1985/7 Japan

16 February 1986

It’s snowing again! Lots and lots of big soft flakes. It has been coming down since last night and is lying pretty thick on the ground. Beautiful. It actually snows about once every ten days, but such a light fall that by lunchtime it has all melted. This lot should last awhile tho’. I have taken today off from the bakery and want to go to one of the temples in west Kyoto to do some photography. And then I have two classes this evening.

My social life is improving. I went out with three different men this week. Two dinner dates and a pub deal. On Tuesday one of my students is taking me to lunch in Osaka – an Italian restaurant – and in the evening I’m having a meal cooked for me by an Englishman called David. On Thursday I am going to one of the baker’s homes for dinner. So…

I got my Snow Festival photies back. (It cost ne $35 to have them developed!!) They are much nicer than I expected them to be. I was really nervous that they would ALL be under- or over-exposed.

I have enclosed photographs of my Ikebana arrangements and the ¥5000 I promised. This week I did a lovely arrangement with yellow tulips and Scottish heather and elderberry blossoms.

February 23: Sorry, sorry. There is just too much happening at the moment. I have been increasing my teaching hours. So last Friday, for example, I put in 8 hours at the bakery, travelled to Sojiji and taught there for four hours. And all with a bad cold too. No real excuse for neglect I know, but the only thing I do at home nowadays is sleep. I shall actually be glad to finish at the hotel next week. I need more time to do 101 neglected things.

Thanks for the two letters and book received this week, mom. Dad, is it possible to deposit money on my card rather than sending it thru’ the post in future? I have spent the money Oupa gave me, but have not touched the $35 from you. That is to wipe out the debt the last time I overspent on the card, OK. This ¥5000 should cover now the Justine. But I want to send some more to cover the book. Please let me know how.

My meal at the baker’s home was fantastic. A bit like a fondue in that we all cooked our own, but fried on a flat, oil-free surface rather than in a pot. We had beef, pork, chicken, squid, shrimps, green peppers, onions, pumpkin, carrots and mushrooms. Absolutely delicious.

Am reading an excellent book called the Apartheid Handbook. It is written in question and answer form and asks all those questions one is either too afraid or too ignorant to ask. Some statistics: Govt spending on education: R1,385 per white child, R115 per black. Life expectancy: Whites 72.3 yrs, blacks 58.9. Infant mortality: Whites 14/1000, blacks 80/1000. (According to Unicef we have the highest mortality rate in the world in relation to national wealth.) Number of doctors per racial group: 1 doc for every 330 whites, 1 for every 12000 blacks!!! And on and on.

Well, after next week I shall have lots more time and will try to get back into the swing of writing regularly.

Take care
Lotsaluv
Gail

PS How did Oupa’s party go?