Der Besuch der alten Dame

I know that is a wildly inappropriate title but it was the first thing I thought of when my office-lady-friend commented "Your old-lady-friendo visit. Wow."

Yesterday morning I got an email on my phone from Yamamoto Obachan (little aunty) from Oki. It was long, detailed and in kanji. It saddened me how difficult it was to understand - when I received such mails daily my Japanese comprehension was much, much better. Anyway. I managed to get through all the bit about how she was and where she was living and how her aunt and uncle were doing and how the weather was warming up, and then I went to class without reading the last sentence 今おばちゃんは、アクアライナーで浜田に向かってます。 "Right now, I am on a train to Hamada."

And so it came about that at cleaning time, Yamamoto Obachan and three of her obachan friends came to visit me at school. Due to various untimely happenings (including Obachan having to leave the island half an hour before I arrived to visit a sick relative) I hadn't seen her since shortly after I left the Oki, so I was really touched that she still thought me worth the effort!

We stood in the corridor while she and her friends prodded me to make sure I was good and healthy and then talked about food, the weather, old times and old friends, while my students and teachers gawked and giggled. It was lovely to see Obachan, and her friends (one of whom was a ni-chu alumnus and another of whom taught one of the teachers here) have promised to look after me. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy and cared-for.

Those of you who read my rambles in my first few months in Japan will recall my adventures eating various sea creatures at Obachan's and my bafflement at evening after evening of Japanese game shows. Before I leave Japan I plan to spend a week on Oki. I am looking forward to cooking with her again and sitting in her little front room on hot summer evenings and watching still-incomprehensible Japanese TV. I am just really not looking forward to saying goodbye.

Today everything smelt wonderful.

It might just be because I am finally regaining my sense of smell after a couple of weeks of being sickly, but today everything smelt wonderful.
It was dim and grey this morning (when I got up early to call the IRD) and the whole day was cool but very humid. The morning smelt like dirt, good earthy spring time dirt. It is a smell akin to rain on hot concrete, but more... subtle. Then the wind came up off the warm sea and the kids playing soft tennis on the balconies started shrieking and everything smelt salty. Now the wind is blowing a gale and my doors are shaking and everything smells new.

Kagura and all that jazz

I went for a bike ride tonight to seek out the source of the kagura flute music that was drifting in my ranch-slider. It was the first time this year I have ventured out without a coat of any kind. The air is getting warmer and tonight it smelt like the dandelions. Actually it kinda smelt like the bitter white stuff inside dandelion stalks, but it was pleasant and spring-like nonetheless. The kagura that I found was really cool. It was at this tiny shrine two streets away from my house and I think it was telling the story of the origins of Japan. Or maybe just of Shimane. Anyway there were dragons and goddesses and a landmass was fished out of the sea with much banging of drums and trilling on the kagura flute. I had my camera handy but it was such an intimate wee performance with lots of wee kids running around and old people parked on chairs at random intervals that I didn't want to touristise the experience. I left when a bunch of high school boys turned up and started with the "Oh! Hello!" "Yes! hello!". Now that I am home I sense the story on stage has taken a dramatic turn. I can hear the drums getting illustrative over the whine of mosquitoes trying to circumvent my fly screen.
I wrote that last Tuesday and for some reason never put it up. It is nice to spend the evenings with the windows open again, rather too nice to spend them sitting at my computer it seems.
I shall briefly catch y'all up on the events of the past few month.
I went to Taiwan.
Taiwan was lovely. We didn't see or do very much, it rained all the time and we were only there for 5 days and one of those days we didn't go out in daylight hours, but it was such a buzz to be in a city, hanging out with a group of friends and going out and meeting people. I love this sleepy wee town but I just don't think I am the fishing village kinda girl. Enlightening times.
There were pretty flowers.
Japan is always gorgeous in the spring and this year was no exception. Much earlier than last year. And there is a bonus photo of the butterfly who took up residence in my light shade.
I played rugby.
I kid you not. I went down to shikoku and played a weekend of touch rugby. I got a nasty cold and hurt for a long time after. It was nice to see my countryfolk out in force. Felt right a home I did.

mmmmmm

I just had some blue cheese and it was simply delicious. I purchased this deliciousness in Fukuoka. I shall soonly write about Kyushu and all the excitement that has been mine in the last month, but I just wanted to share my cheese delight. Yes.