The rainy season is here in full force. The sun has gone on vacation so all we get is rain and fog. Because of the terrain, Sendai does not get as much rain as the surrounding areas, but we certainly get the fog. The humidity remains so close to 100% that the difference does not matter. Go outside and walk for a few minutes and your clothing becomes damp from the moisture in the air.
During the day it is fairly hot, but it cools off at night. Not that this helps, because the humidity stays high.
This year, of course, we have the baby to keep us amused, so it is emotionally much better than most years. Also, for me this is the time when classes are winding down and I am preparing exams and doing grading. One more thing is keeping up my spirits this year as compared to other years. My new telephone has built in audio and I have been downloading lectures about Buddhism - to get my mind in the right place for the trip next year.
There is one thing that actually keeps us going: the rainy season will be over in two or three more weeks and then we will have a few months of hot, sunny weather - and I will be on vacation.
Jul 9, 2008
Jul 7, 2008
Jul 2, 2008
The new baby
Tomone Yatsu, my granddaughter, at the age of three days
Looking at the strange new worldJul 1, 2008
Around the Hood
First of all, Naomi, my daughter just gave birth to a baby girl. Mother and child both health and well. I will give pictures and more information later. I had uploaded these pictures before the phone call about Naomi came so I will show them to you as planned, especially considering that I have no more information. Masayo, my wife, and Hiro, Naomi's husband, are at the hospital but I have classes in a little while so I won't get to go until tomorrow or maybe even the next day.
Ian and I did our usual walk this morning and on the way home I took these pictures between the subway station and home.
This first picture is from the new bridge and is looking toward Yaotome, where our nearest subway station is located. You can see part of it above the road. The dark band with light colored strips above and below it. As the trains go toward the left, toward Sendai, the tracks go underground before the next station.
This next picture shows the bridge itself. Just to the left of the apartment building, you can see the local Buddhist temple. It is Jodo Shinshu, or the Pure Land Sect. They have the only bell in the area and we can sometimes hear it.
The bridge itself has been completed for more than a month but they are still working on the surrounding area. I have really enjoyed watching how they have functioned and am curious about how the path along the top of the levee is going to be redone.
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This picture is from the bridge looking east. We live in the large apartment building on the right, just to the left of the power pylon. Actually it is three buildings and we live in the middle one. We live on the second floor on the left side, next to the space between the buildings. The apartments on the on the left are new and belong to the 'rich guy'. On the left side of this building, if you look closely you can see a triangular-shaped roof. That is our local Shinto Shrine.
This is view from the other end of the bridge. Our building, now on the left, is the stepped building. Actually, this is two building and ours in on the left. It has two light colored areas on each floor, while the right hand building has dark areas only. The reason is that our building, although, put up by the same company, is of better quality. The building on the right has only one elevator shaft so there are walkways all the way across the front of each floor. Our building has two elevator shafts, so that only two apartments have to share an elevator even though each floor has four apartments.
The river, by the way, is full of fish, and there are lots of birds around. It is very pleasant to walk along the bank.
Ian and I did our usual walk this morning and on the way home I took these pictures between the subway station and home.
This first picture is from the new bridge and is looking toward Yaotome, where our nearest subway station is located. You can see part of it above the road. The dark band with light colored strips above and below it. As the trains go toward the left, toward Sendai, the tracks go underground before the next station.This next picture shows the bridge itself. Just to the left of the apartment building, you can see the local Buddhist temple. It is Jodo Shinshu, or the Pure Land Sect. They have the only bell in the area and we can sometimes hear it.
The bridge itself has been completed for more than a month but they are still working on the surrounding area. I have really enjoyed watching how they have functioned and am curious about how the path along the top of the levee is going to be redone.
a
This picture is from the bridge looking east. We live in the large apartment building on the right, just to the left of the power pylon. Actually it is three buildings and we live in the middle one. We live on the second floor on the left side, next to the space between the buildings. The apartments on the on the left are new and belong to the 'rich guy'. On the left side of this building, if you look closely you can see a triangular-shaped roof. That is our local Shinto Shrine.
This is view from the other end of the bridge. Our building, now on the left, is the stepped building. Actually, this is two building and ours in on the left. It has two light colored areas on each floor, while the right hand building has dark areas only. The reason is that our building, although, put up by the same company, is of better quality. The building on the right has only one elevator shaft so there are walkways all the way across the front of each floor. Our building has two elevator shafts, so that only two apartments have to share an elevator even though each floor has four apartments.
The river, by the way, is full of fish, and there are lots of birds around. It is very pleasant to walk along the bank.
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