Wives

Sometimes I play a warm-up game with my classes called, "Back to board." Basically I put a student in a chair with his back facing the white-board. I then write a random noun on the board and the students must use English to give hints to the person with his back towards the board. It's a fun game and a good way to get kids talking.

The other day I wrote "Wife" on the board and had a pretty hilarious experience. All the students looked completely puzzled for a good thirty seconds. One student finally said, "It is the opposite of husband." This was a perfect clue in my opinion. However, nobody budged and if anything they seemed more confused. Finally after another thirty seconds a student said, "It is a job. The person must cook and clean." Immediately everybody lit up and the person in the chair guessed the word.

Perhaps feminism hasn't hit its full stride in Japan.