Day Twelve - Lawyer

Posted on 2006/12/13 01:50:19 (December 2006).

[12th December 2006]

Early meeting in the morning for the contract. More explanations about the Italian system, how does it works and how it is made, why I had to do this instead of that...
We ended up a three hour meeting with the further vexing request to send them and TRANSLATE the Italian articles of law that regulate VAT (Value Added Tax) and the likes...

I took it in an extremely light way this time, I was expecting that more problems would come out, and now the chances of me signing the deal this week are next to none.
In any case, since I don't want to be the cause of the delay, I quickly alerted my uncle, who sent me all the stuff by mail.

The rest of the day saw an incredibly boring meeting with a client, and a further dinner out with a lot of Hakkaisan Nihon-shyu (apparently one of the best sake in Japan) involved.
I really didn't want to get drunk for the second time in a row, but it was impossible to stop the flow of drinks, so in the end, once again extremely late, I crawled back to the hotel for a not so resting sleep.

Drinking after work is quite common in this country, I don't mind it but of course I cannot join all the discussions that we usually have, mostly because I am not Japanese and my level of the language is not that great.
So in the end if I am not in the mood (like yesterday) I am less of a party geezer and more of a "nodding drinker", where basically I nod slightly to everything that is said even if I don't really understand what it is said...

This trip is really killing me, the idea that I must be back soon (in one moth) is not very appealing, but such is life I guess...

I like that phrase: " a nodding drinker"!! Somehow, despite the language problems involved, it seems rather civilised!! It also means you have an excuse not to laugh at terrible jokes! :)

Posted by Nigel at 2006/12/13 07:05:19.

Beware, I might keep noddind the day we'll meet...

Posted by Sheri at 2006/12/13 10:51:47.

noddinG! Rrrrr.

Posted by Sheri at 2006/12/13 10:52:25.

I went out last night, and in that karaoke bar in Shinjuku this drunk Japanese guy started talking to me. I didn't 100% understand what he was banging on about (I think this was largely because he was talking meaningless crap), but somehow or other I got into the position of translating what he was saying for my British colleague who is visiting Tokyo this week.

Given that the conversation was of no real consequence, I determined it would be appropriate to just fill in the bits I didn't understand.

"His companies grows these giant mushrooms which are used in the aviation industry for balance."

"He's been to Osaka four time this week, and on two of those occasions he travelled by unicycle."

etc.

I found this surprisingly entertaining.

Perhaps this fun technique might help brighten up dull nights out when everyone is speaking Foreinglish.

Posted by John at 2006/12/13 14:14:07.

Lol

Posted by Sheri at 2006/12/13 15:52:51.

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