Miyako’s Education – Part 20

John: Hi Miyako. How do you feel today?

Miyako: Much better, thanks. How are you doing?
John: Oh, all right, I guess.
Miyako: What is it? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?
John: Oh, Hiroko and I are not getting on.
Miyako: Really? How come? What’s the problem?
John: Well, she is really jealous.
Miyako: In what way?
John: Well, if I talk about you, she gets jealous. If I talk about other girls, she gets jealous?
Miyako: Do you talk about other girls a lot?
John: No, not really. Of course, I talk about my friends. You are my friend so I mention you in conversation
sometimes, but when I do that she gets jealous and she loses her temper and she gets really angry.
Miyako: What does she do when she loses her temper?
John: Well, first she sulks, then she yells at me, then she sulks again. Then she won’t talk to me.
Miyako: That’s a pity.
John: Yeah. What should I do?
Miyako: I guess you should be kind and patient with her.
John: Yeah, I suppose so. But it’s hard.
Miyako: Hang in there. Maybe she will change.
John: I hope so.

Miyako’s Education – Part 25

John: Hey, Hiroko. How are you?
Hiroko: Not so good. I burned the pancakes. I was making Korean pancakes and I burned them.
John: That’s a pity. Can you make some more?
Hiroko: Yeah. I’m making some more now. First I have to make the batter then I’ll fry them. I’ll watch them
more carefully this time. What did you do today?
John: I went to university. I had two classes this morning.
Hiroko: Did you see your friend, Miyako?
John: Yeah, I saw her in the cafeteria. She was reading.
Hiroko: Oh really. What was she reading?
John: She was reading a book about education.
Hiroko: Did you talk to her?
John: A bit. You’re not still worried about me seeing her, are you?
Hiroko: Of course not. I was just feeling insecure and jealous before. I was wrong. I was unfair. You are from
Australia and all your old friends are back there. Of course you want to make new friends in Japan and some of
those friends are female friends. It’s natural. I am really sorry about what happened before.
John: I’m glad you see it that way. What did you do today?
Hiroko: Oh, I just stayed home. I went shopping after lunch. I studied a bit.
John: Didn’t you have any classes today?
Hiroko: No, I had a free day, so what did you talk about with Miyako?
John: Actually we talked about education. The book she was reading was about education and we talked about
education.
Hiroko: What did she say?
John: She said education is fun. Learning things is fun.
Hiroko: Do you agree?
John: Yeah, but not all the time. When I was at school, I did chemistry. That wasn’t fun. The teacher was boring
and there was too much maths. It was pointless. I didn’t like it. I didn’t enjoy it at all. It was terrible. It was really
really boring.
Hiroko: Really? I had a good chemistry teacher. I liked chemistry. I thought it was interesting.
John: Everybody is different. Everybody has different likes and dislikes. Everyone has different taste.
Hiroko: What else did you talk about with Miyako?
John: Well, we talked a bit about the future. I said I wanted to be a writer and she said she liked education and I
said she should be a teacher but she said she was not sure.
Hiroko: Are you ready to eat?

Miyako’s Education – Part 14

John: Hi Yumie, what are you doing?
Yumie: I am studying.
John: You are always studying.
Yumie: Yeah, I know. I am a good student. I want to pass my exams and I want to get a good job.
John: That’s good but you should enjoy your life too.
Yumie: Yeah, you’re right. What’s new?
John: Miyako is depressed.
Yumie: Really? Why? Why is she depressed? What’s wrong? Is it her boyfriend?
John: Yeah, that’s right. Her boyfriend has a new girlfriend. He has an American girlfriend. Miyako is really sad.
She really loves him but he doesn’t love her. He likes this new girl.
Yumie: That’s terrible! I’ll call her. Do you know her number?
John: Yeah. It’s 090-4554-3936.

Studying in India
Mark: So I am just sitting in an Indian restaurant with my friend, Arthur. Arthur, you have been to India, haven’t
you?
Arthur: Yes.
Mark: Tell us about it. When did you first go there?
Arthur: in September 1969…
Mark : September…?
Arthur: 1969.
Mark: Wow, that was a long time ago. Did you fly or did you take a boat?
Arthur: No, I flew…
Mark: You flew.
Arthur: Yeah.
Mark: And where did you fly to first?
Arthur: Tokyo.
Mark: Tokyo….Tokyo, India? Ha ha ha.
Arthur: No, Tokyo Japan.
Mark: And then you flew…to…from…?
Arthur: We stayed in Tokyo for about a week
Mark: Um-hm.
Arthur: We bought all cameras and everything. Everything was really cheap there…my friends all bought…I
was with about eighty or ninety American students, so we all went together…so they all bought really good
stereos and had them sent on to India.
Mark: Wow
Arthur: So we had good sound systems there. And then we went to Hong Kong and then Bangkok for like three
or four days…and then we went straight to Calcutta.
Mark: This was during the Vietnam War, 1969…wow…and then from Calcutta…you flew to Calcutta?
Arthur: We stayed in Calcutta just I think one night and then we flew down to Bangalore.
Mark: And you went to India to study?
Arthur: Yeah, I was doing my third year of university.
Mark : Uhm-hm..
Arthur: It was a very liberal arts college that sent everyone abroad…a little bit later they went to Japan. When I
was going there they were going to India…two or three years everybody went to India and we stayed in a hotel
in Bangalore and we studied at Bangalore University.
Mark: And what kind of things did you study?
Arthur: aah Kanada, the language, Indian philosophy, Indian religion. I studied sitar.
Mark: …the musical instrument?
Arthur: Yeah, sitar.
Mark: Do you still play?
Arthur: Well, I haven’t played for a long time. I guess I…I don’t have a sitar any more.
Mark: Do you have a favorite raga?
Arthur: Mmm The first one I learned was Yeman.
Mark: Uh-huh.
Arthur: I liked Bhairavi.
Mark: Bhairavi. I like that one.
Arthur: I like Bhairavi. Yeman was a little bit difficult. It had a lot of notes. We usually start on that. I first
started teaching (studying) with a disciple of Ravi Shankar
Mark: Wow!
Arthur: So he would stick us on one raga for a long time and I really enjoyed that and I decided that I wanted to
concentrate more…and then I decided to go to Calcutta for three months to do independent study.
Mark: Right.
Arthur: So I asked the head of the school and he said that was ok.
Mark: Uh-huh.
Arthur: So I went to Calcutta and I found another teacher and his name was Balaram Hatta.
Mark: Say that again.
Arthur: Balaram Hatta.
Mark: I wonder if he is still around.
Arthur: His son is. He died.
Mark: Wow.
Arthur: His son is actually teaching in Belgium now.
Mark: Wow.
Arthur: His son’s name is Ashoka.
Mark: Uh-huh.
Arthur: He was my teacher he was the one I spent the most time with and I met…actually I met Ravi Shankar. I
went to his house I went to a really rich Indians house and there was a small house and Ravi Shankar played…
and I went around to all the…in Calcutta.
Mark: Mm.
Arthur: And I stayed for about five months and then I came back and did a recital, which constituted my grade.
I passed.

Hiromi’s Trip to Thailand – Episode 4:On the Flight 4. On the Flight

Passenger: Where are you from?
Hiromi: I’m Japanese.
Passenger: I can see that. What part of Japan do you come from?
Hiromi: Originally I’m from Toyama, but I live in Kyoto now.
Passenger: I see. Where is Toyama?
Hiromi: It’s on the Japan Sea coast. How about you? Where are you from?
Passenger: I come from Tennessee but I live in Shiga now. I’m studying pottery. What about you? What do you
do in Kyoto?
Hiromi: I’m a nursing student. I’m studying to be a nurse.
Passenger: That’s a very important job.
Hiromi: Yes, I hope I will be a good nurse, when I graduate.
Passenger: I’m sure you will. Are you going to Thailand now?
Hiromi: That’s right. You too?
Passenger: No. I’m just going to be in transit in Bangkok Airport. I am flying to Auckland tonight.
Hiromi: Why are you going to New Zealand?
Passenger: I want to visit a pottery village in New Zealand. There are some very good potters in New Zealand.
There is a lot of Japanese style pottery there too. Japan is very famous for pottery. Do you like pottery?

Motorcycles and Mountains

Mark asks Eric about motorcycling in Japan.
Mark: Hey, Eric! You’ve got a motorcycle, haven’t you?
Eric: Ahh, yes, I have two.
Mark: What kind?
Eric: I have a BMW big touring bike and I have a Suzuki off-road type.
Mark: A BMW is a German bike, isn’t it?
Eric: Aah, that’s right, yes. Made in Germany. Even though I live in Japan, I have a German-made motorcycle.
Mark: Why did you get a German motorcycle?
Eric: Well, I have been doing a lot of camping and touring on my motorcycle so this big motorcycle is able to
carry a lot of weight comfortably and safely and also this motorcycle is wind-tunnel tested so it does really really
nicely on the expressway. I commute to work on the expressway four days a week so it is really good for that.
Mark: Right, and when you go touring, you go camping, is that right?
Eric: Yeah we often like to camp. Once in while we’ll stay in a cabin but yeah often we take the camping gear
and stay in tents.
Mark: So you ride on winding mountain roads up through the Japanese mountains until you find a beautiful
place and then you just pitch your tent and light a fire?
Eric: Well, usually we have a plan as to where to go but yes we like…we prefer nice windy twisty mountain
roads.
Mark: A lot of people only know the part of Japan from Tokyo down to Hiroshima; this kind of built-up urban
coastal area, but they don’t realize that a huge area of this country is mountains and narrow winding roads and
deserted villages. I just love the Japanese mountains.