The Game of Life

I have the hardest time remembering people's names, especially Japanese names which are usually 4 characters long, one character longer than traditional Chinese names. It's hard because I'm not used to these kinds of names, so I've decided to come up with new names for them:

Sleepy/Lush Japanese Guy - I initially called him "Sleepy Japanese Guy" because in the first few classes, he always looked so tired, and a couple of times he admitted that he just woke up (class is at 12:20pm).

Japanese Girl - She is the only Japanese girl. She is not demure and all cutesy and shy like many of the Japanese I've met, and has a pretty good sense of humor.

Other Japanese Guy - A baby-faced, laid back and good-natured guy, has a good sense of humor.

Korean Guy - This guy is a riot. He showed up the first two days of class, then took off for 4 days, then showed up for another day or two, then disappeared, then showed up, then disappeared...essentially, nobody, not even our teacher, really knows when he will show up. He is always late, strolling in in the middle of a class or during the break. We're always a little surprised to see him, and he has the worst timing, coming to class on days when we have a test, or when it is his turn to give a presentation (we do presentations on a rotating schedule). One time after class, the Japanese Girl said to him "See you tomorrow," and everyone started laughing. I hear he works at a waitress bar and goes home to sleep at 6 or 7am, which is why when he does show up for class he looks pretty worn out.

Canadian Guy - He came in last week to audit and sign up for the class, but doesn't officially start until October. We've had 3 days of classes in October now and there is still no sign of him.

So the other day, the Japanese girl brought in a big white shopping bag, and we were all curious so she told us it was the boardgame "Life" in Chinese, and asked if I wanted to play after class. I said sure, and after class, the Japanese Girl, Other Japanese Guy, two other Japanese students who they were friends with, and myself went out to lunch at the student cafeteria, and we played "Life" afterwards. I remember the original "Life" game, but this one is all vamped up, with new professions, the opportunity to get promoted, opportunities to change careers, a section where you get lost in a maze, and chances to buy a house and souvenirs that can be sold back for mucho bucks later on. The game came with a Taiwanese board, and an extra "International" board, all of it written in Chinese.

So I ended up being the first to finish, but second in wealth because I was a poorly paid designer/architect, but what I lacked in wealth I made up for in speed, plenty of promissory notes for purchases I couldn't afford, and traffic accidents. It was good practice for us, and I was pleasantly surprised that we didn't have too much trouble figuring out what we were supposed to do. The next round is this coming Tuesday, so I'm told.