Kyoto Part II: The Human Side

As you probably know, Mary will talk to anyone. That being the case, we've met plenty of Japanese natives and foreign tourists (like us) from all over the world -- Pakistan, Bulgaria, Taiwan, China, France etc. However, having what she'd characterize a "real" conversation has been a challenge.

We're now pretty adept at “pass the dictionary” and charades when meeting people, ordering food, etc. As you’ve read, Mary’s communication skills have been reduced to intense bowing while bungling even the most basic Japanese words. We have hope for Maura and Kara, although everything they say is met with "Kawaii!" ("cute!"), so they haven't had to work too hard other than to smile and say "konnichiwa" in their most endearing voices.

Some people we've met speak beautiful English. Others have a few words that they probably learned years ago in school. (This is much like our French vocabulary--we can count to ten and Mary remembers some weird poem about cherries from freshman year. That's about it.) But many people have worked really hard to communicate with us -- and vice versa.

Temple in the mountains of Kyoto

New Friends

A friend in Greensboro (thank you, Winston!) put us in touch with her brother who has lived in Kyoto for 24 years. We connected via Facebook several months before our trip, reconnected when we arrived in Kyoto, and Angus graciously agreed to meet the four of us for a dinner on our second evening in the city. This led to some of the most fun and interesting parts of our trip to Japan.

Kids on the deck

We don't want to embarrass Angus and Kayoko-- or drive a flood of tourist traffic their way -- but this is one cool family who made Kyoto a much richer experience for us. They're both great storytellers who love to laugh and are fully engaged in their community. Both were willing to share their experiences and answer a barrage of questions we had about living in Japan. They were so kind to our children that it still brings tears to Mary's eyes. 

Our family with Angus & Kayoko

They also invited us to tag along with them to several things we otherwise wouldn't have experienced -- from a party at their friend's home where Yale University's senior women's a cappella group kicked off their world tour (seriously), to visiting a countryside farmer's market and Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Kyoto. They graciously invited us to lunch at their gorgeous home. And, after a four-hour soccer practice, their 14-year-old son joined us and was equally kind to our girls.

We were having so much fun that we completely forgot to take a photo of the delicious lunch. But we did capture a few photos of our walk to their neighborhood shrine -- the oldest in Kyoto, which is also very beautiful -- where the kids cooled off in the river while we watched a tea ceremony and a few wedding processions.

Whim 'N Rhythm show

Words rarely fail us, but they have. All we can do is say “thank you” and pass along the hospitality shown to us during our stay.

Our family + Proffitt family

Boulder Connections 

We also met up with Aaron, one of Mark's former students at CU-Boulder who is part of the Fulbright Program in Kyoto as he finishes his dissertation. After lunch with Aaron, Claire and their 11-month old daughter, we walked around Nijo Castle and the gardens. They filled us in on history of the castle, and we pretended to be ninjas trying to sneak into the castle. It was a fun afternoon for all of us--especially for Mark who loved comparing notes with Aaron about all things related to Pure Land Buddhism.

"My Name is..."

Post-interview picture

Everywhere we go, we run into packs of Japanese middle schoolers on field trips. Most are in uniform and have a common mission -- to interview a tourist so they can practice their English. "What is your name? Where are you from? How do you like Japan? What is your favorite food in Japan?" Usually, there's a teacher nearby, and the interview always ends with a request to take a picture with the group. We've also started asking the teacher to take a picture with our camera, too, which the students find entertaining.

Meeting Other Westerners

Rule in Japan: If you’re a westerner, you should ignore other westerners you see along the way. Or maybe they just ignore us. We can’t back this with data, but maybe it has something to do with having a lot of luggage. Or children. Or possibly being a little loud and embarrassing. We’d like to test our hypothesis with a trip for two to Japan after the children leave the nest.