(Written 5.15pm, Tokyo time.)
We touched down in Tokyo’s Narita airport for a brief transit. We were led through another security scan before we could get back onto the plane.
Being bleary-eyed (it was past midnight, LA time, and about 2+am Austin time), I was about to place my bag on the conveyor belt until the helpful Japanese attendant asked me, “Do you have a Rap Top?”
As I’m Asian, I instantly knew she was referring to my laptop computer, which she correctly guessed I had in my bag.
I acknowledged that I had such a device, and was in the midst of taking it out and placing it onto a plastic tray, when the American man behind me overheard our conversation and shot the question, “What’s a Rap Top?”
Before the attendant could repeat what she told me, I quickly turned to him and said, “Laptop”. The attendant realised she had mispronounced the word and corrected herself in subsequent statements. I walked off, happy that I had done my tiny part in making the communication process a little clearer.