Yeah, he's 72-years old. Yeah, he lives on a mountain and has these far out wild-man vibes that make it impossible to imagine him under a roof or sitting in a chair or even eating with a fork and knife. But, damnit, I don't care. He's got this Alpha Male energy that's way cool.
Then he took out his bottles. (Note: Look at that forearm! He's 72-years old and built like
There's a bottle for for many-legged creatures.
And a bottle for flying, stinging creatures.
I asked what he did with them and he said he uses them as medicine. I was duly impressed. And then someone asked, Can you drink them? And he said, Sure, you can drink them. Let me tell you, it took every bit of my reserve not to blurt out, But do YOU drink them?
Meet my rock carving teacher.
I have to drive an hour into the mountains on these thready thin roads to get to where he teaches. I invariable get lost. But he's always happy when I show up. One time it took me two hours to get there because I made a wrong turn and ended up three mountains away. He applauded me and said only normal people would take the usual route.
I have to drive an hour into the mountains on these thready thin roads to get to where he teaches. I invariable get lost. But he's always happy when I show up. One time it took me two hours to get there because I made a wrong turn and ended up three mountains away. He applauded me and said only normal people would take the usual route. He tells the most amazing stories and has had the most amazing life. He's also quite famous in Japan (and various museums overseas) for his sculptures. He has no wrists.
I had to take two months off because I went back to America and then someone here was sick or something and I couldn't make a class so when I went this past Saturday we were like all giddy and goofy to see each other.
And then the bugs showed up.
First, a couple of suzume bachis came -- a kind of hornet, that's much too big for its own good and would much rather take you out than build a hive or protect some queen or something.
Yes, I screamed like a little girl and s-l-o-w-l-y ran away. Not to be outdone, the old gentlemen that were beside me carving their statues did some pretty impressive squealing and backing away as well.
But my teacher caught the buggers!
About an hour later I heard another gasp and a cry of "Grab the tongs!"
It was a centipede. But not the cute, sweet, little things I'm used to back home. This mother was huge! Looked like this:
But my teacher got him, too. *swoon*
Then he took out his bottles. (Note: Look at that forearm! He's 72-years old and built likea brick $#%house.)
(These are from my cell phone, so not too good.)
There's a bottle for for many-legged creatures. 
And a bottle for flying, stinging creatures. 
I asked what he did with them and he said he uses them as medicine. I was duly impressed. And then someone asked, Can you drink them? And he said, Sure, you can drink them. Let me tell you, it took every bit of my reserve not to blurt out, But do YOU drink them? And speaking of love, look what Jaimey gave me!
16 comments:
Terrie, that bee is pretty impressive. It looks big enough to eat chickens and small animals. When you take some of the medicine from the teacher, be sure to report the results, and what diseases were cured. Builderhog in Arkansas
Ok, super big EWWWW for the bugs.
And yup, your teacher's a hotty. :o)
(My word was pighte...heehee)
Builderhog, those things make the killer Mexican bees look like ladybugs. And, I'M not drinking any of that stuff. I get the willies just remembering it. Ha ha.
Jaimey, I'm so glad you think so. I've been trying to convince my husband and mother-in-law he's a hotty but they just don't see it.
Just a few weeks ago, I saw this horror story about those wasps on the Discovery Channel. It seems that they love to raid European honeybee hives because the European bees haven't developed a good defense mechanism. The Japanese bees know to kill the hornets as soon as they get close to the hive, so the hornets won't be able to tell their hivemates where the bee nest is.
imomomo
That's interesting because someone Saturday was saying the suzumebachi kill honey bees just for sport. Where he got his information I don't know. He also told me I'd get stung first because I'd washed my hair that morning and smelled like perfumes...
Oh God, a suzumebachi!! We had a whole nest of those things in our eaves once and they are no joke. When you get stung, it feels like a hot nail penetrating your skin. And a friend of mine in Beppu had a centipede fall off a ceiling onto her back and sting her. She was in the hospital for four days...
(Shudder. Somehow our mosquitos and midges here don't look so ferocious now.)
Your teacher sounds fabulous.
OMG, were you ever stung by a suzumebachi? All I hear are horror stories about them. And the centipede story is awful, too. Four days!
That hornet/wasp thing is huge!
I'd squeal like a little girl too.
As big as my head. The hardest thing is to walk away while everyone is yelling, It's in your hair, it's in your hair, don't swing at it.
OK, that's 4 centimeters, right? Still, it's enormous!! I would've been squealing and running too.
Eww. Bugs. Eww.
In the meantime, have you finished a carving for us to see?
I told me teacher that I just hate it when spiders sneak up behind me and attack. He said a spider would never do that. I'm with you, bug=eww!
I have broken the record for taking the longest amount of time to carve this first statue. Like twice as long as everyone else. I have no sense of thinking in 3-D. It's humbling. And rocks are hard. I'll take a picture next visit and post it. It sort of looks like it's got a head.
And here, at first, I thought you were talking about Frank. ;) (Don't tell him I said that!)
That's one huge, scary stinging insect. I'd be traumatized for life!
Oh, Frank is totally irresistible. I'm thinking of starting a fan club.
What a beautifully curious man. But the bugs, um, dead might be an improvement.
Here's a frown for Hilary: >8-(
And a smiley face for that nice Terrie girl: =8-D
Your teacher sounds like a very interesting man. And I bet he's just as fond of you as you are of him. :)
WitW, I totally agree with you on that!
Frank, oh, I thought she was implying you were built like a brick $&#*house. ; ) And good news! It's in the mail. For real! Takes about a week.
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