Coming to you from Bokusho-san`s Temple, Wednesday evening. We are at the tea ceremony again – just as good a second time ^_^.

Anyway, since the last update; we`ve had a lot more practise/training at the Shiso care home. Mostly taking certain residents to the toilet, cleaning at bath time (before dinner every day) and attempting to `entertain` as much as possible. Our activities involve crafts most days, and also pottery, cooking, going for walks, flower arranging, `trampoline time` and music. It varies, depending on whom I am looking after at the time, and whether or not they decide to run off somewhere else in the home. Actually, to be perfectly frank, so far it`s been a difficult time. Not so much the duties such as bathing the residents, which I thought would be the challenge, but because everything is so s-l-o-w and tiresome. The food is generally good, but I`m not sure if the change in diet has anything to do with my lethargy. Really, almost falling asleep doing some tasks on certain days…

Enough with the gripes though, I hoping I`ll adjust after a couple more weeks and the days won`t drag. Maybe my poor Japanese will start to improve as well. At the weekend, Kyunai-san took us to Mitoku Nageiredo; which was a long drive from 6.30am to Tottori prefecture followed by an interesting climb to se a really cool 1200 year old Buddhist Temple embedded within a mountain wall. Afterwards we went to the sea and ate cup ramen. We also saw a bizarre method of drying seafood and squid – spinning it around it on cuboid stands quite fast! After that we went to see some new friends of hers, were shown around a traditional Japanese inn (like the ryokan, but much better, with a garden and waterfall in the centre, really elaborate woods and tatami mats and generally just a great design. Our guide also gave Jessica and I each an 80 year old antique sake cup as a gift! o.O. They take gift-giving very seriously in Japan, so it`s going to be difficult considering the gifts I have brought are fairly cheap ;/.

I must go, as I`ve been using the Internet a fair while here. I would hate to exploit their generosity ;/.