Culture Lesson

2 October 2015:

We went for a long walk today. Our first stop was to the old neighborhood where we lived for three months in 1989. On the way, we came upon a playground occupied by a group of children in day care, all in red hats. We rested on a nearby bench.

There were about a dozen children, all being cared for by about 4 adults. One girl tripped and fell right in front of us. The immediate impulse for both Lily and myself was to help her get up, but we hesitated because we were not the care givers. Then we learned a lesson. One care giver was standing right next to the fallen girl, and did not reach down to help. Instead, all of the care givers took note, and then encouraged the girl to get up on her own in a sing-song voice, which she did with barely a complaint. Amazing! In the U.S., I am sure that at least two of the adults would have immediately picked her up, dusted her off, checked her knees and elbows, and given her a big hug. Not here. It was really interesting to see how they help the children learn how to take care of themselves at a young age. So much for helicopter parenting!

And, just for good measure, when little girl got up she put her cap on backwards, this time with a bit of help from the adult who had been standing right there. A bit of independence there, too.

End of lesson.

Canon 5D

Grounds of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum

1 October 2015:

Two very similar shots from our try-to-get-over-jet-lag walk today. These are the grounds outside of a closed art museum. It reopens on October 10, and looked really interesting through the windows, but we will not be here. A prince once lived there.

The two women hunched over the ground in the first shot must have been looking for 4-leaf clovers. It was just starting to rain a bit at the time. The rain came on stronger later, and we hid in a restaurant for lunch.

Canon 5D

Toothbrush Bouquet #2

13 September 2015

Looks like commuters packed in a subway.

Canon 5D

Toothbrush Bouquet #1

12 September 2015:

Anybody need a spare toothbrush?

Canon 5D, 100 mm macro lens

Palms

28 August 2015:

Deep blue sky just after sunset made for some nice silhouettes of three palm trees on Prospect Ave.

Canon 5D

Moon and clouds

26 August 2015:

We just kept looking up on our walk tonight. It is a bit warm and sticky for the South Bay, and the clouds are fun to watch.

Canon 5D

Windows

1 August 2015:

We happened to be down in Laguna Beach yesterday, gallery-sitting for a photography exhibit at BC Space. I had a bit of spare time between lunch at The Lumberyard in Laguna Beach and gallery opening time.  It is supposedly an artistic community, I was in an experimental mood, and ...

Canon 5D