Got a head cold and have to sleep soon (should have been asleep an hour ago, but that’s the story of my life), but I just wanted to list these…
- because I woke up feeling crappy, I took longer than usual to get ready and intentionally missed my bus and caught the train that left 12 minutes later but made me walk more than 3 times as far to get to my junior high. After getting off the train and turning to walk down the long stretch of road towards the long this-is-not-a-pedestrian-bridge Miyoshi Bashi (“bashi” being a form of “hashi” for “bridge,” so therefore, “Miyoshi Bridge”), I saw a car pass me and then pull over ahead, and when I came closer, I saw the window on my side was rolled down. An elderly gentleman called out to me as I happened to glance through the window, and he asked me where I was headed, and when I told him, he offered to give me a ride! And so I took him up on his offer (I know you’re freaking out, Mom and Dad–but this town really is that trustworthy, and it’s just wonderful), and we had a really warm and friendly little chat as he drove me the kilometer to my school, taking me up the hill and dropping me off right at the front entrance. I wish I got his name…but maybe if I catch the train again tomorrow, I’ll see him again.
- the taxi driver taking me up to West Mountain(top) elementary school pulled over when we were halfway up the mountain, got out, and plucked 3 persimmons off one of the numerous orange-laden trees lining the road, and got back into the car and gave them to me, explaining that these were on his friend’s property and his friend always told him to take as many as he wanted. I’m now up to 43 persimmons from 5 people (Lindsay, my landlady, stern-looking but really kind-hearted woman from work, woman whose house is behind the bus stop close to my junior high where I wait 3 days a week, and today’s taxi-driving gentleman)…and I still have yet to eat any of them. I don’t think I should ever complain about not having to anything to eat as long as I have this growing stockpile, but I think that they’ve become such an entity that I forget that I can eat them.
Okay, anyway. Sleep!