Dinner and a Motivation

It's always a toss up whether I am going to enjoy myself or be bored out of my mind when I go visit my advisor emeritus. Today, being the last time that I would be meeting her this year, was no exception.

We started out at her house where she apologized profusely for the fact that she had not conveyed to me all the knowledge she had stored inside her brain. She then attempted to transmit a bit of it, but it only served to remind me of the fact that I know absolutely nothing, comparitively speaking, and the path to scholar-dom is a long and tortuous one. It was at that point that I felt I had absolutely decided that studying in Japan was a lost cause and I should just go back to the States and find some sort of random job.

Then we took a little wander down to Uji where I was treated to my second kaiseki ryori (multiple course Japanese style dinner) meal of the year. I can't even remember all of the dishes, but I do remember my favorite. It was the one I expected to like the least: salted and grilled ayu fish dipped in a green sauce made from leaves. The only part of the fish I did not eat was the head; the rest of it was delicious, especially the tail.

Anyway, my advisor asked me my plans for after the Fulbright ended, and I casually mentioned that I was looking to go to grad school in Japan, and would she be able to recommend any professors? Oh hoh. That got the ball rolling - she's looking into the best places for me to go and she'll give me a call next week.

It's not that I can't do these things for myself. It's just that I have zero connections and getting connections is like pulling teeth. My advisor, however, has been around quite awhile. She has been blessed by the Pope, recieved 3rd century Buddha statues as gifts, her house has enough books to become a freestanding library. She has connections. And with any luck, these connections will be handed to me and I shall have an easier time mucking through the bureaucracy that is the Japanese educational system. I have been rejuvinated.