the following is from an e-mail i sent my mother: "thursday i rode the bus into sendai. 13 bucks each way, but it's worth it to go cd hunting, er, shopping i mean. also bought a few books at maruzen, which is apparently the only place in this area that has a section of books in english. friday morning i was interviewed for the local paper. used some japanese, and the interviewing people were "impressed". allow me to quote from one of the books i picked up to catagorize "impressed"...mind you, this is kind of harsh, but it gets the point across..."If he [the foreigner] speaks Japanese at all, no matter how badly, he is praised for this remarkable accomplishment, as though he were an idiot child who suddenly showed a streak of intelligence." so there's that...i'm not good at accepting compliments, and undeserved praise is even more difficult for me to swallow. friday afternoon, i went with f-sama (my supervisor) and one of his friends to furukawa for tanabata, a local festival here. we played taiko (japanese percussion) in the streets of furukawa with the kids from a local special education school. while doing that, i saw another foreigner (two, actually) for the first time since i arrived in sanbongi. they were two of the five jet people placed in furukawa. one was a new alt, and had ridden up with me and the rest of the new miyagi people from the first conference (there were two tokyo orientations, the one i attended being the first, the second a week later), and the other was entering his third year here. the latter seemed to know everything about what there is to do in furukawa, and even offered to pick me up in sanbongi if i ever needed to go shopping in furukawa. he seemed really nice. later that night, f-sama, his friend, and i went out for drinks, food, and conversation. early the next morning, the head of the local english conversation club picked me up and we went to yamagakkoo (literally, "mountain school", with the added meaning of playing hooky, since there are no schools in the mountains), and climbed partway up mt. funugata, the tallest mountain in the tohoku region. the climb was very difficult (no trails, just walking and clambering onto rocks), but i survived without injury. after returning and setting up camp, we ate dinner and talked and all that. i went to bed around 8:30, but didn't really get to sleep until 11 i think. all the kids got up around 5:30 to go the local shrine...i "slept in," waking up first around 5:50, then going back to sleep for about 45 minutes. after breakfast we packed up and left. a few of the adults and i went to lunch at a local restaurant, and then i came back here and took a nap. oh, and a couple of the middle-aged ladies that went along bought me a watermelon! mmm...i was very grateful. so that was my weekend."
i'd like to quote a song now. sorry for the tedious, unhumorous entry. it's just something that's been on my heart right now. i wish i knew why.
"you slipped from my arms; i knew you had to go. such a heavy heart, who could hope to hold? but i know where you're going, and that's the hardest part; no matter where tonight ends, you won't escape your broken heart.
stay awhile, stay awhile, stay awhile.
helpless for the words, and it tightens up the air; it's not what you deserve, it's not for lack of care. inside of me is screaming out, i'm praying for my prayers. distracting and unworthy of each and every burning tear seems insincere...
do i see God in all of this, or maybe all along? it's just that we're so small and simply not as strong. strong like wings of silver and feathers made of gold; to carry heavy hearts; to cover all our helpless souls. to cover all of us...
under wings of gold and silver, sometimes we have to hide; for shelter from this bitter winter, at least tonight...at least tonight.
stay awhile, stay awhile, stay awhile." - stavesacre, "gold and silver"
been listening to - in flames, old 97s, eternal tears of sorrow, mogwai, vigilantes of love