saru wa haato o nusumimashita (a monkey stole my heart)....

Yesterday, I played with monkeys at the Nagasaki bio-park. I also played with large rodent like animals, but I forgot what they are called and am too lazy to look it up right now. Who knew that exotic petting zoos could be so much fun though?? A thorougly enjoyable day the only downside to which was watching the horrendeous movie `the Holiday` and cringeing at it`s complete stupidity. Figures that the first movie I see in a theater in like 6 months has to be of the sort that makes you want to throw yourself down a steep flight of stairs. Ah well, the day still had a lot more good than bad in it -- how can a day with monkeys not?

Today I came back to work after a week off due to an eye infection and was greeted by a standing ovation! I have to say, nothing makes you feel quite as special as a room full of people clapping at you and congratulating you on basically being sick for a week. Things, I will miss.

It is the end of the Japanese school year over here as well so we are getting a bunch of new people at the center and losing some old ones. One of my favourite collegues is moving departments but she will still be in the same building. We promised to keep up our language exchange. Today she taught me the word `nusumu` and I in turn taught her the English translation, which is `to steal`. The explanation was done entirely through sign language. Since this co-worker is my gossip buddy I explained to her that in English we have an expression for falling in love using that verb, i.e. `he stole my heart`. She pointed out that you can say the same thing in Japanese with `nusumu`. Then she looked off into the distance kinda sadly and said that she wished someone would steal her heart, and that she had even left `the door open` to make it easier. She said this in Japanese and both her delivery and the methapor were quite comical. I responded that my heart was by contrast a high security facility, with nothing short of a high powered laser having any chance of getting through. Of course, any wit this might have contained was ruined by the fact that I had to gesture, mime, and draw diagrams in order to explain all that. I think she may have been left with the impression that I spent time in jail and that my heart shoots laser beams....the joys of communication.

Driving to the center today I noticed a few cherry blossoms on the trees finally. Hopefully that means the sakura will be in full bloom by this coming weekend!

Mou natsukashii.....

Yesterday I sat in a patio bar at Dejima wharf in Nagasaki city with some of my closest friends at the moment. All in all a very awesome group of people. Some of us are leaving this summer and some staying though, so I was trying not to get sentimental about being one of the leavers. We sat drinking beer, talking and laughing and then a guitar appeared. The boys started playing, then a drum box was discovered and that was put to good use as well. By the end everyone was singing and clapping together as the sun set over Nagasaki Bay, leaving the glimmering city lights to reflect off the ocean water. It was a really, really perfect Sunday, yet again.

Today I came into work with a bit of a hangover but was happy to see my co-workers. It was trash picking day (community service is pretty widespread here) and so we went outside in the sun to pick garbage. I was assigned the area near Omura castle and went with one of my favourite co-workers. We were speaking in Japanese for 10 minutes before I realized that I had not had any trouble understanding her the whole time. I had been replying in half English and half-Japanese and she had understood me as well (she doesn’t really speak English). Her comment was `it’s amazing that we understand each other at all!`. I had to agree.

I find recently that I don’t fear the future as much as I used to. There are so many stories, and moments and images of beauty in life that create this luxurious tapestry of experience. I want to live it all, to drink it all in, and to have the memories to fall back on when I am sitting on a beach somewhere in my old age. Hopefully even then I will be surrounded by good friends who like to drink, sing and laugh.

At least somebody loves me....

I love elementary school days. They are by far my favourite day of the week for both amusement and self-worth reasons.

Today one of my ni-nensei (adorable 8 year old) girls came up to me and said the following (in Japanese of course):
Little Yuki: Lana-sensei taught us about monkeys today.
Me: Yes, I did. Do you like monkeys?
Little Yuki: *nods* I love monkeys. *hugs me*. I love Lana-sensei!

It was strangely soothing and it also made me realized that I don`t get hugged nearly enough these days. And I do have to admit, monkeys are pretty cool as well.

But of course, the kids they giveth and they taketh away. Later today, during school lunch, I was eating with the 2-1 class and one of the little girls asked me the following:
Little Akiko: Does rice make you fat?
Me: Um *surprised and not sure I understood correctly* I don`t know...
Little Akiko: Does Lana-sensei eat a lot of rice?
(ok now what exactly is she trying to say?? Luckily a smile and change of topic to which animal she likes best got her off of that train of thought).