adventures despite it all

What did I expect? If you travel on crowded trains for hours at a time, you're bound to catch a nasty cold! Now the cold's nearly gone, but has left behind a hideous cold sore smack dab in the middle of my upper lip. Hideous.

Somewhere in between the sniffles and coughing, I had some amazing little adventures. Cheryl and Bernie brought some Americans with them from Tokyo when they came to Tarumi last weekend. We took some time to see some sights near Kobe.

I've been to the public baths a number of times, but always find more courage when I go with other Americans. Strength in numbers, or something? This time I thought it was pretty hilarious when Abby and I were trailed by a 4-year old boy with a whole lot of curiosity for naked foreigners. The Japanese are always really surprised to know that I've been to the baths and have actually enjoyed it. It's very relaxing! And no, I do not have pictures!

For a long time I've wanted to see the country-side of Japan. I'm in a smaller city, but still feel crowded by the tight spaces jammed with people and buildings. (Just wait until I go to Tokyo this weekend!) We drove about 1 1/2 hours outside of Tarumi, away from the ocean, toward the mountains. We saw an old house with the original thatch style roof off the main road. Cheryl decided to turn off so we could get a closer look. I'm so happy we did! When we pulled up, we saw an old man and woman standing outside. They greeted us warmly and had no problem with our requests to take pictures of the house. We thought it might have been strange for them to have 5 foreigners suddenly show up on their doorstep, but it seems like their house has often attracted attention from foreigners. We were not the first.

The man told us this house is 260 years old. He hasn't changed anything from the original building. When we stepped inside, he showed us some framed prints that he had made from wood carvings. They were amazing. The woman was so cute, with her giggles and her shyness. She said to her husband "Why are you showing off that dirty house?" and then giggled. So cute!

The next day, we braved the wind and went to see Himeiji Castle. It's been over a week, and I'm still impressed by what I saw. There's so much there. It's hard to explain--I'm still unpacking some of my thoughts. I'll share those someday when they're a bit more orderly.

Until then, enjoy the pictures!