7.20.09

After the Manga Kissa, I hopped the soonest train back to Date and was surprised by Mr. Suzuki picking me up at the station. It was raining hard and I hadn't eaten breakfast, so it meant the world to me that he came, took me to breakfast at his house, and dropped me off at home. I slept most of the day away, grabbed dinner from 7/11, and spent the night pchatting with Dorian, listening to Veckatimest compulsively (I bought Friends, which turns out to be the wrong album- Veckatimest is their new one- thankfully it's all up on Youtube).

Today was a lovely day. I chatted up shadi and haisi a bit, worked out more details on hatim's story (which is going to be awfully sad it seems, despite my best intentions), and headed out to meet with Fukushi sensei around noon. I dropped into the sobayasan near my house since it was open for the first time i'd ever seen. The tenants were kind to me and very pleased with my Japanese. The soba was the most delicious i've ever eaten.
Feeling good, I hoofed it over to the city hall, soon met with Mrs. Fukushi, and we headed off together. When I am with her, I feel strong and protective. I walk with what feels like the air of a bodyguard. To a small extent, I almost feel like if a car came at us, I could stop it with my body and save her.

We entered her friend's house with formality and sat in a tatami-mat room, seiza. I was given a small stool to put under my butt so my legs didn't hurt as bad. Something like seiza training wheels, maybe? First I watched the tea ceremony, being instructed on when and how to take the pre-tea candies and the tea itself, then I was dressed in a sort of half-kimono top and shown how to mix the tea myself. It was an interesting mix of traditional and modern as the water was being heated by an electric heater shaped to look like coals, but the other tools likely hadn't changed for centuries. After we appreciated the tea and cups, Fukushi-sensei, Misou-sensei (the teacher of Sado) and three other ladies sat with me and we talked about travel, education, solar eclipses, and who knows what else. It was pleasant. Afterwards we were driven to a kissaten near the bus stop and I talked with Fukushi-sensei a while more before her bus came. For the first time I was the one waving someone off on the bus. I felt loyal to my senior. It was a good feeling.

After she left I headed to the station, stopped into another sobaya along the way and had some ebitendon which was pretty good and very filling, wandered into a bookstore near the station (which was like 30% hentai manga), picked up my bike from the station and rode to Nagawachu gakko to test how long it would take. It was beautiful the whole way- the sun was bright and i'm sure i'm going to have a case of raccoon face because of my dark glasses. I stopped in the grocery store and priced food, headed back rather inefficiently, bought some gummy choco from the Acoop across from city hall, returned home and stopped by the river to eat it and watch the water flowing under the bridge.
The whole day I was feeling great- light and pleased with myself and this place, having picked the fruits of Japanese culture in the form of resturants and tea ceremony, but as I sat on the bank of the river, admiring the bouncy little waves and lush green surroundings, I felt lonely again. I thought of what kind of conversation I would have if someone else were there with me.

It is so beautiful here. I didn't take my camera, so I have no photos, but I want this physical memory to stay with me- the way the sun and air cling to my skin, the fullness of my stomach, and how comfortable I feel now listening to conversations. I don't understand all of the words, but I am beginning to understand the shape of the language, its pace, and some of the most common vocabulary. Tomorrow is Nagawachu so I have to stifle my comfort and put myself back down at the bottom where I can't be squashed, but afterwards I would like to return to this feeling alright about things stage.

I am sad to feel this lonely again so soon after three days of stimulation and companionship, but the next week should be busy. I will try to get together with Debra and Mayu before the end of it.