Father Woods is first and foremost I would say a family man. He may come off as a businessman working at a bank with a family, but knowing him as long as I have (a whole week, pfft.) I would say he's a family man working at a bank. He was born here in Tokyo, actually in the same neighborhood that we live in now. His Mom-GWoods-lives beneath us. He went to the same elementary school that his kids went to, and he's supportive of his kids. I'd say when you first meet him, he gives off an aloof/standoffish vibe...(though I think that was my nerves), yet again after spending lots of time with him, I think it's definitely an act.
He works a lot, and at first he is hard to understand (both as a person personality wise, and speaking wise, he has a very typical manly Japanese voice which I can't explain through blogs, but it's very deep and very hard to get..). Yet, as time passes, he becomes more and more accessible to me. For example, today was my little sister's 文化祭（bunkasai-school festival). My family, like a true family, took me with them. Momma Woods and Poppa Woods walked around with me, we explored rooms, learned about world problems, and they even took me to a traditional tea ceremony. Momma Woods showed me the proper way, "Just do what I do!" (in Japanese of course) to drink the tea and eat the snack, etc. etc. (I'm sorry I don't have any pictures from bunkasai, but it wasn't really a picture appropriate time). Anyways, over the course of watching my sister's awesome bamf guitar performance, seeing their family friend's dance performance, and just wandering along somehow I feel like Poppa Woods and I have become closer. Due to what I assume is a bit of coincidence, and a bit of sneaky planning on Momma Woods part, Poppa and I had to go to the store together (we rode our bikes to Bunkasai, so we were riding our bikes all around to the store and what not) after bunka. (Momma had a dinner with sister and her friends, thus, we were on our own for dinner with Youseke). Anyways, Poppa Woods and I were a bit awkward to start, Poppa seemed not to know what to do with this blond gaijin (foreigner), and I didn't know what to do with Poppa Woods.
Let the lost puppy story begin: So after awkwardly leaving Momma Woods, our only link to each other at the time, we got on our bikes (Poppa helped unlock mine, which was lost Lucy moment number one not being able to get her weird Japanese lock undone or her weird Japanese kickstand up) we were off to get lost on the way to the store! After finally finding "a place" for our bikes (we stuck them in the motorcycle spot, my Poppa Woods is a rebel), we went into the store. It was hilarious. Imagine this kinda aloof Japanese man wandering around trying to figure out what foods he should buy for his vegetarian gaijin "daughter" with the gaijin daughter in tow following him around like a lost puppy. At this point, we haven't really talked a whole lot, just a, "I can't get my bike unlocked" and a "Put your bike here" (In the motorcycle area), and a "Potato salad or Noodle salad?" question. So there we were, him wandering through the store several times, holding his hand to his chin, rubbing it and muttering to himself, probably something along the line of, "what do I do with this blond girl", and me following him around like the sun, while rubbing my chin also half thinking/laughing "How do I help him, should I talk to him...man we look ridiculous". Finally we got all our affairs of food substance in order, and we rode back together in a contented silence, with his occasional backward glances to make sure he didn't lose his gaijin charge comforting us both to the new found relationship that started from a few awkward moments and our lost puppy dog days.
Eating together (well Youseke was there too) was actually fun. We even asked each other questions!
Me: "Is boxing popular in Japan?"
Him: "Lucy, when did you become a vegetarian" oh and "Do you like cooked or uncooked vegetables better?" (Though it seems like that would be for food cooking, I think he honestly was just trying to have a conversation, in which we had to act out the act of cooking because I didn't know the word he was using..hilarious).
I have to say, Poppa Woods made me nervous when I first met him, I could barely understand him, and he seemed a bit aloof, but I think like me, he was just nervous or just adjusting to the new gaijin in his home. Missing our common link, Momma Woods, was a good thing for our relationship (not that Momma Woods is bad, because she's basically a BAMF, be excited for her spotlight in the future, it's just that she talked to him, and I talked to her, so neither of us felt weird because there was always at least some kind of talking going down). Poppa Woods and I (hopefully for him) had a good time today. I hope that we can have more awkward puppy moments, more trying to explain the difference between cooked and uncooked veggies, and more supermarket exploration moments because I honestly had a good time with him and our day. He may be quiet, but it's a comfortable quiet that you come to appreciate in a very fatherly way.
Obviously it's only been a week, and I only had my first "real" interactions with him today, but I already feel like I kinda get him. I'm so excited to watch and see how our relationship develops and grows over the course of the next year!
The plans for the beginnings of the Spotlight Scholarship Program (SSP) will be to try and focus on lots of new people and things that I might not know well, and then come back and respotlight them in a while to see and think back on how our different relationships and my understandings of the people and things have changed and grown over the course of the year. I'm thinking that eventually I'll see into all the dark spots with my little flashlight! (Lameeee analogy. Point 1: Lucy).
Hi Wandering Lucy! I love the blog (your proud momma forwarded the link!) I really enjoyed the Poppa Woods post...can't wait to hear more. I am glad you are happy and safe and exploring the world! Cindi
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