More giri-chodolate

Giri-chocolate from our secretary

Our secretary  gave me "giri choco" ("duty chocolate") this year too. Women are expected to give men chocolate on Valentine's Day. They should give chocolate to any man they like, but they should also give chocolate to all the men they work with. This type of chocolate is called giri-choco, to set it apart from chocolate you give to people that you actually like. I usually do not receive giri-chocolate either, since apparently no one thinks they are duty bound to give me chocolate. Either I don't count as a man, or I don't count as a human being, perhaps.

Our secretary thinks I help her a lot with difficult English and whatnot at work, so she gave me chocolate last year. She gave me some chocolate this year too, and she said: "Since I am about twice your age, I guess I do not have to tell you that this is giri-choco". But it was perhaps good that she did clarify that, since the seal stuck on the wrapping was very romantic: "You mean the world to me", "Your love brings meaning to my life", "Kiss me!", "Be mine!", "You are everything to me", "Hug me!", and "I will love you forever" sound less like "I am obliged to give chocolate" and more like "I like you chocolate"...

Presumably the shop she bought the chocolate in sticks these on every box, which considering most chocolate passed around is giri-chocolate to people you do not really like that much might not be a great idea. But as my Japanese friends tell me, since it is English no one reads it anyway. And if you do read it, no one understands what it says...