In the Club

Through the diplomacy of my supervisor, I entered the school ikebana club, a tiny group of four second- and third-year girls. Besides admiring my grandmother's creations many years ago, I knew nothing about flower arrangement prior to our meeting, and I struggled in using my feeble Japanese to communicate with the instructor, learning about the flowers ホトトギス、菊、小菊、and the specific positions in which the flowers are arranged, all of which themselves have names.

I felt fortunate that the teacher was patient with my fumbling fingers and lack of any eye for color and proportion. Since the students pay for the materials, after the end of the lesson, we deconstruct our pieces and take the flowers home. Yoshida-sensei loaned me a base in order that I could reassemble the arrangement. My reconstruction at home came out not so good.

Based on my first impressions, ikebana, with its numerous rules, seems rather rigid for my taste, and I do not enjoy sitting seiza for the entirety of the period, but I appreciate the beauty of the arrangements, and I can see how if the principles of ikebana are understood, it can be a very relaxing activity. Maybe this club will be a lesson in teaching Kristine to slow down and act with thoughtful precision instead of hurried chaos.

Here is our tiny club. I was told that I must recruit new members from among my first-year students.

After saying goodbye to my fellow flower arrangers at around 5:15 pm, I ran into one of my first-year students in the hallway. She was taking a break from "Cooking Club," and when I asked her what she was cooking, she happily ushered me into the Home Economics classroom, where I learned that the students were baking chocolate chip pound cakes! The girls felt a little anxious about speaking English with me, but when they learned that I would make an effort to hold my own in a Japanese conversation about the length of my eyelashes (Mascara is key, girls.), they seemed happy to have me in their circle.

When the cakes emerged from the ovens, the girls hardly allowed them time to cool, quickly reaching in to devour the treats amidst screams of "おいしい！" The girls gave me a large package of warm cakes of assorted sizes, most of which I ate within the first few minutes of receiving it.

Having never had Home Ec myself in high school, this room feels like a playroom for me. Rice cookers line a countertop that houses stacks of colorful dishes, an oven is nestled beneath every spacious kitchen island, and hand towels hang dry cheerily beside a quaint washing machine. I wish that I could spend every minute in that space, and I have to work out my possibly attending some classes.

I'm hoping that my participation in clubs will help in getting to know my students, in addition to helping me learn more about Japanese culture. I attend my first tea ceremony club session on Tuesday!

At the end of the day, I wound up being too exhausted to cook, and I picked up a tray of tempura from the supermarket, along with microwave rice, orange juice, darjeeling tea, mochi ice cream, camembert cheese, and crackers. (Don't I sound like a fuddy duddy?) For me, a happy home is one filled with my comfort foods.

On another note, today is payday, or as my supervisor likes to call it, Happy Happy Lucky Day. I'm looking forward to our three-day weekend! (9/18: Respect for the Aged Day. Old people rock!)