Reading (For Dummies)

Becoming Japanese

Gochisou sama deshita!

Chigusa and Keisuke bought me a surprise gift of a rice cooker, and dropped it off shortly after the first Triathlon Club meeting. So lately it has been breakfast of rice, miso, and soon seaweed, and fish rolls, in traditional Japanese fashion. Four years ago I probably would have balked at eating such a "weird" (by American standards, anyway) breakfast, but it actually makes a deep sense when you think about it -- easy to digest carbs and gentle protein start the day off right.

Today I also started Aikido again. A mental note about Japanese politeness: I discovered a good reason for bowing. Generally, the shorter a guy is, the more easily he can throw you to the floor before you know what's going on. Bowing is a way to show that you are, in a deep sense, smaller than Sensei. Especially in the case of ours; the 5'2" teacher tossed my 6'0", 170 pound body around until I was dizzy.

So, I plan to go twice a week to the club dojo, which includes Thursday night weapon training. Time to buy myself a jo and start practicing kata...