Saturday, March 29, 2008

Long time no post: The lost letter 久しぶりにポスト!失われた手紙

I'm returning with a light-hearted post. Next post will be a longer, more serious report. I'm not sure though, if after all this time (6 months since I returned) my blog lost it's significance or not. Annnyways...

Two posts ago, when I received my delayed books, I said that I have completely returned from Japan. Truth is, this was a lie. I should have said 99% returned. There was something else chipping or nibbling at my conscience all this time.


In the last program day, when I and Mao-chan exchanged gifts, she gave me a cute little envelope and I promised her that I will read open it and read her letter in the airplane on my way back. Not sure if a 7-year old girl would understand the courtesy I meant with with promise, but atleast her grandparents did.

The next day after the last program day was departure day (say this 3 times fast!). I was very hectic and nervous because of the luggage limitations and having to send stuff by mail. On this day I also gave the program supervisor a gift, a book in Japanese I found in Holiday Inn Amman about Jordan's history and arts. I received a generic letter of appreciation from the JP Kansai Center library prepared for any book donors, but it was enough to make me feel nice in the inside. I went to the library again to sign the book, and I was told by the librarian that before this book they only had a small poster of Jordan. What do you know? My give and take approach to Japan and Japanese yielded results.


Anyways, so, back to the letter, as I said I was hectic and nervous and so on, when I was packing my stuff, I missed the envelope! I started looking for it everywhere in the room. I turned it upside down; didn't leave any nook or corner unchecked. But I didn't find Mao's letter. I got more nervous.

Then I took a deep breath, calm down Samer...
Whenever this happens I tell myself not to put doubts in my mind. If, for example, I park the car somewhere and I come back to that place and don't find the car, this does not mean that I parked it somewhere else; This means that the car was stolen! This is what I tell myself. Don't doubt yourself. I faintly remember putting the envelope inside one of the books, so I start searching all the books, all the time worrying that I will not find it and fulfill my promise to Mao.

After searching all the books and papers, I didn't find anything.
So it's not in the room and not inside the books. Where is it?.. Could it be in the book I gave the library?.. This is the only possibility, but something about the timing tells me it's not there and I didn't see it when I went to write the dedication on the cover's backside.

I turn the room and the books one more time then I gave up on searching, but didn't lose hope in finding it someday.
I felt guilty because I couldn't do as I promised her; I didn't read it in the plane.

After returning, everytime I remember losing the letter I feel bad, but I didn't lose hope. When I received the books after 2 months from returning, I looked inside the books again, nothing. But there was a small gleam of hope inside me that I'll find it. I didn't feel any finality about losing it.

So, around the end of December just before new year's, I started eyeing a book on the shelf with suspicion. It was the other book I got from Jordan to show to people, a book about Islamic geometric art. The book started looking suspicious and I started feeling that maybe I didn't search it. This feeling kept growing inside me, until I fetched it and opened it, and 'lo! Mao's letter in all its colourful cuteness was there!

Happiness 喜び

Sweet relief! I was right from the beginning; I did put it inside a book. See? "No need to doubt yourself, the car was stolen!" I told myself. Now I can say for sure that I fully returned from Japan (and repeat the happy dance).


Full of curiousity, I opened the letter and here's what I found:

Mao expresses her true feelings towards me

This reminds me: In the first homestay day, while we were preparing for lunch, Mao started drawing something and her mother came to her and asked her, what are you drawing? She answered "hen na hito" (a weirdo). Then after a short while, she came up to me and gave me that same drawing finished and with Samer written under it in Katakana. So then I was the 'hen na hito'. Nice to know that!

ookini, Mao-chan!


Mao, upclose and personal  まおちゃんクローズアップ

Now I'll tell myself: sassato uskot.


Yoroshiku habeebis. see you next post.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

サーメルは子供に弱いね(笑)

この話を、サーメルに一度聞かされたことがあるから、全部 読む必要はなかった。
でも、長いね! 一つ一つ詳しく教えるのは、サーメルの特徴!

次のポスト 楽しみに ♪

eyaso said...

what a nice story, it's good to have you finally back 100% here in Jordan :)

Saemon 左衛門 said...

よしゃ、ポストを完了したぜ
今度のをうきうきと期待しろ!

アハマド、やりすぎだと言いたいのか?

Eyas, you have no idea how much that 1% was bothering me! thanks for passing by here, btw.

momiji said...

post wo ohisashi buri desu.
but, relating to your posts, i can notice that you have not returned completely from japan yet! you still have something there!^^

totemo kawaii tegami desu ne^^
Actually i have some experience with a little cute kids. before 2 years when we were in Syria we went to visit my aunt's house, and while i was sitting there, talking nothing, I noticed that there is something very little and cute looking at me and smiling. At the the beginning i thought " may be she thinks me "henna hito" but then i discovered that she liked me! we became friends and i taught her 1-10 in japanese!
she was saying: ichi ni than yon go roku nana(:D some laugh, cause "nana" in Aleppo accent means "grandma") hachi (also some laugh) kyuu juu!
last week, i knew that when she grows up she want to study computer engineering in the university!

how nice to leave some impact on children!^_^

dewa, nagai comment wo gomennasai ne!

Anonymous said...

サーメルは詳しく教えるのは、言いすぎではなく、日本でサーメルの何かがまだ残されているって証拠なんだよね^^;
それは日本に対する強い「想い」・・かな

それにしても、もみじさんには、とてもかわいい友達ができたみたいですね^^
サーメルも弟さんのかわいい息子と友達になれましたね

もみじさんも、いつか いい思い出を日本に残す日が必ず来ると思います。日本語もドラマチックに上達していますし、将来有望ですね^__^

Saemon 左衛門 said...

紅葉さん、そうです。また三つか四つのポストをするつもりです。まだみんなとシェアしたいことがありますから。

アハマドくん、そうならば、長いと言わないでよ。これで長いと思ったら、次のポストにはどんな反応?

コメントありがとう、みんな。

Amani AbuQdais أماني أبوقديس said...

XD XD KAWAIIIIIIIIII~~~!!
Reminded me of Raku chan, my home stay 4 years little brother..but he could only express his feeling by always asking me for a DAKKO, and introducing his favorite toys to me! LOL
Glad that you found the letter I would have felt so bad if it was me and I lost it.

Anonymous said...

まおちゃんの手紙が見つかって本当によかったですね。

i like your way of writing and expressing. nice documentary.

次のポストを楽しみに!

K-s

まおちゃんにお返事書いてあげてくださいね。

Saemon 左衛門 said...

k先生、
今もホームステーの主人と文通をしています。彼にまおちゃんとしょうたくんにも宜しくとか伝えてくださいと頼んでいます。
でも、そうですね。直接にメールを送ったほうがいいですね。

k-chan,
you told me about this 'dakkou'word in a comment before, and since then, it stuck in my head and keeps popping up, I don't know why.. I never thought it had a meaning, but when you said 'ask me for', I thought it must refer to something.

Actually, I just looked it up. Did he mean 'hug'?.. hehe, how cute. Nice word.

Y'know, since my nephew Abdullah started mumbling stuff, I always felt he talked japanese.. one of the early things he repeated was something that sounded like でてこい and more recently he keeps saying ぶたわ、ぶたわ (and sometimes I continue だめだ ;) hehe..

Amani AbuQdais أماني أبوقديس said...

Saemon san,
Yea, well it's not like that I knew this word from before, when he kept saying "dakko dakko" and opened his arms, I understood the meaning of it.
DAKKO might be children's slang since rikai chan says "child's hug".
But it is definitely taken from the verb DAKU.

LOL I can imagine how your O-nephew san(honored nephew) says these words! when my bro was at that age, he used to say a lot of similar words.
Take care of him, he is gifted :D

Biraru said...

ohisashiburi Samer san .. ogenki desu ka ? ^^
I started blogging today .. my blog : biraru.blogspot.com
may I add your blog to my favorite sites ? ^^

Saemon 左衛門 said...

ohisashiburi desu ne, bilal-san.
mochiron desu tomo!

I would like to post more, but I have lots of work and studying to do.

jya ne!

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