Professor Hiroyuki Imai picked me up at 11am at my place yesterday for the hour long drive through the winding, mountainous roads down to the sea at Kobe. It was a gorgeous drive through the steep, curvy, greening mountains. There were deep, steep gorges on the sides of the road and at one point an almost empty water reservoir. The orangey-brown mud was stark against the gray mountain stone and the pine trees revealing an emptiness, a drought, a water shortage. I asked Hiro about it, but there isn't any movement socially or politically to do anything to curb water consumption. It worried me for them, but he said that in the fall the typhoons fill the reservoirs.
We arrived in Kobe, and city on the coast with dramatic hills rising in the background, and found the high school we were visiting for the day. The school occupied a narrow swath of land, but ran back some ways and had four floors. It was deceiving in appearance from the street, looking like a small school, but in reality it was maze-like and large. It had artwork strewn all throughout the building in interesting places. Tables and benches were located near the pieces of art. The building itself, we learned, was 76 years old and is being renovated soon. The complex had an inner courtyard with trees, plants and benches giving the campus a very open and out-doorsy feel.
The teachers and principal were very welcoming and friendly. They brought us green tea to settle in and the principal sat down and chatted with us. He was very friendly. I wished I had better gifts for him and the school. We visited four different classes during the day and later had an interview with 4 TAs and 1 teacher. For lunch, Imai and I sought out a little diner that served business people quick lunches. We ordered curry and rice which was spicy and quite good. It came with salad and pickled onions and peppers. Afterward, we ran back up the steep slope to the school for the rest of the observations.
Once we finished the interview, we said our goodbyes to all the very kind folks at the high school. The principal and one teacher escorted us to our car and waved goodbye. The kindness of the folks was quite overwhelming.
Imai took me to Kobe harbor where we walked on the pier, chatted and took photos. I did a bit of window shopping, but sadly the cutest clothes weren't my size :-( There was a cute Japanese handmade hippy clothing shop I loved, but... what can I do, right? We ended up checking out various restaurant menus in search of a place we could have Kobe beef. We finally chose a restaurant called, Sakura, after the famous flowering cherry trees of Japan. It was super cool looking. The interior was a modern take on tradition Japanese rooms. There were stout tables with mats that sat up off the ground, elevated by wooden beams and glass. You were supposed to walk on the glass to sit at the table. Under the glass was what looked like a Japanese rock garden, manicured and patterned. Other areas, were more private and intimate with walls that created mini rooms for tables. These walls had cut outs of sakura leaves. The candlelight made haunting, romantic shadows that danced along the walls. We had an outstanding dinner of sashimi and Kobe beef (lightly grilled) with Sake. Our conversations ranged from professional, social, cultural and personal. I think I made a friend. :-)After dinner, we drove back to Kato City chatting the whole way. How fun! I got back to my apartment at 9:05pm totally wiped out. That's why I didn't write last night.
Images and sensations from the day in no logical order: cobalt-colored roof tiles, miniature statues on home walls, rice paddies, sea air, the Turkish toilets, bowing, Hi as yes, the crowded teachers' room, brown-toned handouts, Imai's Mercedes, sculpted trees.
No comments:
Post a Comment