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Published: July 10th 2006
Monday 7/10/06
Well it has been another eventful weekend here in Gifu city. Friday night I went out with Asai kun to dinner at a cute little ramen place and then to a CD shop. We just hung out and talked and it was really fun. He showed me some really good Japanese bands, which was cool, and it turns out that we both like the blues brothers 😉 Saturday was the BBQ at Adachi’s house. It was amazing!! First of all it’s way up in the mountains about and hour and a half outside of Gifu city. Its beautiful, green trees and mountains everywhere you look, and so peaceful. When we arrived the girls set about cutting the vegetables while the boys set up the BBQ and tents, chairs, etc. Then Iwata and Asai started cutting this long bamboo trunk for something called Nagashi Soumen. Basically, you cut a bamboo trunk in half and pour water down it so it becomes, essentially, a bamboo water-slide. One you’ve got the water running you slide all this soumen (a kind of noodle) down the trunk and everyone stand around it with their chopsticks trying to catch the soumen. It’s kind of
like the Japanese version of bobbing for apples in guess 😉 Anyway, it was a lot of fun and also really hard!!! After we grilled the meat and vegetables on the grill, and it was SO good!!! Everyone ate until they couldn’t eat anymore. The only bad thing was there was no refrigerator so we couldn’t have any cool drinks 😞 But it was ok, the tea was cool at least by keeping it under cold running water. Then after dinner we all went for a walk. Let’s say this place was, in a word, breathtaking. There was this incredible old shrine (where Adachi give me a 5er and helped me make a wish…nice Adachi!), and a huge water fall that emptied into this lagoon type area. The water was so clear you could see to the bottom and its color was this gorgeous deep blue-green. Next to it was another smaller waterfall and all around were this beautiful rocks and lush green trees. Unfortunately for me, the batteries in my camera decided to die so I only have pics from the BBQ 😞 although I do have a couple of the outside of the shrine. Then we walked over
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Keiko chan preparing the soumenthis bridge and down to the river (all beautiful) and everyone played in the water, which was a welcome relief for after such an incredibly hot afternoon! Then we went to this little shaded pagoda thingy, where there was a basin of water that you could drink from. The water was so good and sweet!! Adachi told me the water from this area was considered like the Japanese Evian, and people came from all around to drink it. After we got back Mike took off, because he had to get back. I can’t believe it, he RODE HIS BIKE there!!! It was 4 hour bike ride to get there and over all these mountains!!! He’s training for this big bike race held here at the end of August. A lot of people from the company are competing as well, but I think Mike’s the only one taking it seriously. He gets up every Tuesday through Thursday morning and rides for 3 hours before work. That’s dedication huh?? Anyway after we got back a lot of people were hungry again so they did another round of Nagashi soumen, but I was too tired to do anything but sit on the couch
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hot boys, hot grill...yummy ;) and chill. Then everyone began to clean up, and I of course, joined in. Unfortunately for me, I chose to fold up chairs in the exact spot where Adachi’s porch railing decided to fall. Apparently toe wood was completely rotten and it was just bad timing. Fortunately, I was more surprised than hurt, but it was quite a shock! Finally, the sun was setting and it started to cool off, and we all got ready for out little Tanabata festival. Tanabata is a really cool little Japanese holiday. Basically, the story goes that there are these 2 star deity lovers who can only meet once a year on 7/7. On this day, everyone writes a wish on a piece of paper and ties it to a tree. The deities are supposed to pick up these wishes on their way across the sky and grant them. Cool huh?? So all of us wrote our wishes on origami paper and ties them to a bamboo tree next to Adachi’s house. After Tanabata, we all had coffee and snacks and just relaxed and hung out. Some people played badminton and Frisbee, but I stayed on the porch and chatted/gossiped with a bunch of
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Iwata kun and Asai kun preparing the bamboo trunk for Nagashi soumen girls from the office. When it got dark, a few of us went in Adachi’s truck to see the fireflies. It was really beautiful seeing them amongst the silhouetted trees and rocks. We rode in the back of Adachi’s truck to get there (it was a bit too far to walk) and all of us had fun standing up and letting the wind cool off our faces and blow through our hair 😉 After this, the evening was pretty much over, and I went home with Mayu chan and Ishii chan. Ishii chan said for the fireworks festival on the 29th she’s going to let me wear here Yukata (summer kimono)!!! I’m so excited!! The girls here are so nice and I’m so glad I got a chance to get to know everyone better. Sunday was another big day. I spent the morning cleaning my apartment and packing because Hayakawa san was supposed to come at 5 to pick me up and take me to Shouchou’s house. I finished at around 2 so I went to the book store and FINALLY got the new chapter of Fruits Basket, and then went to the supermarket to get some nice wine for
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Masenori kun fanning the fire Hayakawa san and Shouchou as a thank you present. I had JUST finished wrapping their gifts when Hayakawa san arrived—an hour early. It’s ok though because there wasn’t much left for me to do in my apartment anyway. He helped me get all my bags into the car and we went to Shouchou’s house. WOW. Uhm…..its HUGE! 5 bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a giant living room, dining room and kitchen…major luxury!! Everything is exquisitely decorated but it also has a nice lived-in feel to it. When we got there, only Shouchou’s father was there. I’m not sure what his real name is, I was just told to call him ojii-san which means grandfather/old man. Ojii san only speaks Japanese, but since Im getting a little better I could understand a good deal of what he said. He showed me some pictures he took, which we incredible, and he even had a whole shelf of trophies he had won for his photography. I thought of my uncle Shaun when I saw them because he also is a good photographer. Anyway, soon Shouchou came home and he introduced me to his wife, who, though she claims she is 55, looks more like
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view from the back porch 35. Its amazing, she’s so beautiful. Sadly, she’s losing her sight, so Shouchou has to lead he by the hand when the go out, but it’s so sweet the way he does it!!! They gave me a tour of the house and made me feel very welcome 😉 When we’re at home, Shouchou has me call him Otou san which means father, and his wife Okaa-san, which means mother. It’s really nice! Shouchou’s eldest son, Masenori is also living at home, and he also works at the office with us. Masenori kun is preparing to be a patent attorney as well. In Japan, when you want to be an attorney, you have to pass 3 tests—2 written and 1 oral. The first two are nearly impossible to pass, there is only a 5% passage rate!! In order to become and attorney, one usually has to take the test around 5 times. That’s how long it took Shouchou. Masenori passed the 1st test and he just took the second test last Sunday, so he will find out the results in September. The oral test is essentially just an interview, and as long as you don’t say something completely stupid you pass.
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another view from the back porch This is Masenori kun’s 3rd attempt at passing, so everyone is really rooting for him! He’s currently 30 but looks a lot younger, like all Japanese apparently. Anyway Shouchou, Okaa-san and I all talked for a while and then everyone went out to dinner. We took Shouchou’s car, a Mercedes Benz (!!!!) and went to this fabulous Chinese restaurant. Everyone in the family is so nice and made me feel so welcome!! Ojii san kept trying to get me to drink Sake but it was really strong and one little glass was more than enough for me!!! After dinner we went home and I had tea and cookies with Shouchou and Okaa-san and we watched their favorite TV show together, which is this historical drama about feudal Japan. Honestly, when I was watching it, it felt like I was watching a live action Inuyasha program, hahaha! By this time I was exhausted so I took a shower, loaded some pics on my computer, and went to bed. I’m really looking forward to what the next 10 days will bring at Shouchou’s house!!
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Mom
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Beautiful!
Now that is more like it. The pictures from the Bar-B-Q are what I picture in my mind when I think of rural Japan. The bamboo chute with the noodles sounds like a lot of fun and everyone looks like they are having such a great time. You must really be enjoying yourself. I am so happy for you and so very, very proud! All those years of worry about how you would turn out and if I was doing the right things have vanished in these pictures. You are such an amazing person, Jennifer! You have become so much more than I would have ever hoped for in a daughter. Secretly I love telling people where you are and what you are doing - it impresses the hell outta them! Through your hard work and notariety, I take on a certain fame - "the mother of" :)