Hello again.
I need to apologize for the typos. The keyboard here is completley different, so I'll do my best.
I wrote this entry on Thursday, May 10. . . That is the day we went to the tea ceremony at Morio's sister's house!!! I was so excited! We wore kimonos and learned a shorter version of the tea ceremony. But first, I should tell you what we did on our first full day in Japan.
Yesterday (Wed., May 9), we walked A LOT! It was great though. We walked through the city of Yokohama, then took a train, and walked some more. We went to one of the most beautiful museums I've ever seen. Everything was clean, crisp, and sparkling. The displays were spacious and properly lighted, the cards were of good size (though I couldn't read them). All of the glass was crystal clear. The artifacts were perfectly preserved and everything was beautifully maintained. I loved it, but it was NOTHING like the museums in Costa Rica!
Then, we ate lunch at a fancy Chinese restaurant where we took our shoes off (it was fabulous. We need to do this at home. I felt cleaner than in most American restaurants and I was barefoot! Plus, best waitressing job ever cuz you don't wear shoes!) - nothing like what we have at home. It was delicious (oishi-des). I'm trying to learn more Japanese and feeling guilty about how little I know. I'm the typical American I try to avoid. But somehow I can only think in English or Spanish. Japanese words fly through my head, but no meaning is attached to them. Hopefully, I'll improve some over the month.
After lunch, we went to their Chinatown, which is the biggest in Japan. A bit odd... But hey, this is a multicultural trip and I'm loving it!!! We saw this beautiful, ornate temple and then walked around. I didn't buy anything because I'm still thoroughly confused about the conversion to yen. My goal for today: figure that out!!
After Chinatown, we took a seabus (which they mistakenly call the Sea Bass - which I find hilarious!) back to the bus station, then a bus back to campus. They had a welcome ceremony/dinner for us. The dean and a former dean and bunch of other men were there. I've never seen so many suits, so much bowing, and so much clapping in my life - and it's only day 2! Everyone made a little speech and they gave us gifts. There was a ton of food. I feel like all we do is eat things that are unidentifiable to me. I ask Yumiko questions constantly, and her repsonse is normally taht I should try it because it's good for me. Too cute. I just wanted to know what it was...
But after seeing all of those men in power at dinner last night, I really appreciate the fact that she is the ONLY woman we have dealt with. It must be difficult to be the only woman with that kind of power. From what I can tell, the work world in Japan is still very much a man's world.
Still, women do have some power, I guess. When we watch the news in the morning at breakfast, there are several women on it (covering traffic, the train stations, new products, etc.) and the newsanchor is a woman. Maybe it's because they're cute so it gets men to watch. I don't know.
Simple things really make you happy when you travel. I got a gift from Morio`s son-in-law`s grandmother in Korea. At the table, I have my own chopsticks. My very own to use at breakfast, like I"m part of the family. And I'm getting better at using them. Woo hoo.
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