Parents in Japan

Well my parents have come and gone and now I am on the final stretch of my life in Japan. Having them here was actually pretty nice (although there were many moments of near craziness due to them being….well, themselves). It was nice seeing them after all this time though, and sharing with them what has been my life for the past two years.

We started their trip to Japan with a visit to Kyoto and Nara, the old Japanese capitals. I love the history and beauty of these cities and thankfully my parents did too. Nara especially is beautiful and quintessentially Japanese, gorgeous gardens and all. The main area of interest there is Nara Koen which is a large park featuring several historical sights and temples, and which has something like 2000 deer roaming freely thorough it and interacting with visitors. My father got a little too generous with feeding the deer though, so at one point my mother and I got to stand by and watch with laughter as he was chased through the previously peaceful park by a mob of the hungry little bastards.

It was hilarious getting my parents impression of Japan too, and trying to get them to behave in Japan appropriate ways (getting my mother to stop making stereotypical anatomy size jokes was a challenge for one). I had forgotten how loud, crude and intense my family can be sometimes. My dad pretending to be a geisha in a Japanese bathrobe; my mother swearing loudly in Croatian and English amidst otherwise quiet Buddhist temple settings (I had reprimanded her, she told me I was being silly and to prove it said something indecent in Croatian to the back of a nearby monk, laughed to herself, and then tripped and almost fell into a carp pool, which finally made her behave).

After our whirlwind tour of old Japan, we finally headed back towards Nagasaki. By this point they had decided that their favourite type of Japanese restaurant was an Izakaya (I tried explaining that eating at these is the equivalent of eating at a western style pub…and hence food quality isn’t always the greatest, but they didn’t really seem to care – my mother was thrilled that she didn’t have to eat raw fish or other weird things as she had expected and my dad was just happy to have a large pint of beer in front of him). They also got really excited by the fact that there is an overabundance of bakeries in Japan – the availability of bread was a pleasant surprise apparently. I swear I ate more bread and bread related products in the two weeks they were here than the whole rest of the time I have been in Japan.

By the time we finally reached Nagasaki (me now several pounds heavier), the temperature was noticeably warmer and it was a lot more humid. My mother dealt with the heat surprisingly well, and I only had to listen to one long hour of whining on a day we had to walk from a ferry port to the beach with the sun high and hot overhead.

In Nagasaki, we did the usual tour – Mount Unzen (for onsening and the sulfur pits), Shimabara (my previous place of residence, and quaintly historical), Nagasaki city (my closest big city) and of course Omura (my current abode on the bay). They found the onsens (hot springs) interesting but weird and I think my mother liked them, but found them a bit hot. I also took them to see my friend perform Japanese dance, which was my first time as well, and quite a good way to experience traditional Japanese culture. Of course, they wanted to see me do Iaido and Jodo too and so I arranged for them to see some classes which was pretty cool for my teachers as well as for my parents. Training martial arts in Japan is a lot different from my experiences in North America, after all, and it was nice to share that with someone who can compare the two.

They also got to meet almost all of my friends, both foreign and Japanese, on one night or another. I even dragged them out to a battle of the bands at a local bar where I sometimes help out. I actually ended up working the bar that night so I was surprised that they stayed out quite late on their own in such a loud, crowded place. The only problem was that my mother kept trying to help me clean up the bar and even yelled at me for being too slow at one point. Mothers. My father was as usual antisocial, but I am glad he didn’t say anything too embarrassing. He mainly grilled everyone about whether they rode bikes or not and what kind.

Of course, everyone at work knew they were coming so my boss insisted I bring them around. I don’t think they expected the kind of reception they got, and were even sort of embarrassed (as I sometimes am) at how generous and kind everyone at the center is. There were ceremonies, presents, and numerous tea drinkings in their honour. I had to spend a few hours dragging them around to meet everyone and even the head director wanted to have tea with us. The only difficulty here was that I was often the only translator and while I may have passable Japanese for simple situations, trying to understand and translate complex cultural questions proved a little difficult. Luckily everyone was forgiving, and sometimes I just simply made stuff up so that things would be easier. A typical conversation went something like this:
Approximation of question asked in Japanese: `how do you find the cultural aspects of Japan are showcased in its ancient capitals and what impression of the Japanese people do they give you?`
My answer (mangled Japanese, and having understood only half of previous question):
`uuuum…..Japan culture? Yes. We like Japan culture. It….interesting. Very….fun`.
*big hopeful smile*

At the end of their time here I was getting quite used to having a full house again though, and it was nice to come home to a clean home and food everyday. At the same time, it made me realize how much I have come to value my alone time as well. All in all, I gained more than I lost…..especially since I rescued my poor green purse (which my mother claims makes me look like a whore due to the fact that its falling apart and is, well, bright green in colour) from the garbage, in my parents` failed attempt to get rid of it.

My friends` reactions to my parents was also funny – everyone was surprised that my mother does in fact sound exactly like how I imitate her – heavy Croatian accent, and constantly claiming that she is dying from some disease or other.

All in all good times, but as soon as they were on the train on Friday, I definitely deserved the night of drinking that I got!