Week 10

18 July 2014

My arrival in Hokkaido aims to seek an understanding of the 'Other' in another family. Much to my delight, I was able to gain more insights when the staff at Bouken extended their welcome by inviting me out. We eat to our hearts' content and answer each others' burning questions about our heritage. They were fascinated with the Merlion and the MBS hotel. Yuuko even asked me if the Merlion is our God. Ha ha! I cherish moments like this because it is so fun to hear things from another perspective. 

I am also very thankful to Keisuke and his wife, Sadoko for opening their cozy home and making scrumptious meals! We even had a after-dinner activity - Japanese sparklers! 

As the weather gets warmer, more Japanese tourists made appearances at the hostel. There are more opportunities to speak to those who stay for more than a day or two. A particular tourist whom I remember fondly of is Chieko-san. A lady from Osaka in her seventies and a solo traveller. She spent her 4 days in the hostel without venturing far. Armed with her miniature sketchbook and pencil, she would position herself at various strategic locations and spent the entire morning sketching and colouring. Such worry and hassle-free holiday! Most tourists would have as many activities lined up within the shortest time possible. Making their appearances as quickly as their departures but not for her. Chieko-san made an effort to talk to me even though both of us depend heavily on non-verbal cues to communicate. While we were chatting, Chieko-san suddenly excused herself. This kind lady returned to her room to retrieve her handmade craft work and a written note as a gift. I got to tag along while my host and his spouse chauffeur Chieko-san. We spent an entire day visiting farms and sampling different varieties of cherries. :) 

Thanks to the generous farmer who gave us a bunch of lavender

Packing cherries

Lenticular clouds

Other than Chieko-san, I had met a Japanese-American family and of course a group of Singaporean friends. It was great talking to acquaintances for the sake of exchanging words. And the fact that I'm a foreigner makes a great conversation starter. The last thing I want to do is to annoy any tourist who does not understand me. Therefore, if the tourist is keen and has time to animate to get his/ her message across, I will be more than happy to chat. 

*Drum roll* I have the honour of writing a guest blog on Bouken website. Please view it here. 

From tomorrow onwards, the hostel and restaurant will be busy, so will I. Many high school students have enrolled in their Summer programme and they will be having outdoor activities. 

Stay tune to my last entry! Coming up soon!