A week of interesting people

I've had a week filled with interesting people crossing my path each time I emerge from my well air-conditioned room!

Today it's Saturday and I met with Mayumi, who's our gospel choir leader. I suggested it to her in a text message yesterday, in an attempt to be more proactive in getting to know people in the choir, and because she had been asking if I could help her with some songs in English and so it seemed a good opportunity. And it was refreshing to have someone leap on the idea and be genuinely excited. It was exciting for me too, as I am in quiet awe of Mayumi, and her ability to transform into such a creative, bubbly source of energy and joy in our choir practices and live performances, as she plays the piano, sings, and whooshes across the stage in a flurry of exileration and laughter. When not in that mode she's just a normal, possibly slightly insecure gal, just like me, who loves the God she discovered six years ago. As well as us simply recovering in the coffee shop from the heat, I helped her compose a song (yes, I know that sounds strange, sitting in a coffee shop!), she taught me the names of the books of the Bible in Japanese, and we kind of comunicated even though we couldn't always get every word of what each other was saying! (kansai-dialect didn't help!)

Then she had to go and sing in a wedding, for the second time that day, so we said goodbye and I went on the train a bit further up the lake-coast, (which is novel for me to do by myself with time to spare), did some shopping, got a free bus across the lake, went paddling as the sun was setting, and then was picked up by another lady I met a while back. We had dinner together in Moriyama and again it was interesting to chat about all sorts, from a dating party that's happening in Osaka in the Autumn, to the fact that in Japan there is no 'Ladies first' convention. I like people like her who are non-clingy but ever-so-kind.

And also this week we had an interestng guy stay in our house - Theo Cowley, an artist who does this kind of thing in London and Holland. After conversations about Kyoto life in the kitchen, and having another Englishman around, I was sad to see him go.

I am very happy about these newish frinedships, but I've also been slightly disillusioned by others in the last few months. There's been a few people who seemed to want to be friends with me (and me with them), but when the 'novelty' wore off for them of having a foreign friend, or something, they've become disinterested and unavailable. Or maybe they're just busy. Or maybe I've done something wrong. So I am slightly wary now .... although it's important for me to keep my heart open to those individual friends (and I will use that word 'friends' even though I'm not entirely convinced it's still valid!) It makes me all the more grateful though for other longer-standing friends, like Yuki and Masako, who although likely get something out of our international friendship, are genuine friends.