Namba One!!

An example of the conversations I get myself into here:

I was at a bar last week talking with a middle aged woman, attractive, friendly, and a heavy drinker. I kid you not, she was working on an entire bottle of Jack Daniels. At least when it comes to small talk, I can pretend to be fairly fluent. I've answered the standard "where are you from" and resulting followup questions at least a thousand times.

She asked me if I had a girlfriend. After all, what was a relatively young American guy doing in an random Japanese dive bar at 1 AM.

I replied in the negative and asked about her. Perhaps in reaction to her own coy remark, she held up her hand to show off two rings and proudly declared to me that she was married.

"Where's your husband?" I asked, glancing around the room wondering if he was there.

She switched from Japanese to elementary English. "Many cute young gyaaru*," she said with a raised voice, motioning with her arms imagining each around a girl's shoulder. "But, I am Nambaa One! Rabu Rabu* Desu!" She laughed with a deep feminine voice.

*[gyaaru or girls]
*[rabu rabu or love love]