Jaime CP7

After our trip to Mike’s Seafood, Yasuko invited Katie and me over to her place for lunch. She cooked a regular Japanese meal- it was BEAUTIFUL. I think the best thing about meeting all of the CIES students is all the food exposure. I have eaten well these past seven weeks, and I have been introduced to some fabulous new Tallahassee restaurants.

I am not familiar with the names of the dishes (refer to Katie for that) but there were rice balls, and sesame spread, a beautiful stir fry with asparagus (straight to my heart), and cooled green Japanese tea. Yasuko told me that I was always welcome to Japan; I warned her that I would take her seriously- she simply laughed. We talked about Yasuko’s life, how she met her husband, what he did, how she raised her children, and what they are doing now. Yasuko’s husband is an avid climber, and Yasuko wants the chance to learn and study again- since she gave up that chance years ago to raise her children. She told us how she didn’t want jewelry, she wanted education, and the chance to go off and study. She was grateful that her husband understood this and supported her. Needless to say a woman that chooses foreign study over rings is a woman I admire.

Yasuko was especially interested in talking to Katie, and seeing how well-prepared Katie would be to transition into a life in Japan. She was surprised, and at first a little doubtful, to hear that Katie wanted to spend most of her life in either Japan or Korea. Yasuko started throwing out lifestyle tidbits of the two countries, and Katie listened before saying that she already knew and was prepared to deal with that. I didn’t realize that many families in Japan still revolve around the Confucian structure with a hierarchy that goes Father- Son- 2^nd son- Mother- any daughters and I think the wives of the sons ranked dead last, but I can’t remember. However, in the end Katie convinced Yasuko she was prepared for a Japanese lifestyle, that she would even like to marry a Japanese or Korean man.

Yasuko grinned and then turned to me- I should’ve known this was coming. “And what about you Jaime?”
“If he is big enough Yasuko, but this is doubtful,” I joked. And she laughed.

We kept talking past our allotted two hours, and ended up meeting Yasuko’s daughter, Yuko, Yuko’s husband, and their son Kai.