shiitake and movies

2.24

I think it's only been a little while since I've written but somehow it feels like a lot has happened...
Well I guess yesterday in the afternoon I went into town with Muto-san. First I stopped at the post office with some post cards to mail off. The woman there kind of asked why I had so many friends in America. Something about how she asked made me realize she thought I was from here. I guess there are not a whole lot of foreigners that come to this tiny little post office in a tiny little town. However, I felt a glint of pride that she thought I was Japanese. I told her I was from American, she said my Japanese is great and when I rushed off because Muto-san was waiting she said "Please come again soon!" I said okay.   We ate ramen and had a very good conversation about work and life and family responsibilities and what not. Then he went to a meeting and I walked down the street towards a mini shopping area. There was a intersection and I stood there behind an elderly woman waiting for the light to change. She was one of those still beautiful, elegant older women with silvery hair drawn up perfectly in a berret at the back of her head. After we had waited in silence at the light a little and she turned to me and said, "This is taking a pretty long time now isn't it!"
We were going to the same place, and even though I could've have rushed ahead of her when the light changed, since we had spoken, it didn't feel right. So we talked and walked to the store and I opened the door for her, and the next set of doors she opened for me. After that she said bye and actually started jogging towards the produce section.

I went to Tsutaya, the book/cd/movie store in the center. Katsu had given me some reccomendations for movies. One was called "Megane"  (glasses) and the other was "Kamome no shoukudou" (I think...and that means I believe Seagull's dining hall). He also requested Kurasawa's "Dreams" but I decided I'd seen most of it and I really wanted to rent a English movie too. I wandered the aisles of movies and realized all I had was a title and director. I didn't know if it was comedy or action or anything (though Katsu had told me that they are technically "boring" and I might fall asleep. After watching, I can understand how people might have that struggle and he only said that just in case I belonged to the category of thinking that kind of movie was awful. Anyhow. I didn't have the courage at first to go ask about the movies so I did some other shopping. I found a cheap scarf that looked a lot like the ratty one I used to have during Middle School. That one was grey and knit with no fringes, it was super long and kind of narrow in the middle...I guess the one I bought is a lot different because it is brown, with grey fringes, the same width all along...but I just thought it looked perfectly ratty and it was cheap. After that I went looking for chocolate and goodies for the basket at the house (I am basically the only one who eats out of it so I feel obliged to keep it full just in case someone else were to want a snack). I also looked for Mexican food ingredients (like tortillas) but there was no such thing. I found a small can of salsa for $3.00...but that was the end to Mexican food ingredients...no burritos for Muto-san.

Then I bought a clip for my hair...it's pretty...I don't know when I'll use it but maybe when I go out some time...

I returned to Tsutaya and asked if they knew the movies Katsu had requested and it was perfect because then Muto-san came and I was able to rent those two and Into the Wild right then and there.

I've watched the one about the dining hall last night - it was great! It was all in Japanese...I was thrilled and surprised I could understand most of it.

Today Muto-san disappeared somewhere. I later found out his father had fallen and had to go to the hospital.

I did cleaning since it was a beautiful day. The sun was bright and wind strong. My laundry dried out within an hour. I washed every towel I could find and set out the bath mats out to dry. I cleaned the sink food catchers and set them in the sun to dry as well...they were getting pretty gross. Then Hiro magically appeared in the storage house. He was packaging eggs so I joined him with that. He is still on crutches. Since the wound was made with a chainsaw and not a clean cut, the doctors told him it will take longer to heal...

Lunch I ate alone watching Into the Wild.

After lunch Katsu came and we chatted and finished Into the Wild until some people brought a medicine delivery. After that we escaped into the mountains to pick shiitake mushrooms. Since it had been raining there were tons! And since the last time I had been, there were double the rows from before. We started picking. Katsu is really relaxed and easy to talk to. I also realized we share a lot of the same views on life and what not. It was the first time we had such an extensive conversation (while picking shiitake mushrooms!). I am going to help him run the Yamaai Mura booth at the Kikuchi farmer's market on Sunday. Awesome!

There is a WWOOFer coming, girl, 24, Japanese, interested in baking bread and pizzas in the oven outside. She will be here on March 1st and stay for 2 weeks. I am  going to go visit the Fukuda's for a week or so starting on the 6th. Then I'll be here till mid April.

Time is flying by so quickly...it's hard to grasp.