Sayonara, American-Style

My Japanese friends Keiko, Emiko, Akiko, Noriko, and Kayo have taught me so much about Japan's great culture. Along the way, they have presented me with so many heart-felt gifts, most importantly their friendship, that I wanted to show them one last time in Japan how appreciative I am for their friendship. So, Brian and I invited my English class, and Noriko's husband and our friend Masa-aki, to our home for an American-style sayonara cookout.


We grilled filet mignon and vegetables and rounded out the meal with mashed potatoes, a Greek honey walnut cake for dessert, plenty of American beer, and of course, all the sake we had on hand and needed to finish before leaving.

And even without beer and sake, my Japanese friends have always enjoyed Sydney and Miranda like surrogate aunts/grandmothers. They have always paid them lots of special attention and it always amazes me how well they are able to get along despite the slight language barrier. Of course they always brought special treats and little gifts for the girls. Emiko has even been known to give them the necklace and bracelet she was wearing that day!

As a small token of my friendship, I presented my friends each with a handmade piece of pottery made in the USA, to represent a little piece of where I am from and where I am going as we part ways. And not knowing what I could buy that would ever be significant enough, I dedicated a noncontinuous week of my life (spread out over at least 2 months between packing and other required time constraints) making sets of five quilted coasters for each of my friends to remember me by. Practical, yes. But they were made by an American (me), from Japanese and American fabrics, and the number represented each of my five Japanese friends. And together they were a fusion of cultures and a complete and useful set, just like our group has been for us. And since I just started sewing in January, they were a learning experience!

In true Japanese fashion, my friends presented me with generous gifts, which I do not think I deserve because these were not just any gifts. They were the most meaningful gifts that, after spending two and a half years together, told me I was as dear as family to my friends. So, even though part of me didn't want to accept the gifts because they were extravagant, I did so because I want my Japanese friends to know I will treasure the Japanese things and will also remember them as dearly as family.

Akiko, gave me this gorgeous kimono and obi she wore for her own retirement to remember her by, to enjoy, and display in my home. And the many pieces of beautiful Japanese wood block artwork Keiko gave to me will be placed in prominent places in our home, no matter where we live. Kayo presented me with a thoughtful set of furoshiki representing Japanese cultural holidays. And I've already mentioned the beautiful pearls Noriko and Masa-aki gave me.

Despite it being a weeknight, it wasn't until 10:30pm that we parted ways, none of us wanting to say good-bye. Since we have two year orders, the joke of the night was, "See you in two years...when you move back to Japan." And while we wouldn't mind moving back to Japan, most likely it wouldn't be in two years. So, in the meantime, I hope my friends will come to visit me in the USA so I can be as generous a host as they've been to me and my family.

Stocking Up

Sadly, this weekend I went to my last on-base shopping bazaar in Japan. I put the girls in daycare (they always have a special opening for this shopping weekend) and spent five fabulous shopping hours by myself.

I set out to buy two things: a long carved wooden decorative piece to hang and some kind of good quality rug. I bought the former within the first 15 minutes and the latter within the last 15 minutes. And I am so happy with these items and everything in between.

The rug is a 7 x 10 Tabriz Mahi Persian, double-knotted wool rug with silk accents. I love that it has several colors (including my favorites maroon and rust, along with navy blue and green) in a small, intricate, sharp pattern; it is impressive, I would say it is to rugs what HDTV is to cable! (And Brian approved it before that analogy!)

Everything else I bought was a little impulsive, yet necessary of course. I have long admired these pyramid purses from one of my favorite vendors, Reiko's gifts. Everything she makes is original and handmade from Japanese kimono or obis. I hope to be carrying this one to our friends Curtis and Zareen's wedding, which we are desperately trying to make June 6.

And this hana ("flower") tea set spoke to me, quite suddenly, in fact, from another favorite vendor, Yoshida-san. For all the tea we've drank in Japan, I needed a tea set I love--with 5 cups, which is the Japanese way (since the number 4 is bad luck).

And I couldn't leave Japan with only one kimono for my two girls, so I bought this beautiful butterfly kimono. I already had another one from a shrine sale. They can duke it out like sumo wrestlers over who gets to wear which one, but I've done my part.

During this bi-annual bazaar, a five-story parking garage is lined with vendors. So to avoid getting dizzy, my strategy is to walk up, collect paperwork for all my purchases, pay the cashier at the top, then work my way down to collect my items. But it never fails that I see something on the way down that I missed on the way up...

Like these adorable handmade "girls in kimono" pillow covers, which I bought for the girls' beds. And although not Asian, these knitted dresses for dolls were too cute to pass up, especially since they were only $4 each!

It is strange, this sentimental feeling of needing to stock up on anything authentically Japanese I could ever want. The type A personality deep within me doesn't like the feeling that time is running out; it moves me to impulsivity. But I think I am mostly done...