Lost in Shinjuku

Yesterday I went on a hunt for an art supply store called Sekaido somewhere near the O I O I store in Shinjuku... [pronounced maru e, not oui oui or oy oy, although that doesn't stop me from calling it that. Asshole gainjin behavior continues!] My friend B. and her friend J. met me there. I had heard of this place from a student whose grip on the English language is loose at best. It turns out that this store is, in fact, only near O I O I because it happens to be on the same street, albeit about ten blocks away.

After walking about five blocks and still no Sekaido in sight, J. asked a woman on the street if she knew where it was. This woman started to give directions in English [!] and then thought better of it. She turned and started leading us to the store. She went at least four blocks out of her way--in the opposite direction!--and dropped us off in front of the store. I felt really bad that the only thing I had on me that I could've offered her in thanks was a package of Spider-Man fruit snacks and there was no way I was going to part with those!

I guess if I had actually put any thought into it I wouldn't have been surprised at the cost of the paints. Since I hadn't put any thought into it, I was shocked.

I happened to look down and noticed that I had some kind of food or coffee or something on the front of my yellow shirt, as well as what looked like big drops of mud. [Can't take me anywhere!] I decided to part company and head home. I didn't want to zigzag back to the station the way we had come and so I started walking in the direction of the station from where we were. I found the trains, but couldn't find the entrance to the station anywhere. I wasn't lost, per se, because I knew where I was. I was in Shinjuku by the Tokyu Hands! I just didn't exactly know how to get where I wanted to be. I had been jaywalking in front of people that looked like they had an official-type job, it was raining, I was hot, and I had made a horrible mess on my shirt... In other words, I was in a foul mood and I just wanted to get home.

In order to spare myself the frustration of walking around in circles, I decided it was time to put those 20 words of Japanese I know to use. I gathered up my courage and went up to one of the official-type guys and said, "Odakyu wa doco desu ka?" It was really easy! He understood what I said! He knew what I wanted! He pointed me in the right direction. Within five minutes I knew exactly where I was. Within 15 minutes I was in the station. I should start asking directions more often!

Then the feeling of accomplishment came crashing down when an asshole businessman pushed me out of the way to grab a seat that I was about to sit in on the train... It's a wonder I didn't fall face first onto the floor. Thankfully I have perfected the art of giving mean looks and I believe that they're universal. It's just too bad that the damn businessman didn't even look my way...