Just as I suspected, it was like no time had passed. Yoshii San came to the school with Kyoko, her daughter, and Kyoko's daughters, Tamami and Mitsuki. And Tadahiko, Yoshii's husband. After my 2nd class I went down to find them. Our reunion was a-typically loud for the usually 'so quiet you can hear a pin drop' lobby. I think we screamed. When I hugged Kyoko, I almost started to cry. The last time I saw her we were doing hip hop routines in Yoshii's living room on Christmas Eve in 1994. I took them upstairs and they were all so impressed with the lobby. I forget -- but it really is a beautiful building with marble and lots of glass. Very modern. The floor our office is on is card protected, so that also seemed to impress everyone. Wakako, Nao, Koichi and Koda San were all waiting. They were all so sweet and we did a formal introduction with a bit of small talk. Then Yoshii San wanted a picture, and Koda suggested we use Mr. Kawabata's office -- the green shag rug and black leather wrap around couch. Yoshii San was so sweet -- she was afraid to step on the rug in her shoes. We took a picture with all of us, then Yoshii insisted on a picture of me with the company, and then we did one all together, with Koda San snapping the pic. It was official; we had all met, understood the relationships, and had pictures to prove it.
Satoshi, Kyoko's husband -- met us at the Hilton Park Tower -- where Mr. Yoshii rented a private banquet room. We ate a Chinese dinner, with a rotating lazy susan, which was brilliant because there was so much conversation and picture taking that I hardly realized what I was eating, when I was eating it. It must have been a nine course meal -- and it was delicious. Kyoko looks beautiful. She has taken up ballet again, with both her girls in school, and looks very young! She is so funny, just like her Mother, with this wry sense of humor that I remember very well. We of course discovered a shared passion for thrift stores. Shared stories of what we had on, trying to beat each other on how much we paid. Mitsuki is 14 and is very smart. Speaks a fair amount of English. Has been dancing for 7 years and also singing. Tamami is 10 and is equally smart but also has her Mother's dry humor. Soon after we sat down, Tamami handed me a drawing. It was a cartoon version of me, in my dress and high boots, with a manga smiling face. On the top it said, in Japanese: "To Regina, the famous actress." On the bottom she signed her name. Soon after, she proceeded to interview me with the following questions (which she had written down):
1. What have been some of the most interesting moments so far at work?
2. Have you been to Disneyland in California?
3. When are you and your boyfriend Chris getting married?
Yes -- the last one made me laugh out loud. I felt like I was with my family (and what a wonderful feeling that was to have!). It was quite a lively interview -- and I was SUPER impressed that this 10 year old girl managed to cover both here and abroad with such far reaching range.
The girls were so loving. They sat on either side of me and showed me their favorite Japanese boy group -- Abashi. They asked me to look hard at the 5 guys in the boy band, and to choose my favorite one. I chose the one on the far left, and to my surprise, everyone said that was the one in all the movies here these days. Ninomiya Kazunari. Tamami promptly wrote all their names down for me.
It felt so good to use the language with no inhibition or stress over getting anything right (consistently a big stumbling block for me). I think I have been hard on myself lately -- wanting to speak more and more -- mostly because there are a lot of things I can't quite explain in class. But in tonight's company, talking about work and life and catching up, Yoshii San said she couldn't believe how strong my Japanese is. As Chris told me this morning, I have been here for a month and should give myself a break. What do I want? Some kind of parade?
Here are some pics of everyone. My heart is full. I gave Yoshii a necklace I made for her -- a charm I found that reminded me of Miyajima's Torii (kind of like a shrine made from wood that stands in the sand and is on both dry ground and covered by water on a daily basis, following the tides). Yoshii and Okuno San took me to Miyajima back when, and also to Hiroshima - which is a ferry ride away. I also gave Yoshii the identical necklace to give to Okuno San back in Kobe. Yoshii San gave me a kubi kazari (necklace) as well -- made from resin coated cord dyed purple, with a gold slide that enables you to affix a length and then pull the cords through, like a scarf. On the end purple, green and black stones. Beautiful design -- I have nothing like it. She also gave me these gorgeous clothes line pins that had been affixed with kimono silk and old buttons. I told her I would not use them to hang laundry, but rather hang photos or notes. Then she gave me a dark wooden picture frame. Now I have Tamami's drawing in it. I will put that here, too.
Kyoko, Satoshi and their girls live in Kichi-Jooji -- two train stops away. I will visit them soon. It has been snowing all day here, and is expected to continue through the weekend. I am blessed.
Yoshii San and Okuno San are headed back to Radnor next April for their 50th High School Reunion. I told Yoshii San I'd like to film it.
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