Cherry Blossom Viewing
It's been a while since I posted about the past. I have a packet of old letters that I wrote to my parents in the late 70s, when I was a teacher in Japan. It's fun to dip into them and compare the details to my memory. Here's one, from 4/11/77:
Teaching English is such a funny job. What other job would put you in the position of authority simply because you exist - and what other job would put you on the grill of questioning for hours on end? Questions like "how many friends do you have in Japan - boys and girls?" and "Can you eat Japanese food?" (I always want to answer "No, my teeth are stuck together"); "What made you come to Japan?" and "What do you think of Japanese men?" (the last in a class of 12 men when I am the only woman - what a spot!) And I love it, every minute - well, almost every minute! There are those despairing moments of not being able to come up with a synonym or an explanation. There are days when no one will pick up on your cues or questions. Days when all attempts at humor and liveliness fall flat.
And then of course days like last weekend when you feel you are some kind of creature from Mars. Barb (my co-worker) and I went to a small local cherry festival with one of my classes. The people were out to see the parade of samurai-period-dressed young people, but in the end they all really wanted to look at US, and take our pictures. If I had a nickel for every shot taken of the two of us that day, I would have about $1,000. At one point, we sat in an open roofed tent sipping tea, and along the top edge of the tent from the outside, stared a dozen camera lenses, snapping our every movement.
But despite our embarrassment, we managed to have a very good time that day. The weather and the flowers were too beautiful. It's the festival re-enacting a samurai lord's side trip around Lake Hamana, in order to see the beautiful cherry blossoms in Hosue, and also to carry the princess, since she was too frail to go over the water (when there were no bridges). They used to ford the lake, but the women went around. The name of the festival is Hinesama Dochu - or Princess' traveling way.
The day of the cherry festival we also drove all around Lake Hamana - over the new bridge. We went to a museum that's at the site of an old checkpoint, where the Tokugawa lords searched and questioned all travelers on the Tokei line who passed. We also went by the emperor's summer home and went up in the mountains to several look out places. We ate eel for lunch. As for our weather, it's rainy often, but when it isn't, it's so misty and blue, and never goes below 60 lately.
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What I don't mention about this day is that some guy from this class (whose name I have forgotten) had invited me to this event, and was treating it like a date. He was psychopathically shy, and poured sweat the entire time. I tried to make conversation with him, but not only was he paralyzed with fear, he was also the most boring person in the universe. I specifically remember that his favorite food was "white bread".
Teaching English is such a funny job. What other job would put you in the position of authority simply because you exist - and what other job would put you on the grill of questioning for hours on end? Questions like "how many friends do you have in Japan - boys and girls?" and "Can you eat Japanese food?" (I always want to answer "No, my teeth are stuck together"); "What made you come to Japan?" and "What do you think of Japanese men?" (the last in a class of 12 men when I am the only woman - what a spot!) And I love it, every minute - well, almost every minute! There are those despairing moments of not being able to come up with a synonym or an explanation. There are days when no one will pick up on your cues or questions. Days when all attempts at humor and liveliness fall flat.
And then of course days like last weekend when you feel you are some kind of creature from Mars. Barb (my co-worker) and I went to a small local cherry festival with one of my classes. The people were out to see the parade of samurai-period-dressed young people, but in the end they all really wanted to look at US, and take our pictures. If I had a nickel for every shot taken of the two of us that day, I would have about $1,000. At one point, we sat in an open roofed tent sipping tea, and along the top edge of the tent from the outside, stared a dozen camera lenses, snapping our every movement.
But despite our embarrassment, we managed to have a very good time that day. The weather and the flowers were too beautiful. It's the festival re-enacting a samurai lord's side trip around Lake Hamana, in order to see the beautiful cherry blossoms in Hosue, and also to carry the princess, since she was too frail to go over the water (when there were no bridges). They used to ford the lake, but the women went around. The name of the festival is Hinesama Dochu - or Princess' traveling way.
The day of the cherry festival we also drove all around Lake Hamana - over the new bridge. We went to a museum that's at the site of an old checkpoint, where the Tokugawa lords searched and questioned all travelers on the Tokei line who passed. We also went by the emperor's summer home and went up in the mountains to several look out places. We ate eel for lunch. As for our weather, it's rainy often, but when it isn't, it's so misty and blue, and never goes below 60 lately.
---
What I don't mention about this day is that some guy from this class (whose name I have forgotten) had invited me to this event, and was treating it like a date. He was psychopathically shy, and poured sweat the entire time. I tried to make conversation with him, but not only was he paralyzed with fear, he was also the most boring person in the universe. I specifically remember that his favorite food was "white bread".
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on Saturday, April 09, 2005 at 6:27 AM.
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