Category: Uncategorized

Skype Call – May 23, 2020


After a hiatus of two weeks, it was wonderful communicating with Nari, Nobutaka, and Yuriko. Nari told me that Japan has 46 prefectures, and 39 are open, so that is encouraging news. His son just had his 20th birthday (hatachi), like our milestone birthdays at age 21. They went out for a steak dinner. His brother and mother are in stable condition and for now things are looking up in Japan.

Nari read an ESL article about the necessity for truthfulness in describing whether a college or university will be teaching classes online or in-person https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2005/200521-online-lessons.html as it may influence the student’s decision in considering offers from various colleges or universities.

Nari asked me about the phrases, “sounds like a broken record” and
“eager beaver.”

Empathy

When my sons were teenagers, I learned that my neighbors’ 13-year-old son, John, had leukemia. I had never encountered the word and went to the library and looked through the card catalog to find Doris Lund’s book, Eric. I read the book in one evening and sobbed and cried through the night and on and off for three days after that. I frightened myself with the guttural and primal sounds that came from beneath my diaphragm and went into the closet, afraid that the neighbors would hear and come knocking at my door. Lund had portrayed the painful process of watching her fit and athletic soccer-star son go through an acute leukemia diagnosis and treatment. Eric was diagnosed in 1967 and died in 1972 at the age of 22. Lund watched her husband’s face permanently change and shared her excruciating pain and sorrow through her book.

Overnight, I had crows’ feet around my eyes and aged about ten years. I didn’t know about hydration or moisturizers that may have mitigated the imprints on my face.

When I visited John’s grandmother who lived two doors down, I remember her shock in seeing me and she said, “You are old!” I didn’t think to tell her that when I learned that her grandson had leukemia, I read Doris Lund’s book, and cried cisterns of tears. Since then, John has been in remission, married, and has two children. The treatment protocol for childhood leukemia had improved over the years.

Over 60 years have passed and the worry lines on my forehead have deepened, there are more lines between my eyes, my nose has flattened somewhat, and there are dark spots on my face. I have accumulated large bags under my eyes, and remember being shocked when I noticed chin hairs, some black and some white. I purchased tweezers and remember a friend saying she bought a magnifying mirror to find them, so I bought one too.

I am reminded of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130:

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
     And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
     As any she belied with false compare.

Skype Call – May 2, 2020

We did not have a Skype call today but we did last week. Nari went on a third interview but hasn’t heard anything. We all wish the best for him and feel the weight he is carrying. If he gets the job with Hanshin Railway, he will have to take a combination of four trains and subway lines to get to work within one-and-a-half hours. He mentioned the word kibishii for harsh or severe.

I mentioned an article I read about Professor Tasuku Honjo, a Nobel laureate who stated that the corona virus had to have come from the Wuhan laboratory in China and that it was man-made rather than natural. I have since learned that the post was false and the words attributed to the professor a complete fabrication.

Nari read an ESL article about the Sahara in Morocco having been the most dangerous place on earth 100 million years ago. Paleontologists have found fossils of ferocious predators. Even the fish were five times the size of anything else they’ve seen.

He asked about the phrase “you should jazz up your wardrobe” and “stubborn as a mule.” I hope that next week, we’ll all have something good to report.

Skype Call – April 25, 2020

Nari could not participate last week because of illness in his family. He is still looking for a job, challenging in the middle of a pandemic and dangerous because the interviews have been in Osaka, a COVID-19 hotspot. He’s been to two interviews so far. I told him that in America, you often hear that the third time’s the charm. He said Japan’s lucky number is 7, and Nobutaka said there is a saying that goes something like “One, two, three is two.” I said that that makes no sense, how can three be two? This was spoken in Japanese, and after Nari’s repeated translation, I understood. The Japanese are unable to pronounce R when it is in the middle of a word and they were trying to tell me, “One, two, three is true.”

    Nari had tendon (tempura on rice), Yuriko and Nobutaka had pasta with enoki mushrooms and Japanese spaghetti sauce, and I had lemon garlic shrimp. Because of the time difference, they had lunch, and I had dinner.

    Nari read an ESL article about the success of Netflix during the lockdown, and sure enough, a share of Netflix is going for $424. For his questions about idioms, he asked about backwards and forwards and smell a rat.

    Good luck, Nari-san!

    Japanese Perseverance

    It is no wonder that the suicide rate in Japan is twice that of the United States and prosperity does not translate to the happiness of the workers and their families.  Those that commit suicide have decided that life is too much and the alternative will free them from frustration and pain. They live with so many stresses in their lives, such as long commutes on trains and subways, watchful coworkers to check the time of their breaks, and group conformity.  Sometimes, as I read the opinions, studies, and reports about the Japanese people, it looks like the whole country will implode, yet the Japanese have always adapted and faced their challenges without complaint. 

    I read somewhere that 58 percent of Japanese women do not want to marry, and have no problem with entering a restaurant alone.  When the host asks “How many?” the woman answers “Hitori” (one).  Many women will apply for jobs at foreign companies located in Japan, believing that they have a better chance of being promoted.  Ambitions stifled and with little help from husbands if they do pursue a career, women in Japan still remain second class citizens.

    Throughout their long history Japan has been plagued with civil wars, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.  It is the bushido of culture ingrained in their psyche that compels them to rebuild and thrive.

    Takachiho Farm – 2015

    A Fond Memory

    My cousin and her husband took me to Takachiho Farm in Miyakonojo and I loved it. The rolling hills, the cows in the distance, and the weather that day created a tranquil pastoral scene that I took in with joy and peace. There was a spot to view the quarternary volcanoes, volcanoes that had been active over 250 million years ago to the present day.  There was a sign with informative text about the fact that there are 24 volcanoes on the ridge, one that is still active. On that day, I saw shades of green that were purer and greener than I had ever seen. Undiluted. The greens that I had known in Los Angeles during a visit to Griffith Park or around my neighborhood were always viewed through a haze of smog or a dusting of pollutants.  When I returned to Los Angeles, I mentioned my observations to my former Japanese tutor, and he understood exactly what I meant.

    At the farm we had delicious ice cream. We visited the Kirishima Jinja before going to the train station. The most wonderful foot bath was located in front of the station.  There was a tea leaf tree with branches that partially hung over the pond.  A gentle breeze brushed a shower of delicate leaves into the water.  It was a memorable, magical day.

    Skype Call – April 11, 2020

    Today’s conversation was about the worsening conditions in Japan that prompted Prime Minister Abe to declare a national emergency. Nari has not yet found a job although he had an interview on Friday. He wants the job, but it is in Osaka, one of the hotspots for coronavirus. He mentioned that researchers have discovered that a vaccine (BCG) that was used for TB, a bacterial infection, has had impressive results as a possible vaccine for coronavirus, a viral disease.

    Nobutaka and Yuriko had curry udon today, Nari had anago (sea eel), and I had leftover chicken in a tortilla.

    Nari read an ESL article about wildlife trade that referenced diseases that have come from wild animals sold for food. There may be a ban on wildlife trade in the near future. He asked me about the phrases, went out like a light, and lion’s share.

    Takeout Food

    During the stay-at-home advisory, I’ve begun to miss some of my favorite restaurants. Fortunately, today I was able to have the Asian Mix Green Salad and Spicy Tuna Roll at Sen of Japan. It was not the same as sitting down at the table and enjoying the rituals of an oshibori, the napkin folded like a kimono, and the wonderful wait service, but the food was delicious and will hold me until I go back next week.

    Skype Call – April 4, 2020

    Nari does not have a job at the moment so he reads and listens to the news. He mentioned promising vaccines in Japan such as Avigan and BCG vaccine that might work for coronavirus. He has a job interview on Tuesday, but it is in Osaka, one of the epicenters of COVID-19. Nobutaka says there are only two cases in his prefecture of Miyazaki, so they feel safe at the moment.

    Nari read an ESL article about computers translating brain waves into sentences, and he asked about the phrases make a monkey out of me and from the get-go. He also asked if Americans really used these phrases, and I said, not me.

    Good luck Nari, on your job interview, and everyone stay healthy.

    Skype Call – March 28, 2020

    Everyone is preoccupied with COVID-19. Fortunately, in Miyazaki where Nobutaka and Yuriko live, there are only three cases. There are more patients in the larger metropolitan areas such as Tokyo and Osaka. Nari says that patients with coronavirus are advised to stay home and rest. He heard on the news that there are only 50 ECMO machines available in all of Japan. I had never heard of such a machine but when I looked it up, I discovered it is a machine similar to a ventilator used for patients with heart and respiratory problems.

    Nari is between jobs and it seems like no one is hiring. Although he has paid off his mortgage, he has to pay his son’s tuition at a private university and it worries him. We hope to speak of better things next week.