Country Mouse returns home

This weekend I took a trip out to the countryside of Indiana and Ohio, where houses dot the expanses of corn, soybean, and wheat fields.

It was my cousin's birthday, and her family took her to an Amish restaurant for dinner followed by a buggy ride. I passed on the dinner (which everyone said was delicious) and arrived just in time to hop up into the little three person buggy for a short jog down the road. Dave, the Amish grandpa who was driving, told us little jokes and let my cousin drive. It was nice experience. There are quite a few Amish in the area near Fort Wayne, and it was good to meet a few in person.

Most of the Ohio relatives came over for my cousin's birthday party, and I got to catch up on all the news: who's had another baby, who's bought a house, who's engaged...I tell you, there is something in the Ohio water that makes people get married and pop out the babies before the age of 23. As an Indiana girl, I'm planning on holding off until, say, 30. This doesn't make the grandparents happy..

Anyway, it was a nice weekend. I loved the fact that I could drive down the road and there were no mountains anywhere. It was all so open and unconstricting. Actually, the other day there was a storm passing and the clouds settled on the horizon in such a way that made it look like I was back in Kyoto walking down the street toward a huge wall of mountains. For a second I was scared that it had all been a dream. But no, the drying corn stalks in the fields are still rustling in the wind.