Comments on: On Awkwardly Consoling Japanese Schoolgirls

By: Andre

Andre — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 22:46:40 +0000

LOLed at this:

I gestured skyward and said either “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” or “I hate it, right?”

By: Lorinc Del Motte

Lorinc Del Motte — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:19:00 +0000

Maybe split it between personal experiences and a guide to Japan.

By: Archana

Archana — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:57:15 +0000

aww – I wish some one would have hugged you at that moment.

You are right – it’s difficult to know what to say and it’s even harder in a foreign country with language and cultural barriers. And she is a girl – makes it slightly harder.

You did well – it’s probably the most support and consideration someone outside of her friends and family will ever give her.She will always remember you :)

By: ZD

ZD — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:31:25 +0000

Eryk: Spectacular. What a great story, and handled tremendously genuinely. This blog will have to become a book someday, even if it’s me printing out printable versions of each entry. That way I can, like, have read it all.

By: owwls

owwls — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:20:05 +0000

An unfortunate necessity :)

By: superhappyawesome

superhappyawesome — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:17:20 +0000

Bahaha, the permalink for this is hilarious! “japan-schoolgirls-notporn”

By: Kaori (@BuckedbytheStar)

Kaori (@BuckedbytheStar) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:49:47 +0000

Very sweet :)

By: On Awkwardly Consoling Japanese Schoolgirls | This Japanese Life … | TEFL Japan

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:51:16 +0000

[...] Autumn is speech contest season in Japan . Every English teacher in Japan spends some time in the Fall sitting across from one-to-three students while they repeat a 340-word English speech, verbatim, twice a week for an … See more here: On Awkwardly Consoling Japanese Schoolgirls | This Japanese Life … [...]

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:33:56 +0000

This was great Eryk. Having worked with high schoolers, I can only imagine how much more awkward it must be with a language barrier. For whatever reason, I often felt like the real adults I worked with had forgotten what it was like to be a teenager and were quite flippant about their trials and tribulations. It seemed like the real adults no longer remembered that the shit they went through in high school formed a good-sized chunk of their personality and developed their coping skills. I tried to keep this in mind when I dealt with an emotional teenager, but also remembered they are a crazy bag of hormones and idealistic worldviews.

Seems like you did the right thing: You didn’t treat her like a child and you didn’t rub it in her face. Also, I think you made the right call with the ice cream.