Wow, still playing catch-up…

 

August 15 was the last day of my holiday, so we went to the beach again, and back to Gessho-ji Temple as twilight fell to bid farewell to the ancestors as they left their graves again, returning to the aether. I had invited some others, anxious to share this remarkable place, but Jennifer was in Osaka on business and Yumi had translation work to finish. This time there were many more lights and candles illuminating the flagstone pathways, and Seiji and I stood back to let a ghostly procession of Buddhist priests and worshippers pass on their way out of the temple grounds, back to the temple next door. We collected our small votive candles and made our way back to the maze of tombs on the hill to our right. I had decided today to leave my candle burning at the grave of the mother of the first Matsudaira lord. Her tomb was simpler than the others, and without one of the intricately carved wooden gates. But she had been remembered tonight, and several candles already burned at the foot of her tombstone. I added mine, and Seiji and I wandered about and visited the stone tortoise again, but the mosquitoes were predatory, and we eventually fled. Except for a few hints and shadows, the cats were not in attendance this night.

 

The next day, I dragged my feet returning to work, but it was okay, and I eased myself back to it. We have lots of check tests these days – 10 or 15-minute practices with students who are doing extra self-study at home, meant to motivate them and guide them as they study. So before, after and between classes, I have check tests with many students. I enjoy them, actually, and I think most students do too. Mostly, they are short dialogues, with new vocabulary and substitutions to expand the dialogues. I correct pronunciation, answer questions and encourage a natural flow of conversation.

 

On Saturday the 18^th, there was another night of karaoke at Kaya. I had a great time. Jennifer is the ‘Queen of Karaoke’ –there are few people more enthusiastic about karaoke than her – but I am a new convert, and getting more addicted every time. At midnight, everyone sang “Happy Birthday to You” for me, and a more off-key but appreciated version was never sung before. I was tired, and left a little early, but first Seiji gave me birthday flowers. Sweet.

 

I took it easy the morning of my birthday – hey, I’m not as young as I used to be, you know – and opened my present from home. A lovely new sundress, some much needed reading material from The Odd Book (including The Floating Opera, my first novel from John Barth – great book!), some newspaper clippings – lit was great!

In the afternoon, Seiji picked me up and we swung by to collect Taeko near her place. The destination? A beach barbecue at Kitaura! After a stop at Jusco for supplies (meat, fish, beer, corn, et cetera) we hit the road. It was a little cloudy that day, and there was a wind blowing in from the water, so the beach wasn’t too crowded. It was still beautiful though. We unpacked the car and Seiji set up his new barbecue – a simple contraption, really just a metal box on legs, but perfectly adequate for our needs. Taeko and I jumped into the water. Taeko looked great in her new chocolate brown bikini; she’s been going to the gym a lot, and is very proud of herself. I felt a little lumpy and white by comparison. The usually crystal-clear water, stirred up by the wind and waves, was an opaque green colour, and full of seaweed. It was shockingly warm, too; when Martin arrived, he leaped into the water and exclaimed in disappointment, “It’s like bathwater!” Others started to arrive as well; Yumi and Jennifer arrived with Martin, and Jiro came with his girlfriend and another friend. Stephen came and immediately put himself in charge of campfire building. My student Rika and her boyfriend Roger also came. Jennifer stood on the weathered dock gazing into the cloudy sea for a long time and had to be coaxed into the water; I understood her fears, as I also don’t like water I can’t see through.

I had asked for no presents, but I got some small keepsakes from some of my friends. Yumi gave me lavender soap, and Jiro’s friends (whose names I’m embarrassed to say I don’t remember) gave me a candle and a hair ornament. Jennifer gave me a mixed CD of summer 2007 Music, including some of our karaoke ‘hits’ – I love it.

After a first dip, Seiji busied himself with barbecuing; no hamburgers at THIS barbecue, but Seiji grilled yakitori and little fish, which the Japanese guests ate whole (I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it). I rubbed corn with salt and olive oil, wrapped it up in its husks and put it on the grill too. Corn takes forever to cook this way, and was still a little too crunchy when we finally ate it. Everyone had brought something; Taeko and Martin both made onigiri, or rice balls; Martin had stuffed some of his with cheese, which the Japanese among us found very funny. Stephen brought French bread, several kinds of cheese and wine. We spread everything on a picnic blanket and people just helped themselves.

Martin came out of the water, looking rueful. He showed us his arm, which had a line of small red pinpricks. He had found, apparently, one of the first jellyfish of the season. There is only a narrow opportunity of about a month between the end of the rainy season and the end of the Obon holidays to go swimming in the sea before the jellyfish come (some are very small, but others reach the size of an umbrella), and swimming becomes fraught with danger and discomfort. Martin was experiencing this discomfort now. I asked Seiji, “What do you do when you get stung by a jellyfish?” He hesitated, then said, “I use my pee.” Apparently, urine helps to mitigate the stinging. Martin looked taken aback for a moment, then decided to try it. I loaned him 200 yen for the showers, and he headed over. (He said later that he felt he ‘knew himself better’.)

After some swimming and some eating, I got out my NEW FRISBEE! This day marked the first time I had played Frisbee since I blew my knee playing Ultimate, four years ago. People dropped in and dropped out as we tossed the Frisbee around on the sand. I loved it. I found myself in the funny position of teaching people how to throw a Frisbee – I hadn’t completely forgotten what I learned. Still, the Frisbee sailed out of control many times.

It was hot going, and I cooled myself down by jumping in the water. It was sunset, and the clouds had achieved a bruised, chiaroscuro quality, lit from underneath by the orange sun. A dim twilight set in as I lay in the water and looked up at the sky. I was content to just lie there by myself for a while before I returned to the others. Kei and Yukiko had come at sunset, as did Aki and Junko. There was another party further down the beach, and when it was full dark, they set off some small fireworks. Stephen’s campfire was blazing, and we admired it from afar, because it was too hot to sit near it. Seiji was STILL barbecuing; some fishermen leaving the beach had donated some of their catch to the party. Seiji grilled some snail-like things in their spiky shells, and I ate one, but like escargots, they would have been better drenched in butter. As it was, they were tough and rubbery. But hey, I’ll try (almost) anything – once.

After nine, people started drifting home. Martin was suffering from jet lag (he had spent his holidays in Italy with his family) and literally fell asleep in mid-sentence while talking to me! We packed up everything, said goodnight to everyone and headed home. We stopped at ARGO, where Cleve me a free birthday beer in a HUGE tankard. But I couldn’t drink it, I was so tired. So time for bed. But it was a fabulous birthday party.