Drill

I was told by a PTA member whose son is in Neesa chan's class, that Mari-san would be calling me to explain about the PTA system and its annual fee.

Apart from being a PTA member (her son is in the 6th grade, thus explains why I have never met her before) and a proficient English speaker, Mari-san used to reside in Malaysia, where she worked for a Malaysian company. That is why Mari-san was the chosen one- she was given the responsibility of explaining things to this 'gaijin' (foreigner) whose Japanese vocabulary is very limited.

So, Mari-san called on Monday afternoon.
I was glad that she called. True enough, her English is fantastic (she is currently working part-time as a tourist guide).
We talked about the PTA, about Malaysia (she used to stay in Ampang for 10 years, working for Jusco), Japanese culture and of course Neesa chan's progress as well as problems in school.

After the long conversation and promise to keep contacting each other, I took a nap.

Then, the phone rang again. Drowsy as can be, I picked up the phone to hear a familiar voice. She muffled something that sounds like "Mari". Thinking that Mari-san was on the line, I continued our previous conversation. The caller told me that the whole family would be going to England this summer holidays. Since they are flying with MAS, they would be making a short stop at KLIA. She even asked whether I wanted anything from Malaysia. She even reminded me of the fact that I needed to bring the PTA annual fee the following day. Then, just before she hung up, she told me this "Please repeat whatever I have said to the next person, ok?"

Hah?!? What next person? Who is she talking about?

She told me that I shouldn't disconnect the line. That I should continue with the next person. That is the rule.

What is this lady talking about????

When I asked her to elaborate more, I realized that it wasn't Mari-san on the other line. It was Mafi's mother (Mafirina, who is half Japanese, half English, is Neesa chan's classmate)

The call made was a drill. We were supposed to practice this phone connection, in case of any emergency. Whenever I receive a phone call from Mafi's mother, I have to call Ishigawa's mother who is the last person in our 'line'.

Now only I understand the reason why Harada Sensei (Neesa chan's class teacher) gave me this green paper
and mentioned something about 'line'. I thought that is was just for keepsake...

So, I called Ishigawa's mother, who is the last in our 'line' (Why didn't they just put me at the end of the 'line'?????) and repeated the message about the PTA annual fee.


(that's my phone number- squashed between Mafi's and Ishigawa's number)

To my surprise, Ishigawa's mom could converse fairly well in English. Phew ! (Why didn't these two, Mafi's mom and Ishigawa's mom, turned up for the first PTA meeting. They could have been my translator for the day :P )