1985/7 Japan

Okayama, Honshu, Japan
16 March 1987
Posted 17.03.87; received 24.03.87

Gleetings to you both on this Monday night. It is 8:15 and I have just completed my last class for the day and have ordered my dinner from the coffee shop downstairs – fried chicken, miso soup, white rice of course, and pickles – and have sat me down a few letters to type.

On Saturday night I held a NABE party at my apartment. Three women with whom I work, Canadian John, the replacement teacher, one husband and one female student came. Nabe is a seaweed soup of some sort to which you add anything from crab to chicken to Chinese cabbage, a variety of mushrooms, spinach, tofu (BEAN CURD – I know, it sounds gross), leeks, etc. It is cooked at the table in the same way as you would sit around and do a fondue. Fumie, the student, took me shopping the previous day and then came early on the Saturday to help me prepare. As the boss hadn’t been invited, most of my guests were fairly relaxed and I even managed to get two of the Japanese drunk!!! Not usually an easy task as they usually refuse to drink more than one glass of anything. But having consented to drink, your task is made ridiculously simple as three – and I do mean THREE – glasses will do the trick admirably. Two of the women had to drive home and so abstained almost altogether. But Kats, the husband, turned VERY red, and giggled a lot and Motoyo, his wife, passed out on the toilet floor!!! In fact, she hasn’t been to work for two days as a result of her “excesses”. John too got totally legless as it was his first sake experience. As he said the following day: it looks like water, tastes like water (he is a whiskey man), and kicks like a bull! I wasn’t exactly sober myself, but I felt a certain amount of responsibility for my guests, unaccustomed as they were to alcohol, so remained at a level at which I could keep an eye on them. At one point I had them all doing an African dance in their stockinged feet and I think all but two of the Japanese had ever participated in a conversation quite so free and open. (Kats and Motoyo lived in the States for ten years.) They seemed to find it both fascinating and terrifying. Ultimately four people ended up spending the night. Which was pretty funny as I only have enough bedding for one and at a stretch maybe two. So I spent several hours – in between washing loads of dishes and dancing alone to the Beatles – juggling all my clothing and bedding in an effort to keep their four dead-to-the-world bodies covered and warm. By three o’clock I was both finished the dishes and exhausted. This was almost three hours since the last person had faded and the last sober person had left. I managed then to find a spare corner of blanket next to John who was sleeping in his jacket AND his sake-sodden tie! Of course, I didn’t get much sleep and when John got up at six to pee, I too arose. And soon everyone else was awake and I was serving Kahlua coffees to those who wanted, plain coffee to others, glasses of water and sliced apple to those in need. I had to work yesterday and had arranged to go bowling in the evening, so as you can well imagine, I slept like the dead last night.

Ten days to go before I leave Japan!!!

Thanks for your latest letter, mom. You do sound busy. Beyond Korea I have no idea what I shall be doing. It will depend on the visa situation for the rest of Asia.

I guess that is all for this week. Is Garth going to be in Johannesburg for April 5th? Please find out for me what the situation is for postal votes, and send me a list of my options. ALL of them. Thanks.

Take care and lots of love to you both and to oupa and the Paynes
Gail