JAPAN - SHOCKER

When I last traveled to Japan in winter of 2001, it was more than a cultural fix, but psychological shock. It was a shocker by any unit of measurement I could express. Twenty years ago, women were not permitted to join the work force, let alone young high school teens Now, summer jobs become a novelty like the western culture and purchasing in a brand-conscious city become their way of life. Yet nothing prepares me for a young vibrant girl that I acquainted in a Korean barbecue restaurant down town noted for its night spot. She stand tall and slim, well groomed and polite as any restaurateur can be. Occasionally she would brush by my table to check on the orders if it has arrived or which item has been delayed, serving us attentively. And in between new group of customers, she has to clean up the table prior to sitting them down. It's just the incredible speed of cleaning, waiting, serving and turning around the table, setting up for the next group of customers that were so amazingly efficient.

Towards the end of the busy night in the restaurant, I sat back to enjoy the last half glass of my cocktail. She was still there, two tables away, clearing the beer glasses, stacking the fine china dish plates and emptying its left over contents by the last customers. There she was, chin slightly tucked low, with swift movements, tong up the barbecue meat, set it aside in a sauce plate, and un-noticingly with well-versed skills, popped it into her mouth as she continues her chore of cleaning. Finding it hard to believe, I couldn't help looking at her every swift movement with amusement for a long while. From table to table, she would pick up food that were left over by the last customers on each table she cleaned. I murmured to my partner across from me at our table. Half drunk he was, he teased that I was high on vitamin C after my third glass of OJ.