What's Going Down in Kyoto?

It has been a few days since I wrote anything about the activities here, so here goes a little update. Time has been flying by because of such a busy schedual with classes and independent study. Learning Japanese is a slow process, but interacting with the elders and the Kyudo senseis allows for practice of the new words learned. Communication is still limited to very simple words though, and I am just starting to realize when I say something that is not very polite. For example: I learned yesterday that it is very impolite to say the word nan (what) to anyone who is higher than the sepeaker, like a sensei. Just the day before that I had asked the top sensei in our dojo, "Sensei no namae wa nan desu ka?" (What is your name, sensei?) He looked at me a little strangely, but answered my question. He is a level 8 in Kyudo, which means that he is one of the top 15 Kyudo participants in the whole world. I guess he realized that I did not know any better, but that was not very respectful of such an accomplished person.
I have been learning so much in Kyudo. Each day I attend the dojo, I learn something new. I have been working on my grip of the yumi (bow) lately. It is very imporant that only the base of the thumb, the index finger, and the base of the pinky finger should come in contact with the grip, so that the release can be smooth and the bow can rotate in the hand as the arrow takes flight. This is very hard to learn when the language understanding is almost nil. There is a lot of mime, and some very basic descriptive words. I often hear the word, muzukashi (difficult), in the descriptions. I am really loving that activity, and hope to find a dojo in NY when I am there in the spring. There are also dojos in Seattle and Boulder, so hopefully I will be able to continue the practice later on too. I think that I am almost to the point where I can use the arrow for practice in my form, which will be another big step in the journey of shooting.
I have been going to Hanasaka-so, the elderly home, a couple times a week, and I really love that too. I use various methods of communication to interact with the members there, from Japanese, to writing on an eraseable board, to asking the nurse to help me translate. It is really funny communicating with Kobayashi-san because her english is very limited. I have been trying to help her order these chiballs (colored balls for excersize and increasing the chi circulation) from Australia. It is probably a hilarious sight to see us talking because we have to be so animated to understand eachother.
Last week I started bathing the old men as well as massaging the members. I really love it because it is like taking care of a baby with the same gentleness; although, I had to shave Mishima-san on Saturday, and I am not very practiced as you might have guessed. He ended up taking the razor from me, and teaching me how to shave. It was hilariously embarassing to have to be taught how to shave at age 22. I have done it before, but I usually cut myself and it takes a long time. He is one of my favorite people at the home because he is so animated. He has severe Kiphosis (bent thorasic spine), but is a lively soul. He really loves singing time. At 3:30 everyday the folks get together for singing, and he starts passing out the lyrics at 3 o'clock in anticipation. He is an old Taiko drummer, so he gets out a small drum to play during the songs. He has a little trouble singing because his dentures keep falling out, but that does not stop him. I have had to learn a couple of the traditional songs they sing, but it is pretty muzukashi. They have been nice enough to write them all out in Hiragana rather than Kanji, so that I can at least sound out the words. They even had me teach them a song, but I am a horrible singer so they got the butchered version of summertime, my favorite lullaby. I have been asking some of the students who are musicians to come with me, so that I don't have to be the focus musically. I love music and really love listening to people sing, especially Eva, but I do not think the song writers would appreciate my terrible renditions of their art.
School definately keeps me busy with writing and studying, so it is hard to get out much, but I have been hiking every weekend to maintain my sanity. Last week, my friend, Chen, from Kyudo came along. We had a great time tromping through temples and forests. There were some very large Japanese cedar that had ropes around them signifying that they are sacred. It is so wonderful that this culture respects beauty and nature so much. Well, that is all for now, but I will make an effort not to let it go so long next time.
Sayonara