I defeated the Jehovah's Witnesses. Despite some interesting suggestions to scare them away ('sacrifice a goat when you open the door!') I took the long route and let them say their piece and ask their questions. After about an hour of pleasant chatting and lots of smiling they could see that they were getting nowhere with me. I politely refused all further offers of magazines and visits. They seemed disappointed, but with a somewhat tenuous grip on the English language, they lacked the skills to push it.
The upside of talking to them rather than pretending to forget they were coming is that I won't have to make excuses as to why they can't come to my place every time I see them from now on.
All in all I had quite a productive day. The apartment got cleaned and vacuumed, half my laundry got washed (it would have been all but I have limited space in which to hang them to dry), I started to make some flashcards to help me begin to learn kanji, and found some information on DramaWiki for the upcoming Autumn season on Japanese TV. In related news, I love the recorder on my cable TV.
I also made a budget spreadsheet in Excel. Usually I would just check what's happening with my money through my Internet banking, however because I don't have that here and my cash card can't be used as a debit card it's all cash all the time. It makes it harder to keep track. I've got enough to live on easily, but I want to see if I can budget in a trip to Bangkok for the new year, and after that I want to start sending money home, so I'm trying to keep an eye on it.
The upside of talking to them rather than pretending to forget they were coming is that I won't have to make excuses as to why they can't come to my place every time I see them from now on.
All in all I had quite a productive day. The apartment got cleaned and vacuumed, half my laundry got washed (it would have been all but I have limited space in which to hang them to dry), I started to make some flashcards to help me begin to learn kanji, and found some information on DramaWiki for the upcoming Autumn season on Japanese TV. In related news, I love the recorder on my cable TV.
I also made a budget spreadsheet in Excel. Usually I would just check what's happening with my money through my Internet banking, however because I don't have that here and my cash card can't be used as a debit card it's all cash all the time. It makes it harder to keep track. I've got enough to live on easily, but I want to see if I can budget in a trip to Bangkok for the new year, and after that I want to start sending money home, so I'm trying to keep an eye on it.
Comments (1)
I have always found in talking to Jehovah's witnesses that it is much better to talk to them than to argue with them. A reasonably pleasant hour where it becomes clear that they won't shift you from your position will usually result in their failure to return, even if they make an appointment to do so. Where possible, I like to send them away laughing. It's certainly better for my blood pressure and temper if I can do this.