Day 35: Sightseeing

Last night I made sure to get lots of sleep. After all, it is the weekend. I am a bit sore this morning, but mostly just from sunburn and not muscle pain. The whole family had breakfast together again today: Junpei, mom, dad, grandpa, both grandma's, and I. I usually only follow about a third of the conversations going on, but it is fun just to watch them because they are such happy and light-hearted people. After breakfast I made phone call to my beautiful girlfriend Lindsay and caught up with some emails before a day of sightseeing with the family.

Kazuo and I went to the Zen temple Ryoanji, which is very close to Kinkakuji. The most attractive part of the Temple is the main Zen rock garden. Everyone sits quietly next to the garden and stares at it for some time. There are fifteen large rocks placed in the garden, and their meaning or placements are open to the viewers interpretation and imagination. I didn't try to think too deeply, because it was enough just to stare at the garden's beauty, elegance, and simplicity. Today was a rainy day, but Kazuo described the color contrasts of the garden during more favorable times of the year. He said that the grey of the rocks in the garden, the beige of the walls surrounding it, the perfect blue sky above, and the white cherry blossoms can make the garden even more beautiful. Ryoanji is one fo the most beautiful and serene places I have ever seen. If there were not tourists there, then it would be the most aesthetically pleasing atmosphere for a person to find peace. I can only imagine how awesome it must have been hundreds of years ago.

Kazuo and I met up with the rest of the family at Tenryu-ji Temple for some sightseeing there. Tenryu-ji is also famous for its Zen gardens. As we walked past the large pond in the garden, all of the carp followed closely in the water. The Japanese love carp. We walked deep into the more forested part of the garden and we could here the singing if Japanese Knightingales. Two of them flew really close to us, but Junpei scared them away in about two seconds.

For lunch we all went to a restaurant across the street from Tenryu-ji Temple. I had some cold tofu, somen (noodles), rice, and some kind of shellfish. Junpei requested that we go to a bookstore, so we headed there after lunch. I looked at some Japanese novels and some Japanese cookbooks too. I will really miss the food here, because it is both delicious and healthy. Near the bookstore is an import shop which sells foods from all over the world. I wa excited to see what American foods they had to offer. My main goal was to find the food that I have been missing the most: salsa and chips. Before to long I found some Old El Paso salsa and Tostitos tortilla chips...yes!

Back home Yuko started to prepare dinner, while Junpei and I finished watching Star Wars Episode II. Dinner was great: pizza, salad, meatballs, and of course my chips and salsa. Junpei tried a chip with some salsa and immediately started screaming and asking for water. I felt bad at first, but then realized he was over reacting. The salsa was not that spicy, but for a Japanese taste, I suppose it was. The Japanese usually eat foods with very mild flavors and little spices. Junpei's mom and dad really liked the salsa, and there is no question that I did. Kazuo also bought some American beer, Samuel Adams. I don't usually drink Samuel Adams, but it was still more American-tasting.

After dinner I had some time to catch up with my work before bed. Tomorrow starts my sixth week at Notre Dame Elementary! Unbelievable. I am not sure, as of now, what my duties will be for this week. Mr. Yukita is back from his trip to America, so I may find myself in several different classroom scenarios this week.