Friday, June 17, 2011

Recent Developments


The last couple of days I've been trying to expand my horizons a little bit (I know that's what Dad would tell me to do). In fact, I've been so apt to do this I even ran north instead of south the other day, and this is where it took me:

I ran through a series of tunnels, probably 6 or 7 before I decided to turnaround. The tunnels went along the ocean and through the mountains with a running path along the side. I typically run with Ipod but there's really no point because it gets so loud in there (sorry Posner). I think I'm scoring points with MapMyRun; they think I'm running up and down all these mountains when really I'm just running through them... that's fine, as I understand it the Chicago Marathon course is pretty flat anyway.

Today, I ventured out with Isobe-san and Yoshida-sensei to visit home healthcare patients. This was definitely a unique experience. These patients live out in very rural areas and are unable to easily access the hospital. Some of the scenery along the way includes the terraced rice paddies of Oyama Senmaida:

Not only is it rare to be invited over to a Japanese home (let's be honest, I wasn't really invited), but I also got to see how the physician interacted with the patient in another element, outside of the hospital. Yoshida-sensei was an excellent individual to learn from. He was patient with me when I asked questions and he was thorough in his explanations. All of the patients we visited were courteous and were prime examples of Japanese hospitality. The last house we visited served us coffee, watermelon, cookies, and cake! I think I surprised them; I was the first foreigner this 90 year old woman had ever seen. With their permission I took this photo (I know I look funny, I'm tall):

Before we headed back, Yoshida-sensei and Isobe-san introduced me to real Japanese sake (not that fake stuff they have in the US). No, I didn't go on a bender in the middle of the day... although it was about FAC time. We stopped in at a local sake shop (ironically named Kameda) and I may have bought a few gifts.

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