Big Tree・大樹

Recently, So and I went to TGI Fridays in Tokyo. It was not necessarily our choice but rather dictated by the fact that I had luggage and there were no lockers to be had due to it being the last day of Golden Week. Thus, off we trotted to Friday’s for lunch and a chat.

Now, Fridays is located in a section of town frequented by foreign business travelers and next to the Le Meridien Hotel. Lots of foreigners visit Fridays. As we entered, we requested a table for two in Japanese. We eventually ordered from the hostess as our server had not yet shown up. When he did, he told us that he just wanted to introduce himself as he would be taking care of us that day.

His English was faulty and rough to understand. So shot me a looked and asked me en español if we should tell him that we speak Japanese. I gave her a look back and shrugged my shoulders. She said, “Aw, let’s let him practice.” He paused and looked at us and then asked, “Do you speak English?” When we answered in the affirmative, he continued his spiel and said, “My name is…” Here is when the trouble began. I misunderstood what he said and thought he said “Victory.” Before I knew what I was doing, “ちょっと待って。ビクトリは日本語の名前ではないですよ。” (Hold on a second, Victory is not a Japanese name) came flying out of my mouth. As I am saying this, I turn to look over my left shoulder at him and notice that his name tag says “Big Tree.” The look of surprise on his face was evident as he stared at us and asked if we spoke Japanese. Yes, again. So I say, “Oh what’s your name? Ohki-san?” He tells me, “No, it’s Daiki.” (The meaning is Big Tree. 大樹)

The truth of the matter is that Big Tree was a tad bit strange, but in the end, we got a kick out the whole incident. It made our lunch all the more memorable. So even wants me to call her Big Tree now. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.