Mito Bito
Date: Dec 21st, 2007 1:50:50 am - Subscribe
Mood: Introverted
So I’ve found some down time at the moment.
I’m staying for the weekend with my host-parent’s daughter, son-in-law, and other in-laws out in Mito, kinda like the burbs. By down time I mean that Sarah-chan, the granddaughter has bestowed upon me a momentary reprieve from her mutated version of JanKen (rock-paper-scissors), that for some reason involves the different levels of curry rice. She’s the cutest thing since puppies, making it really hard to refuse. However, as a natural introvert it’s getting to the point where I’m going to need some serious alone time soon or Ill be useless to the world. I think children can sense when you’re an introvert. I’m also extremely tired for some reason, like dark marks under my eyes tired. Not really sure why. Maho-san (the daughter-in-law) who speaks pretty good English thinks it’s because I’m concentrating all day every day to understand what people are saying. In short, I’m mentally tired.
This trip has also revealed why I cant understand my okasan: she rarely says anything of relevance. Harsh I know, but watching the rest of the family interact with her makes her seem like one of those cute little grandmothers that reads the billboards out loud while riding in the car. She’s kinda pushy too in that she forces food on people even when they say they say they aren’t hungry. Previously, I always thought she was saying something I needed to know so I didn’t understand her incomplete sentences; now I know she really was just saying obvious things like “this street is narrow so it’s dangerous” and “you like apples so eat them”.
I think my main problem is that for the last 3 or so years Ive been getting more and more independent so being treated like a 5 year old for long periods of time is wearing. She’s still a cute old person though so most of this is already forgiven.
The family and I took a trip to this amazingly huge park yesterday with a ceramic fair and everything. By huge I mean I have NEVER seen a park in the U.S. this big. It had slides twisting down a hillside that boggle the mind. They have these little mettle rollers like a conveyor belt, and the first time that Sarah-chan and I went down them we didn’t see the little pads you were supposed to use so it REALLY hurt the butt. Sarah-chan, the grade schooler, was the one to find the pads and hand me one. We then had Kuri (chestnut) ice cream which was as delicious as it was strange.
Something interesting about rural Japan is that the house clusters look like more modern versions of the old villages in that they are positioned the same (around rice fields and other houses) but they have more amenities. Also, the castles kind of spring up out of nowhere. I glimpsed one through tree on a hillside about a mile away from me, but then I walked three feet forward and it ceased to exist. The forests are also so dense you cant see through them even though they stand in relatively small/thin clusters.
After hanging around the family ALL weekend, I’ve decided that I hate infants. My rather scathing dislike of them most likely stems from my annoyance with anything that cannot take care of itself. This of course ignores logical rebuttals of “but its just a child” and focuses instead on methods of tolerance.
The last night we were in Mito the family made this massive dinner complete with sashimi, squid, and various other personal favorites. I took pictures, and even though I haven’t posted any pictures like I said I would…I wont say for sure that I will soon…but Ill give the old college try.
Ja ne for now!
-Spork
Comments: (0)
