#15 Rainy season, rural Gunma, and not fleeing too far from home

Kinoko is one of my ESL students and the author of *I Have Two Partners: Living the Polyamorous Life*, a ground-breaking book in Japanese about polyamory, as well as the organizer of *Poly Lounge*, a series of events for polyamorous and questioning people and allies. We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics: - Kinoko's runny nose and the rainy season being her least favorite season – and the strange gap in English: we have "favorite" but no direct antonym like "hated" (we say "least favorite" or "I hate"). - Why the rainy season is discouraging: humidity, rain, feeling lazy to go out – while Masaki actually prefers it over the lethal summer heat (especially in Gunma, one of the hottest areas in Japan, reaching 43°C). - Gunma's extreme climate: boiling summers, freezing winters, and famously strong winds that can blow you away (Mary Poppins style). - Kinoko's one year living in rural Gunma after quitting her company job, staying in a friend's house near the mountains, using a wood stove, and living next to a dairy farm. - Masaki's confession: growing up in the Kanto region, he thought the area west of Gunma was just ocean – because TV weather forecasts only show Kanto with a thick contour, graying out everything else. (He now knows Niigata and the Chugoku region exist.) - The word "archipelago" (Japanese archipelago has over 6,000 islands) vs. "rettō" (islands in a line). - Kinoko's dream: organizing Poly Lounge events in all 47 prefectures of Japan – she's already done over 10 locations. - The dichotomy between city and countryside: big cities aren't always better for queer people; moving somewhere in the vicinity of your hometown can be a good option. - Vocabulary: *least favorite, lethal, fluctuate, rural, vicinity, dichotomy, archipelago, contour, marginalized.* **Note:** Kinoko is currently working on her crowdfunding campaign for the new sharehouse – still looking for residents and support. **Tip:** Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you’d like to read along. Connect with Kinoko-san - Kinoko-san’s X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/kinoko1027⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Kinoko-san’s blog: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Her book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA⁠⁠⁠⁠ - Her interview: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196