Proud Mary Keeps on Rolling

We have had the most surreal day. From the moment the Japanese Rotarians picked us up this afternoon, we have had a blast. Things started off slow as everyone tried to understand each other. My Japanese is horrid but Kenja and Dave did well, Ryoji (our tutor) would be proud. How is it that I took lessons too but nothing stuck?

In any case, our chartered bus had room enough for 50 people. You'd think, naturally, we would spread out and each have our own seat, choosing to sit two or three rows from one another to get nice and comfortable for the six hour drive. Not so. Our party bus had a special (almost U-shaped section in the back) with a semi-coffee table if you will, which all 11 or 12 of us sat around.



Nice and cozy. No hiding our fishy breath from one another. The table was covered with snacks. Safe drinks like Japanese beer and tea. But wait, there's more. Squid jerky anyone? How about peanuts and seaweed wrapped pretzels? Seaweed potato chips?

And while we all enjoyed trying to communicate with one another and snacking on the feast before us, we reached a pivotal moment. What Japanese party bus would be complete without a karaoke machine? That's when the party really got started! Our Japanese friends belted out American tunes like "Proud Mary" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and of course, some of their personal Japanese favorites. They don't mess around either. Finely tuned voices!


Then there was us. Dan sang energizing songs like "Danny Boy" and "Some Enchanted Evening." Good pipes, he just needs to expand his repertoire into the 21st century. Michael obviously karaokes for a living. Not even a cold threw him off kilter. He brought his game. Kenja sang several times ending with Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier." Dave sang some Oasis and an oldie but goodie "Mack the Knife." And I, sang token songs like "La Bamba" and "Besame Mucho" which the Japanese Rotarians liked very much.



Now we're at the Hotel Niigata. We each have our own room, which is very gracious of our hosts. For dinner we had an 8 or 9 course meal of various Chinese foods like squid and octopus, scallops, corn soup, chili pepper shrimp and other interesting foods. And to drink, we had brown Chinese sake and beer.

As I prepare to go to la la land, I'm awed by the opportunity to be here and experience such graciousness and generosity. Our hosts left at 5 a.m. this morning to pick us up, chartered the party bus for us, gave us a great dinner and our own room. Tomorrow we have a welcome party which I'm sure will bring more pleasant surprises! Until tomorrow.