Today was a great day! So, in the morning I got picked up by my old Host Family, and we went to the Imperial Hotel in Okinawa, where the current king had once stayed. We ate lunch at a fabulous buffet where they also had a lot of vegetarian food, such as Tenpura, Salad, rice and Ume, a Japanese plum, etc. anyway, then we went to an Ikebana, or the Japanese art of Flower-Arranging, exhibit in the hotel which was amazing. It was very coincidental, because I had done a report in Geography last year about Ikebana, and in fact I had wanted to see some in Japan but had forgotten. Anyway, it was beautiful, the way they very skillfully placed various flowers and stems together to achieve a very beautiful paradisiacal look. It was interesting how many different approaches there were in the exhibition — some flower arrangements focused on matching colors or colors that work well together, others focused more on the shape, orientation, and curvatures of the stems to give various different impressions, others seemed to try to mimic nature, with a lake-theme, a swamp-theme, and evergreen forest then, etc. and it was amazing that everything, down to the size, shape, and color of the pot was chosen to perfectly complement and balance the piece. It was truly beautiful!
Anyway, after that we came home and I played Go with my old Otousan on the largest, 19×19, Go Board. It was actually very very fun!!! In the first game, where I had an advantage of 6, I ended up losing 70 territories to 10 (roughly), but then we played again where I had an advantage of 9, and I won 60-50. I definitely felt I was playing better and understood it wat more the second game (I had a better grip and understanding of the game) but I also think 9 may have been too much, similar to how, both the times I played with Otousan and Okaasan on the 9×9 board with a 5 piece advantage I won. I think the magic with those numbers is that you not only get the corners but also the center, which gives you influence all over the board and also the ability to connect pieces. Anyway, I am really beginning to get the hang of and like Go!
After that Okaasan taught me how to make the very unique and cool Japanese sponge I had seen. It was interesting that while it was mainly a knitting pattern, it also employed some crocheting. I had never really knitted before but I was able to pick it up really fast. I finished the sponge I started today but I think I may have messed up a bit at the bottom. I will try it again at home, but even if those pattern does not work for a sponge it is a great pattern for a hat!
Then we came home, had an impromptu piano/singing session with my host sister and nieces (it was funny because the same somgs I was singing in English, such as Do Re Mi and Silent Night, they were singing in Japanese.). Then we celebrated Okaasan’s birthday, which was very nice, and now I am about to go to sleep.
BTW I think Shintoism, or at least the way Okinawans honor their ancestors, resembles Hinduism in many ways. They have a small shrine in their house for their ancestors, and today, since it was Okaasan’s birthday, they lit incense that smelled very much like Agar Batti in the shrine (I was very surprised in the morning when I woke up to the smell of Agar Batti) and rang bells and prayed. I really felt there were some resemblances to Hinduism.
Anyway, goodnight!