Answer: Meet an oba-san. Oba-sans are the most practical and fun way to become fully submerged into traditional Japanese culture. For those of you who don't know, the definition of an oba-san is basically an elderly woman. They KNOW everything about everything Japanese. I hang out with about 3 of them a week. They love being with foreigners because they can practice their English and take us around to show off to all their friends. You (the foreigner) in turn get treated to ridiculously expensive lunches (today's was about $40), see tons of temples and cultural places, do many traditional Japanese activities such as tea ceremony, flower arranging and calligraphy. On top of it all, it is a wonderful chance to practice all that Japanese you have been studying so hard to use, and you get to build strong cross-cultural relationships along the way.
Today was particularly funny for me because I had a new oba-san call me this morning. I had met her a few months ago at a tea ceremony and we later exchange phone numbers. I knew she wanted to call me, but when she finally called me, I had no CLUE who she was. But I realized that this woman definitely knew who I was. So, instead of embarrassing myself by asking who I was talking to on the phone, we just made plans to meet later today at which time I would realize who she was. Once I saw her, I immediately remembered who she was and we had a great time together. She's taking me up to another temple on the east side of Kyoto this Wednesday, and she also wants to teach me ikebana (flower arranging) sometime soon. Maybe this week I will ask my Japanese teacher what the politest, most indirect way to ask someone's identity over the phone (so no more phone mishaps happen).
Posted by Kristen at May 22, 2003 08:52 PM
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