Just a quick note tonight as I have just returned from an adult party at Rumi`s house. Great fun, lots of food, and plenty of drinks including some kind of Japanese whiskey that they only served to the men but Kathy and I got a little ruffled, asked for some, then had to drink our fair share (no problem as we are big girls to their little men!)
Woke to another glorious morning in Yamauchi with the sun shining and my voice returning, promising a wonderful day. (Tula is still mute but think she will be speaking again tomorrow if we are on the same recovery schedule. Good news is we feel fine otherwise.) The kids spent the morning at Yamauchi JHS for sports day (kind of an activity/club day) while the adults were given a caligraphy lesson and shown a tea ceremony. Met up for a short train ride to Takeo and lunch at an `Italian` restaurant (well they served pasta anyway) with both Yamauchi and Sebastopol kids. Very short shop at the 100 Yen store (where most things are more than 100 yen) then bowling...great fun! And get this, the owner of the alley came out and gave us gifts for all the kids plus didn`t charge us for our games! Was an incredible kindness!
After bowling the Yamauchi kids went home and the Sebastopol contingency took a bus to the mayor`s office. We told the kids that this was their big moment to shine, 30 minutes of total attention while the mayor and Dave gave speeches etc. They went above and beyond as ambassadors! On the way in Dave was being preened by Alli and Erin to make sure he looked `fierce` and given a pep talk for a great speech. Awesome to see this spontaneous family bonding which is happening more and more as we rely on each other for common understanding. Makes a grown chaperone cry!!!!
Typically Japanese, we walked up three flights of stairs to the meeting room then were told to go back down as the mayor had arranged a greeting on the main staircase...so back down we go to be greeted by a banner and all office workers clapping for us while we went back up another set of stairs to the same meeting room!
In case you were waiting for a postcard, it may not arrive anytime soon. Very hard to find them in the shops and, once purchased and written, little chance to buy stamps and mail. Really frustrating but we have learned quickly to go-with-the-flow and enjoy the moments. So, you may get your postcard hand delivered or mailed from Sebastopol upon our return!!!!!
I posted some pictures but decided to let Kathy snap the shots this afternoon. Have lost count of our `cheese` moments (those are group photos, in case you wonder) but am sure we added another 5 or 6 today as each stop/occasion requires one!
Saga tomorrow...talk to you later (and I can talk again!)
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