Thank you a gazillion.

Yesterday afternoon I walked into town to say hello to the Oikawa family, and repay their many kindnesses of last week (dinner, lunch, and more invitations) with a loaf of fresh-baked bread. I quickly found myself further in debt, as within minutes of entering their shop/home, I was given an assortment of beverages, two presents (one, a beautiful laquer bowl/platter made by the father), and a small album with several photos from the festival I attended with them several weeks ago.

After an hour of chatting, and playing with the 4yr-old grand daughter, they insisted I join them for dinner again, though this time we went out to a local yakiniku restaurant called "8 trillion". Upon inquiry of the reason of the moniker, I was told it was the proprietor's middle name and that, apparently, the parents felt the son would become very rich if they dubbed him a really big number. Before you think them greedy, realize thats only about 70 billion in American dollars.

Anyway, we had a lovely meal. In between bites of grilled beef, rice, scallops, pigs' feet (the father's 2nd favorite food), some kind of spicy tripe, and sips of beer and a strangely delicious yogurt-sake of sorts from Korea, the father told me of his love for classic American movies and his fond memories of going to the cinema as a young man. I know very little of American classics, but upon mention of For Whom the Bell Tolls (which I've enjoyed twice), his eyes lit up and he said "Ahhh, Gehri Coopah!....Ingurido Bahguman!...great!" He, too, had seen it several times.

Over the course of the meal, I was extended even more invitations to dine, visit, go to onsen and festivals together, etc. At the end of the evening they dropped me off at home and after several bows and many thanks and a few "I had a splendid time", the father just said "We will have even more fun the next time" and bid me goodnight.

Oh, almost forgot to mention, the father finally settled on a character for the final kanji of my name. He drew it for me, and explained its meaning as "boy". "Thoroughbred boy" I said to myself, rather liking the youthfulness of it. However, I later looked it up in the dictionary and the character actually means "baby/infant". I think I'd rather stick with just Thoroughbred.