Ajisai - hydrangeas
Now Playing: Bitter sweet
Hiking in Roko-san Arboretum and saying goodbye to one of my favorite families.
More later

I'm feelin' a bit old
"Yo' ole black hide don't look lak nothin' tuh me, but uh passle uh wrinkled up rubber, wid yo' big ole yeahs flappin' on each side lak uh paih uh buzzard wings."
Zora Neal Hurston

Well, now, i don't feel that old, but it sure makes me laugh to get that picture in my mind!

Atsui
Mood:  on fire
It’s 90 degrees today and over 60% humidity. Walking home from school feels a bit like walking in a giant sauna or through thin pudding. It’s a weird sensation that I won’t miss. I knew that this would make me long for home. Welcome summer!

Time is Flying By
Mood:  rushed
I have 28 days left and am feeling a bit frantic. Afraid i'm going to forget to do something important before i leave. My apartment is strewn with paper sacks with gifts for everyone who is on my "goodbye" list. There're more gifts stacked for friends in Spokane. I have boxes of clothes strewn around and lists of things to do: cancel email service, cell phone, change of address forms galore. Ah, well, it will all get done.

Single Women in Japan
Mood:  chatty
Here are some Japanese phrases referring to single women.
Attitudes are definitely changing, eh?

Then:
“Hari no mushiro” - sitting on needles when there is no marriage prospect in sight.
“O-hada no magarikado” – the turning point of a woman’s skin – ick.
“Kurisumasu keki” – the price of Xmas cake plummets after Xmas (get it?)
“Shomikigan-gire” – past the sell date. Good grief.

Now:
“Mendomi ga ii – dependable and caring mature women
“Anego” – big sister.
“Kohai” – young prot?g?s that these women take under their wing.
“Ichiya no aite” one night stands are more accepted
“Anego no kairaku wo shittara mo kekkon wa dekinai” – once you’ve known the pleasures of being an anego, you cant’ get married! Ah, that’s more like it.

For more information, please read the entire article from the Japan Times: Single Women

Separation Between Church and State
Now Playing: I hate politics!
"I believe strongly in separation of church and state, but I also believe that both make indisputable contributions to the strength of the nation, and that on occasion they can work together for the common good without violating the Constitution. Government is, by definition, imperfect and experimental, always a work in progress. Faith speaks to the inner life, to the search for truth and the spirit's capacity for profound change and growth. Government programs don't work as well in a culture that devalues family work, and mutual respect. And it's hard to live by faith without acting on the scriptural admonitions to care for the poor and downtrodden, and to 'love thy neighbor as theyself.'"

From My Life by President Bill Clinton

Rokko-san One More Time
Mood:  smelly
Bitter sweet. We are going on our last hike together today. Didik and Masa have been my hiking buddies for the last two years. Masa knows the Kobe area so well. He has been hiking all over these mountains since he was a little boy. We have seen some gorgeous country that would have been out of reach to me and Didik without Masa's help. Today it's about 85 degrees and we hike mostly in the shade luckily. We are in the middle of the "rainy season" but there has been no rain. The wild hydrangeas - so gorgeous last year - are withered and dying now. We have been spoiled with past experiences. The best part of today was sitting on a rocky overlook of the port of Kobe with hundreds of multi-colored butterflies flitting everywhere. I'm going to miss these guys.

PS: We discovered today that i had already graduated from college by the time these guys were born. How nice of them to drag an "old lady" like me up these trails.

Kotowaza (Japanese proverb)
Mood:  lyrical
Tateba shakuyaku (Stand upright like a special BONSAI AZALEA)
Suwareba botan (Sit like a PEONY)
Aruku sugata wa urie no hana. (Walk gracefully like a flower)

Well, that’s as close as i can get to a translation.
My friend at school taught me this poem. She says she pictures the woman in Casa Blanca when she recites this poem.

Jr. Hi. End of Term Testing
Mood:  lazy
Ok, so i will try to explain testing in my school. Last week there were no after school activities so that the students could study for their end of the term tests this week. On Wednesday and Thursday the kids come to school at 8:30 am as usual. They have three 50-minute classes in which they take 3 tests. Then they go home at around noon (to study for the next day’s tests). The teachers have no classes in the afternoon. On Friday this is repeated with a slightly different variation. After the final three tests the kids have a school lunch. Then there is a period in which everyone cleans the school. Then they have a homeroom class in the afternoon and then after school activities (clubs) begin again. This is repeated at the end of each term (there are three terms here in Japan)

I am convinced that this is a typical example of a talent the Japanese seem to have of doing only one thing at a time. I haven’t reached such a level of one-pointed attention but that’s the way it’s done here. By the way, i have been paid to work every single day with no scheduled classes. Boring.

Rice Paddy Reminiscing
Mood:  suave
A snowy white crane stands silently knee deep in water in the middle of the rice field near my school. She/he is statuesque but periodically gulps a frog or two for breakfast. How i will miss the sight.