I know you've just about give up on me and this blog by now. But this is the way I roll with blogs. Life gets crazy, blog takes a rest. Life regains perspective, blog stretches, groans, shakes out the aches and moves ahead.
And in a certain senese, life has picked up a bit of craziness. Such as...
Going Back to Ye Olde Stompin' Grounds
Last week we returned to Nagoya for a vist. For the most part this wasn't totally a vacation. I took the Shinkansen down to Nagoya on Friday, two days ahead of Bob and the kids, in order to offer my dubiously helpful services to my dear friend Sue, who is about 4 weeks away from doing our move in reverse. We moved from the U.S. to Japan; she is moving from Japan to the U.S. To Chicago to be specific. And just as with us, her husband had to leave months ahead in order to start his job. And just as with us, it has been left to her (and her two teenage daughters), to do the packing/sorting/selling/storing/screaming/ranting (I could go on).
It was wonderful to be able to spend time with her minus the inevitable multitasking/split focus that motherhood brings. I had the luxury of focusing on her and only her. Truth be told, it was as much a gift to me as it was (hopefully) a help to her.
After the hours spent sorting through boxes and papers and piles, sifting through cupboards and mementos, Sue, one of her daughters, and I fit in some fun: dinner on Friday at one of our old favorite 100 yen sushi restaurants, and a surprise trip to one of our favorite sento which Sue sprang on me Saturday night. (Sento: public bath. This one was quite posh, with an excellent restaurant, TV rooms with giant massage chairs, and a lovely array of pools of hot water in which to soak ourselves).
On Sunday evening, Bob, Patrick and Aya showed up on Sue's doorstep, as planned. Sue, her two daughters, and all of us scooted just around the corner from Sue's house to a tiny izakaya called "Murasaki". (Izakaya: think of a combo tapas bar+casual neighborhood bar+family restaurant). We ordered heaps of semi-healthy food, sipping on sodas (for me and the kids) and beer (for Sue and Bob). It took the kids only a short time to relax back in to their friendship that now spans 7 years.
After eating our fill (and after a brief, humorous scuffle between Sue and I to pay the bill) we collected our things from Sue's house, distributed warm hugs and made our way down the street to the train station, which would tote us towards downtown Nagoya and our hotel.
Sue stayed in her doorway, waving, watching us walk down the street, until we turned the corner. It was a sentimental sight for me, as this was what my grandmother used to do every summer when we visited her from Kwaj. When it was our last night of our visit with her, after the hugs and kisses were done, she would stand in her doorway and watch us pile into our rental car and drive down the street. Every year the last sight I had of her was her tiny form, shivering slightly in the breeze, backlit against the porch light.
We had a quiet, tired train ride to Chikusa Station, where we opted to take a taxi the rest of the way--with four of us plus my luggage, traveling, short distances by taxi are often cheaper than train fare. We arrived at a tidy business hotel not far from the main part of downtown Nagoya. We had two rooms--one for Aya and I, one for Patrick and Bob (One of the side-effects of having teenagers--they can no longer be tucked to sleep on pillows and folded blankets on the floor. On the other hand, they can now carry luggage and be sent on solo errands when needed. A fair trade-off I feel)
On Saturday Bob left early to go visit the elementary school where he had done his research. The kids and I slept in a little later, then walked downtown. We visited the import store, Meidi-Ya, where Aya selected a bin of caramel popcorn and Patrick opted for two Snicker's bars. We went to the bookstore Maruzen, where we toted ourselves to the 3rd floor "Foreign Books" section. Aya and I opted for a book and a magazine each, while Patrick chose to save his brownie points (and share of the money) to continue his quest to buy a leather jacket. After more exploring we returned to the hotel and waited for Bob to return. For dinner we went to a downtown izakaya, and spent a few hours there nibbling on misokatsu on skewers, massive sticks of grilled and breaded chicken katsu, kinoko mushrooms in butter sauce, deep fried mochi balls, and of course, french fries.
Of course, on Sunday we made our way to one of my favorite Nagoya spots: the monthly antique market on the grounds of our old neighborhood temple, Osu Kannon. Patrick and Bob continued the leather jacket quest while Aya alternated between following me around as I picked my way among the antiques, and trailing after Bob and Patrick (Patrick and Aya don't quite understand my love of picking through flea markets, but they've learned to put up with it. Usually). Patrick finally chose a, inexpensive non-leather jacket in one of the many used clothing stores that line the Osu Kannon covered shopping arcade. We regrouped for lunch at some of the sidewalk food stalls to nibble on mitarashi dango, okonomiyaki and chicken karage. Then it was off to the hotel and onward to Nagoya Station where we caught the shinkansen back to Kyoto.
Needless to say, our cats were overjoyed to see us upon our return, and have spent much of this week following us from room to room, their three sets of glowing eyes staying fixed on us, just in case we decide to vanish again.
And now that we are back in Kyoto, I'm busy with a new pastime...
Teaching English...Lah Dee Dah
I have taken up my former occupation as English Teacher once again and am tutoring a business woman in English, helping her prepare for her upcoming TOEIC exam.
TOEIC stands for the "Test of English for International Communication", and is a significant (and employer-required) proof of English skills for business people. It is a lengthy and challenging test with two components: Speaking and Writing, and Listening and Reading. She is preparing for the Listening and Reading Component.
So, two nights a week, for an hour and a half each time, we meet at a quiet coffee shop and go over reading comprehension exercises. I read practice test portions aloud to her so that she can practice her listening comprehension. We analyze samples of business emails, complex advertisements and meeting agendas.
I enjoy teaching of all kinds, so I am happy to return to my English teaching . But I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss teaching Kindergarten. Teaching adults is enjoyable, but it is missing the minute-by-minute surprises, adventures, mishaps and mind-blowing leaps of learning that can only happen when teaching kids. So while my clothing is now very safe from the mishaps they so often suffered with the kindergarteners (paint/glitter glue/paper mache paste/science experiment splatters/mud/peanut butter....), my mind and heart are working at rekindling the fire I once had for a very different kind of teaching.
Give it time....
And so...off I go again. The week ahead promises to be a full one: Aya's birthday is on Thursday, tucked into my two TOEIC teaching sessions, Patrick and Aya's Japanese lesson, Aya's completion of her first research project and Patrick's PE exam. And behind it all, we have Bob, continually humming songs from Bruce Springsteen's new album. At least we have a soundtrack....
Until next time....
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