Something really cool I noticed the other day. Well, I noticed it a long time ago, but never figured out what it was until the other day. On my walk to and from work I walk in front of this store that has clear glass Japanese-style sliding doors at the front past the genkan (the recessed welcome area where you leave your shoes) is simply a wooden floor with a few tools along the wall and some shelves along the other wall, etc., but the floor is mainly empty. In the morning when I walk by, there is always a man (presumably the owner of the shop) wearing a yukata (summer kimono) sitting seza (traditional Japanese style of sitting on the floor: on your knees with your shins/feet tucked underneath) on the wooden floor reading the day's newspaper. When I walk by on my way home from work he seems to be always doing some kind of wood-crafting (still while sitting on the floor). The sign contained some characters I couldn't read, so I never knew what the store was. Until the other day, when I saw one of his nearly-finished products, that is. He is a biwa-maker! A biwa is a traditional Japanese instrument that's basically a lute. Soooo cool! I kinda want to go in and just talk to him, I bet he's a pretty interesting guy. Perhaps I will one of these days after work. You can read more about the biwa HERE.
That's all to report for today, really. I'm alone in the office today and for about half of tomorrow because Shino-san had to go to Osaka to meet a client or something. Lonely me!
Tonight I was going to meet up with Kie and help her practice her presentation that she's giving tomorrow (it's in English, hence the me helping part), but she canceled because she has not yet finished making the powerpoint itself! Cutting it close! She should be fine, though. Her English is better than my Japanese.
It's 4:30 now and I guess I could, theoretically, just head home now since I'm not really doing anything right now anyways. I guess I'll wait another 10 minutes or so and then head out.
I was trying to think of what I give to my friends here as a present before I left, that would be really neat and something they probably couldn't get on their own. I decided on mix CDs! Since they have all expressed interest in American music, I'll give them some of my favorite stuff. Whenever we talk about music, I always ask them if they know some bands that I like and the answer is usually know, so this gives me a chance to show them. I think that's a good, meaningful gift, right? And now I'm really excited about making them, so maybe I'll work on that tonight since I now have no plans.
Alright, Take care everybody! Love, Lawrence
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