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I belong to the Officers' Spouses' Club here in Sasebo. As a member of the OSC, I also have the opportunity to be a member of the International Ladies' Club. I take advantage of that opportunity. We take a trip the first Thursday of each month. Many times, we just go to lunch somewhere, this month was the same, but special. We took the train up to Hirado to have lunch at the famous Ryanpu hotel. What fun! When we got to the train station on the mainland just across from Hirado, we got on buses to the island. Before lunch, we stopped at a lookout. Japan is a place of beauty! No matter where you are, there's a beautiful look-out spot.
After stopping for photos, we went to lunch at the hotel. I wish I could have taken a photo of the hotel, but the bus was moving too fast for me. Oh well. We all sat at long tables for the meal, and had good conversation. There was a man singing Japanese songs for us during the meal.
The meal was so good, and so big that I could not finish it. We had a salad, tempura fish and vegetables, Japanese pickles (tsukemono), rice - of course, fish cakes - basically a fish omelet (it sounds gross, but it's good), a hot stone with yaki-niku (grilled, finely sliced meat and vegetables), various marinated veggies (I don't know how to describe them, you have to try them, but I love them), chawanmushi (steamed tea cups) - this is a savory custard of egg and broth with little vegetable and seafood "treasures", o-cha (green tea), coffee, and finally - desert of gelatin with fruit in it. I need to explain about Japanese gelatin. It's vegetarian. They take the agar (our Biology majors will know this one) which is an algea, and they process it into a slightly sweet gelatin. It's a slightly different texture from our Jello, but it's wonderful! They almost always "hide" little fruits inside it. Luckily, a very nice Japanese lady had seated herself beside me to hep me navigate my tray. I needed help and explanation several times! I enjoyed everything on my tray, but couldn't eat nearly all of it.
After lunch, we got back on the bus to the train station and returned home. It was a wonderful day of food, friends, and Japanese culture.
Russ and I got to take some vacation in July. We went to Australia. It was completely awesome! Both of us agreed that this was the best vacation either of us had ever been on. It was more of a Honeymoon than our honeymoon. We've gotten so much closer to each other than we ever have been. Now that he's back out at sea, I am one very unhappy camper. I really miss him, I'm just thankful that he's not in Iraq or any place like that. But, I digress.
We started out in Sydney. We left Japan on Thursday and arrived early Friday morning. Sydney was neat, if obligatory. Russ had been there before, so he knew of several places he wanted to take me. Also, we found a chain restaurant called the Bavarian Beer Cafe. We were just ecstatic to be able to order mashed potatoes off a menu. Not that I don't enjoy fish and rice, but what a treat! Sydney has a wonderful botanical garden. There is a huge colony of flying foxes, otherwise known as really big bats. They were covering the trees while they slept. it was quite a sight! Also in the park is the governor's mansion. It is open for tours, so we got to see the inside and get a bit of Australia history. Apparently, the British got to Sydndey only a day or two before the French. I'm really glad the British got there first as my French is terrible.
We booked two tours in Sydney and gave ourselves two days to explore on our own. The first tour was of the Blue Mountains. this is a gorgeous mountain range about an hour outside Sydney. We were on the tour with a British family, and we seemed to be keeping up with another couple on a Private tour. They were from Texas. The Blue Mountains were gorgeous, as I already stated. We also had a wonderful grilled steak lunch. Another wonderful treat! The tour was a little disappointing in that we mostly just rode around in a van. We were hoping for a bit more walking, but it was nice.
Our second tour was supposed to be a 4 hour lunch cruise of Sydney Harbour. Friday on check-in to the hotel, we received a fax that the boat broke and we could schedule a different tour or get a refund. We decided to take the Hunter Valley wine tour. WOW. Personally, I think the Hunter Valley is much more scenic than Sonoma. We visited a few wineries. The only place we purchased was Brokenwood. They only sell their wines in Australia. We still have two bottles left of the four we bought. I think we'll be drinking the next one when Russ gets home from his Autumn tour at sea. We also visited a chocolate shop, where I found the chili chocolates that I love. It's chocolate with chili pepper in it. Sweet and heat, wonderful.
Tuesday morning very early, we left on the leg of the trip that Russ wasn't eagerly anticipating. Our train left Sydney central station at 7:00 am. After switching to a bus in Dubbo, we arrived in Lightning Ridge at 7:00 pm. I could hear the gears in Russ' head turning. I warned him before we were married that I have a dream of traveling around the world and buying gemstones at their places of origin. He just didn't realize I am serious. Now, he was thinking, "Great, my wife just dragged me 12 hours into the middle of nowhere because she wants to buy an opal. How did I let this happen?" Lightning Ridge turned out to be nearly Russ' favorite part of the trip.
Quickie education, if you already know this, skip the paragraph... Everyone knows opals come from Australia (actually, 90% of opals come from Australia, the rest come from multiple other places.) Most of us are used to seeing the milky white opals with the mysterious hints of color. Those are white opals and can be found over most of Australia. Lightning Ridge is special. The knobby, black opal comes from a 40 Km radius around Lightning Ridge. Black is the most precious opal and the type to be called gemstone opal. Knobby opal is about 20% denser than other opal, and is thus more valuable.
Lightning Ridge is so named because of the ironstone. Whenever there is a major storm, Lightning Ridge is guaranteed to be struck. It's a small town with two industries, opal mining and tourism. 75% of the stores in town are opal shops. A 3 minute drive from the main intersection, and you're out in the bush. Many locals pay a minimum fee to claim a 50m by 50m plot where they can live. They build their homes out of whatever they can find. The more elaborate homes are old, beat-up trailers. They have no city water, electricity, or any other utilities except phone lines. Many of them use wind, solar and battery or generator power. The town reminded us of the Old West. Russ loved it. We toured mines and bought opals directly from the miner. The Opal Bin is a newer shop in town. They had the best selection and the best prices. The husband mines the opals and his wife cuts them. They are gorgeous!
After a 12 hour trip back to Sydney on Friday, we caught a flight to Cairns on Saturday. We were transfered from the airport to a town about 1.5 hours north of Cairns. Port Douglas was build up around the Mirage resort. It is much quieter than Cairns and definitely a bit more upscale. We stayed at a nice hotel, but definitely not movie star accommodations. The hotel was about 250 meters from the beach, which we visited once, and about 4 Km from the main street of town. It made for a nice walk along the beach into town.
From Port Douglas, we took three tours. The first was on the night we arrived. We went to the Cairns night zoo where we had a barbeque dinner and were introduced to Australia's nocturnal population. It was touristy, but fun. At the night zoo, we ran into the Texas family again. We kept running into the same people over and over. It made Australia feel a lot smaller. Sunday, we took a trip to the village of Kuranda. Kuranda is a small town in the Atherton Table Lands. We took the historic railroad into the town and a sky cable way back down. Kuranda sports a main street with lots of shops and restaurants. At the top of the street are the Butterfly and Bird Sanctuaries and the Koala Gardens. Like many other places, we could pet and feed the kangaroos and wallabies. Queensland allows tourists to hold Koalas, so we took advantage of that opportunity.
The last tour we took was of the Daintree Rainforest. We took a walk on a boardwalk through the forest and learned about the various plants. Included on the boardwalk is the famous Mossman Gorge. Yet another stunning example of Australian geography. Next, we had lunch at the Daintree Teahouse. The main course was Baramundi, the signature fish of the region. It was one of the most delicious meals we had. It also featured a sample of several of the local, tropical fruits. From there, we went on a Daintree River cruise. The cruise was not what it usually was. The river had been experiencing unusually low tides. But, we did get to see Fat Albert, the local king croc. sunning himself on the shore. Normally, the cruise would drop us off in Daintree Village, but couldn't get us there due to the tides. Daintree Village was a bit disappointing. It's a
The exceptionally low tides came into our favor on Wednesday. We had managed to get the last two seats on a snorkel trip. Wavelength is a small company with a large boat. They take no more than 30 people on a snorkel only trip to the Great Barrier Reef. All the other companies were much larger and with the ships and snorkel/scuba offerings, couldn't get as close to the reef as Wavelength. This was by far the most extraordinary experience of the trip. I had attempted to learn scuba, but breathed way too much water and ended up sick as a dog the next week. I may have mentioned that in my Thailand posting. So, we could "only" snorkel. This was also my first experience snorkeling, so I had to get over the breathing underwater thing.
With three crew to guide us along the reef (including a real life marine biologist), we saw the most amazing wildlife. Here, I need to bring up the issue of the low tides. Winter is the worst time of year to snorkel or dive the reef. Wind is the biggest factor. Not only does it make the trip to the reef nauseating, it churns up the water and makes it hard to see anything. The day we went, the winds were at 10-15 knots, if you can call that wind. Also, the tide was the lowest it was going to get all year. Only about 5 days per year does the tide get that low. At least 6" of the reef was visible above the surface. The result of this is to force all the fish that normally swim on top of the reef down to the bottom. It was like compacting the fish and making it impossible not to see anything. We even went swimming with a half dozen sea turtles. Also, on the way out and back, we saw humpbacked whales and a huge manta.
Thursday, we transfered to Cairns for the night. I'm glad we went, but it reminded me mostly of the Jersey shore with all the low budget activities and teen-agers. Friday, it was one of the hardest things to get on the plane back to Japan. The experience of a lifetime!
I'm learning a lot about Japanese culture. There is a competitive gift giving culture here. Someone gives you a gift, you thank them and give them a gift, they thank you and give you a gift. This goes on until one of the parties finally admits defeat by just writing a nice note to the other.
I think Russ and I have gotten ourselves into one of these competitions. Our neighbor down the street is retired, but teaches English part time at the local junior high school. Wendy and I met him one day on my street when Ayden walked up and said hello to him. Since then, I see him occasionally. I finally agreed that once Russ came home, we would go out to dinner together. So, on Saturday, we met at their house and headed out for a nice Japanese meal. He chose the Natural Kitchen. I had been there before, but I was anxious to go again.
Imazato-san had called ahead and reserved us a traditional booth. Luckily, the Japanese have adopted the regular table. They compensate for this by having a well into which you put your feet, but you still take off your shoes. For the less adventuresome, there are also regular, western style tables. Russ and Mrs. Imazato ordered an egg and tofu dish over rice. Mr. Imazato ordered something soupy with pork. I had the eel over rice dish, one of my favorites. Each dish comes as a set on a tray. I love this aspect of Japanese life, it feeds into my love of dishes and kitchen ware. Rather than serving a large dinner plate with the meat and sides on it, each dish is served in its own, little plate. The eel was in a bowl over rice, there were 3 kinds of Japanese pickles (tsukemono, I think) in a 3 sectioned little plate. I also received a broth of sorts, I never did figure out what to do with it. Oishikatta desu! (Delicious!)
After dinner, we went back to their house for tea and a little bit of wrap up conversation. While we were there, they mentioned that they love instant, flavored coffee. Now the fun begins. The next day, Russ and I needed to go on base, so we stopped at the commissary to see if they carry instant, flavored coffee. They carry Folgers. The coffee the Imazato's showed us was Nestle. We got them the Folgers anyway and a tin of the International Cafe mocha. We put this in a cute bag and walked it down the street. The Imazato's were so grateful for the gift (they had already taken us to dinner, remember?) that they just HAD to give us something in return.
So, Imazato-san got our his trusty, rickety ladder and climbed up into the plum tree. What occurred next was the perfect scenario to put into a safety video. I don't know how many times I had to look away as that ladder wobbled around with him on the tippy top step. You know, the one that says "NOT A STEP"? He had a net on a pole with which he pulled on the fruit until it dropped into the net. He wasn't satisfied until we had at least a dozen succulent plums.
Now, it's our turn. How am I supposed to top that? He risked his life (or it seemed that way to me) to get us some plums. I think I'll cook them an American style steak dinner.
What a treat! When the port visit in Hong Kong was canceled and the ships were sent off to Myanmar, I wasn't sure when I'd get to see Russ again. They sat out there off the coast for a month, unable to do anything to help the people of Myanmar. What a frustrating time for the service people. Then, we got word they were being sent home, with a stop off in Pattaya, Thailand.
I was really excited about the opportunity to see Russ again. I was supposed to be taking scuba diving lessons that weekend, so I didn't think I could go. He was getting to Thailand on Tuesday, and I was supposed to have the 2nd half of scuba the following weekend. There was no way I could get there for a visit of any length and still get home in time for class Saturday morning. Luckily, or not, I freaked out from gulping water through my nose. I know you get some water in your nose when you scuba. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is when the combined pressure of the bubbles and the suction from removing your mask forces water up your nose and down your throat. That's not supposed to happen.
The instructor sent me home, where I called my dive master friend Nancy and cried to her for a few hours. She convinced me that I shouldn't be in the class, that the instructor was unable to meet my remedial needs, and that I really did need to be able to snorkel first. Something I told the people who signed me up, but they signed me up anyway. I went back to class that morning and got a full refund. Also, the next day, I came down with a horrible cold thanks to the pool chemicals I had ingested. I couldn't finish the class anyway.
Then, I went on the Internet. The earliest flight out I could get to Bangkok without paying through the nose was on Wednesday morning with Thai Airways. Also, Russ ended up having duty on Tuesday and couldn't leave the ship, so I wouldn't have been able to see him then anyway. My flight over to Thailand was wonderful! I was in economy class, but we were treated at least as well as business class in the US. Also, it was a non-stop, 5 hour flight. All the other wives I knew who went had to stop off in Taipei. The only glitch was that when I got the airport, my driver wasn't there. The hotel mistook my e-mail and canceled the car. Luckily, a lady from another hotel called a driver for me and I was on my way!
What a wonderful two days in Pattaya. I got there Wednesday afternoon, about 20 minutes before Russ came to the hotel. I was able to stay until Friday night with a 1:00 am flight on Saturday. Wednesday night, we went to a farewell party for one of the men on the ship. The had excellent food and a nice pool in which we went night swimming. I like Pattaya best at night when it's not morbidly hot. Thursday, we went on an MWR tour of elephant riding. We rode in an oxcart, played with an orphaned gibbon, rode an elephant and learned about how to make silk. Our final stop for the day was at the self proclaimed "worlds largest gem store." They sold mostly Thai sapphires and rubies, but they also had other stones and jewelry available. The most affordable pieces were set in silver with zircon, the most valuable pieces were set in 18K gold with diamonds. In the middle, were the pieces in white or yellow 14K gold with zircon. I'll let you guess which one I bought. :)
That evening, Russ and I each got a massage at the hotel. The massage felt wonderful and helped break up the cold that had moved down to my chest. Side note, the air conditioning in the hotel worked so well that I had to sleep on the balcony. The room was so dry, I couldn't breathe!
The next day, we went to a crocodile farm. They also had a neat rock and water garden, huge snakehead fish, some elephants, tigers, and bears. No lions. :) I scratched the back of a tiger and bottle fed a cub. Russ hugged the golden bear and shook his hand. As long as you gave the bear bananas, he would do anything for you. We finished off the day with a little shopping and some dinner. Then, my driver showed up and took me back to the airport to come home and get the house ready for Russ to return.
My PartyLite business is doing really well. I'm doing it as a hobby, and I'm having some good parties and meeting lots of nice people. I only do a few shows a month, but they're good ones. If anyone wants to order anything, or have a catalog party from the states, I help you out! OK, I'm done advertising.
Next up - Australia!
This one is for Libby. You all know how miserable I was in Florida in the summer. We weren't even in Miami, and I was looking for proof that skin melts. Well, I should have been grateful for what I had.
Summer in Sasebo makes Florida look like North Dakota in Winter. At least, that's how I feel about it right now, and it's not even that hot here. Rainy season started in the end of May and goes through most of July. It's humid, muggy, hot, and miserable. In Florida, I would try not to turn on the AC. I finally caved. I'm sticky before I get myself dry in the morning. No wonder all the spouses evacuate to the US this time of year. It's just too hot here.
Which leads me to my next point. I thought the Japanese are a pretty smart people. There is one aspect where they should have stuck to their guns. Japan has largely adopted western style dress. I think they should have told us all where to stuff it and made us adopt their dress. There's nothing lighter and more comfortable than a nice, cotton, summer yukata. These are worn with a simple cotton obi with a simple tie. It's basically a light cotton bathrobe that you wear around all day. It's much lighter than anything I have in my wardrobe, including my linen pants. If only I could find a cute obi to wear with my second hand yukata, and if only I could learn how to tie the obi, I would convert immediately.
You Tuscon folks, not even a snicker out of you!
Yes, we drive on the WRONG side of the road here. OK, I hate when people say that. We actually just drive on the OTHER side of the road here. It's easy, except when you keep hitting the wipers instead of the turn signal. But, you get over that. What has amused me is the difference in some of the driving laws and patterns here. For example:
Japanese are much stricter on drinking and driving. I like this. If you are caught in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by someone under the influence, you are subject to the same legal liability as the driver. First, if you are drunk, then neither of you should be driving. Second, if you're sober, you should be the one driving, and you're responsible for that.
Japanese don't understand the concept of headlights. I do not like this. I turn on my headlights at dusk and when it's raining. They look at me like I'm crazy. They don't seem to get it that I can see them better when they have their headlights lit.
Speaking of visibility. The Japanese don't use reflective paint. I really miss this. It's really hard to drive at night here, especially when it's raining. The only time this doesn't make a difference is when we're on a two way, one lane road.
It is OK to change lanes in an intersection here. I like this. If I need to pass someone or get out of the way in an intersection, I am permitted to do this.
It is illegal to turn left on red. I have mixed feeling on this one. If there is not traffic, it would be nice to be permitted to turn. However, if I'm not comfortable turning, I don't have someone behind me, honking at me because he/she THINKS I should turn.
Cell phones. This one is interesting. It is illegal here to talk on a cell phone while driving. Regardless of the use of a hands free system. You are not permitted to be in the drivers seat of a moving vehicle while yacking on the phone. To get around this, the Japanese just pull over to the side and put on their flashers. They do this on any road except a toll way. So, I can be driving down a windy, no passing, narrow road with lots of oncoming traffic. I will come upon one of these drivers, and I have to wait for traffic to clear around a blind curve so that I can get around them. At least I've learned to assimilate on this one. If it's good for them, it's good for me. Especially when I'm lost in Osaka, on the phone with the hotel, demanding directions, driving, and making U-turns as necessary. Amy would have soiled herself. I love Amy. And, I found out that driving in Osaka is considered the worst in Japan. At least I got a lot of respect for my bravery for that story.
So, it's just different over here.
I'm sorry I've been off the map for so long. I've been off having fun! Before Russ left for 2 months, we went to Hirado island on an MWR tour. That was cool. We got to see a castle and William Adams' grave. I ate Whale sashimi and ramen. It was delicious! Don't worry, it wasn't an endagered variety of whale, and think how many people can eat one whale. Russ went out to sea on the 25th of April.
In early May, I finished grad school and got my Masters' Degree. Woo Hoo, but you already know that. I also applied for a position teaching algebra at UMUC (University of Maryland University College.) I got that job, and I start in the end of August. I'll be an adjunct instructor for two courses for 8 week terms. I'm really excited about that!
In mid-May, Jean came to visit from Indiana. We had fun running around Japan. We took the MWR tours to Hirado and the Dazaifu shrine bazaar. The bazaar is a huge, really nice flea market with all kinds of antiques and such. Like a lot of the wives over here, I collect Obi. So, I bought a kimono with matching obi and three more obi and a darling $10 kimono that is not fit to wear in public. I use it as an extremely comfortable bathrobe.
Jean and I also rented a car from the autoport and drove up to Osaka with stops overnight at Iwakuni both directions. We also stopped at Himeji castle. That was beautiful! In Osaka, we saw some shrines and temples and had dinner with Norio 3 nights in a row. Unfortunately, we never could get that meeting together properly. I was really upset that I couldn't even get it right once! Oh well, I hope I get to see him again soon. We also took a side trip to Nara.
Since then, I've been busy just living everyday life while the ships circled off the coast of Myanmar. About a week ago, they were finally sent home with a port call in Pattaya, Thailand. I got myself on a plane and went to see him. We had a fabulous time! We rode elephants, Russ hugged a bear, and I got to bottle feed a tiger cub! I'm home now and getting ready for Russ to come home soon.
I'll talk to you all soon!
I have much to catch up on posting, but here's a little bit for your entertainment...
Sightseeing went well yesterday. We slept in until 8:30 and missed breakfast. That was OK. Jean woke up early and just stayed in bed not wanting to wake me. I'm glad she mentioned it because I told her to just get up. So, today she did. She is already showered, which is nice.
We first went to the Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine which was really pretty. Then we went back to Nanba station and saw the Nanba Parks building. That was really cool. Apparently, it was by an American architect, and there is a garden on the roof, but it goes up and up as the roof gets smaller and smaller. It is really beautiful. There's lots of restaurants and high class shopping. We went up the roof to the top and rode the elevator down. We went to McDonalds for a quick lunch.
After that, we went to Shitenno-ji temple. It is the first Buddhist temple in Japan. It is unique in that it has a Torii gate at the entrance. As we got off the subway, there was a man who asked us if we were going to the temple. When we said yes, he said he was going there too and we were to follow him. That was good because I didn't know where to go. He said that yesterday was a special day for the temple. Every month on the 21st, they open up areas of the temple for free where we would normally be charged to enter. One of the areas is a national treasure statue of Shotoku-taishi, the man who brought Buddhism to Japan, and 4 guardians (the shitenno). On the walls are paintings of Buddha's life. It was gorgeous. We also were able to go up the 5 story pagoda (my first time in a pagoda) and into the special round building with the Bodhisvatas. He explained everything to us as we went. Bodhisvatas are people in training to become buddhas. They have the halos, but they wear jewelry to indicate that they are in training. We also hit the jackpot in that they were having the monthly shrine sale. It turns out that the Japanese call them flea markets. We looked around and I bought two tote bags made from obi and kimono, one for me and one for mom.
After that, we stopped at the Daimaru department store to pick up some nice green tea for Norio, went back to the hotel to rest and change, and went to dinner with Norio. We went for breaded and fried meat on a stick. I recognize the kanji now, but I forget what the food was called. It's food that men eat with a beer before they go home to their families. We stood around a counter and had the beer, and watched them fry up the food. We had all sorts of things, mushrooms, eggplant, onion, pepper, beef, fish, chicken, etc. We dipped them into a small vat of sauce. Each place has their own sauce, so you can't just buy it. Afterward, we went to a coffee shop and sat and talked for a while. We came home exhausted as ususal.
Now, I need to hop in the shower as today, we're off to Nara and then meet Norio again for dinner.
It's OVER! It's finally over! I am done with grad school. Now, I just have to wait for my final grades to come in and my diploma to arrive. I am so relieved, I think I'll go pass out for a few hours. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be sent to PSC 476 Box 884... Smirk.
Now, I just have to get in my application to teach for University of Maryland.
Talk to you soon!
I have decided to join the Officers' Spouse's Club, or the OSC for short. Also, as a member of the OSC, I can become a member of the ILC (International Ladies' Club) which also contains 4 Japanese ladies' clubs. I think this will be lots of fun and provide me with plenty of material for this blog. Now that school is winding down, I'm finding lots of ways to keep myself busy. Oh, did I mention that I've decided to become a PartyLite consultant? Anyone want to buy candles? OK, advertisement over...
Back to the OSC. Last Thursday, they had a luncheon with a cultural experience. I went as a guest of the wife of the Juneau's departing XO, Abby. I had a blast. We started the event with a meeting, so I got to see a few new faces. Then, we saw an Obi tying demonstration (Obi are the sashes that go around Kimono.) They had hired two professional dressers to come to the event. After that, we listened to koto music by two of the spouses who are learning, their sensei and a few other players. The koto is the flat Japanese harp that lays on the floor. If you've seen Geisha or heard Japanese music, you know this one. After that, lunch and cultural experiences began.
When we came in and paid for the event, we each got a card that allowed us to sign up for two craft activities that involved buying supplies. The activities to choose from were washi paper, silk balls, and calligraphy. I chose the washi paper and silk balls. We could also try our hand at Ikebana and obi tying demonstrations for no charge. Additionally, we each had the opportunity to try on a kimono and have the obi tied for us.
The silk ball station involved pressing pieces of silk fabric into patterns in Styrofoam balls. This activity reminded me of when I was little and we were poor. We couldn't (or wouldn't) afford Christmas tree decorations, so we would press fabric into Styrofoam balls to make the ornaments. I got a ball that already had 3 pieces of fabric in sections like a beach ball. The other sections were pre-scored for me. The instructor showed me how to push in the rest of the pieces, and then she added a tassel and a hanger for me. It was really pretty and fun. As a side note, this weekend, a similar artisan (maybe even her) had a stand outside the Exchange selling these silk balls. I know now that this is an art and not a craft. You should have seen the intricate patterns these balls held. There was one with irises and another that was amazing. It had a crane in sections of silk no bigger than my pinky tip. It made me want to become a master silk ball decorator. At lunch, I also bought a pin with two little ball tassels. I plan to wear it in my hair once it's long enough to pull up.
Next, I went to the washi paper station. Washi paper is what we call origami paper. This is the good paper that feels like fabric. Not the cheap, dollar store origami paper. The instructor had pieces of paper pre-cut for us, and we each chose one that we liked. I chose a piece with Japanese flowers on a gold background. We marked off the paper with a pencil and then cut "teeth" along one edge. After opening the paper and erasing the lines, we applied glue all over the paper. Then came the fun part. We were each given an egg that the instructor had blown out. We applied the paper around the egg, wrapping it completely in beautiful washi paper. After drying the glue with a hair dryer and applying and drying laquer, we each had a perfect, egg shaped, washi decoration. I figured out how to get the dimensions for this, now I just need to learn how to blow out an egg without removing 1/2 a lung as well.
Finally, it was my turn to try on kimono. Literally translated, kimono means something to wear. "kiru" is the verb "to wear", with and mono means "thing". "watashi wa kimono wo kimasu" means "I wear clothing", but it's more commonly said without the "watashi wa" at the beginning. OK, enough grammar for today. I know it looks complicated, but it's just a bunch of different endings for basic words. I chose a dark purple kimono with fall colored leaves on it. The dresser chose a white obi and green ties for me. Estella was nice enough to take photos and I'll post those once she sends them to me. After that, the dresser draped a wedding kimono over the regular kimono, and we got some pictures of that too. The kimono were heavy and hot, and the obi made me feel the thinnest I've felt in several years. It was fun, but I'm glad I don't have to drag all that around with me daily.
I had a blast, and I can't wait to see what we do next time.
