Sleeping and Waking

Wow. While we sleep, you are awake. And while we are awake, you sleep. I think I'm awake, but I'm about to go to sleep. To summarize... our first full day on our own started out ominously. Eye splitting lightening and ear shattering thunder welcomed us into the day. But that wasn't the most shocking event of the morning. Holden went to the window and was amazed to find the Ladybug car and the van pointed nose to nose... snogging! After breakfast, we took a 3 minute video tour of Tokyo on the internet. Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so... We learned alot! We learned vending machines are everywhere! You can get soup, french fries, and your shoes shined with a swipe of the old credit card or a couple of yen. We even hear that the public restrooms don't have toilet paper. That comes out of the vending machine, too! What else did we learn... oh yes, we learned some etiquette. No pointing, no eating in public, no counting your change (they pride themselves on their honesty), no tipping, and no shoes inside most places. All true? We also listened to a Japanese pop radio station. And lastly, we watched a Japanese meal being prepared. This was in Kamakura (sp?) I think. The woman preparing the meal got fresh herbs from her front yard and bamboo from her back yard. They took the bamboo, peeled it, and then boiled it for 3 hours. Then they peeled down to the heart, sliced it up and poured a mixture of herbs and mizo (sp?). Green paste... yum... They topped the dish off by slapping an herb to bring out the essence... then they decorated the food with it. We were told that the food is meant to enhance the drinking of sake and vice versa. Looking forward to much sake being brought home. After Japanese class, the rest of the day was spent out in nature. We went to the state park and walked a 2 mile trail through the blustery autumn day. Sydney sought out and named landmarks along our journey. There were the fairy tables (3 beautiful upright mushrooms), followed by River bluff (we could see the river below), hidden bench ( a stone bench that was being overgrown with brush and had a green moss growing on it), the wise tree, thunder pass, nature's arch, birch grove, magic meadow, and silk island. We collected a bouquet of autumn leaves along the way for the fairies and left it on silk island. We only saw two other souls the whole time. Very peaceful. By the time we got home, it was dinner time. Holden ate vegetables! They both helped clean off the table and put dishes in the dishwasher. Holden wanted stories about Dolphins and Houdini. Sydney wanted me to retell old Hogan Heroes' episodes to complement her Civil War diairies. Good night! I mean, good day!