Japan_Bound
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
zzz . . .
Nothing exciting to tell you - sorry!
Ali's mom put her back out and is apparently not really enjoying the last few days of her visit her; Ali moved her from the apartment into a hotel, so apparently the bed there is helping.
Two night's ago it was Raphaele's birthday, so we had a mini Birthday party for her. Elo cooked pasta (finally, my first real authentic pasta cooked by an Italian - it was incredible), I went to alot of trouble and bought some candles and a cake, and we gave her a little photo album. Funny how two strangers can suddenly become your family when you're thrust into the same small living quarters and expected to make a life together - we really lucked out as Raphaele is a wonderful person and we have sooo much in common that it's scary every time one of us opens our mouth.
Work is work is work. Nothing new to report there, although there's a rumour circulating that I'll be offered AT in June. That's great, except the school is tiny and 45 mins. away from my apartment; not really interested in transferring there but I will if that's what it takes to get the promotion. Grrr... Beggars can't be choosers I guess.
Anyway, that's all that's new on my end of things. Take care!!
Nothing exciting to tell you - sorry!
Ali's mom put her back out and is apparently not really enjoying the last few days of her visit her; Ali moved her from the apartment into a hotel, so apparently the bed there is helping.
Two night's ago it was Raphaele's birthday, so we had a mini Birthday party for her. Elo cooked pasta (finally, my first real authentic pasta cooked by an Italian - it was incredible), I went to alot of trouble and bought some candles and a cake, and we gave her a little photo album. Funny how two strangers can suddenly become your family when you're thrust into the same small living quarters and expected to make a life together - we really lucked out as Raphaele is a wonderful person and we have sooo much in common that it's scary every time one of us opens our mouth.
Work is work is work. Nothing new to report there, although there's a rumour circulating that I'll be offered AT in June. That's great, except the school is tiny and 45 mins. away from my apartment; not really interested in transferring there but I will if that's what it takes to get the promotion. Grrr... Beggars can't be choosers I guess.
Anyway, that's all that's new on my end of things. Take care!!
Friday, April 16, 2004
Thank God Mom can cook Thai food . . .
Went out for dinner with Ali and her mom last night to our favourite Thai restaurant. I'd post a link but I can't find one - I'll do some research and see if I can find a website - I'd love for you to see some pictures of the interior because it's absolutely breathtaking. It was great to finally meet Ali's mom; I've heard so much about her and Ali was right - we got along really well. Sounds like they've had a busy week: they spent 4 days in Okinawa and are heading to Nagano tomorrow. Anyway, besides sharing some good wine and great conversation, the highlight of my night was the dinner I ordered. I had something called Pad Thai, which is probably the most delicious noodle dish I've eaten in my life. The link I provided has a picture and a recipe. I challenge all of you to try it some time - you won't be disappointed. That's why I said thank God my mom can cook Thai food - I'm going to be requesting that she make this dish for me from now on.
Back to work tomorrow. Blah. The jackass upstairs has started up with his electric guitar practice again - he plays until all hours of the night for several days in a row, stops for a few days, then starts up again. We've gone knocking on doors below, beside, and above us but to no avail - no one in the building can find out who it is! It's really strange. Anyway, it's 11PM and I'd like to go to sleep, but instead I'll be listening for a rather poor version of Stairway to Heaven for the next two hours. I think there are two songs in the guy's repertoire, and he's been practicing them since I got here (seven months ago!) but he still isn't any better. I'd like to jump on his guitar then beat him over the head with the pieces.
On that happy note, I'm off to try to catch some ZZZ's!
PS: Be sure to check out that link to Okinawa - the beaches look AMAZING. I had NO idea there were tropical areas in Japan, and from what I can see Okinawa looks just like Hawaii, comlete with light blue water, white sand beaches, and even palm trees. He doesn't know it yet, but Jesse's taking me there ASAP. :)
Went out for dinner with Ali and her mom last night to our favourite Thai restaurant. I'd post a link but I can't find one - I'll do some research and see if I can find a website - I'd love for you to see some pictures of the interior because it's absolutely breathtaking. It was great to finally meet Ali's mom; I've heard so much about her and Ali was right - we got along really well. Sounds like they've had a busy week: they spent 4 days in Okinawa and are heading to Nagano tomorrow. Anyway, besides sharing some good wine and great conversation, the highlight of my night was the dinner I ordered. I had something called Pad Thai, which is probably the most delicious noodle dish I've eaten in my life. The link I provided has a picture and a recipe. I challenge all of you to try it some time - you won't be disappointed. That's why I said thank God my mom can cook Thai food - I'm going to be requesting that she make this dish for me from now on.
Back to work tomorrow. Blah. The jackass upstairs has started up with his electric guitar practice again - he plays until all hours of the night for several days in a row, stops for a few days, then starts up again. We've gone knocking on doors below, beside, and above us but to no avail - no one in the building can find out who it is! It's really strange. Anyway, it's 11PM and I'd like to go to sleep, but instead I'll be listening for a rather poor version of Stairway to Heaven for the next two hours. I think there are two songs in the guy's repertoire, and he's been practicing them since I got here (seven months ago!) but he still isn't any better. I'd like to jump on his guitar then beat him over the head with the pieces.
On that happy note, I'm off to try to catch some ZZZ's!
PS: Be sure to check out that link to Okinawa - the beaches look AMAZING. I had NO idea there were tropical areas in Japan, and from what I can see Okinawa looks just like Hawaii, comlete with light blue water, white sand beaches, and even palm trees. He doesn't know it yet, but Jesse's taking me there ASAP. :)
Thursday, April 15, 2004
When in Rome . . .
I think I've already mentioned that the staff at my new school had planned to go to dinner this week, which we did on Tuesday night. We made reservations at an authentic Mexican restaurant and headed there after work. I had a great time! At least I think I did; some parts are blurry. I should mention here that between the 7 of us we split 8 large pitchers of Margaritas in an hour and a half. We did include some sustenance in the festivities - the food was AMAZING (and nothing like the raw, disgusting chicken part fiasco from the week before!). Because the last trains here run at midnight or shortly before, you can never stay out very late if you don't want to pay a horrendous fare for a taxi. So we started drinking at 9:30 and were out of there by 11:20. I remember weaving all over the place trying to walk through the moving train with Mirako (who is like 50 pounds lighter than me but can really knock 'em back), some strange Japanese men trying to pick us up, and crawling into bed dreading my alarm the next morning.
I kept trying to say "no more thank you," but this is unheard of in Japan. It's actually rude to refuse a drink when someone is offering to pour one for you (I'm not making this up to justify how much I drank; it's the reason salary men are completely hammered on the trains every night - it's like a test to see how much sake they can drink before they pass out or end up at the hospital having their stomachs pumped). It's so rude, in fact, that they don't even have an expression in Japanese for refusing something when it is offered. Of course you can say "ie, arigato" which means no thank you, but it's a huge social gaff and no one would listen anyway. So that's how I managed to knock back so much tequila in one night. I kept telling them "I have to get up for work tomorrow!" and they'd only laugh harder. Of course they had to work the next day too, but the Japanese are used to doing everything hungover. They have 100s of different varieties of vitamin or "morning after" drinks that you can purchase just about anywhere - the pharmacy I pass every morning has huge lineups every day of people waiting to purchase said "anti-hangover juice." I've never tried the stuff, but apparently it works.
Two words about yesterday: "work sucked." I hope never to have to teach while hungover again. But as I said in the title of this entry, when in Rome . . .
I think I've already mentioned that the staff at my new school had planned to go to dinner this week, which we did on Tuesday night. We made reservations at an authentic Mexican restaurant and headed there after work. I had a great time! At least I think I did; some parts are blurry. I should mention here that between the 7 of us we split 8 large pitchers of Margaritas in an hour and a half. We did include some sustenance in the festivities - the food was AMAZING (and nothing like the raw, disgusting chicken part fiasco from the week before!). Because the last trains here run at midnight or shortly before, you can never stay out very late if you don't want to pay a horrendous fare for a taxi. So we started drinking at 9:30 and were out of there by 11:20. I remember weaving all over the place trying to walk through the moving train with Mirako (who is like 50 pounds lighter than me but can really knock 'em back), some strange Japanese men trying to pick us up, and crawling into bed dreading my alarm the next morning.
I kept trying to say "no more thank you," but this is unheard of in Japan. It's actually rude to refuse a drink when someone is offering to pour one for you (I'm not making this up to justify how much I drank; it's the reason salary men are completely hammered on the trains every night - it's like a test to see how much sake they can drink before they pass out or end up at the hospital having their stomachs pumped). It's so rude, in fact, that they don't even have an expression in Japanese for refusing something when it is offered. Of course you can say "ie, arigato" which means no thank you, but it's a huge social gaff and no one would listen anyway. So that's how I managed to knock back so much tequila in one night. I kept telling them "I have to get up for work tomorrow!" and they'd only laugh harder. Of course they had to work the next day too, but the Japanese are used to doing everything hungover. They have 100s of different varieties of vitamin or "morning after" drinks that you can purchase just about anywhere - the pharmacy I pass every morning has huge lineups every day of people waiting to purchase said "anti-hangover juice." I've never tried the stuff, but apparently it works.
Two words about yesterday: "work sucked." I hope never to have to teach while hungover again. But as I said in the title of this entry, when in Rome . . .
Friday, April 09, 2004
It's hanamai season in Osaka . . .
Hanamai means cherry blossom (Sakura) viewing, and it's in full swing here. That's all Raphaele and I did today and MAN are my feet sore. You'd think that a cherry blossom is a cherry blossom is a cherry blossom, but that's not so - one place we went had 121 species alone. And the Japanese take this business very seriously - as evidenced by my sore ribs and toes (got knocked around and driven over with baby carriages alot).
Our day started at Shitteno-ji Temple, the oldest temple in Japan. It wasn't what I would call spectacular (come on people; I've seen dozens of temples now!!), but it was cool to know that we were walking around the oldest one in Japan. From there we hit Tennoji Park, which has a zoo, art museum, and beautiful Japanese gardens. And after that, we hit the jackpot; the Japan Mint Bureau in Osaka has a cherry blossom viewing tunnel with 121 different species of cherry blossoms. It was definitely something to see. After a few hours I was cherry-blossomed out, but promise to email some of the really amazing pictures I took today! (Check out the link to the Mint Bureau's cherry blossom tunnel, as there are pics, info, and a Quicktime movie you can watch!!).
Hanamai means cherry blossom (Sakura) viewing, and it's in full swing here. That's all Raphaele and I did today and MAN are my feet sore. You'd think that a cherry blossom is a cherry blossom is a cherry blossom, but that's not so - one place we went had 121 species alone. And the Japanese take this business very seriously - as evidenced by my sore ribs and toes (got knocked around and driven over with baby carriages alot).
Our day started at Shitteno-ji Temple, the oldest temple in Japan. It wasn't what I would call spectacular (come on people; I've seen dozens of temples now!!), but it was cool to know that we were walking around the oldest one in Japan. From there we hit Tennoji Park, which has a zoo, art museum, and beautiful Japanese gardens. And after that, we hit the jackpot; the Japan Mint Bureau in Osaka has a cherry blossom viewing tunnel with 121 different species of cherry blossoms. It was definitely something to see. After a few hours I was cherry-blossomed out, but promise to email some of the really amazing pictures I took today! (Check out the link to the Mint Bureau's cherry blossom tunnel, as there are pics, info, and a Quicktime movie you can watch!!).
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Man are my horizons expanding . . .
So, some of you were amazed to learn that I'm now eating sushi and enjoying it, but you won't believe what I ate tonight (and managed to keep down - well, that had more to do with the sake I chased it with, but that's another story).
This afternoon I received a call from one of my Japanese friends; she invited me out for dinner with her and another mutual Japanese friend of ours - I was more than thrilled to go because I really really like them both and always have fun when we hang out together. They met me after work tonight and took me to an "all chicken" restaurant and, feeling brave, I left the ordering of the food up to them. Many of the things that arrived at the table were things I recognize and love; like chicken wings, chicken skewers, ground chicken patties smothered with cheese and baked (heavenly). Other things, however, were quite new. Since it's very rude not to eat what you're offered in Japan, I decided to stop being such a baby and try everything. Which means I ate the following (sit down for this, as most of you aren't going to believe it): deep fried chicken bones (not bad, but I'd rather just have deep fried chicken meat!), raw chicken salad - they LOVE raw chicken here for some reason (I managed to scoop only one tiny piece of raw chicken onto my plate - I'll not soon forget my bout of food poisoning from undercooked chicken my first week here), chicken livers, and chicken hearts (delicacies here). Well, apart from barely managing to get the livers and hearts down, everything was pretty good. I can't say I'll EVER eat chicken hearts and livers again, but I'm feeling pretty smug about having the balls to try something new. If you think that stuff is weird, check out these other weird foods they eat here.
The sake definitely helped - courage in a bottle! By the way, I had never tried sake until tonight, as Jesse and I never got around to trying the bottle David and Michael bought me, but it's actually really good - not at all as strong or bitter as I was expecting. (I just remembered I have to work tomorrow and am dreading how my head is going to feel in the morning. Pardon any type-o's as I can barely get my fingers to type, let alone get my brain to think about correct spelling.
Apart from tonight's adventures, other things are going well for me too. Only one more day of work and my 12-day stretch is over, which means I'm thisclose to having a weekend and I can't wait! Friday Raphaele (my new room mate) and I are going to a place just outside of Osaka where, apparently, the cherry blossom viewing is really good. And Friday evening I'm going out for dinner with Ali and her mom, who will be arriving from Quebec tomorrow. Raphaele, it turns out, will be working at my home branch, teaching French. I'd like to brush up on my French, but obviously Japanese is more pressing at the moment. I realized in the past couple of days just how long I've been here, as I'm now the one drawing maps for Raphaele and showing her around. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment because I can see how far I've come - just seven months ago it was me asking all the questions and being navigated everywhere. Yay me!
That's all from my end. I'm off to rest my head and sleep off all that sake (which they drink like water here - you wouldn't think such tiny Japanese women could drink like such heavyweights, but they can. Go figure!).
So, some of you were amazed to learn that I'm now eating sushi and enjoying it, but you won't believe what I ate tonight (and managed to keep down - well, that had more to do with the sake I chased it with, but that's another story).
This afternoon I received a call from one of my Japanese friends; she invited me out for dinner with her and another mutual Japanese friend of ours - I was more than thrilled to go because I really really like them both and always have fun when we hang out together. They met me after work tonight and took me to an "all chicken" restaurant and, feeling brave, I left the ordering of the food up to them. Many of the things that arrived at the table were things I recognize and love; like chicken wings, chicken skewers, ground chicken patties smothered with cheese and baked (heavenly). Other things, however, were quite new. Since it's very rude not to eat what you're offered in Japan, I decided to stop being such a baby and try everything. Which means I ate the following (sit down for this, as most of you aren't going to believe it): deep fried chicken bones (not bad, but I'd rather just have deep fried chicken meat!), raw chicken salad - they LOVE raw chicken here for some reason (I managed to scoop only one tiny piece of raw chicken onto my plate - I'll not soon forget my bout of food poisoning from undercooked chicken my first week here), chicken livers, and chicken hearts (delicacies here). Well, apart from barely managing to get the livers and hearts down, everything was pretty good. I can't say I'll EVER eat chicken hearts and livers again, but I'm feeling pretty smug about having the balls to try something new. If you think that stuff is weird, check out these other weird foods they eat here.
The sake definitely helped - courage in a bottle! By the way, I had never tried sake until tonight, as Jesse and I never got around to trying the bottle David and Michael bought me, but it's actually really good - not at all as strong or bitter as I was expecting. (I just remembered I have to work tomorrow and am dreading how my head is going to feel in the morning. Pardon any type-o's as I can barely get my fingers to type, let alone get my brain to think about correct spelling.
Apart from tonight's adventures, other things are going well for me too. Only one more day of work and my 12-day stretch is over, which means I'm thisclose to having a weekend and I can't wait! Friday Raphaele (my new room mate) and I are going to a place just outside of Osaka where, apparently, the cherry blossom viewing is really good. And Friday evening I'm going out for dinner with Ali and her mom, who will be arriving from Quebec tomorrow. Raphaele, it turns out, will be working at my home branch, teaching French. I'd like to brush up on my French, but obviously Japanese is more pressing at the moment. I realized in the past couple of days just how long I've been here, as I'm now the one drawing maps for Raphaele and showing her around. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment because I can see how far I've come - just seven months ago it was me asking all the questions and being navigated everywhere. Yay me!
That's all from my end. I'm off to rest my head and sleep off all that sake (which they drink like water here - you wouldn't think such tiny Japanese women could drink like such heavyweights, but they can. Go figure!).
