Nostalgia

In Japan people use the word 'natsukashi' quite often. It is rather hard to translate it into English, but 'nostalgic' is the best I can do. However, like many one word phrases in Japanese that are used very often to describe feelings, 'natsukashi' (I feel nostalgic) is not something we would say in English!

But anyway, aside from language differences, my topic today is something that does make me feel a little nostalgic ...

I wrote that I went to Kairakuen Park in Mito and that it was my second time there. The first time I went was about 10 years ago, so only a year after I first came to Japan. At that time I was surprised to see black swans gliding about on the lake in the park.

Yesterday I found some again. I presume they are not the same ones but are the offspring of the birds I saw a decade ago. I have no idea why black swans are living in Mito because they are native birds of Australia! (If you don't believe me, do a search on the Internet. Start with a page from the Australian Museum - http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/black_swan.htm).

You can find them in many places in Australia, and as the above web page says, especially in the south. There are many on the Torrens River in Adelaide, South Australia. The Torrens flows through the center of the city, just near the Botanic Gardens and Adelaide University. Sometimes I took my books and studied in the parklands by the river and gave the swans bread from my sandwiches. But I think the Australian swans are larger than the ones in Mito, or maybe my memory just made them larger!

White swans are nice, but I really like black swans which look really elegant and never look dirty. If you have any idea how the black swans came to be in Mito, please write a comment and tell me.