Tree-lined street
On my way to work yesterday, I rode past a woman of about twenty riding what is considered here a very kakoi (cool) bicycle (I tried to find a photo of it online, but to no avail- ridiculously tiny collapsible low-rider type thing.) The brand was painted in bright green paint on the side of this one: WANG CREW.
It gave me pause.
Then, as I was rounding a blind corner, I grinded to a stop just short of hitting a tiny white truck. (The colour of choice, it seems, for vehicles in Japan.) My brakes squealed loudly enough to wake up anyone in the neighbourhood lazy enough to still be asleep. A few seconds later, my bike tires weren't spinning so smoothly. My first experience of panku (getting a flat tire.)
This morning, G and I wheeled the bike down to the Taiyo (word for sun, local grocery store whose advertising emblem is a moon, where we spend most of our money) to pick up a new tire. G parked it outside while I shopped and endeavoured upon the task of changing it (there's all this equipment around the back tire of basket bikes here that was hard to dismantle.) An old man from the neighbourhood assisted by bringing a wrench. He then invited us to his house to finish the job when we needed more eqipment. He must have been about 80 but was incredibly strong. And patient, and kind, and sweet. We bought him a bottle of sho-chu and he took off his cap and bowed. And then his wife and daughter came out, and we all went on bowing and "arigato gozaimashita-ing" for the next ten minutes.
When I meet people who go out of their way to be kind here, it makes me so homesick. Also the change of the seasons (although fall is sure taking its sweet time in coming this year) makes me stupidly nostalgic. It's weird to think that it's already freezing at night in Saskatchewan while we're still sweating away.
It gave me pause.
Then, as I was rounding a blind corner, I grinded to a stop just short of hitting a tiny white truck. (The colour of choice, it seems, for vehicles in Japan.) My brakes squealed loudly enough to wake up anyone in the neighbourhood lazy enough to still be asleep. A few seconds later, my bike tires weren't spinning so smoothly. My first experience of panku (getting a flat tire.)
This morning, G and I wheeled the bike down to the Taiyo (word for sun, local grocery store whose advertising emblem is a moon, where we spend most of our money) to pick up a new tire. G parked it outside while I shopped and endeavoured upon the task of changing it (there's all this equipment around the back tire of basket bikes here that was hard to dismantle.) An old man from the neighbourhood assisted by bringing a wrench. He then invited us to his house to finish the job when we needed more eqipment. He must have been about 80 but was incredibly strong. And patient, and kind, and sweet. We bought him a bottle of sho-chu and he took off his cap and bowed. And then his wife and daughter came out, and we all went on bowing and "arigato gozaimashita-ing" for the next ten minutes.
When I meet people who go out of their way to be kind here, it makes me so homesick. Also the change of the seasons (although fall is sure taking its sweet time in coming this year) makes me stupidly nostalgic. It's weird to think that it's already freezing at night in Saskatchewan while we're still sweating away.
posted by wakarimasen at
1:57 PM
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