Odd Experience

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This week I got to meet my Okasan's mother. She writes her name in katakana because it was apparently a really popular thing to do back in the day. I told a couple of the ladies at IES she did it, and they both thought it was really "omoshiroi!" which is kind of hard to translate in this sense, since it has more than one meaning. They thought it was interesting, fun, and cute. She's really nice and seems funny. I've never seen my host brother be as social as he was last night at dinner.

But I got to have something of a surreal experience. Okasan's mom, Sano-san, found out next week is my birthday and I'm turning 21. We were discussing plans for next week and it came up. I don't even think Okasan's mouth was shut the entire way when her mom responds in the most joyful tone of voice I've ever heard, "Oh, then you can get married soon!" with a huge grin on her face, like she was proud beyond words for this revelation. I didn't quite know how to respond to this. I knew intellectually before coming that there's a huge emphasis on marriage and that it's really supposed to be the goal of all the young women here. But being told since I was turning 21 I needed to work on getting married just put my whole mind into meltdown, code blue, dive-dive-dive state. Okasan came to the rescue and said first I needed to get a boyfriend. Like an idiot, I thought that would diffuse the situation. How wrong I was. Her mom, who I still think should be in politics based on her repartee speed, responds with "No, that doesn't matter! She can still get married!" I'm sure my face was the very model of bewilderment. After that I had to leave to go to the Showa-kan (more on that later), so I was spared any nuptual planning...

For the moment. When I got back in the evening, over dinner (sukiyaki!) Okasan asked if I had purchased a new earring yet. I lost mine at the Halloween party a couple of weeks ago and I mentioned I wanted to replace it. I haven't yet, and I told her as much. She points out I can get some in Harajuku on Thursday, which is true and is what I was planning on. Sano-san sees opportunity to be helpful. "In Chiba, there's a really nice jewelry store. They've got really pretty things. Their wedding rings are beautiful. A lot of brides go there to buy their wedding rings (emphasis hers)." At that point I just smiled and nodded. Lady, trust me, if snagging a husband is as easy as you seem to think, I'd be on the phone right now ordering myself a rich, tall, black-haired and blue-eyed, gorgeous lean athlete.

I think someday I'll look back on that with more than a rueful shake of the head and a slightly befuddled expression. Not today. Today I've got a marriage lecture to listen to.

Showa-kan

The Showa-kan is a museum for life during the Showa period. For those of you who don't know, this means life during Hirohito's reign. So, wars with China, America and Britain. It's fairly small and simple, with exhibits on pre-war, wartime and post-war life. It's run by the government so it's very different from Yasukuni. It doesn't speak about the politics at all. It might seem like that would be hard to do, but instead they've just got items like chopsticks and rationed items, textbooks, etc, with plaques saying what they are. No statement about anything other than definitions. The exhibit that attracted my attention was the video game where you play a Japanese soldier in middle school who has to make it to the fallout shelter in time. It was actually very high quality, but...it was weird.

And a bonus....belated Halloween pictures!

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Photos

Hi Daddy!
I took this in Harajuku. Yes, I'm a daddy's girl. I took this solely for the fact I could use it as a card later.

Halloween
We kind of look like Betty and Veronica going to a Halloween party.