Of Summer Wind, Photography and Glazed Ceramics

Last Saturday was about culture and serendipity. Badette, Justine and I spent the afternoon visiting Mai and baby Fuka, watching Fuka's video and waiting at Shangri-la to watch one of the featured movies in the French Film Festival.

Mai gave birth to Fuka last June 14. Fuka means Summer Wind in Japanese. I think that there is just something quaint in Japanese names. I like the idea of names having meanings. Mai mentioned that they think of the Philippines as summer country hence the name. She said she also thought about naming the baby Tsuki, which means Moon or thrust but she opted for Fuka instead.

Fuka is such an adorable baby. She was sleeping when we arrived. I noticed that she did not seem to be bothered by the chatter. She woke up a little then slept again while her mom showed us pictures taken by the anesthesiologist. We were so amazed by the pictures that documented some of newborn baby Fuka's first minutes in the delivery room.

Mai said that the anesthesiologist said his main profession really is photography and anesthesiology is just a hobby. Apart from the nice pictures he took, he also gave Mai's family a Fuka Yoshida DVD that tells the story of a wonderfully-made baby girl entering this world. We were just so impressed by this person whose passion for photography touched others' lives in a very meaningful way.

We left Mai, Fuka and her lola filled with high spirits. We felt as if dark clouds were lifted and we left much happier than we were just before that visit.

Next stop was Shangri-la because Badette wanted us to watch a movie in the French Film Festival. I did not plan to go initially but I missed watching foreign films so I decided to join them. We watched Je crois que je l'aime (Could this be love?) which is a funny and moving love story about glazed ceramics, trust and how every creation is a victory over fear.

I remember asking myself why I stopped watching films like this. There are just so many nice, simple and special things that are shelved and almost forgotten. This is probably why I consider it a blessing to find things that I did not intend to find but end up finding anyway.