(June 8) To isolate one experience or day or even weekend and call it "my favorite in Japan so far" seems extreme and even inconceivable! I have had so MANY great days and so MANY wonderful experiences in the past two and a half months that it would be simpler to select a BAD day from the bunch. (There've been so few! ...And "bad" seems harsh. I haven't had any "bad" days here!)
Something happened last month though, and I feel like it needs further mention here in my blog, and yes, I'm assured in saying, "It is my favorite weekend in Japan so far!" :)
A few weeks ago, I visited Kunitachi to stay with my friend Kenta Karasawa and his family. He is the pastor of Kunitachi Nozomi Kyokai. This was the most complicated journey by train I'd made alone thus far, but I arrived safely after only one missed connection. (Due to renovations at the Ebina station, there were no signs with Romaji...so I couldn't read ANYTHING! "Which train is this? What direction is it going? Is it an express?" I finally had to ask an employee to confirm I was headed to the right platform. Things like that make me sweaty. Ha! But it all worked out!)
Kenta and the Satohs met me at the station and I left my belongings at the manse and took off on bike for a day full of adventure! (It was hilarious how concerned Karasawa-sensai and Satoh-sensai were about my ability to ride the bike and my safety while doing so!)
Something happened last month though, and I feel like it needs further mention here in my blog, and yes, I'm assured in saying, "It is my favorite weekend in Japan so far!" :)
A few weeks ago, I visited Kunitachi to stay with my friend Kenta Karasawa and his family. He is the pastor of Kunitachi Nozomi Kyokai. This was the most complicated journey by train I'd made alone thus far, but I arrived safely after only one missed connection. (Due to renovations at the Ebina station, there were no signs with Romaji...so I couldn't read ANYTHING! "Which train is this? What direction is it going? Is it an express?" I finally had to ask an employee to confirm I was headed to the right platform. Things like that make me sweaty. Ha! But it all worked out!)
Kenta and the Satohs met me at the station and I left my belongings at the manse and took off on bike for a day full of adventure! (It was hilarious how concerned Karasawa-sensai and Satoh-sensai were about my ability to ride the bike and my safety while doing so!)
VROOM VROOM! (Tryin' out my bike in Kunitachi!)
The weather was PERFECT-- sunny, but not at all hot. Iwao, True, Tabi, and Hummy and I rode down narrow streets and crowded (!!!) sidewalks. It had been a very long time since I'd ridden a bike, and my first time to do so in Japan! I thought, "Nothing can make you feel simultaneously more at home and more foreign than riding a bike in a new place." :) I loved the wind in my hair and the not-knowing where I was going, merely following along. I loved the concentration of anticipating the pace and direction of pedestrians so that I didn't hit them. I loved sliding my foot along the curb when I had to squeeze through a tight space. Everything I was doing felt brand new! ...I felt brand new!
We stopped for lunch at a vegetarian Chinese restaurant that Iwao found through my favorite trusty website happycow.com We parked our bikes outside. (In Japan, you just put your bike chain through the spokes of the front tire or don't lock it up at all. There's no real concern for theft, it seems.) The restaurant was adorable. While everything they served was meatless, much of it was not gluten-free, so we still had to navigate that unfortunate dietary restriction, but my meal was incredibly tasty! Another interesting occurrence was Iwao's pointing out to me in a brochure for the Vegetarian's Society of Japan that the President of that organization is from a university founded by Cumberland Presbyterians!! Funny! :)
THE MENU! (We didn't actually try any of these dishes but did find them
interesting! FYI: "Frizzled" apparently means "fried!") :)
After lunch we rode our bikes to the home of the Koikes, church members who are amazing artists and have a pottery studio in their house! The five of us (Kenta joined us later) donned our aprons and sat around the work table to begin our study. We would all start off by making a traditional Japanese tea cup. (It's a tea BOWL, really--used in tea ceremonies.)
One might assume that a former art major would have dabbled in this medium before, but I hadn't! (Full disclosure: 20 years ago I participated in a summer program where we were given clay and I tried to make my mom a candle holder for her birthday, but I dropped it before it was fired and it ended up looking like a saggy elephant leg. THAT is the extent of my pottery-making experience!) :)
COLLECTOR'S ITEMS (Just a few of the gorgeous pieces made by the Koikes.)
I consider it excellent fortune to have had the opportunity to learn from Mr. and Mrs. Koike. Their studio is spacious and filled with any and every tool and supply one could possibly need for this art! So esteemed teachers, willing student, and ideal creative setting...This should be a piece of cake, right? :) Well, it's a little tricky to be taught ANYTHING in Japanese when you don't yet speak the language!!?!
Ah, but this is where this story becomes magical! Mr. Koike would sit beside me and explain to me what to do. I, of course, did not understand...so he would show me. I'd study his technique very carefully then attempt to imitate it, saying, "Like this?" We'd go back and forth like that, with him saying, "Ko. Ko. Ko," over and over. (I found out later that just meant, "Like this. This. This.") :) I'd do exactly as he showed me and it would feel so awkward at first. I was nervous that I would ruin my cup! But I trusted Mr. Koike, so I continued to follow his instructions. It felt amazing to go from utter lack of comprehension to somehow fully understanding what it was I was supposed to do! As the cup began to take shape, I developed a feel for what it was, what it was to become, and how to make it become that. Mr. Koike would make his rounds and come back to me and praise my work! "She has a natural talent for this," he told me through the Satohs' interpretation. When I'd finished, I expressed my dismay to Mr. Koike that the shape was not quite even. "Iie!" ("No!") He hurried to his bookshelf and retrieved an art book with tea cups that looked VERY much like mine! According to Mr. Koike and the photos in the book, the cup I made was on par with the masters!!!
CHAWAN (My tea bowl and first real attempt at pottery!)
My theory is that I was making this piece with only my creative mind. Language and technicalities had no role. I wasn't thinking, "Ok. He said to press this all the way around." I just did what I saw. Everything was tangible...and fixable! There were no saggy elephant leg catastrophes. If something wasn't quite right, I'd manage the clay until I fixed it. I also had no expectation of being successful at this task, so there was no pressure and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I really, really enjoyed it!!
After the lesson, we drank coffee that had steeped for 10 hours in this peculiar looking contraption, using cold water only! It was SERIOUS coffee! :) Then we all went back into the studio for a second round of pottery making! This time we made name plates. Hummy showed me how to write my last name. I enjoyed this project as well!
A quick stop by the market and a short bike ride home and it was time for dinner. We had an awesome meal followed by an even better conversation. I found myself in a rather awkward position when I asked a question about something that is considered inappropriate to discuss! However!!!! ...It was something everyone at the table really needed to talk about. (It's funny how we allow our ideas about things to impact or conceal our true feelings about those things.) Our dialogue went on for hours and pushed into all kinds of deep places within each of us. Suddenly it was 10:00 and time for the children to be in bed!!
I went into the playroom to tell them goodbye and goodnight. The Karasawa kids Yufo and Mihiro had not yet spoken to me that day. I picked up a ball and started a game that was a variation of Monkey in the Middle and comedic improv. Without saying a word, the five of us had established a new game with definitive rules within MINUTES! It was hilariously fun!! (Now when I see Yufo and Mihiro, we play the game whether or not we even have a ball! They are imaginative in that way we all were as children.) :)
SIBLINGS! (Sunday morning Yufo teased his sister as she practiced riding
without training wheels.)
Worship the next morning was great! I tried out some Japanese in public for the first time with Kenta's urging and it went ok! Then Kenta surprised ME by giving the benediction in English!! :) (I am very proud of him.) After a wonderful lunch and meeting so many lovely people, I got to sit in on the youth meeting where four very impressive young people led the meeting on their own! (Afterward, one of the youth explained to me that it is very difficult since they are all relatively new Christians and cannot answer one another's questions. ...I will begin to lead the youth group once a month starting in August. I am really looking forward to that!)
98! (This is Nozomi's oldest member Mrs. Ogawa. She will teach me origami!)
So, yes, this was a perfect weekend! I think what I appreciated the most about it was that everything seemed to come full circle or perhaps all revolved around one theme. In my heart, anyway, it felt like the weekend was all about being vulnerable--trying new things, being honest about feelings, connecting with others without shared language, and seeing the world like a child! I will go back to Kunitachi next weekend to complete my pottery. I can hardly wait!
The things I learned during my first visit there, I am certain I will carry with me always.
3:14 PM |
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