She slipped into my studio almost unnoticed–very polite, very refined.
A slight bit of a lady with a shy demeanor and sweet smile–somewhere in her fifties perhaps. The dark features of her Japanese heritage told of her family and her loyalties.
After bowing deftly, she found the seat that I motioned for her to take.
I had explained earlier to her daughter, when ask about English language lessons for her, that we didn’t usually teach language in our music and art studio, but I would share what I could.
Mieko had come to the island from Japan to help with the care of a five year old grandson, and I sensed that being far from home with little knowledge of our culture was hard for her. So a date was set for instruction and we parted. I was genuinely glad to embark on the adventure with her.
Beginning with colors and pointing to each one, I explained aka is red, midor is green, ki is yellow auro is blue. A quick learner, she soon progressed to numbers and the art of counting change. The J.C. Penny catalog was helpful for Mieko to relate her world to the names we had for the same in America. We laughed together at my attempts to help and her struggles to achieve, but it was great fun.
Mieko could understand more than she could speak, so to help her become fluent, I insisted that she form complete sentences when trying to converse. Sometimes I would point out items in the studio and use them as nouns for simple sentences. Throughout our lessons, she was gracious and conscientious–a real delight to work with.
“Now we’re going to the mini mall,” I announced when Mieko became more adept at speaking in short sentences. Together we entered a boutique down the street, and being the women of fashion that we were,compared purses, admired jewelry, and giggled at bikinis we no longer cared to wear. Walking back to my studio Mieko pointed out and named the flowering trees the Hawaiian islands had in common with Japan. It was a special time of togetherness, although large sentences were not spoken. Before leaving me that day, she thanked me over and over–Arigatou gozaimasu, arigatou gozaimasu–then bowed gracefully and left.
At the close of our 3 month series of English lessons, she pointed at the calendar to show me the date at the end of the month she would be leaving for Japan. She had only come for four months to be with her daughter and grandson, and her visa would soon be up. Before leaving she came with a tiny teapot as a farewell gift. I was so thrilled by her kindness that I mistakenly tried to give her a hug. She quickly stepped back, bowed slightly and left.
I missed our times together and sent, by way of her daughter’s later visit to Japan, a painting I had finished of the teapot she had given me. Mieko was to come back the next year and the next. We enjoyed each other’s company as she gained proficiency in the English language.
On her last visit, she stated that she wanted to take art lessons. She could now use her newly acquired language to describe the colors on her palette. The time was to end too soon, for one day she told me she would be leaving.
On the day of her departure, she appeared again with Japanese delicacies. I thanked her warmly for her many kindnesses to me.
I knew I had arrived when she paused before she left, then came back and gave me a hug.
A friend may be reckoned
The masterpiece of nature.
__Ralph Waldo Emerson
