The Second Week

I was told before I left for Ishikawa that the weather here during June and July is less than ideal. June is the rainy season. While the July is the start of a hot and humid summer. Although I cannot say I have loved the weather thus far, I think it is unfair to categorize it as "bad", especially when one compares it to the weather in New Haven. Yes, the picture on the left was taken in Ishikawa, and yes, I had already been drenched in rain when I took the picture. But that torrential downpour was one of only two of its kind that I have experienced thus far. And it occurred on one of the three rainy days. After living in New Haven for two years, I like those numbers.
Despite the rain on the day I took the picture, four Yalies and a Swarthmore ...on? (just kidding) made it to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. The building was beautiful, and several of the installations were fascinating, but like most contemporary art, the place was a bit hit or miss. Nonetheless, it was worth the walk and the wet.
The museum is one of several sites of cultural interest in the Kanazawa area. I've also been to multiple shrines, and the beautiful KenRokuEn garden. I particularly like the shrines, since they were all practically deserted when my host family took me too them. There's still more for me to see, including a ninja temple complete with secret passages.
Although I am a Yalie, and so I should be most excited about the places listed above, or the Japanese class itself, neither of those things compares to the the home stay experience. My family remains fantastic. Every dinner, I learn more about Japan than I ever could in a classroom or with some gaijin at a museum. Today, for example, my host mom and I talked about the Japanese perception of the Mormon Church and the Amish. It turns out its somewhat similar to most Americans', but it was still fascinating. I know I couldn't have had this conversation with a nihonjin I hadn't already gotten to know quite well. And with my Japanese skills, for a nihonjin to get to know me well, he/she would either have to have a lot of free time, or live with me.
Ok, next time: happy hour!