It's been so long since I've written, it's true. The weather is getting colder. The heaters are out and the smell of kerosene is in the air. Back in September...september?...I think it was September... a few of us went on a bus tour to Aizu. It was great! First we went to a windmill park that was more beautiful than I expected. The pictures don't capture it exactly, but then I guess they rarely do. Japan is just a stunning country in every way. Pete, MT, Jon, Chieko-san (my self proclaimed Nihon no oka-san (mother of Japan), Toshiyuki (a student from my Geos days in Koriyama) and many more had a blast up there. We painted red cows, tried our hand at archery, ate soba, visited the oldest swimming pool in Japan which was at an all boy's school and ended the day with a foot bath. Well, some people went to an ancient forest, but in the rain, Jon and I thought a foot bath would be the perfect way to spend an hour. We took off our shoes and socks, rolled up our pants and sat along the bench with other people on the tour and struck up conversations in Japanese. It was the perfect setting, the wet misty air, the hot water turning our pasty feet to a nice shade of pink...after we took a deep breath, we looked at each other and wanted just a little bit more. "Wouldn't it be great just to get IN??" Yep, we recruited 2 of the girls who were sitting there in the group with us, crossed the street to one of the hotels and had a proper onsen experience. It was sooooo wonderful to be sitting in an onsen outside, immersed in hot water up to the neck, just basking in the mist. You never need a bathing suit in Japan (yes, the tubs are separated by gender), so it's rather easy to just buy a towel and hop in. I'm so glad we did. It was the perfect ending to the day. The 2 girls who came along didn't speak any English. I was rather suprised that I could hold a conversation with them for an hour!! So much fun!
But the day wasn't over yet.
We dreamily got back on the bus and headed back to Koriyama. A lot of people were headed to our neighborhood curry joint, Taj, but Chieko and I had other plans. I had packed a dress and heels, and after a quick change in the car, we were off to a night of dancing on the town! Chieko-san is a beginning ballroom dancer and after I told her I used to do a little swing, she took me out! Honestly, it was like walking onto the set of Shall We Dance. Men and Women in their 60's and 70's were dressed to the nines and gliding along the floor. There was a horseshoe of chairs around the auditorium, and Chieko guided me to the end near the stage. Little did I know this is where the experts sat. No sooner did we sit down, when an older gentelmen offered his hand. What could I do? I had no time to get my bearings on the whole situation, but there he was...so I just went with it. Embarrassed out of my WITS, I stumbled through a waltz with him. It was a terrible moment, really. I was the youngest, the only foreigner and completely clueless about the waltz other than the fact that it's done to 3/4 time. It's one thing to stick out like a sore thumb walking to the grocery store, but this was a hundred times worse. Every pair of eyes was on me, especially since we were coming from the experts section ~ I think they were expecting and expert performance. Sheesh!! No pressure. After much coaxing, I finally got Chieko to bring me to her normal place with the semi-beginners. This was where her friends were and dancers who weren't expecting anything but to just have a good time together. I can't tell you how good it was to be there. I could breathe just a little easier. Every lead used the same routine to the same song, so it got easier to predict the next move as the night went on. It's not at all like dancing with a lead back home, where...they lead and you follow. Here, there was a routine and I did my best to pick it up. And fast! :D I met some wonderful people and laughed a lot. It really was a ridiculous situation. And got more ridiculous as the night went on. After the last song played, they had a raffle. Everyone shuffled around and found their ticket stub. The owner of the dance school got up with a microphone and I practiced my numbers by translating them in my head. MAN he was fast! And then Chieko started squeezing my arm and shoving my elbow and making a ruckus, "Sehngoi sehhn-GOII!! Before I could process what was happening, she pushed me up out of my seat and everyone gave a little suprised moan of approval as I went to accept a really nice yellow handbag. I'll always have it to remind me of her. And just how full of life she is. Chieko-san gets up and does the things she loves in life. I hope I'm just like her when I'm in my 50's. She dances, she travels, she learns English, she flirts, she takes her daughters to Tokyo...But mostly, I'll always remember the way she looks when she sits and watches experts dance the waltz.
