This week a friend invited me to go to the Japanese embassy for a flower arranging exhibition. Since the last two outings I suggested were less enjoyable than we’d hoped I was more than willing to let her pick this time. I’m not crazy about flower arrangements but I thought it would be pretty and our condo is an easy walk from there. We arrived a little before the speeches that would open the show.

It was so refreshing to see diplomatic tact and genuine fellowship (we’re in Canada right now). Not only did the Japanese ambassador give a gracious speech in English, he also spoke in French (this country has two official languages). It was very exciting for me to realize that I understood his French even with the Japanese accent. I’ve been working at DuoLingo for over two years now and this event was a real milestone. It’s not THAT big of a deal though. I could understand him because like me he speaks French slowly because it’s not his native language. Anyway he said nice things about the partnership between Canada and Japan and was very gracious. I wish I could hear more talk like that every day.

The flower arranging was done to some formal school of thought on how to do it. They even had mastery levels like the martial arts have. This style of arrangement emphasizes balance, asymmetry, and for some reason driftwood and stones. There were people to answer questions and one of the artists even read us a description of what she was trying to convey and how the various elements of the arrangement supported her intent. It really was art. And diplomacy. A wonderful and hopeful combination.

And yes, of course, here are some pictures: