August 15

Today I went to Susaki City to have dinner at the home of two of my students, Mr. Picturebook and Most Advanced (ages 6 and 8 respectively). Their house turns out to be a newly-built Japanese/Westen cross (hardwood floors, sliding doors, Italiany balustrated terrace thing) basically on a cliff overlooking the pacific ocean. There's only one other house in sight, just beautifully forested rocky coastline. I chatted with Mr. P and MA's parents about Canada (what are the top selling points of Canada? I could only think of the amiable politics and general familiar comfortability) and Japan (what surprised me most about Japan? a mukade on my pillow), and watched the moon rise and the sun set over the ocean, wishing desperately that I had brought my camera.

Apparently the higher up hills you get, the cheaper land is in Japan. Opposite to Canada. In any case, I kindof wish I had a few billion yen (or whatever) to build a nice place in Susaki, too. The view would even make up for living in rural Japan.

Then I came home to my OTHER part-time job. My landlady has gone to Kyoto with her son and his family, leaving me in charge of twice-daily walks for a golden retriever whose name I can neither pronounce nor spell. His favourite hobbies are dragging me along the banks of Kagami River, and eating grass that other dogs have peed on (both forbidden passtimes). I'm to walk him for about half an hour twice a day, and usually return sweating from 75% of the pores on my body, almost in tears from the frustration of having to stay out so long in the heat (heat and onions are the only things that can make me cry) and dragging the dog away from pee-spots.

Two interesting sights tonight, though:
a very pregnant lady with a big dog off leash--near disaster!
and a super-tall white guy doing Tai Chi.

Of course the dog only speaks Japanese, so lately I've been screaming "SAIDO" in bad katakana a lot lately. I also had an interesting katakana moment when the dog's family took me on a demo walk. The six-year-old girl asked her father how to say something in English. "Urufu," he replied. And to me, "Natibu no hatsuon wa?" (What's the native pronunciation?) All I could think of was the Japanese band Urafurus, and I figured that probably wasn't it.

It turned out to be "wolf". Go figure.


(Coming this weekend: more Yosakoi!)