I am trying really hard to learn Japanese, but most of the time I feel like I am going no where. For some reason it seems like I am learning Japanese at a snails pace. So when I’m at school I just try to practice my listening because most of my day is in Japanese. Sometimes I feel really bad about not being able to answer the phone (there is a phone in the teachers room and all the teachers take turn answering). But a couple times a week I can look forward to having very pleasant English conversations with the principal or Kocho Sensei of my school. He is fluent in English and very interesting to talk to. He and his wife have been VERY kind to me, coming up with many authentic and amazing Japanese experiences for me to have here.
Obon week in Japan is from what I understand is a similar concept to Halloween or All Saints Day. In Japan Obon week is a time to observe, reflect on, and pay respects to people who have passed away. Some Japanese people even told me that during Obon week the dead visit you. So it is very common for Japanese people to visit there families at this time and pay respects to family members who have passed away.
My principal invited me to visit his mother-in-law with his wife in Shiga prefecture. It was almost a 2 hour drive. But on the way they told me about a great civil war that happened in Japan in the area we were driving through, it was so interesting. On the way to his mother-in-law’s house we stopped to eat really delicious ramen! Here are some pictures of the beautiful drive:
His mother-in-law’s house was a very beautiful and traditional Japanese house. She had a really big garden which she loved to tend to. She was such a wonderfully happy woman. She gave me a pumpkin from her garden, which I later painted.
While we were in Shiga prefecture, my principal and his wife took me to a museum of a castle in the area that had burnt down. There I saw these really amazing letters that people would write to each other on broken pieces of wood (some of them weren’t letters they were official documents). They were probably broken from age. But there was something so beautiful about these detailed writings in calligraphy on broken pieces of wood. Also there were many artifacts that were in this museum that had been I think figurative at one point, but through time they had become these really organic abstract shapes. I was actually really interested in them even though they weren’t what they had originally been.
Also that day we went to the Japanese cemetery where my principal’s father-in-law is buried to pay our respects. It was very interesting. They poured water all over the grave, and lit incense, and then they lit a cigarette to put with the incense because they said he used to love to smoke. I thought it was a very beautiful tribute to him. I took some pictures of the cemetery to show everyone how it is a little different from a Western cemetery. I am really excited for my grandpa Bill to see these, because he has strong knowledge and interests in cemeteries since he used to make head stones.
After the cemetery and the museum, my principal, his wife, and her mother and I went to eat kaiten sushi because I had mentioned it was my favorite. It was so nice of them to make sure I had a good time by eating something I enjoy. It was such an amazing and peaceful day!
A few weeks later my principal invited me over for a Japanese style barbeque with his wife and his friend. It was sooo delicious. It was a little different from American style barbeque. You don’t just grill a cheeseburger and put it on a bun with a side of beans and potato salad. In Japanese style barbeque you grill little pieces of meat and vegetables and as they cook you put it on someone’s plate and they eat it. So you cook a little, eat a little, cook a little, eat a little. Its really fun. I also got to help my principals wife make rice balls and sushi. That was so neat because I am very interested in learning how to cook. After dinner we listened to jazz music. It was a very peaceful and nice time. My principals friend had also been a principal at one time and was now retired. Earlier in the day I had the privilege of visiting this man’s garden. It was enchanting! He knew so much about plants, and had many different kidns of cacti. I am very blessed to have met so many people that really care that I have a good time in Japan.
Here are some images from the barbeque:
