Both my parents love the Japanese culture too, and our house reflected that in the landscaping and interior decorating. My parents no longer live in that house, but they still have many of the beautiful ceramics, prints, and baskets I remember from my childhood. My mom has added a few things to her collection here and there, and I have several pieces that are very dear to me.
My mother's hairdresser for many years, and occasionally mine too, was a native of Japan. Eiko was more than our hairdresser though. She was a link for my mom to a land she longed to visit. My mom would book the last appointment Eiko had for the day and afterwards, the two of them would go out for sushi. Eiko would of course order in Japanese. Years ago, Eiko passed on, and it was a shock for both of us, especially my mom. Some people are hard to get over. My most treasured items from Japan came from Eiko.
Several years ago, we hosted a teenage girl, Saori, for three weeks. Francesca was about 5. They got along so well, and there was so much laughter in our home. We had such a great experience, we did it again the next year with Mayumi. Both of these delightful young women took pieces of our hearts away with them, but left some of theirs with us. That's how it is supposed to work. Now, they are in their late 20's, and I have no idea how to get in touch with them anymore. Letters have gone unanswered, and I don't know if they ever got them. Mayumi lived in Kanuma, Tochigi. It is farther inland and north of Tokyo, so I imagine she and her family are safe. Saori lived in Sendai. I have begun a quest to see if I can locate her and or her family. It won't be easy as they have a very common last name. But I feel like I must know what has become of the lovely young woman who took a piece of me away with her. I have left a message on Google's new "2011 Japan people earthquake finder": http://tinyurl.com/4fh232y
I have a small flicker of hope, as the main source of communication after the quake and tsunami was Twitter and Facebook. Perhaps by my posting on these sites, eventually I will learn what became of the girl that had her first banana split here.
