wandering the streets

So far we are having an "empty" rainy season, and today my son was with his grandparents, so I jumped on the chance for a private walk on this sunny, humid Sunday. I took a walk to down town Shin Shimizu; the friendly little port side city in Japan where we are staying for the next year. The streets were very quiet and mostly empty. The air smelled faintly of sea salt and fish. The sidewalk paved with coulourful bricks carefully interlocked to flex in temperture and seizmic preasures. All the growing things are green and exude a happily damp fresh air. I walked with my pack and iPod, taking long smooth strides and wanting to get a sweat going. I provided some mild interest for bored onlookers. It's a little unusual to see a gaijin in this part of Japan. I've seen only a handful of europeans since I arrived this April. It's a humbling experience to be an extreme minority. I see their curious and sometimes blank stares and I can not guess what they are thinking. I do not understand enough of what is running through the average Japanese person's mind. I'm beginning to grok the sense of duty, the sense of being watched. They are similar. Maybe they are thinking, "I wonder what he is thinking?" Perhaps we are a mirror.