We've been having a very busy week. On Wednesday we were in Boston just for the day (returned home after midnight) in order to join the Japanese Consulate's celebration of the emperor's birthday. On December 23rd he will be turning 80. The food was delicious - especially the sushi and sashimi. As soon as the servers bring it out, people descend on the tables like vultures. Or like the locusts from the dustbowl era, they pick everything clean.
We met some interesting people and enjoyed good conversation along with the food.
I should be tucked into my bed right now since I'm worn to a frazzle and my poor feet and knees are killing me. We have completed our second day at the Vermont International Festival. The fairground's floor is concrete, so standing most of the day is very hard on everyone. Toshi and I have been "manning" the JASV booth along with various volunteers. Everyone who volunteered has shown up so far, for which we are very grateful. In the past, poor Toshi has sometimes had to work alone teaching origami to a table full of kids. I've been helping out when necessary writing names in Japanese. When not doing that I'm trying hard to interest people in buying my book. Toshi has been mostly teaching origami nearly nonstop. Our booth is located next to the smaller of the performance centers. It's great to be able to peek around the curtains to see various musicians and dancers perform music from around the world. It's even more wonderful to listen to it all, but the sound is sometimes very loud which forces us to raise our voices to be heard. By the end of the day, we are hoarse. The music is so energizing. I find myself prancing around and inadvertently entertaining everyone around. I wake up in the morning with sore muscles I don't recall having used during the day. Dancing is the culprit.
There's delicious food from around the world just waiting to be purchased and gobbled down. The big stage is in the same area as the food. While I was grabbing a bite to eat today, a fashion show from around the world was taking place. Some fantastic styles and fabrics.
Yesterday, a Vietnamese calligrapher monk visited our booth and had his name written in Japanese. He then proceeded to write some of our volunteers' names for them. They were just gorgeous. He holds the Guinness World Record for doing calligraphy on stone. Along with him, there was a tiny (in stature) monk who was an amazing martial arts expert. He learned some origami while visiting the JASV booth.
Tomorrow is the last day of the festival. If you're in the area and free, come and have fun and stop in at the JASV booth and say hello. The doors open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 5:00 p.m. - the shortest of the three days.
Oh, dear, it is already tomorrow. Pleasant dreams to all of you who might still be awake.
Susan Twinkletoes Saitoh
We met some interesting people and enjoyed good conversation along with the food.
I should be tucked into my bed right now since I'm worn to a frazzle and my poor feet and knees are killing me. We have completed our second day at the Vermont International Festival. The fairground's floor is concrete, so standing most of the day is very hard on everyone. Toshi and I have been "manning" the JASV booth along with various volunteers. Everyone who volunteered has shown up so far, for which we are very grateful. In the past, poor Toshi has sometimes had to work alone teaching origami to a table full of kids. I've been helping out when necessary writing names in Japanese. When not doing that I'm trying hard to interest people in buying my book. Toshi has been mostly teaching origami nearly nonstop. Our booth is located next to the smaller of the performance centers. It's great to be able to peek around the curtains to see various musicians and dancers perform music from around the world. It's even more wonderful to listen to it all, but the sound is sometimes very loud which forces us to raise our voices to be heard. By the end of the day, we are hoarse. The music is so energizing. I find myself prancing around and inadvertently entertaining everyone around. I wake up in the morning with sore muscles I don't recall having used during the day. Dancing is the culprit.
There's delicious food from around the world just waiting to be purchased and gobbled down. The big stage is in the same area as the food. While I was grabbing a bite to eat today, a fashion show from around the world was taking place. Some fantastic styles and fabrics.
Yesterday, a Vietnamese calligrapher monk visited our booth and had his name written in Japanese. He then proceeded to write some of our volunteers' names for them. They were just gorgeous. He holds the Guinness World Record for doing calligraphy on stone. Along with him, there was a tiny (in stature) monk who was an amazing martial arts expert. He learned some origami while visiting the JASV booth.
Tomorrow is the last day of the festival. If you're in the area and free, come and have fun and stop in at the JASV booth and say hello. The doors open at 10:00 a.m. and close at 5:00 p.m. - the shortest of the three days.
Oh, dear, it is already tomorrow. Pleasant dreams to all of you who might still be awake.
Susan Twinkletoes Saitoh