2001-11-12 - 19:23

so teacher gave me purpple bread today. i'm not sure what to make of it. what could it be? it tastes really good. she just left a note: "adam-sensei, please try. from adachi-sensei". hmmm. suspicious.

my kanji is coming along. i've finally started to recognise some of them on the drive home. like today i saw an advertisement that said (had the kanji for): beef, beverage, encouragement, inside, room with tables. so put that all together and you've got a rather inviting little message to come and be welcomed in a restaurant that serves beef and beverages.

kanji's fun. but i'm basic. only one thousand nine-hundred and fifty more to go. right.

i have been matched up for a conversation partner with a doctoral thesis woman who studies intercity immigration rights, racism in america and labour rights in japan. it's an organisation that matches up social justicey folks with others.

went to the ainu festival (ainu = indigenous people of japan) with my fairly new japanese friends in kameyama. i think this place has become a haven of spiritual wonderfulness. it's an organic restaurant, an art gallery, and a natural food store, called "moon-sun". masaru is amazing, he's the guy that we met upon our first visit and kakamu and kopira are phenomenal.

the ainu people look remarkably like native north americans, aboriginal canadians whatever. it's crazy. double flap eyelid, skin tone different, i thought i was at a native gathering or pow wow ... also because the drum beats were so reminiscent of native canadian music. mental note to read up on theories of trans-migration of native people around the world. apparently there was a lot of contact between the ainu of japan and people who lived in alaska.

funny thing is, most japanese know nothing about ainu. my boss had never even seen one, heard their music.

so i'm doing a lesson on ainu people and music tomorrow. study up.

cheerio, ta.