lost in translation

ive tried my best to learn some japanese greetings and theyre working okay so far. except for eigo ga hanase mas ka (do you speak english). i say this to someone, they say hai (yes) and then go on talking in japanese.

ie: today at the bank i had to get my name changed to a shorter version because apparently my full name is too long when written in katakana in order to receive direct deposit payments for work. then i tried to ask about when im going to receive my bank card in the mail and just got lots of blank stares. i know a few people that speak japanese so i guess im going to have to take them with me to the bank to get a bank card. smart, though - make the gaijin do a large deposit to open the account and then without the bank card so that he cant get the money until he leaves the country.

on a different note, i just have two more days of training to go until i start working on wednesday. im still waiting for my schedule but from the sound of things ill probably get quite a few kids classes and then regular and adult conversation classes. sounds good.

more later.