience, but last year when I visited, my grandma said that I looked fat, and then proceeded to feed me and feed me and feed me. And while I was eating, she egged me on saying "You're so fat. You're so fat." And it wasn't just three times a day... or the college signature two times a day. Last year she must have told me to eat at least 7 to 10 times a day. There was always a plate on the table where I would sit.
After one of my cousins, Taka, came and left, my grandparents started to grumble about the news that Taka was thinking about going to school for an additional 4 years... he's been going to college for 3 years now. At the end of the grumbling though, my grandpa commented saying that it's ok because he's making friends at college. To which I asked, "Does he have a girlfriend?" My grandpa's response surprised me. He laughed and then said, "He can't have a girlfriend now. Besides he's probably not even thinking about it." How do you respond to something like that? I mean, Taka's 20, but he'll probably forever be 12 in my grandparents' minds.
Before, I said that my grandparents are unwittingly funny. Actually, maybe I should change that to just "strange." Sometimes I wonder what's going on in their heads. In the meantime, I often enjoy hearing the strange words that come out of their mouths.