where cider meets condensed milk: The Lotus Watchers

where cider meets condensed milk

Sunday, July 23, 2006

The Lotus Watchers

Hey, what kind of fools would be out at 4am to watch lotus flowers open?

Us kind of fools, actually, and several hundred other Okayamans. The lotus flowers at Korakuen only open for 4 days out of the year, so the marketing geniuses at the park make it an event on one morning, charge admission, and people flock to the park to admire them before daybreak. There were rooms open for tea ceremony, women in kimono, instrumentalists, a handful of loud ALTs that hadn't gone home yet, and ponds of giant leaves revealing flowers that were doing... nothing. But, it was all very cultural and dignified, and the park was gorgeous in pre-dawn light.

No, Besty! Don't eat the lotus!! While posing for this picture, an concerned old man nearly jabbed her with his umbrella before I reassured him that she was okay. Foreign (probably), less-than-sober (perhaps), narcoleptic (blame the flowers), and sprawled on the lawn... but okay. The Lotus Hour was the pivotal event of last weekend's Saturday that never ended, but merely bled into Sunday. We kicked off with dinner, karaoke, and Aussie Bar, bidding sayonara all along the way. The Korakuen visit was succeeded by walking the city until sunrise, brunch with SC Claire, serious Big Rain, soothing preschoolers from the scary thunderstorm while playing at the orphanage, and a farewell round of Scrabble with Adametal.

Kitty-chan mania! Japanese dress partygoers, meet J-girls on a bench. 25 people go traditional in yukata and kimono, and I'm the only modern one in my housewife attire. (UV-blocking gloves in the apron pocket-- have to keep this skin ivory and wrinkle-free. I may look young, but I'm actually 42 and raising 3 children alone since my salaryman husband lives in Tokyo. Better keep up the pretenses of youth or they'll kick me off of JET, yo.)

I know every social occasion for the past 2 months has carried the Sayonara trademark, but no more. I'm now Adam-less and Chris-less in Okayama, and officially have no more tears left for British men heading for other horizons. A final Joyfull night this weekend with Chris-Bae-chan was nearly diverted by landslides on every road I tried to take to his town, but I made it after a trip up the expressway and 2 and half hours in the Guppy.
After taking this picture: "You look like a hobo."
Bae-chan: "I look like a homo? Well, miss, maybe I just haven't found the right woman."
(30 years, no luck? Bae-chan, ganbatte!)

Summer has yet to fully hit, due to a tremendous rainy season that has caused floods and landslides all over the country. Many of those who have died are bedridden elderly that are left in their houses to perish when their family is away. Big Rain caused school to close on the last day of term, so instead of a dull ceremony, the end of the year was marked with utter confusion after arriving at a school empty of students, having several teachers laugh and indicate surprise at seeing me when I slipped in as the bell was ringing, and spending 30 minutes in bewilderment through the staff meeting since no one explained to me what was going on. Two years, still no clue...

posted by Raychaa @ 7:42 PM

1 comments:

At 1:00 AM, Chris C said…

If I hadn't actually been there I wouldn't believe your tale of Lotus Flower Madness. For a start Miss Betsy looks like she has, in fact, fallen asleep on some Astro Turf. And I can't think of a finishing point. So that's it.

Love,
Ruggedly-handsome-and-masculine-yet-still-rather-fey Bae