Maria and Rod's space

It might seem that we went to Sendai and then fell off the end of the earth.  Not so, it just got so busy as we got ready for ARI Participant graduation ceremony, finishing projects and preparing to go home. 

 

The Graduation Ceremony was an event was filled with a lot of mixed emotions.  First of course was the sense of relief that finally it was the end of the course and excitement at the thought that soon one could be with our families.  For some of the participants it had been almost a year since they saw their loved ones.  This was because if their location is really difficult to reach they had to start the trip weeks early so they could fit into travel arrangements. 

 

Then there was the sadness that comes from the realization that one will be leaving behind so many new friends.  When you live communally as one does at ARI, your relationships become very intense and close.  You share a lot of yourself and your feelings with each other who have been there to see you through the lonely and sad times, as well as sharing the joys of accomplishments.  You have learned with each other and from each other.  Chances are that because you also live so close together some participants might know you better than a lot of people at home.  Now you have to say goodbye to these people and possibly never see them again.  We miss so many people, their smiles, their humour and the opportunity to discover our differences along with what we share in common.

 

At the ceremony people wore their traditional clothes so it was a very colourful group.  Suddenly you were aware of the diversity of the participants.  There was a visual illustration of how many different countries and cultures were present.  You could truly appreciate what had been accomplished to have all these people live together and accomplish a common task, gain knowledge to share with their people.  What a remarkable cultural exchange and proof that if people have a common goal, they can work together in peace.  

 

Packing for home was quite the experience.  I was sure that with all the things we were leaving behind we would probably have much fewer pieces of luggage.  Not so!  It seems we had done some shopping.  Or as Rod says, I shop – he pays.  Still and all we had a ton of stuff.  In all we each had 4 pieces to deal with.  But then it had been 6 months.  The tough time is through train stations and since there are no carts you are stuck managing it all yourself.  But, eventually we did get to the airport. 

 

What we had promised was to reward ourselves for all the work of getting to the airport was that we would go to the 1^st class lounge and relax over drinks.  OK, it certainly didn’t work out that way.  First we had to wait an hour before we could check our entire luggage collection.  We decided to find a restaurant and have lunch.  Once we had our luggage checked we started the search for the lounge we could access.  While we had been abroad the world had changed and it seemed that the lounge we finally found had been closed.  We would have had to go to another terminal and since we had wasted so much time with all the coming and going it just didn’t seem worth the effort.  We decided to find a bar and have a drink.  When we finally found one there was a line-up outside and smoky inside.  Oh well, we did finally get to Vancouver and it was a great feeling.

Sendai is called the “City of Trees” and even though we were there last week and a lot of the trees were bare it still had a lot of greenery.  We actually took a train out to the coastal city of Kesennuma which is one of the world's largest fishing ports. We saw an amazing amount of nets and lots of boats with fishermen.  It is the first municipality in Japan that was declared as a slow-food city (opposite of fast-food) which provides shark-tail fins, bonito, tuna, sauries, and other seafood as crowd-pleasers. It is also full of scenic spots like Kesennuma Oshima at the bay entrance, Karakuwa, which is famous for the broken stone column, and Iwaizaki with its fountain rocks.

 

From here we took the ferry to Matsushima.  Matsushima is known as one of the "Nihonsankei", or one of the three great views of Japan. It boasts amazing scenic beauty with over 260 islands (tiny) in Matsushima Bay.  It is said that it struck dump a famous poet with its beauty.  It is a lovely spot and we had an absolutely gorgeous day for the outing, the sun was shinning and the water was calm.  Once again we were overdressed for the heat of the day but were glad for our clothes once the sun went down.

 

We wandered through town and visited the Godaido Temple.  The grounds of the temple are actually more interesting with its stone carving, old grottos and beautiful tree lined paths.  We had a wonderful fresh seafood lunch at one of the many reastaurants along the waterfront.  It was a delightful seaside town to wander through with some interesting shops.  We both wished that we could have stayed overnight.  Instead we took the train back to Sendai. 

 

The city is trying to encourage visistors so has a small tour bus that for only 250 yen each will take you on an hour and a half tour around town and the outskirts including the lush university campus, or for 600 yen you can get an all day pass and get off and on along the way.  There is a good tourist info in the train station that will provide maps in English.

 

The Hirose-gawa River that runs through central part of town, infact seems to snake through so you are crossing in constantly.  We found the map of the tour confusing, I think they may have changed the route but eventually we did manage to get off at the right stop on Jozenji-dori Avenue.  Our aim was to start at the top end of their shopping strip and walk back to the train station.  Sendai like many of their cities has very long covered shopping arcades now decked out for Christmas.  There are some very expensive shops and gradually it works down to the very modest near the train station and the Christmas decorations seem to be a clear indication of the prices in the stores. 

 

I even found a bowling alley on the 4th floor along the way but Rod wouldn't play with me.  So instead we found a great Thai restaurant on the top floor of one of the department stores.  As I mentioned before, in Japan your best source of restaurants are on the top floors of department stores.  You always get a choice and they have pictures and/or food displays so getting something to eat is easy.

 

Finally it was back to the train station and home in just an hour on the Shinkansen, the bullet train. 

 

 

The weather is really nice for this time of year.  The sun is shinning, a glorious view because the colours are so bright.  I'm amazed that there are still flowering bushes and trees here.  But it's definitely cold.  Because we don't have a thermostat to set on a timer like we do at home, when we get up the main house feels like ice.  This morning the heater just said Lo for the current temperature, but now it's up to 05 (centigrate) brrrrrrrrrrr. 

 

I put the butter on top of the heater so it will be soft enough to spread by the time Rod gets up.  He usually sleeps later than I do.  He laughed yesterday when I told him I was putting the eggs in the fridge so they don't freeze.  I didn't see the humour, I wasn't kidding.  I have heard that in the winter, sometimes you can't open the curtains because they're frozen to the window.  I hope we're gone before it gets that cold.
 
So let's see, our trip to Tokyo last Friday.  We arrived like penguins with tons of clothes knowing we wanted to walk around and didn't want to be cold.  When we got to the city we noticed that everyone was in suits or light sweaters.  Sure enough it was lovely and the ride and walk to the apartment was a sweaty one.  The other thing I noticed was that the people in Tokyo dress very stylish.  Since we only brought clothes for ARI - we didn't have much to be stylish with so once we took off our many layers (including long johns) beneath it were a couple of country bumpkins.  Thank goodness we could see the humour of our situation.
 
We were met at the train by Endo, an ARI staff who works in fund raising in Tokyo, he helped us find our apartment which was great, located a block from the Tokyo tower and we could admire it from our balcony.  It had a nice fully equiped galley kitchen. living/diningroom, the bedroom we were using had an ensuite, there was a toilet and another bathroom.  Here bathroom really just means bath, no toilet.  Same as here at the house.  I like that because two people can both use the facilities without disturbing each other. 
 
We went to meet the bishop whose guest suite we were staying in, very nice man who fortunately for us spoke English.  Then we had a nice lunch.  One of the things that people here love are set lunches.  We've appreciated them because we could just point at the picture and not have any other decisions to make.  Endo tells us that one of the things that drove him to distraction in North America was that you order something and then still have to make tons of decisions, fries with that? ketchup? tomatoes? mayonaise? something to drink?  I Iaughed because I could sympathize with him.  Sometimes I find the litany of questions annoying too.
 
After lunch Endo and Rod went to a production studio to see if it had the capacity to produce the video Rod will make into Japanese.  I wandered around to see what was in the neighbourhood and to find a grocery store.  It was such a lovely sunny day it was nice to be out enjoying it.  One of our regrets even at ARI is that we spend so much time in the office we never get to enjoy the outside.  After supper, we wandered around the tower and discovered that we were within blocks of the hotel we had stayed at 15 years ago.  The Prince has beautiful grounds with gardens and restaurants.  Tokyo itself has many gardens, they provide lots of green space for neighbourhoods so people can go there and relax. 
 
On Saturday we set out and our first stop was Shabuya.  The subway was much less daunting then it had been our first visit here in spite of the fact that two more lines had been built.  But then there are now many more signs in English to help the tourists.  The sign that list areas and tells you how much the fare is was very helpful.  It wasn't till be got off one train and tried to go to another line did we discover they are not all linked in payment so back to the train and the longer way around.  Shabuya is a very trendy neighbourhood.  Lots of people and activity, really fun to watch everyone.  We decided to have lunch at the Outback restaurant which was on the second floor. We chose a table by the window and were entertained with the coming and going on the street.  It was amazing how the beer trucks were able to manuever the narrow streets.  The ladies really seem to love the boots that come to the knee, many of them with fur inside, or at least at the top to flow over.  I have seen them wear these even in summer.  We eventually found the corner that is supposed to be like Times square in NY.  It is very busy and I could see the similarities.  We hung around for a while soaking in the atmosphere and doing some more people watching but then we were people being watched as well.
 
Our next stop was Asakusa.  Tokyo is a city where there are very few buildings older than 60 years (owing to wartime bombing), Asakusa is considered to have a more traditionally Japanese atmosphere than other neighbourhoods.  It was charming once we got past the carnival like shops and games, we were able to see some lovely buildings.  Rod wasn't into the shops at all, he found it all too busy.
 
We decided to go back to central Tokyo by water bus along the Sumida River.  The waterbuses are huge, low in the water but two levels with a bar on board.  The ride was very pleasant, we were among the first on board and so had front seats by the window to enjoy the scenery.  It did start to rain while we were drifting towards town but fortunately for us, it stopped by the time we got to our stop.  It was also getting dark so we had a chance to wander through the streets in the evening light.  In Japan I never have a concern for safety, perhaps naive, but true.
 
Sunday was a rainy day.  We went out but were not smart enough to take two umbrellas so we realized that doing too much walking wasn't going to be practical with one tiny umbrella.  We did get a burger with fries.  They just don't make hamburgers like back home so not quite the experience we thought it would be, I should have held out for rama soup - I love it here.  Like a couple of kids away from their parents, we seemed to forget that all that fat was going to be bad for us.  And it was, the next couple of days made us realize the difference between healthy eating and our greasy ways.
 
This last week which has whipped by again was filled with a variety of things.  The participants came back to ARI on Sunday night.  Monday gathering was wild, the room was full to capacity.  Now we begin to appreciate having so many bodies to warm the room.  I was into the final leg of preparation for my class on Tuesday morning on "grant proposals".  While I knew that they wanted it all simple and straight forward, there is nothing simple about grant proposals and nothing can make it so.  I figured the best I could do was explain the preparation, processs and give them lots of examples.
 
We had brought some hats with us from Canada and I handed them out at the beginning of class.  I closed with, "at least you got a hat out of the deal". They countered with, "we now need clothes to go them it".  I said, "Yes you do, tell your teacher tomorrow."   I think it went as well as it could, some were totally attentive, everyone wants copies of the resources. 

 

The participants are all starting to show signs of looking forward to getting back home.  Particularly the ones from hotter climes, they are really suffering from the cold.  I heard that in the early spring they actually took a couple of people to the doctor because they were complaining about pain in their hands.  Turned out it was just that they're not used to the cold.  When they got here in March and April, it was still cold.

Wednesday evening I went to the onsen with the director's wife.  He has been sick all week with whooping cough so I guess didn't want to get wet.   Besides they have a huge meeting this weekend to vote for a new director, so there is lots of preparation and many staff meetings.  There are also meetings to start planning the commencement ceremony which is about 3 weeks away.  After the onsen we went out to dinner, it was so nice and relaxed.  It's interesting that like everywhere else, it takes time to settle into a community and build relationships.  Tae and I have a lot in common and our spa sessions have helped us discover how much.  I did smile to myself at one point though, there is no way I can imagine women in North America sitting in a spa completely naked and totally unselfconscious about it having a great chat.  Families come so the children are also brought up to be completely at ease with their bodies.
 
Last Thursday, was a day of outings.  In the morning we went to a suspension bridge about 40 minutes away.  There are still trees with lovely colour and everyone enjoyed the sunshine and some played in the playground like kids.  They love to take pictures, in groups alone, more groups, etc.  At one point I had a dozen cameras at my feet as I was taking pictures of a group of them.  Everyone went off to a Sports Pavilion in the afternoon, but Rod and I stayed behind to get some work done.  

We had a great time at the Halloween party and Rod won first prize in his sumo wrestler's costume.  Just in case you can't tell just by looking at the picture what he was supposed to be.   We danced and ate cookies.  We regretted the cookies because we're not used to eating so much sugar.  But the rest was plain fun.

 

Saturday we just trucked around doing household chores and then one of the participants came by with her final paper.  I spent the rest of the day proof reading the grand epic.  The participants all write papers at regular intervals in their studies and then they assemble it along with their final "Vision" for when they go back home.  It's unfortunate that they all wait till the last minute to get the stuff in as the amount of editing is a lot of work and very time consuming. 

 

The next day, a week ago Sunday, was a gorgeous day so we walked into Nishinasinu the little town nearby and wandered around.  Much to our delight we found a great little Italian restaurant.  I was sure it was a flowershop from the look of the outside.  There were huge flower arrangements and circles of colour.  It's one of the challenges not being able to read a single sign, we never know what's what.  But it turns out, it was their grand opening and we got to experience their new menu and lovely decor.  The staff were so friendly and even found us someone who could speak English since the menu was all Japanese to us.  I think it was the chef who took our order.  They had a set menu and we were delighted at multi course meal.  Just like being in Italy including the sun streaming in the windows.  That evening we had the young volunteers in for a going away party for an American girl who was going back home. 

 

Monday was a great outing into the mountains.  Now these are not like Vancouver mountains, more like Ontario mountains.  Pleasant little villages to explore.  Only in Japan do you find outdoor hotsprings where people go in nude without much cover from the people walking by on the trails.  We stopped at a roadside vendin place where you saw vegetables that seemed to come from a science fiction, cabbages twice the usual size.  They have food vendors and one of the big things is cooked potatoes with butter.  Since we eat a lot of rice here I can see the attraction.  The potatoes are also usually very small and these ones are the size of our baking potatoes.  We then visited a century old tea house at the end of a dirt road.  They still sell tea but not many people go there because there are no signs.  Very Zen. 

 

Our next stop was lunch.  We ended up in a wonderful second story noodleshop.  There was no menu, you could have soup or soup.  We were by the window overlooking the river and the other clients were marvelously picturesque old Japanese guys.  I thought we had happened upon a movie set, it was hard not to just sit back and smile at them. 

 

The week was our usual, morning gatherings and office work.  Although our morning gatherings are much smaller since the participants are gone on the Western Japan tour.  They will have a great time visiting cities all over Japan including a ferry ride to one of the islands.  I am working hard to get the web stuff organized.  We have a layout and some of the content, but we're all struggling to try to learn a bit of Dreamweaver so we can get the new website put together.  So if you know Dreamweaver and would like to volunteer to help, let me know.  Doing Foodlife has been interesting, sewing winter wheat

 

Rod has just finished the second part of the HTC video.  He's getting very good with the Power Director software.  The rest of his productions will  have to wait for a while.  He is now onto helping with the next issue of Take My Hand newsletter and I will continue with the web stuff. 

 

 

With the time change for us today is Halloween and tonight we party!  One of the things you can count on at ARI is that nothing is static.  You just never know what is going to happen next.  We've had guests come to stay at the last minute like some friends from AFARI who needed an overnight stop before moving on to Tokyo.  Later in the week we ended up having some unexpected company after supper.  Two of them were here to do a documentary (from Germany) they had dropped in to ARI for an overnight visit but their main focus in Japan is the relationship between the very old and very young.  It seems there is some very interesting work being done in Japan in that area.  We got a chance to see a small sample of their work.

 

The real treat ended up being a man who showed us his work in Mindenau (west Phillipenes) where there is an independence movement.  He used to write children's books but as he travelled to he saw that chirdren in were very sad.  He finally decided to build what they call a Mindenau Children's Library (large house) but the name does not reflect the work being done there.  They take orphan refugee children to live in the house to be students and educate them.  These children then are part of a group that visit villages and refugee camps.  The students entertain villagers with songs and skits as well as bringing them some essentials like tarps for their meager huts.  The "Library" is trying to promote education.  This man talks about how even in the meager existence that one finds in these villages the children laugh and play.  The resiliance is amazing.

 

We often have visitors who drop in to see ARI and find out how this place works.  The young volunteers are still coming for a week or a month or in a few cases for some days.  The community is very welcoming and the volunteers feel warmed by the way they're included.  Each one says that they wish they could stay longer and hope to come back. 

 

Our morning gathering continues to be a place of surprises.  Just the other morning we heard from a young Japanese participant who has already worked in East Timor.  Her work included trying to reconnect the refugees with their families. Ayaka talked about many times walking all day and although often she was tired, the faces of families who had not heard from relatives for a long time finally were able to reconnect  made it all worthwhile. 

 

We had a Japanese graduate who had been working in Afghanistan where another Japanese aid worker had been kidnapped and killed recently.  The NGO pulled all their Japanese workers.  He says that the west simply doesn't understand Afghanistan but is trying to simplify the problem and think that force will solve the problem but the opposite is taking place instead.

 

Our participants went to Tokyo Union Church last weekend.  They had homestays which for many of them meant that their hosts took them to see the sights of Tokyo. The focus of the event was to enable the congregation and the community to meet and talk with people from developing countries.  They participated in the service (some going to other congregations) and then there was a panel with discussions and questions. 

 

The local church in Nishnasinu was at the same time having their monthly ARI Sunday.  Since non of the participants could preach, Rod was roped in.  He gave them quite the sermon.  I wondered for a while if he had been too out there for them but they loved him.  There have been requests for his sermon from all and sundry.  As Rod said, he has nothing to loose by saying exactly what's on his mind.  It seems people like what they hear.  The preacher talked about how he felt challanged again to do more thinking.  I think he also saw this as a door opening for some things he might not have thought he could say. 

 

We're just having breakfast as I write this and had to laugh when Rod told me that he has taken to keeping the butter in the fridge so it stays softer.  It is getting pretty chilly these days.  The house has no insulation and only single windows so sometimes it's colder indoors than out because the air doesn't warm with the sunrise.  We do have a heater in the bedroom, so we close the door and have that on low all night. 

 

The website development is coming along.  I'm quite pleased with the results so far but we have a long way to go.  At times it goes slowly, yesterday I couldn't access the LAN most of the day.  But then I fill in time by helping to review the final reports from participants.  They have been working on these reports for weeks.  I admire their effort to try to express themselves in a language in which all of them are limited.  The teachers appreciate the help because their English is also limited and their grammar skills are challenged.  That's the way it is, one can find oneselves helping in areas one doesn't expect.  I've had a chance to help bake bread, it was a terrific break from the office.

 

The slide show went well.  I did find it interesting how the participants were really only interested in the shots that they were in.  My main purpose was to leave something for the future participants so they could see how the place looks and is set up.  It was something that we lacked this year so people simply couldn't picture how it might be, didn't know there would be tents.  I think I'll make two final versions, add more people pictures for the participants to take home and another for the library here as resource.