Hisashiburi

Apologies to all of you who genuinely check my blog regularly. I cannot begin to describe how busy I actually am here. Well, really I could, but I am just too lazy to do so. Suffice it to say that I have been busy; but without further delay, a new post for all you good people:

I suppose a lot has gone on in the past twenty days since I left you. I just don't know specifically what to talk about. Here are a few things on my mind....

First is that I just got a Shamisen!!! Well, actually, I had to order it so I still don't have it yet, but I will soon. I cannot contain the excitement! A shamisen is the one thing I knew I wanted to buy here, before I ever came. For those of you who don't know what a shamisen is, I will attach a youtube link. http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=09vfa4vuHFY&feature=related

The second thing was something that was moving, but quite sad. For those of you who don't know, my parents recently came and visited me in Japan for about ten days (part of the reason I haven't posted in a while). While they were here, a friend of my host family was kind enough to give my parents a very nice gift. As per custom it is a good idea to give a gift in return as a token of gratitude. But since the friend already is... well shall we say has most things one could want, my host family suggested giving her flowers in return. So that's exactly what we did. We went to a local flower shop, and the clerk put together a beautiful arrangement using flowers we picked out plus some she thought would compliment them nicely. It turned out to be a little more pricey than I anticipated, but all is well. We took the flowers to the friends house, and she was overjoyed to receive them. I, in my broken Japanese, tried to explain that we were grateful for the gifts she gave my biological parents. Now I'm not sure of the details, but I think her husband may have passed on. In either case he is no longer around. She told me that in all the years she was married, her husband never once gave her flowers. I was blown away. Speechless... I understand that Japanese married couples rarely (if ever) say "I love you" or express affection (especially around others), but still. This lady is one of the nicest people I have met, she is so generous and kind, and this year marks the first time in 20 years that she hasn't hosted a foreign exchange student. I couldn't believe her husband never even did the simple act of giving her her flowers. Now, I'm not saying they didn't love each other. I didn't want to pry, so I didn't ask any questions. But still, little gestures go a long way, and I think that each of you who are reading this should go out of your way a bit and do something for someone you love, Today. If you don't have someone special to you around, then do it for one of your friends or family. and just remember not to take any act of kindness that comes your way for granted.