SuikaMan's Summer Lament

Summer is officially done. Over with. Kaput! Autumnal Equinox Day in Japan was on September 23, 2023. Locally known as "Shubun no Hi," this day signifies the sun's southern crossing of the celestial equator, signaling the transition from summer to autumn. So be it. Still, in spite of this astronomical milestone, often the thermometer in Yokohama stubbornly reads 30 degrees at midday, though the air feels less humid. Howzat?!

Even as the warmth lingers, I can't deny that the hardcore, intense summer heat is finally behind us for the year. As the autumn leaves start to dabble the Yokohama cityscape with vibrant color, I find myself bidding it farewell. And so goes my honorary title--SuikaMan. My daughters semi-sarcastically dubbed me SuikaMan because of my watermelon obsession. "Suika" means watermelon in Japanese. It isn't uncommon for me to devour watermelon for breakfast or indulge in multiple suika popsicle treats. 

Credit: Starbucks Corporation

I even succumbed to the temptation of Starbuck's overpriced watermelon-flavored Frappuccino--which, I must admit, was quite tasty.

There were the annual unmistakable signs that summer was fading.
First, the symphony of cicadas serenading me to sleep in August faded into the distance, marking the end of the Sound of Summer.

Then, weeks ago, convenience stores stopped sales of Suica Bars, those sugar-fruity ice bar delights shaped like a slice of watermelon. I have earned a reputation among local convenience store owners as the crazy foreigner who would buy their remaining stock of Suica Bars at the first hint of the seasonal end of sales of these magnificent creations.

Thus, it is that time of the year when I take off my watermelon crown and contemplate wearing pants again on weekends.

I had one last hurrah during a recent trip that enabled me to savor the steamy heat and the luscious tastes of summer. One more fruity feast before the chill of fall clutches me in her chilly embrace.

Lucky me!

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Elena's World Vol. 6 Part 2

Welcome to Part 2. Let's continue our peek into the mind and the world of Lady E.

Silhouette from The Beaches in Toronto

Can you recommend any TV shows or YouTube videos that you like right now?

I like listening to Billie Eilish songs. So I'd recommend her music videos on YouTube because they are entertaining as well. Lana Del Ray, too.

What's your first memory? What can you remember? 

Maybe not my first memory but a memory from long back when I think we went to Guam. We were waiting for a bus at a bus stop. And there were lots of ants and then Marina squashed one of them and started crying. I remember that. And we went to a convenience store after that. I think we bought hairbrushes with Disney princesses on them, and Marina got Arial. I bought Cinderella. Later we switched hairbrushes.

What is the best gift you have ever received?
The best gift came from my two friends; they gave me the same type of box and when I opened them. There's another box inside and in each box there's like different gifts. It was trending.
And then from my parents… maybe the gift is moving to other countries. Because I got to experience a lot of things. Yeah, that's not a physical gift, but it's a lifelong gift. I got to travel a lot.

What's the worst food in the world? In your opinion?

Fried scorpions? In Thailand there's was a dude selling bugs. All five bugs were narrow like grasshoppers. Mommy ate one.

If you could time travel to any year in the past or in the future, which year would you choose? And why?
Maybe to the 18th century in Europe because all the buildings are nice and beautiful. And I like it that the people are wearing dresses and nice clothes now…it's the culture. Like in France or even like Spain or Germany. Somewhere in Europe. Even London where Sherlock Holmes maybe supposedly lived.

If you could keep any animal, real or imaginary as a pet, which animal would you choose?
A dog because I really like dogs, especially golden retrievers, and great pyrenees. But they're both really big dogs. So I don't know if I'll ever get to have them as a pet. But if I could, I'd probably like to have a dog.

Do you think aliens exist? And how if they did, how would you explain Earth to them?
At first I didn't think aliens were real. But there's a lot of galaxies out there, stuff like that. Space goes on forever, apparently. So I mean, there must be some other species, I think. And if I could explain Earth, I just say I mean it's a place where people were born and they made it into a place that they can live and just enjoy the lifespan that they have, which lasts about 100 years.

What five items would you bring with you to a deserted island and why?
A pot so I could boil water and maybe matches or a lighter. Maybe some of those astronaut foods. Or food pills or whatever, like the ones that have all protein. So I can live. Also, pocket WiFi and an iPhone so I could call for help.

If you could create any law that everyone on Earth had to follow, what would it be?

Doesn't apply to everyone? Because only powerful people in politics can make laws. Anyway, don't make war? Because that's stupid. Countries have wars over oil. We need oil, but I think it's stupid to have a war over it. So I think let's stop wars.

Now that you're in high school, what is one thing that is different from your junior high school experience?

In junior high school, I had to take all the classes with no choice on which classes I took. I had to take math and science and just every subject with the people in my assigned homeroom class. But now that I'm in high school, my homeroom class and each class are different people. Now, I can choose the classes I want to take and I'm not gonna take math or science. I'll take classes that are more like international relations, kind of so like the international foods class last year. This coming year, I'm gonna take a class where we talk and discuss contemporary world problems. You get to take whatever class you want, based on what you want to do in your future. And I think it's more flexible now compared to junior high school. And we get to wear makeup and dye our hair and wear normal clothes, no uniforms, at my high school. It's kind of an unusual school.

What kind of music will you listen to in the future?
Right now, I listen to Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Conan Gray, people like that. I listened to some Japanese groups before when I was in junior high school, but they didn't really suit me. So I don't think I'll be listening to those in the future. I think I'm still a huge Billie Eilish fan because I've been listening to her music for like four years now. And I still like Taylor Swift because I've been listening to her since my childhood. And, I don't know…I think I'll discover more artists. I like pop music. Maybe I'll grow to like different genres like rap. Or new pop music like more new artists that I discover when listening to the artists that I like.

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