Tanoshii omoide

I left a gorgeous spring day in Seattle to be, er, randomly selected for full security screening on my way onto the plane at Sea-Tac, run from terminal to terminal to collect my misplaced baggage at Narita, pay nearly three hundred Australian dollars for parking in Osaka, drive five hours home, and get up early the next day to dance in the rain. At least, in my newly bought shoes and chino slacks, I looked good doing it. :)

It was raining when I flew into Seattle on April 25, too, but I guess I expected that. It would've been some sort of injustice for Seattle to welcome me any other way, really, and starting with rain meant that the week could only get better. It certainly did get better - we had some fabulous weather in the brief time I was there. And of course, I was met off the plane by my good mate Keith, which made the rainy day brighter right from the word go.

Keith and I at Crystal Mountain

I'd been awake for nearly 36 hours by the time I touched down, but beating the jetlag is all about toughing it out, so Keith whisked me straight off to a local coffee shop to get my caffeine hit and catch up on news. Seattle is the home of Starbucks, of course, but ever since he saw a Starbucks sitting in the middle of the Forbidden City in Beijing, Keith has sworn off it - fair enough! So although we had plenty of coffee during the week, it never once came from a Starbucks tap. The original Starbucks shop is down on the waterfront at Pike's Place and deserved a visit. I expected it to be a massive monument to Starbucks glory, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it maintains its original small premises and decor. We didn't go in, but instead took the chance to enjoy the day and have a relaxing lunch on the dock.

Figuring I had to eat a hot dog before I left the country, we rocked up to Taxi Dog, just down the block from Starbucks, and I picked out what I though was a pretty reasonable combination of sausage and toppings. The girl behind the counter was having none of it, though. "Are you SURE you want chili with a chicken and turkey sausage? You're ruining a perfectly good dog!" Suitably chastised, I took her advice, cancelled the chili, and left the change as a tip. I guess you'd call this culture shock. :)

My first instance of American culture shock was the opportunity to use a credit card in the airport parking lot. Japan is getting closer to credit card convenience, but is still largely a cash society. I put my credit card to lots of good use in America - here's hoping I don't regret it when the bill comes in! :) Second instance was getting in the car on the right hand side as a passenger and pulling out onto the right hand side of the road. Even by week's end, I don't think I was quite used to it, but Keith was game to let me drive for a stretch on the highway - I didn't have to turn, so it was okay! Third instance was tipping at the coffee shop. Even when you pay a bill by credit card, there is space left to write in the tip. Contrast this with Japan, where any attempt to tip will have shop staff chasing you out the door and across the street to return your cash. All this within my first hour in the States!

On my first night, Keith and Mary took me out to a local haunt for dinner and we visited a few more such places during the week, each notable for having a micro-brewery on the premises. Micro-brewed beer is very common in the north-west United States. In fact, I don't think I laid eyes on a bottle of Budweiser in the whole time I was there. I'm not a huge fan of beer, but I enjoyed a few different brews. So I can wholeheartedly recommend Seattle and its surrounds to lovers of beer - I'm sure you could spend the whole year trying a new beer every day and still not taste them all!

The next evening - I didn't see much of the day, waking up at 2pm! - we headed into the downtown area and ended up at the promisingly named New Orleans bar to catch some live music, another thing for which Seattle is apparently famous. I wasn't disappointed with the blues band on offer. We were just a little surprised to be asked for IDs at the door, to which I replied, "I hope you can read Japanese, fellas!" I had my Australian licence with me, but thought my Japanese licence would be better for a laugh. What do you know, the bouncer on the right said without missing a beat, "Sure, no problem, I lived there for 14 years." What?! :) We had a little chat in Japanese on the way back out, finding out that he'd lived in Okinawa, where his father served in the military for a while. Small world, eh?

The Capilano Suspension Bridge in Vancouver

Being made out of metal (rather than vines), hanging a good 60 metres above the canyon (rather than just 15), and having lots of additional walking trails and local Indian culture on show as well, the effect was a bit different. Very pretty, really, and Kazurabashi could take a few hints. Of course, just like Kazurabashi, you can only enjoy crossing a bridge for so long, so we carried on to do some shopping in downtown Vancouver and soak up the city's cosmopolitan atmosphere. Vancouver's got a great feel to it, nestled right between the mountains and the sea. I was sorry we only had an afternoon to enjoy it. I hope I'll go back for more someday!

Beautiful falls at Snoqualmie

I thought the view at Snoqualmie was great, but I was in for a treat in the afternoon. The 360 degree views from the top of Seattle's most famous landmark, the Space Needle tower, were spectacular. Massive Mount Rainier loomed in the distance to the south as a backdrop to downtown Seattle - still largely covered in snow, it was too much for the snowboarder in me to resist, and we duly headed out there on Wednesday to hit the slopes at Crystal Mountain ski resort. To the west, there was a clear view over the sound to Bainbridge Island, where Mary's parents live, and further on to the Olympic Mountains. And just a short distance away, Keith pointed out the floating house that became famous as Tom Hanks' home in the movie, Sleepless in Seattle. I took as many shots from the top of the Space Needle as I could and pieced them together for this panorama. Go and check out the view for yourself someday! :)

It seems that all of my good recent holidays have included a bit of swing dancing. Over dinner with a couple of Keith's friends, we learnt that the swing scene is alive and well in Seattle, so we made plans to hit the Century Ballroom on Wednesday night. It was Keith and Mary's first time on the dance floor, but I think I've got them hooked, they had a good time! I felt like a bit of an amateur compared to the locals who were cutting the rug, but got out there anyway and had a good time myself. If only there was a bit of swing close to me here in Iya - I miss it!

Recovering from a long day in the snow and on the dance floor, I woke up on Thursday morning to the realisation that I had but a scant 24 hours left in the country. I could have stayed another few weeks, I'm sure, but it was time to get some last minute shopping in before chasing the sun back west across the Pacific. I took Keith and Mary out for dinner on the waterfront, just fish and chips with a bit of clam chowder. Earlier in the week, after we'd been over to an island and back on a ferry, we had a little fun in Ye Olde Curiosity Shop just a couple of piers down. We all tried our hand at a very old love meter - you know, put in your quarter, grab the handle, and have your "love" measured. Suffice to say that this picture speaks for the results! It also speaks for the good time I had throughout the week. Fish and chips and a couple of beers was the least I could do to thank Keith and Mary for their exceptional hospitality.

We talked until late, I showed Keith a few Awa Odori tricks to use in his teaching, and before I knew it, another beautiful spring day had dawned over Seattle and it was time for Mary to whisk me off to the airport on her way to work. The next time we meet, they'll be married. Perhaps we'll be dancing down the streets of Tokushima in bathrobes again. Or maybe Keith and Mary will wait for me to go back to Australia, so they can come and visit me there. Any which way, see you then, mate. :)

Going back to Japan was easier on my body than the flight to Seattle, though crossing back over the date line meant that my 9 hour flight that left at lunch time on Friday didn't get into Tokyo until Saturday evening. Though I complained about the rain that greeted my return to Iya and threatened to ruin a good day's dancing, it cleared up just in time for us to hit the stage for the first big dance of the year. Five groups had gathered to strut their stuff for the festival, about 200 people in all, which was great. During the festival, I got to do something new - pounding rice with wooden mallets to make little rice sweets called mochi. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were still a few cherry blossoms in bloom on the drive back up the valley. For all the hassle of the journey, it was nice to be home.

I wandered into school on Monday to find new names on some of the teachers' shoe lockers. Fujimoto, Mori, Yoshinari, Satou, and Nii. New teachers, new friends, and not long after that, new students, too. It's a little strange to think that I'll be hitting the road in just a few months, but that's the JET Programme for you. One of the third grade girls, Sayuri, said it pretty well in her welcome speech to the eleven new first graders.

"Tanoshii omoide takusan tsukurimashoo!"
"Let's make lots of good memories."

Whether you're here for 4 months or 4 years or 4 decades, I guess that's all you can do. :)

Love,

Dave