Just a short update, it's been a long day...
My week at the farm ended yesterday - it was a wonderful experience. The activities ranged from picking tomatoes to shoveling cow dung - and many other activities as well. The view from the farm was wonderful, it is located 600 meter above sea level, in the mountains of Shikoku. Pictures will be posted later.
I returned to Kochi city yesterday, and I'm now staying at a youth hostel. I spent one evening in Kochi city, just the day before I went to the farm, and the city struck me as being a very nice place to stay. There are not too many foreign tourists, and the city is of a manageable size, so I decided to take a further look at it, after the stay at the farm.
So, I have spent yesterday afternoon and today here, trying to find out if I could rent a furnished apartment, or just a simple apartment, so that I could stay for a while, and try to find out if the city really is as nice as the boulevards lined with palm trees and smiling people makes it out to be. But... the city is a bit too far off the beaten path, and not prepared for foreigners that knows very little Japanese, so I think I will give up, and go to Kyoto tomorrow. I know of at least one place where I can rent a serviced apartment there, and it is much easier to get around Kyoto without knowing Japanese.
I think that a longer stay in Kochi city could have been very good for my progress in learning Japanese, but I still think that I know too little to be truly comfortable here. I guess I can always move here when I have learned more Japanese.
After having searched for an apartment in Kochi city, I went for a walk. I wanted to see the pacific ocean , so I headed sort-of-south, and walked for a few hours. Finally, the ocean showed up, and I went for a quick dip. Another thing crossed off on the to-do-list :)
On my way back to Kochi, a man suddenly stopped his car next to me, and gestured for me to get in. Anywhere but Japan, I probably wouldn't have, but here I did - the man spoke good English, so we talked for about a minute, after which he asked "so, where are you from?" and I replied "I'm from Denmark" - the reply came quickly "Hah! Så lad os da tale dansk!" ("Hah! Then let's speak Danish" - for all you non-danish speaking readers ;)
It turned out, that this man, Arno was his name, had been living in Japan for the past 22 years, after a busy career in various oil-companies and the National Science Foundation. He had left Denmark in the late seventies, and didn't visit Denmark again for 24 years.
We went to his house for a beer. Stepping into his home was an odd experience. I stepped into this living room, and it was half danish, half-japanese. There were christmas plates on the wall, and a Maneki Neko (waving cat) on a commode. We talked for just under an hour, after which Arno had to go. He dropped me off not far from a train line, and I went back to the youth hostel, where I am now, writing this.
I'm probably going to Kyoto tomorrow.
Wow, amazing! Was he born in Denmark or? Arno is a very common Finnish name btw, that's why I'm asking. Good luck with the appartment hunting!
ReplyDeleteHej Anders
ReplyDeletedejligt at høre at du havde en god tid på farmen også, skægt at tænke på at du laver mange af de samme ting som din egen far og bedstefar har gjort før dig - bare ikke lige i Børglum. Men kokasser ligner vel sig selv lige meget hvor man skal skovle.
Her bliver jeg konstant større, og forhåbentlig gør babyen i maven det samme. Den maser mine ribben hele tiden. Jeg sidder lige nu og hører Bob Dylan hvilket bringer minder frem fra barndommen, og far der mumler med i stuen, mens han endnu engang er ved at samle oceaner af aviser sammen i dynger ved sofabordet. Forhåbentligt er der ikke så længe til at babyen kommer ud, jeg glæder mig til at se dens ansigt.
Frida har det godt, hun snakker meget nu, mange små sætninger og masser af ord. "Edderkop" er en af favoritterne lige nu - udtalt perfekt. Den anden dag slog hun armene om min hals og udbrød "det dejligt, tusind tak, tusind tak". Hun er i det hele taget meget taknemmelig, "tusind tak" for mad, for bøger, for alt muligt. Hun kravler selv ud af sengen nu og i går fandt jeg hende siddende ovenpå køkkenbordet - hun skulle lige hente noget papir til at pudse næse med. Små historier, ja, men måske det er hyggeligt at høre noget hjemmefra. Fortsat god rejse Anders.
Mette
Yep, Arno was born in Denmark, in the late forties. I forget his exact age, but he mentioned that he was in the mid-sixties, having retired a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteI think I might already have found an apartment, http://www.kyoto-apartment.com/eng/list/apartment09/index.html - I hope to get room 202, 13.63 square meter for 42000 yen/month (~2700 DKK). Pricey, but a place to start. I've sent them a mail, hope to hear from tomorrow!