The danger(s) of unguarded pluralization

Today (Monday) at 5 pm I was doing the usual dance in my head - should I go home, because I can without getting in trouble, or should I stay late, and look like I'm working hard - but I got interrupted by Kirimura-san (he's a fourth-year grad student) asking me if I was busy.

Of course I wasn't. He has a car, and therefore the potential to get me down the mountain.

Turns out that there was a whole group organized. I am totally pathetic and when everyone was introduced to me in a giant group last week, I forgot most people's names. So I'll call the other two guys (who deserve so much better than this) A-san and B-san.

A-san is very quiet. He's also a first year grad student, and four months younger than me. I don't think he's really all that quiet usually, but his English is about as good as my Japanese, so he plays it safe and doesn't say too much. We took his car today.

B-san is a college senior. He's new around the lab, too, so we both have no idea what's going on. Well, maybe he has some idea. I don't. He plays jazz guitar and is part of a band. He also went to a concert last weekend in Kobe.

See - see - I do know these people and am not a horrible person who can't be bothered to remember their names. I just can't read thier ID cards because it's all written in kanji.

Anyway, I think these guys were going to go shopping and thought I would like to go along since I really have no access to anything. (Imagine being able to shop at 7-11, and 7-11 only. This is what it's like.) So if it had been Sunday, I would have needed to come. Today, I just really didn't want to work anymore so I figured wherever they were going would be more interesting than working on a powerpoint presentation.

I was right. Boy, was I right. All we did was
1) drop some film off and get one picture framed
2) go to a grocery store
3) go to a 100 yen store
4) eat dinner
but it was awesome. You remember back in high school when you could have the best time with your friends just filling up the gas tank or buying some milk for your mom? Yeah, tonight was that kind of night. Despite the rather large language gap, we could pretty much understand each other. There was one noteable exception, though...

A-san says something I can't understand to Kirimura.

Kirimura says "A-san wants to teach you about Japanese seishin, spirits."

"Well, I'll be a very enthusiastic student!" I say. Wisconsin has trained me well, and I do like the sake. And the beer.

"What does sujistaku mean?" Kirimura says.

(cut out a ten minute conversation involving the meaning of enthusiastic, nuances in pronunciation of the same word, inquiries about Japanese and English accents, me saying 'This is a nice restaurant' in Australian, Texan, American, Cockney, and British accents, them teaching me the difference between Kansai (Japanese equivalent of the Midwest) and non-Kansai accents, a forty minute car ride back with discussions of anime, the dangers of driving at night when there are deer, me hitting a moose, our return to the office, looking up 'moose' first on the dictionary and then on Google, much incredulity, and finally remembering to look up enthusiastic. While they do this, I borrow a dictionary and look up liquor.)

(Me pointing to the definition of liquor) "Is this the same as seishin?"

"No...this is sake..." says B-san.

Turns out I'm going to learn the Japanese spirit, not about the spirits of Japan. I'm sure one will involve the other, though, so it'll be ok.