Kurara Chibana

At the Geruma lunch table today one of the male teachers asked if I'd heard of Kurara Chibana. I hadn't. Then he told me she was the first runner-up at the 2006 Miss Universe competition. Cool, I guess. Then he pointed outside and said "she's right over there."

It turns out her grandfather is from Geruma. She was raised in Naha and brought fame to Geruma (via a television crew and, well, her) by visiting last summer (a week before I arrived). Today she came only with her boyfriend, but word got out quickly. I pressured some male teachers until somebody relented. Geruma is really small, but we actually ran a couple hundred meters to catch up as she toured the small rice paddy.

I did feel a little bad intruding on her visit with her grandmother, especially because her life is undoubtedly filled with people asking for pictures. I tried to mix up the small talk a bit, but I mostly failed because I was so overwhelmed by her presence (and smell). She is truly a superior specimen.

I did step up and drop a line (in Japanese) I just learned Saturday, asking if she has a boyfriend. It was kind of a dumb question since her boyfriend was standing next to her and she understands English. But really, there's nobody better to practice on.