(PICTURE: Masumi and Kensuke at the army museum.)
A couple of days before they arrived, Masumi emailed me asking if she could bring me anything from Japan. Without hesitation, I emailed back something like, "Anything that you or your mom want to cook!"
While I was in Japan, my blog basically became a food blog thanks to Masumi's amazing cooking. Almost every week I dined at their house and stuffed myself with delicious Japanese food and tasty sake. Well, while waiting for my sister in the lobby of the hotel on the 16th, Kensuke ran upstairs and brought back a bag of goodies. First, there were five delicious rice balls that Masumi had made (two tuna and three apricot). Secondly there was a plastic bag filled with Masumi's mom's carrot and squid salad which was also scrumptious. Besides that though, Masumi and Kensuke gave Huyen and me a HUGE bottle of my favorite sake. This was a very thoughtful gift but it made me a little bit sad because every time I drink the sake, I'm going to be wishing Masumi and Kensuke were there with me to drink! Finally, they gave us a beautiful wedding gift - gorgeous ceramic chopstick holders for our home. Now every time we eat a meal we can always think of them!
Huyen and I were really honored that Masumi and Kensuke came to our wedding. Although they live in Asia, it is still a very long trip for them. In total, between a night bus to Tokyo and their flight, it took them 19 hours to get here. Besides that though, the end of the year is Kensuke's busiest time at work. I remember last year he often was working until 2AM in December. Basically his job all year long is to prepare an event for their city which happens right after the New Year which means December is crunch time. Kensuke put in extra time at work in the weeks prior to the wedding so that they could take five days off and come to Hanoi. I was truly touched by this. I've said it before and I'll say it again, although I was in Japan for only a few months, I made some of the best friends I'll ever have in Masumi and Kensuke.
