Hi Guys!

It’s been a refreshing month filled with the sights and sounds of spring. Ann and Ori came for a short visit in March. My family followed them in April. And, somewhere in between my students graduated, half my co-workers swapped schools, I was promoted to beating a real drum (not a tire), the cheery trees bloomed, I survived a hike through the ice and snow, and, best of all, strawberry season arrived! Slowly the gray/brown of winter has given way to the pinks, yellows, and greens of spring. All of the farmers have returned to the rice fields to weed and plow and plant…a process that I love to watch, anticipating the beautiful fields of green that will be the fruit of their labor. The rain has subsided, the mountains have turned a brilliant shade of green, and the sun shines long after I finish work. I hear the children playing in the streets again. I can wear sundresses again!!! It is truly the season of new beginnings. The school year ends in March. The business year ends in March. The snow ends in March. And, come April, everything is new. At home the changing of the seasons is slow and progressive. In Japan, it’s dramatic! One week it’s snowy and/or a rainy cold. The next it’s sunny and warm every day. One week I know all the teachers and students…the next, half the faces are new. I love spring!

As an update from the last email, yes – I’m beating a real drum now! In fact, my teacher is even trying to teach me some stick throwing tricks. Inevitably my sticks end up whirling through the air on a crash course for someone’s head. It’s only a matter of time before my classmates confiscate my sticks and beat me to a pulp with them. Till then I’ll continue having a blast beating and laughing and relishing in all the noise I get to make in this oh-so-quiet society…this place where even I am quiet so much of them time for lack of words and understanding. Remarkably, I’m more or less in time with everyone else. I’ve been invited to play at the local old folks home in just over a month. Yatta! (Yippe!) That means I get to wear a cool robe and tie a cloth around my head too! When my teacher found out there was a Mexican among us he got so excited that, I swear, he was actually bouncing as he announced that we would have to teach them (the old folks) the Macarena. Then he turned to me and asked if I would sing a song or teach a dance from America. So, I’m thinking it would be pretty comical to see a bunch of old Japanese folks doing the chicken dance! Don’t worry - I’ll take pictures for you guys.

Be sure to check out some of the pics from the hike I took a few weeks back (posted on the website). It was stunning and terrifying all at one. I could see all the way to the ocean in one direction and all the way to Haku-san (a mountain 2 hrs. drive away) in the other. The kicker was when we got to the first of the three peaks we intended to summit that day and my friend Harumi turned to me and, with a sigh, said, “this may be tough without cleats. Would you like the ice ax or the poles?” She continued, “There are two rules: 1. Don’t fall. 2. If you fall, stop yourself.” Meanwhile, I was thinking, “Good lord! What have I gotten myself into? I agreed to a nice day hike, not an expedition on glaciers! How about I just sit here and wait.” Well, I opted for the poles, figuring I was more likely chop off a digit with an ice ax, and set my mind on making it to the next peak without dying. No looking up (for fear of seeing how much more there was yet to climb). No looking down (for fear of seeing how far I was safety). No looking side to side (for fear of seeing how far I could slide before I would have something to grasp). Pole. Pole. Kick. Kick. Step. Pole. Pole. Kick. Kick. Step. Over and over again. Eventually I made it to the top and, looking back on it, it wasn’t so bad…it just looked bad. Then, the fun part: running down. I swear I felt like what I imagine it must feel like to walk on the moon…bouncing down the mountain and huge strides. It was a six-year-old’s dream…every step was like jumping into a pile of snow. In the end I made it out alive, though I managed to injure my knee pretty badly somewhere in the middle of all my enthusiastic run down the mountain.

It was great having Ann and Ori here. Craig and I adored engaging in heated political debate (with friends we knew would forgive and forget), laughing at inside jokes, and hearing their stories about “life after Duke.” It was so nice to actually get a chance to catch up face-to-face…to not only hear about what’s going through their minds, but to see and hear the excitement, worry, and hope in their eyes and voices. I, for one, was tickled pink to get some good gossip time with Annie G and to have two chivalrous gentlemen in my company. I’d forgotten how nice it is to have an arm offered when walking down the street…to have a coat offered when I’m cold…I’d forgotten how much I’d missed those gestures of kindness. It was great to have them here and sad to see them go so soon. I’ll miss Ori’s ingenius (and illegal) plans to get us to the front of lines and Ann’s “tell it like it is” analyses of Japanese life. Props to all of them for enduring my God awful singing at karaoke…and many thanks to the boys for flattering Ann and me with a lovely serenade (“You’ve Lost the Love and Feeling”).

Luckily, I didn’t have too much time to get lonely since my family arrived only a week after I bid Ann, Ori, and Craig farewell. I think I succeeded in sufficiently wearing them out and satiating their desire to learn about Japanese culture. We wore kimonos, had tea, did origami, visited my schools, attended a sumo tournament and much much more. The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start. Dad had to ask permission to lay down in the sick room when he visited my elementary school (I think my driving was a little too much for him) and mom had to ask for a fork and knife when her chop stick skills were still hideous even after lessons from my Japanese friend. And, lets not even mention the blank stares my mom received when she went into a pharmacy complaining of “eye irritation” and requesting an “anti-inflammatory.” Slowly, though, they accommodated to the differences in time and culture and we ended up having quite a time. I think the highlight may have been the Grand Sumo Tournament. Elise had a fabulous theory about sumo. Basically, the hairy guy always wins because “Who wants to have his face buried in a fat, hairy guy’s boobs?” It proved remarkably true. She loved cheering on “shrimp boy” while my dad loved getting the inside scoop from the family next to us. Personally, I just enjoyed seeing a population of people that are usually so reserved and proper, screaming and yelling while two fat men slap each other and give each other wedgies…and all in the name of religion. Fabulous!

After visiting Fukui, Kyoto, and Osaka, we flew down to Ishigaki Island, one of the Okinawian Islands near Taiwan. Unfortunately, it was rainy and cloudy the whole time we were there. Even so, we found some amazing beaches, some of which were only accessible by tiny trails through the forest. My dad is convinced that we discovered some fort when we took our little lawnmower/car off road. We got facials and generally soaked in the glory that is laziness. If it was hard to say goodbye to Ann and Ori, it was really really hard to say goodbye to Mom, Dad, and Elise.

I spent three more days in Iriomote-jima, a nearby island, after they left trying to regroup and rest a bit before starting up the next term at school. Again, it rained the whole time so I found myself with a lot of alone time...time to let my mind meander...time to debrief...time to dream...time to just let things soak in...and time to bask in memories of moments gone by. It was nice - a bit awkward at first - I'm not good at really slowing down and spending time without a focused goal or purpose - but really good in the end. I met some really cool people like the musician from Tokyo who had pity on me and gave me a lift to the hot springs, the little girl in my room who had eternal faith in my ability to understand her Japanese, and the college student (also my roommate) who so impressed me with her willingness to travel solo and jump at every adventure (note: Japanese people always travel in tours…even on paradise islands, they spend their days on bus tours). My friend Adele joined me for the last day, which turned out to be really nice. We had quite a laugh when we were trying to hitch hike to the local hot spring and a man pulled over and said that he was working now but that if we could wait one or two years he’d come back to get us. We both knew that we’ve certainly said something similar in Japanese at some point…which just made us laugh even harder. In the end the people at the youth hostel nicknamed me “ameonna” (the woman who brings the rain with her). Naturally it became sunny and beautiful just as my plane departed the islands.

Now I'm back in Fukui where the cherry trees are in full bloom. They've set up spotlights on the trees at night and the whole city comes out to ohhh and ahhhh. It's great. And, it's great to be around friends again - traveling here, I was reminded time and again of how foreign I am - of how much on the outside I stand. I hear them whisper "gaijin-san" (Miss Foreigner) as I pass. But, at home in Fukui I have my friend Laura just across the river awaiting my return with a big hug and hours of gossip...not to mention the rest of the ex-pat community, which I LOVE, and even some of the Japanese folks to whom I've grown close. School is starting back up and it’s been tough to find motivation to go back. But, on the up side, I have all new teachers and they’re young and funky and really hoping to making things more exciting. I’m hopeful.

Wishing you all my best. Happy Easter!

Ja ne,

Bran-chan