Rules of Engagement

Saturday evening, after the Valentine Lunch, Miss Aizu from Hirosaki Church invited us out to dinner with Kaori Otsuba. Kaori's mother was a friend of mine many years ago and Kaori stayed a few weeks with us in the summer of 2003.

Me, Kaori Otsuba, Miss Aizu, Mary, Matthew, John

After we we had said our last good byes Mary and I had a long discussion about hugging. Did Kaori expect us to hug her?How do you tell these things?

And why do I keep getting hugged when my more huggy Western friends don't seem to...

I think perhaps it has to do with leaning forward at the right moment which I do because I early cottoned on to the very Japanese custom of grabbing shoulders. (Well, maybe its not entirely a Japanese custom... maybe Westerners do that somewhere, but not in New England! Definitely not in the Trepal family!) And while I may not be a good hugger, I'm a good shoulder grabber.