Eiko-san
I'm on my last day of work here in Tsukuba. One of the JAXA employees that I work with on each trip is a young woman named Eiko. She is the one who organizes all of the social events, makes sure that everyone has coffee or tea, etc. The fact that she is a skilled technical person doesn't seem that important to her bosses.
Today, she invited the people involved in the distributed simulation work -- eight of us all together -- to her house for lunch on the last day.
She lives with her father in a traditional Japanese house, with tatami mats on the floors, sliding walls, and beautifully carved wood and bamboo everywhere. Out back was a garden that provided all of the vegetables for lunch. And the neighbor, who is an extremely skilled bonsai grower, showed us his work.
Everyone was impressed that I could sit seiza properly, a left-over from years of Aikido from before my back and hip got ruined. I was impressed by the graciousness of Eiko and her father, who spoke no English, but made us feel welcome and at home. The food was all delicious, and I even ate the pickled jellyfish (which was kind of crunchy-chewy, but otherwise tasted fine).
It was the first and only time that I've felt truly at home here, in a land so far away from where I live. We'll have to have a barbecue for Eiko and her friends the next time they come to Johnson Space Center.
Today, she invited the people involved in the distributed simulation work -- eight of us all together -- to her house for lunch on the last day.
She lives with her father in a traditional Japanese house, with tatami mats on the floors, sliding walls, and beautifully carved wood and bamboo everywhere. Out back was a garden that provided all of the vegetables for lunch. And the neighbor, who is an extremely skilled bonsai grower, showed us his work.
Everyone was impressed that I could sit seiza properly, a left-over from years of Aikido from before my back and hip got ruined. I was impressed by the graciousness of Eiko and her father, who spoke no English, but made us feel welcome and at home. The food was all delicious, and I even ate the pickled jellyfish (which was kind of crunchy-chewy, but otherwise tasted fine).
It was the first and only time that I've felt truly at home here, in a land so far away from where I live. We'll have to have a barbecue for Eiko and her friends the next time they come to Johnson Space Center.