sometimes life really just surprises you. people never cease to amaze and astonish. one of the best parts of this life is the revealing of something just as you need it. as you know each wednesday I am a very eager student of shuji (japanese calligraphy). coming to japan I had a list of things I wanted to pursue...after making a b in drawing while in college, naturally anything too artistic was not on the list (maybe, just maybe I am still a bit bitter about that b...i mean really can we grade on talent these days?-fair enough). but nevertheless I have grown to love this wednesday challenge. today, I did NOT want to go. I had a busy busy morning at school, had a quick skype with kelsey (HEY GIRL), then rushed to the BOE for a meeting about english camp this weekend- "Hello World." after this the last thing I wanted to do was sit seiza for two and a half hours trying to write kanji that means who knows what...okay to be fair shannon and jessica always translate! the reason shuji has won my heart is my teacher. she and I should have trouble communicating...I speak no japanese...well, she laughs at the japanese words I try to use...and she speaks no english...but is quickly learning. we were early today and it was a first. sensei was very excited to see us. she showed us to the room and along the way she has displayed pictures of us with she and her husband which she took on our second lesson and of course she had us sign the pictures. love it. well today, she just surpassed her own greatness. she calls herself our japanese mom, which is what I need. I often feel alone in a sense that I cant clearly explain. so I apologize, dont take it as sadness or isolation...but we all know the feeling that comes with being away from family and friends. it isnt negative, but just a part of my daily life in japan. we sit at our table, prepare our supplies, and bow which signals the beginning of a lesson. she is quite professional, she trained under the best shuji artist in japan and her skill level is incredible. but today our lesson was very different. after bowing, she pulls out a childrens book...my heart melted. she began to read, then quickly refers to a paper where she has tried to translate a few words in english for me. with a biggest smile she read on, page by page. the story was that of the animal years and how the order came to be. although I didnt understand one word I love love loved the story. she then had a calendar had the kanji and hiragana for each year. 2010 will be the year of the tiger...which for all you 86's out there is our year!! we went through a list she had which showed what year was what...mom, you were a monkey! so our lesson today was learning to write one of four, or all ,of the kanji's for tiger. there is a special ink used, shoo (sp?) which I called neon orange...jani (no). it is very radiant and specifically used for the new years greetings. next week we will hand make new years postcards for our vice principals. at the end of the lesson she made a special kanji for each of us in shoo. I was overwhelmed when she described that I have a very special smile and made my kanji smile. of course shannon had to translate that for me! on top of all this, her mother stopped by during our time there. she hand made us beautiful tigers which is now hanging on my wall. I was very touched by this beautiful afternoon and it made me feel right at home. every week she has snacks and tea prepared for us after lessons. it is a great opportunity for us to enjoy each others company while getting such a great opportunity to learn about the japanese culture from this incredible woman. on our way out today she gave us freshly picked lotus roots, which in this area is a very common/"famous" dish. I am excited to try to cook them. her husbands friend is a farmer and brought them for us. (ill try to post pictures of this day soon). while we are all busy writing and addressing our christmas cards the japanese are slaving over their new years cards. shannon, jessica and I are plotting to make group 'uki' cards to send to co-workers. hopefully we can make it happen.
i have a lot of work packed in this week and a half before thailand. but i am so excited to get to spend time with haynes during christmas. i couldnt ask for a better present!
future travel plans include the snow festival in hokkaido, china, okinawa, climbing mt fuji...
happy holidays yall!
all my arkansas love
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