Still Waving, Still Waving

Happy Halloween!

Are you shocked to see jack-o-lanterns in Japan? I certainly am! Nonetheless, they are everywhere! Even though there is no trick-or-treating here, they like to do a lot of Halloween decorating.

Last weekend, we each stayed with a Japanese family and experienced what everyday life is like for most Japanese families. The first thing my family did when they picked me up was to go to a koto lesson. A koto is a traditional Japanese musical instrument with 13 strings. The woman showing me how to play is blind, but is well-known for her koto playing.

I spent the evening with my host family eating an incredible homemade meal of sushi. They live in a house that is both traditional and modern. Some rooms have tatami mats, made from rice straw, on the floor. Tatami mats are very special and you do not wear shoes or slippers when you walk on them. Tatami rooms are called washitsu and have sliding doors.

I had to remember to take my shoes off before entering their house and put on slippers. When I used the bathroom, I had to take off my house slippers and put on special bathroom slippers! It was a little confusing.

The next day my family took me on a drive all the way around the Sukurajima volcano island. We could see a small cloud of steam and ash over the volcano as we took the ferry over to the island. (After we got back to Tokyo, we discovered that later that afternoon it had spouted off quite a bit of steam and ash.)

My host mother (in the above photo) is a teacher on the other side of Mount Sakurajima (behind us). I have given her some of the cranes you made to give to her students. She was excited to have the photos I had brought of you. She will show them to her class and soon you will be known by many Japanese!

Last night we were back in Tokyo and I walked across the busiest crosswalk in the world. It was crazy, but thrilling to be surrounded by a huge crowd of people.
The Land of the Rising Sun is a beautiful country with a tolerant and sensitive people. We always knew there were many differences between our two cultures, but now we realize there are also many similarities. Our students laugh and joke the same, our teachers work hard and love children the same. A friendship has definitely been started and we have extended our hands (and bows) to one another in a desire to increase our understanding of each other.

There is a tradition in Japan that when you say goodbye you wave until you can’t see each other anymore. We would always hear our group coordinator, Naoko-san, urging us to keep waving as we drove away from a group of Japanese. She would be watching out the window and would be calling to us, “Still waving, still waving, still waving, still waving” and we would wave and wave until we either turned a corner or just couldn’t see our well-wishers anymore. On my last evening in Japan, I will begin to bow deeply and wave long and steady to the kind people and wonderful culture that we have found in this country. During this three week journey we’ve seen, done and learned so much. Even so, we also know there is still more to learn and share – so instead of “Goodbye”, “Mata aimasho” or “we shall meet again” seems more fitting.
Still waving, still waving, still waving, still waving….