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Visiting the countryside
For many Japanese city dwellers, a mountain town in Kōchi is a long way off: a flight or a long train ride to Kōchi city, then an hour or more by local bus, with patchy phone coverage on the way. Buses can be infrequent, and missing one may mean a wait of hours. Visitors are often struck by the quiet, the stars, and the scale of hospitality. When a newcomer's friend comes to stay, neighbors may cook, bring preserves or invite the visitor in, partly out of curiosity and partly because guests are rare. Friends from the city also notice changes in the newcomer — in health, in confidence, and in a new readiness to depend on others. The grammar of this lesson is the grammar of contrast and emphasis in conversation: すら, なんか, ところへ, にもまして and つつも.