Days of Shades

Kiyoko's parents are coming to visit!

[recap: Kiyoko was my room-mate for five months in college, when she was doing an English program organized by her university in Tokyo. She's awesome and we kept in touch after she went home. Last year she came back to the US for more english education, and lived with my parents for four or five months before moving up to Auburn to go to the community college there.]

They don't speak English, and will be staying with my parents, who don't speak Japanese. I suspect Kiyoko will have her hands (mouth?) full with translating. Everyone -- on our end, at least -- is super excited about this.

I'm kind of interested in the etiquette and normality of visiting and staying at people's homes. I've read that it's much, much less common in Japan, at least outside of family, but I've never been clear on whether that's 'advice for foreign visitors' or a reflection of a broader norm. When I was there I bypassed that completely by being "The friend of a kid" -- I stayed with Kiyoko's parents, and Rina's, and Yuriko's, and I was just one of their kid's friends having a sleep-over -- an idea that seems to cross some cultural divides. Etiquette just doesn't apply as much to your kids' friends, apparently. It's like the cheat-code into casual family life.

It was really fun to be the borrowed kid. I'd feel guilty about all the things my friends' parents paid for, but my parents have done the same for all of their kids, so I suppose it evens out.

Anyway, it'll be fun to see Kiyo's folks' again, though I'm afraid our giant-fireworks-and-patriotic-jingoism day won't be quite as cool as a walk up mount Fuji and a soak in the onsen afterward. I wish we had a bit more time -- we could at least get out to the Olympics or down to Mt. Saint Helens or something. Oh well.

I ran into a whole boatload of FiddleTunes friends at Folklife! Cathy and Sally were down from Alaska and just as cheerful as ever. Steve has a large selection of home brew to cart to FT happy hour. Warren is no longer with Centrum, which I already knew and which totally fubar'd my plan for an FT work-trade, but Gordy is still working on his next album and is still planning on having me do the cover, so not all is lost on the schmozing-graphic-design-work front.

Erik was my roadie, lugging Baby around, which would have drummed up a whole lot of business if A. He played fiddle and/or B. The music played on that fiddle was primarily Scottish. As it was we just confused people. Isn't having the kilt-wearing guy who plays Indian classical music on anything but a violin carrying the violin for the gypsy-dressed girl who plays mostly irish music the kind of culture-soup folklife is all about?

We discovered the cultural dance of skinheads and heard the extra-terrestrial contribution of cheerleaders. Also, gravity is run by gremlins who hold your feet to the earth, if you're bored in Juneau the thing to do is drive to LA and compete on the Price is Right, and my mom is certain that Eskimos hear more notes because it's cold, which is kind of a musical super-conductor theory.

Now I have to go balance my checkbook, which is seriously hurting from my lack of room-mate and driving around to entertain my Japanese friends.

Also, I think I have an electrical fire in my stove. Ta!

Yuriko flew in last friday from Tokyo and stayed with me for a week. She learned about swatting things and we learned about konnyaku. Highlights included camping and cooking, swatting things, the otter puppet, and cuddling feet. (Cuddle was also a new word). I now know Japanese pronouns. Afraid she has some new bad habits, though - "Strip time! Doo doo doo do doo...10 dolla!"

Busy weekend in Oly-Wa. I was down at the boardwalk friday afternoon helping set up a vendor stand, brought Yuri-chan up to Federal Way that evening, was down at the harbour again next morning for a full day of fiddling, fiddled again sunday until three, went home for dinner, and went back down again at 6 to help dismember the same vendor's stand. Upshot? One new outfit, one new skirt, the (reincarnated) Bag Of Death, a friend's birthday present, $80 I'm saving towards a new bow, a new ring, ...and my wallet, cool pouch, and car keys were stolen. While I was setting up sunday. So it's off to DMV with me tomorrow, to get a cool, horizontal, over-21 license.

Finished one quarter of my quilt today. Take that, puritan work ethic!

Now, want someone to cuddle with. Shucks. And it was such a good day, too.