laurainlimbo: (Default)
posted by [personal profile] laurainlimbo at 02:59pm on 27/05/2005
Today I went out for a walk, longer than the one I took a couple of days ago. The weather has been absolutely beautiful here, very sunny and warm, but luckily not hot yet. I've got to get my walking in now before the rainy season, the hot summer, and the typhoons!
I found a shrine and graveyard, and took some pictures of the area, which I've added to my online photo album at: http://photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/

One of these photos is of what looks like a mound of grass, but Masahiko told me that this used to be a burial ground for village leaders a long long time ago - though I'm not sure what happened to the remains that were there: http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/mound.jpg

I took a photo of a sign advertising a pachinko parlor in our area:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/pachinko.jpg

You can't drive around our neighborhood without seeing one of these signs every few hundred feet, practically. I find it funny, and a little troubling, that they feel the need to use a photo of a beautiful caucasian woman to advertise what is basically a pastime for old Japanese men and women. You won't find any beautiful blonde women at a pachinko parlor! but here is something else troubling. Masahiko pointed out another sign for a bar in Yoshiwara, the area closest to where we live, called the "Hakujin Bar." Hakujin literally means "white people" and this apparently is a nightclub featuring caucasian female dancers. I'm a little afraid that people might think that is why I am living in this area of Japan!

A few days ago, I had the chance to visit my former Japanese teacher and her daughter, Eriko. Eriko is divorced with a 7-year-old son named Juki. When I first met her six years ago, she was just getting a divorce, and now she is living with her parents. She spent four years living and studying in Vancouver, Canada before she married, so her English is quite good. Eriko is shopping for a dog, and we visited a friend of hers who has two toy poodles, very popular dogs in Japan. You can see one of her dogs here: http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/dog.jpg
These dogs are pure bred and cost between $200-$300 - they are very sweet, but require quite a bit of grooming - doesn't it look just like a stuffed animal?
Eriko took me to a yakitori (yaki = grilled tori = chicken) restaurant, you can see on the photo album, and I took a picture with her and her beautiful son, Juki: http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/erikojuki2.jpg

We still haven't made much progress towards getting students for me to tutor, but I suppose it will happen eventually. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to write, but I have writer's block and can't get going on my book. Maybe June will bring me more inspiration?
Mood:: 'pensive' pensive

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