I had a wonderful visit today with Mr. and Mrs. Taguchi - these two people have become so much more than language exchange partners, they've become dear friends to me! I met them through a friend of my mom, and we've really hit it off.
Noboru-san is an extremely kind man who I've grown to really admire - he's a man of few words, but he has a wonderful sense of humor and is a smart and kind person with a good heart!
Akemi-san is a woman with so much character and laughter, yet alot of wisdom too - and she's become a great mentor and a friend.
They invited me to their place at about 4 today. I walked to their building, which is about a half-hour walk from my house. They live in a beautiful condo-minion on the waterfront downtown, and somehow every time I visit I feel like I'm taking a day trip to Japan.
Irrashaimase, they greet me as I enter their home, with a slight bow, and they're always so considerate as they pull up a small chair for me to sit on as I untie and take-off my shoes, hai, douzo, I'm welcomed to make myself comfortable. Akemi always prepares some delicious tea and an exotic Japanese treat of some sort.
Tonight was especially wonderful, as I was introduced to two of their friends - Susan and Akio-san (Sorry if I got your name wrong - ごめんなさい). Susan lives in their building, and her husband is working in Japan right now, she's a very nice Indian woman with a great sense of humor, and she wants to learn Japanese. Akio-san is living in Canada on a Working Holiday Visa, which is actually the same Visa I'm applying for to stay in Japan. She's very nice very nice and friendly, it was just chance that Akemi and her met, as they bumped into each other at the local library (considering Windsor has less than 0.5% Japanese population).. Funny foot-in-mouth moment happened when I met her, immediately after being introduced, I asked Akio how old she is - which I didn't realise might give the wrong impression, but I was genuinely curious about her age because she looks about my age, though apparently she's a bit older than me, anyways, at realising how forward I sounded, my face turned red but we laughed it off in good spirits ^_^.
After some interesting conversation (in both Japanese and English), Akemi invited us to stay for Dinner, and so we had a wonderful (and may I add healthy) Japanese dinner - rice, japanese curry, chicken, and desert of Ice Cream with Red Bean sauce - Sundae style, sooooo goooooood....
We then went to Susan's apartment and played DDR (Dance Dance Revolution), and burnt off any calories the dinner might of added...
I walked home and it started to rain lightly - I love rain - and I took the sceneic rout, passing by some fountains and wonderful gardens, not even feeling like I was in Windsor until I started to approach my house.
I cant wait for my next visit with the Taguchis!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
ようこそ // Welcome!
Please, enjoy this video (I didn't make it, but it gets me excited!)
As my first post in my new blog, I'd like to take a moment to express my thanks to everyone who's helped me move forward and closer to realising my dream. First and foremost, my mother who has been supportive and encouraging as I prepare to undertake one of the biggest adventures of my life... and to all of my friends who've been there to keep me going. As a memento of my first post in this blog, I would like to outline my goals
- Fluency in Japanese Language, learning more and more each day!
- Immersion in the exotic culture of Japan.
- Making lots of friends along the way.
and most importantly... - Making memories!
As of right now, I'm still in my home in Canada. I study Japanese on my own time, sometimes with the help of my dear Japanese friends (こんにちは、田口さん、ゆかりさん、宜しくね). I'm still months away from my departure, but I want to start the story here, at home where it begins.
I'm anxious for the future to unfold and an adventure in a far-off land to unravel before my feet.
またね～
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