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  4 - My bucket list

  It was an African-American English teacher Jtn that first introduced me to this interesting word - a bucket list - just before my dismissal from the school. The word really prompted and urged me to think seriously about how to spend my remaining old age days. 

  Now, with the nest egg in my pocket, I started making preparations on the secret for my journey overseas - the highest on my list of priorities. 

  By the way, it was also an foreigner, a Brit Jmy, who encouraged me to engage in doing something abroad as a Japanese. He once heard me play on 尺八, schackhachi or shakhachi, anyways one of our traditional musical instruments made of bamboo. His reamarks kind of rang a bell. I remembered reading a little story about a minstrel when I was in my late teens. Somehow, I felt fascinated by the word - minstrel. 

  One day, a week or so before my departure, however, my wife discovered what I'd been up to. 

  "What's this suitcase for?" She demanded. It's an old and small apartment we live in, with three bedrooms, the best of which, located on the sunny side is for her and the dark cold one facing norhtwest is mine. Whatever I do in my room just can't escape my wife's scrutinizing eyes. 

  "Uh,,,,, I wanna go overseas."

  "Where, what contry?"

  "Uh,,,,,France, Paris."

  "Paris!" She looked a bit surprised, which was rare for her. She is very good at hiding her feelings. In particular when she's cross. As opposed to me, she is no emotional type.

  "Where is the money for?"

  "I'll pay, anyway."

  "Yeah, but,,,,,,,,,,." She fell silent. I was terrified. That was a sign of something ominous brewing in her. 

  "What're you planning on doing in Paris?"

  "Uh,,,,,I just want to loiter in the city."

  Unless you are an artist, artisan, scholar, some professional of whatever sort or on business, almost all of us Japanese visit Paris in what is called `package tour` groups of guided people solely for sightseeing purposes. The Eiffel tower, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, just to name a few, and there are a lot more for them to enjoy themselves watching, dining, drinking, and the best part of this all is, once back in Japan, they start talking proudly about their `wonderful adventurous days` in Paris. Here, however, I don't mean to belittle nor ridicule my fellow Japanese. 

  We being an island nation speaking and thinking in our mother tongue peculiar to us which does not belong to the Indo-European languages, getting out of this island itself can be an adventure already, especially for people of my generation. 

  I'm an anomaly, probably, though. I'm not so much interested in seeing historic monuments, or visiting famous places, trendy bistros or restraurants, upscale department stores and so forth as in meeting local people on local streets osbcure to the world. I just want to mingle with them even in a very casual way.