OK!

So I've been trying to get in touch with people I still know in Japan due to all the craziness that's been going on over there. Unfortunately I was unable to reach my surrogate Japanese family because the last time I contacted them it was by snail mail (not very practical in this case) and the email address I had for them bounced back. After some maneuvering I managed to retrieve their phone number.

Yesterday I called them. The call lasted 15 minutes and consisted of the following parts:

5 minutes: Correctly trying to identify that I was me and he was him. I am surprised he didn't hang up on me.

5 minutes: Conversation with someone who has completely forgotten Japanese with someone who hasn't spoken English in 6 years. 4 out of the 5 minutes consisted of the word "OK".

Me: You OK?
Him: OK OK.
Me: Wife OK?
Him: OK OK.
Me: Son OK?
Him: OK OK.

And so on and so forth.

5 minutes: Them trying to get my contact information.

Her: Gibe me Kerry-chan
Me: B
Her: B
Me: O
Her: O
Me: U
Her: U
Me: L
Her: R
Me: (Oh shit Japanese people have problems distinguishing between R and l) No L
Her: R
Me: No, ELLLA (I am screaming at this point in my apartment)
Her: [something that sounds like a cross between R and L)
Me: OK (maybe she wrote down L but was saying R?)
Me: E
Her: E
Me: V
Her: B
Me: No VEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Her: BEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Me: ...
Her: Kerry-chan?
Me: I. write. you. I. give. you. address. You. write. me.
Her: OK OK. Sanku berry muchi.

Sadly our conversations have always been this way (although the degradation - nay disappearance of my Japanese made it a bit worse) and as I hung up the phone I couldn't help but think of the fresh sashimi and greasy karaage (they always wanted to include something "western") they served at dinners of their house in Shiroishi (I used to say that I was coming to Shiroi-oishii). And of the sweet white wine that accompanied to help narrow the language gap and kept the conversation flowing.

The story of their lives enfolded to me, and mine to them, then, over the course of these dinners. I also remembered how sad I felt when I said goodbye to them, this Japanese couple that welcomed me into their home when I was far away from mine.

Natsukashii.