Friends

Three weeks ago I got an email from Rui with the very happy news that she had accepted a job as a writer from the Asahi newspaper group. Here she is practicing her interviewing skills.


Rui is a former student. She studied in the UK and while there did a small internship with BBC radio. Two weeks ago we went out to dinner to celebrate her new job, which will take her in the fall to Tokyo for training. Here we are after a filling meal at Higuchi, one of the city's better French restaurants.


While searching for a journalism job, Rui has been supporting herself working for Softbank, one of Japan's largest telecommunication providers and the owner of Fukuoka's professional baseball team. Through her job Rui came into a few choice tickets to a game that she couldn't attend, so she passed them on to us, and yesterday we had a relaxing afternoon at the Dome in our box seats.



Joining us were Greg Bevan, a fellow teacher at a couple of the universities where I teach, and his finance, Hiromi, a registered nurse and in her free time a dancer of salsa (though not yet, as I understand, with Greg). The happy couple is getting married this summer.



One of the unique traditions of Japanese baseball is the 7th inning balloon release. Mutsumi remarks on the size of Greg's inflation.


Everyone readies ...


... and releases.



The Fukuoka Hawks lost the game (to the Hiroshima Carp), but sill, we had a great time. As you can see in these pictures.



Thank you for a great day, Rui, Greg, Hiromi, and Mutsumi.

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