Coffee, Tea and ME!

My daughter's 1st Japanese (as a 2nd language) teacher in Japan was Ishii-sensei. She volunteers her time teaching Japanese to foreigners, and worked full-time as an English teacher in a Japanese elementary school.
She very graciously invited us to her home for a tea party to celebrate "girls day". Actually, I guess it lasts the whole month of March, but we had a girlie tea party with the other Americans who are Ishii-sensei's current Japanese students. I say she "worked" as an English because the day we were there was her first official day of "retirement" and she was going to start a new job as a house mother at a boarding school not too far away.
Ishii-sensei has a beautiful apartment, and she had quite a spread of food. She had maki rolls, Pretz, yatsuhashi (I'm not sure of that spelling - sakura flavored mochi folded into triangles), sembai, which are rice crackers, Pocky and then she had strawberry short cake AND cheesecake. For drinks she served momo sake (peach sake) and green tea and coffee.



Her decorations for girls day was impressive as well. On the piano (at left) and




on her foyer display shelf.
It was an enjoyable little glimpse into the home of a Japanese, and it was the only one that I had, other than staying with my daughter.


We had pictures taken of the other American girls and Ishii-sensei, but I didn't think they would love having them plastered all over cyberspace.
For what it's worth.
Ishii-sensei also took my daughter and I to Ganryujima, an island in the Kanmon strait right close to Shimonoseki. It's where the two samurai duked it out. See http://homsar06.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html for a more complete story of the history.
I was completely bowled over by the charm and hospitality of the Japanese towards me, and taking my daughter under their wings, so to speak. It was very precious, and will stay with me forever.
Arigato gozaimas, Ishii-sensei!