June 30-July 3rd (Sun-Wed) - I Learn Stuff

I uploaded a couple more videos, so you can see the koinobori and the lessapanda. 

Sunday: We ran for a bit in the forest, dodging bugs and branches, and followed this with yoga and taichi. 

In the afternoon, we all went to Hamburger Land to celebrate a couple birthdays. It was pretty good, but really, in Japan, I recommend Japanese food. They don’t do the other stuff particularly well, far as I’ve found. For example, the milkshakes had ice in them. And they were tiny. (I didn't have one though. I had guava juice, which was tasty, but also tiny.) The hamburger was good but not great, and kinda expensive for the amount of food. The onion hasu (lotus) was quite tasty though. 

After a long drive back through all the traffic, which was fun because it was with Hugh and Mako, Kaori and I drank coffee and chatted until it grew dark. 

Yo voy a la escuela cada Lunes. (this is not true)

Yo como pan, tu comes pan, él/ella come pan. (this is probably true)

Monday: What a day! I had a great tkd lesson in the morning, then in the afternoon drove over to the Miwa house for a koto lesson and tea-ceremony lesson. My legs hurt afterward! Mrs. Miwa said her legs hurt too after all that time (though I’d taken breaks and she hadn’t really). 

She not only gave me tsume (the picks) and a box for them, she also went out and bought various sized finger-bands, had me pick which fit me, then attached them to the tsume while I tuned the koto. During this lesson, she taught me some technique on two-notes-at-a-time, and some more on osu(?) and hi[ku], the pushing/pulling of the strings on the left side of the ji (bridges). 

After this, we moved on to the tea ceremony. I think we went through the entire thing, and I can say this is something I am definitely not a natural at. Which way was that folded? How many times did we turn the chasen (whisk)? When does the chashaku (scoop) face down and how many times is it to be wiped with the cloth — the name of which I forget? It’s so very technical! 

Then once again I packed the koto into my car (along with my gifts) and headed home in high spirits that did well to combat the oppressive heat of the day. (It was 28º in the cooler mountains.)

So I ate ice cream.

Green tea with chocolate bits. It had a strange aftertaste, but was really tasty.

Tuesday: I was real genki this day, so classes went well. Until evening. My great little boy has been joined by a loud wild kid, and now they are both loud and wild. Oh no.

Happy Birthday to my sister.

Wednesday: I was all prepared for my business class. Then I suddenly got really nervous I wouldn’t be able to find it, because sometimes Google maps isn’t right and I couldn’t write down directions properly when I went last time. But of course it was fine, and I arrived about a half-hour early. More time to plan my lesson! Except the room wasn’t open. My nerves kinda kept rising but it all turned out ok. The class went pretty well, though there wasn’t enough time to cover everything — I’d timed it to a T however :)

During my class with Miki, I learned that Bali is a nice place to visit, and that Italy is not so great for Japanese people, as they are targeted by gypsies!

Today I learned the Melon-pan song. 

anpan ni wa anko ga haitteru

melonpan ni wa melon ga haittenai

kareepan ni wa karee ga haitteru

melonpan ni wa melon ga haittenai

watashi ga ichiban suki na no wa

melonpan

dakedo melon wa haittenai!

zannen :(

watashi ga ichiban suki na no wa

melonpan

dakedo melon wa haittenai!

Translation:

There is anko in anpan

There is no melon in melonpan

There is curry in curry-pan

There is no melon in melonpan

My favorite is

melonpan

but there is no melon it it!

Too bad :(

My favorite is melonpan, 

but there is no melon in it. 

Recent Japanese:

shibireta = fell asleep (went numb) — kore kara yoku tsukau to omou (ima ni seiza shite)

shamoji = wooden spoon / rice scoop

makade = centipede

dangomushi = pillbug

hasu = lotus (hasu no hana is lotus flower)

chasen = bamboo whisk

chashaku = tea scoop

onatsume = tea container

yama michi bon = lit. mountain road tray, this is the ridged tray that holds all the stuff

fukusa = the silk cloth, tucked into the obi, used to wipe stuff (perhaps)

tetsubou = horizontal bar (gymnastics) — all the kids do it

sakadachi = handstand

bouningen = stick figure

jimoto = hometown

hina taboko = sunbathing

narawareru = targeted