Konnichiwa!
For the first time it was almost too warm to sleep comfortably last night. Apparently, Tuesday should reach 80 degrees and the temperature will climb steadily through May until we're all dripping and vainly swirling the warm air around with fans.
For fragile Seattleites and others coming from places lacking weather extremes, the temperature adjustment in Japan will be a challenge. My body will either regulate or have a heat stroke. I'll never forget the summer two years ago when Seattle was bawling because it hit 90 degrees and radio programs had to coach everyone on how to remain hydrated and conscious. All of the regulars at Robertino's lined the wall, staring at the ceiling, their iced coffee melting, and we suffered together with the single fan.
To think positively, today Stephen and I will enjoy the sun at a school BBQ. We've been spending a lot of time outdoors with friends and enjoying mild spring afternoons and evenings in parks and riding our bikes down rivers. It's currently perfect tee-shirt weather, and last night we sat at a pond in Tusurma park surrounded by orange lights, sparkling water and bats dipping close to our heads. The moon was a waxing crescent. I love the feeling of riding my bike at night into the wind without growing chilled.
Our Golden Week was also blessed with warm weather, aside a few rainy moments (they can only be characterized as moments: the rain dumps buckets until it feels as though you've just lost a hose-fight and then stops three minutes later, leaving you feeling unjustly assaulted). We went to Kanazawa for four days with Mindy and Kendall and it was a great whirlwind of activity. We enjoyed the beautiful Kenrokuen park and gardens, saw a Noh play, and toured a "Ninja" castle with an impressive number of trap doors and secret passageways used by samurai to hide from and attack invaders. It even had a four-tatami mat sized suicide room prepared if the lord had to kill himself. We ate great sushi, saw an old Samurai house, and visited many museums, including a confectionary, phonograph, and arts and crafts museum. We also made gold-leaf crafts and met a cool German girl whom I talked books with. Phew! On the final day, after our neighbors had headed back to Nagoya, Stephen and I visited Gyokusen-En Garden and its tiny Tei-Roji tea house. The garden was secluded, peaceful, and preserved a mysterious manner despite its popularity as a tourist attraction. The woman running the tea house told us she cannot leave or go on vacation because she is bound to it by bloodline. "I like America," she told us- "You're so free."
She then proceeded to ask if we'd heard the news about "lidin." She repeated "liden" a few times quizzically, leaving us a bit confused, and when Osama Bin Laden crossed my mind I quickly neglected the thought. After we'd enjoyed our tea and lumps of green-tea and lavender mochi at the mouth of the garden we left and checked the news. There he was. Reading the mass-influx of celebratory Facebook statuses, some more quenched than others, proceeding his death was definitely interesting. Although the successful mission symbolized a lot for America, I was hesitant to call it a victory, as the cycle seems unbreakable, even for a nation that condemns murder.
The world continues. In other news, Stephen and I purchased our tickets to Thailand during Oban- August 6th to the 19th! More on our planning in blog posts to come. My Japanese lesson starts Wednesday morning and this Tuesday begins our first full week back to work. I truly enjoy our job, despite the occasional repetitive or boring moment, and love the laid-back schedule. I've been allotting much free time to writing and am seriously considering getting my MFA in Creative Writing (somewhere in California, perhaps San Francisco) when we return! Following the bliss....
I hope the sun is out wherever you are and thank you for reading! Happy May!
Claire