Stevie Blunder??

Yes I know it's a crap title. Anyway...learning Japanese is a slow process. And for me, it seems. slower than for most people. Before I moved to Japan, I tried to learn a bit of Japanese. Showing off to one of my students one day, I casually remarked " kyo wa masui desu ne". She politely pointed out that I'd somehow combined samui' ( cold) and 'atsui' (hot) to come up with a word that actually means 'anesthesia' and is not normally used to refer to the weather in Japanese. or indeed in any other language known to man.

The English are famed for their desire to talk about the weather, but in fact the Japanese are equally bad. Anytime I'm out with Chiaki she'll make a point of reminding me how hot or cold it is about every ten minutes. So you'd think that by now there would be no problem for me. Not so, dear reader.
After much discussion and deliberation, I've started giving some lessons to Chiaki's sister, Ako. She's doing really well and is a delight to teach. So every other Tuesday I stop off in Omori on my way back from Yurakuchko ( which means I can do a complete Yamanote circuit. One day I'll able to recite all the stations in order, like a character in a Murakami (H) novel. And bore people to death in bars)
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago it was a particularly nasty cold, wet. miserable day. I got into the lift in Ako's appartment block and found I was sharing it with a workman. I didn't have to say anything, but suddenly my mouth disconnected itself from my brain and I heard my voice say...... ( no, not 'masui') ' 'Chotto atsui desu ne" As the words left my lips, I prayed that my companion was deaf. He wasn't. I think.
Without blinking, he murmured "So desu ne" as the lift doors opened onto a grey sky that was threatening snow and a temperature of maybe minus seven. So why didn't he question my obviously absurd comment? I have the following theories:

1. He was just being polite.
2. My pronunciation was so bad he thought I said 'samui'
3. He wasn't deaf, but a bit hard of hearing
4. He had been working really hard and thought I was sympathising with his overrheated condition.
5. He could see I was a foreigner and assumed I was an Eskimo (or Inuit as is now p.c.)
6. He was from Northern Hokkaido. or an Eskimo ( or Inuit as is now p.c)
7. He could see from my imposing physical appearance that I work out at the gym on a regular basis so he was afraid to disagree in case I became violent.

9. Er............ he was just being polite.

Thank you workman - san for not making me more embarrassed than I already was!