果物 Fruit! 食べ方 How to eat!

So I know it fs been awhile since I've written but I thought I fd come back with something random and not very major at all: school lunch today.

Well, actually, there was no school lunch today... but people brought their own bento, a box lunch. I bought mine at a local store and complimented it with a peach and some water.

Every day I bring a bottle of water to school but as it is so hot it is never enough so I re-fill it with school water. There is a cooler with ice tea in it but I feel like it never satiates my thirst, even though it tastes good. In America the cooler would probably be ice water... which I miss very much. So, I make do with the school sink water despite everyone's astonishment that I'll actually drink it. (Water in Japan is perfectly safe, at least as safe as America anyway. But people just don't drink it except at restaurants).

With the peach, people were astonished with two things: one that I didn ft peel it first. People peel EVERYTHING here... grapes(yes grapes!!!), persimmons, apples... they never eat the skins. So perhaps to them it looked like I was biting into a nice big orange without peeling it first! Also, they were astonished I would eat any fruit without cutting it up first. Apples and other round fruit are cut and peeled, oranges peeled and quartered... everything is peeled, cut, and prepared extravagantly. They fact that I was just biting into my unpeeled peach got giggles and confused looks. So I asked a friend, gWhy does everyone think it fs so strange? h She said, gBecause it IS strange! h I asked if there was a reason why you have to peel and cut everything and she said there was no reason. PEOPLE JUST DON'T DO IT HERE. (That's an answer I get a lot to why people here do things only a certain way. Like why it's unproper for a woman to sit cross-legged. Cross-legged happens to be my favorite sitting position but everyone here sits on their legs. Ouch!) But I'm sure there must be a reason stemming from somewhere. I can think of a few (though they don ft rate high enough for me to actually care): it fs neater, some people don't like the taste of the peel, you can eat it with chopsticks if it's cut up. But for me a peach or an apple has value in their geasy and delicious snack appeal. h That is, I buy and eat them because they are ready-to-eat, no fuss, delicious snacks that nature prepared for me the way they can be eaten easily. Cut fruit is for parties! It belongs next to the little hot dogs with the tooth picks.

Needless to say, it's funny how just being myself can see so odd here to some people. I wonder what habits I fll bring back that make other Americans confused or amused.

A great trip!

Well itfs been awhile since I've last written. The trip with my parents went really well. We spent the first few days in Kyoto doing sightseeing with Paul and his mom. Then my parents came to my apartment and we saw all the things around my house. Paul and I had a party for our parents to meet our friends. Then we went to Imadate, a nearby paper village, for a festival. The festival celebrated the paper goddess (a doll kept in a portable shrine), who was taken down from her temple in the mountains and brought all over the town and finally back up the mountain at night. Then on Monday my parents visited my school and lessons and afterward we headed up north to stay in a hot spring hotel. It was so much fun!

(Pictures coming soon)

Hey everyone! Only one day before my parents get here! I'm so excited!

Life has been pretty normal here so not much to write about but I just thought I'd check in.

I got to do a collaboration with a Japanese artist on a big piece of paper for a nearby paper village this past weekend. I actually drove back up there tuesday night after work to finish it up with her. It was one and a half hours up there but well worth it. Then it will be hanging next week during a festival my parents are coming too.

The village of Imadate is really special. There are many paper studios where they make beautiful and strong handmade paper. I don't think I can ever go back to cheap paper again. The village itself has many cute cafes, museums, galleries and history, despite being small. There seems to be a real sense of community there too. I'm really happy to be connected with the village.

Anyway, back to work. The last day and a half will go by very slowly since I am excited for my parents coming. Also they are bringing my new camera so be prepared for even nicer pictures!

Till later!
Lisa

Monkey business

I was driving along on a rainy wednesday this week on the way home from my visiting school and I saw this! Do I actually live here??

Crowds and Kimonos: The Beauty of Kyoto

I went to Kyoto last Sunday with my friend, Haruna. Because of the cherry blossoms, Kyoto was vibrant and filled with people. We both went to a special kimono rental place and rented kimonos for the day. They dress you in three layers of kimono. I chose a purple one and Haruna chose a tan one with purple flowers. The kimono was a little tight but more comfortable than I would have imagined. Haruna taught me the proper way to walk. I felt so elegant walking around in a kimono looking at cherry blossoms and temples! I definately lived out a childhood fantasy!

Hanami Season: Japan Takes Flowers Seriously

Here are some pictures of various cherry blossom trees that are blooming now. When they bloom people hold festivals, and everyone goes out and looks at the trees and has picnics and such. There is even cherry blossom candy, cherry blossom tea, etc. It’s really cute! Since the trees are so beautiful they are often planted to line a street. These trees which were once gray skeletons during winter are now full of light pink flowers. It only lasts a bit longer than a week, so I am trying to enjoy them. I even went out and drew them on Monday. Japan tracks their blooming progress from the south to the north of Japan on weather and news reports. It’s taken so seriously that it’s really cute.

Beaches, Boats, Busses, and Blisters: The Mis-Adventures of Okinawa

Paul and I went to Okinawa during spring vacation. Let me lead off by saying that Okinawa was great! It was warm, sunny (‘cept for the last day), and very fun. But at some points it seemed like the vacation that didn’t want to happen!

So Paul and I arrived on Friday. Our Ryokan (Japanese style hotel—they are often very cheap as in this case) was recommended by the guidebook and was very nice. It was clean and inviting and the staff, though they spoke no English, were very helpful. We had some issues trying to make plane reservations for the trip so it was nice to have everything resolved and finally be there. We spent the afternoon exploring the main center of the city. There was one long street near our Ryokan with many touristy shops and restaurants. We walked for awhile and then got hungry so we ate at a ramen restaurant. The ramen was incredible! Mmmmm… I’m hungry just thinking about it! Since we were both tired from having to get up insanely early it was an early night and late morning for both of us.

So we started out slow and late Saturday morning, figuring we’d head up to the aquarium and a beach in the northern part of the island and catch a late bus back. The bus ride is three hours up but we had to wait one hour to transfer busses and ended up eating a not-so-appealing lunch from a convenience store in the middle of nowhere. So we get up to the aquarium in the early afternoon and right away check the time for the last bus down. We find that the last bus leaves a little after 4, giving us just over two hours! So we do the aquarium in one hour and the beach in another. The aquarium was very nice and the highlight was one big room with a huge tank of fish that certainly rivals the Boston aquarium. The beach was beautiful with clear water and we swam for a little bit (in really shallow water) and talked to this cute little Japanese kid who quizzed us on our Japanese, hehe. Then we returned to the bus to begin our 3 hour decent back down. Seven hours of traveling for two hours of fun was a little rough, but we arrived back in Naha city wanting to make more of our day. We stopped at an all you can eat yakitori restaurant. Yakitori is delicious meats you cook yourself at your table. Not only did they have meat but they had sushi, different traditional Japanese foods, a small salad bar, dessert, etc. We were hungry from our convenience store lunch so the money was well spent! Full and wanting to get up early the next day we went to sleep early.

The next day we got up early and decided to eat the Ryokan’s traditional Japanese breakfast. I loved it since it was big and had rice, fish, soup, and vegetables and I like big breakfasts. I ate it the rest of the time. Since Paul doesn’t like big breakfasts he only ate it once.

We headed to Shurijo, a beautiful castle near Naha city. Luckily we could take the monorail there. The castle is very old but was destroyed many times by fire and finally by The Battle of Okinawa. It was rebuilt in the 1990s and is absolutely beautiful.

We spent all morning till early afternoon there and then we crashed for a bit at the Ryokan. We then went to the city beach. It was nothing extraordinary, but it was close enough to walk to. As soon as we got there it started to rain. Once again our beach plans were thwarted by outside forces!! So we went to dinner and planned for Monday, where we would take a ferry to the Island of (insert name here). We get up early and take the ferry there (a one-hour ride on the fast ferry). We ask where a good beach is and walk to it. The beach was absolutely beautiful! The water was crystal clear, the beach was surrounded by forests, and there were only a handful of people there. After awhile I realized there were many beautiful fish in the water, so I went to the beach shack and bought a snorkel and goggles. Not only were there beautiful fish, but coral reefs as well! I must’ve spent at least an hour looking at all the beautiful fish and reefs. What luck! Paul shared my snorkel too. Then he buried me in the sand. We headed back to Naha in the afternoon. (Like the bus the last ferry back was absurdly early—but what can you do?).

That night we had an amazing Italian dinner right by our Ryokan. It was some of the best Italian food I’ve had since Italy!

On our last day it rained so we saw the Craft Museum (The museum was moved, so it took forever to find it!) and the Pottery Museum, as well as walked along an old street with many pottery shops selling traditional pottery (the sun had come out by then). We both bought a cup. Then we finished our vacation with a trip to the movie theater and a Starbucks where we ate a light dinner and played “go,” a Chinese game similar to chess.

We returned the next morning and ever since I've been very cold!

When Do Americans Take Their Shoes Off??

I was at a school farewell party two weeks ago and was sitting next to a teacher I haven’t talked to that much. We were having a conversation about Japanese verses American customs and we got on the topic of shoes. He asked a very difficult question (because it has no clear answer): “When do Americans take their shoes off?”

If you don’t know already every Japanese house has an entranceway that is slightly lower (by about 6 inches usually) than the rest of the house where your shoes are removed and left until you leaves again. Schools have lockers right at the entrance where you change to slippers or indoor only shoes. So my teacher wanted to know, since we don’t have this sort of entranceway in Japan normally, what is the cue for us to take off our shoes? I said that anytime was ok but that wasn’t enough for my teacher.

He said, “Do Americans eat dinner with their shoes on?” I said sometimes.

“Do they sit on the couch with their shoes on?” Sometimes, but they usually take them off to put their feet on the couch.

“Do they go to the bathroom with their shoes on?” Well, sometimes. (In Japan there are different slippers for the bathroom!)

“Do you only wear them on the first floor?” Anywhere is ok, I answered. But I added that my family often took them off once we entered to keep the house cleaner.

Then, here is the kicker. My teacher asked “Do Americans SLEEP with their shoes on?” Haha, I about cracked up right in front of him when he answered that. With all my answers, he still seemed unsatisfied!

I Fell Into a Gaijin Trap

Two weeks ago, I fell into a gaijin trap. First of all, you may be asking, “What's a gaijin?” Well a gaijin is the Japanese word for foreigner. So what’s a gaijin trap then? Is it a scam for foreigners? While some paranoid people may think so, that is not the case.

Let me explain. I was driving with a friend of mine the other day and we mentioned how we dislike something about Japanese roads. In addition to being narrow, many have... er... not rivers. But dips in the side of the road where water runs off from the mountains. Sometimes they are quite small, sometimes really big. If you’re not careful driving, your wheel (or car) could fall into them. Since they’re not seen nearly as often in many foreign countries, we gaijin are unused to them... so my friend dubbed them the gaijin traps!

So I was backing into my parking space the other day. Usually I don’t have to back in but the way the cars were parked made it necessary. Gaijin traps were “ippai” (everywhere) around my space and my wheel fell into one! At first I felt panic that I wouldn’t be able to get out. What would I DO?? It was the night before my big trip to Okinawa and I wanted to spend it packing not trying to call a tow truck in Japanese! I decided it was best to act quickly... so I speedily pushed on the gas and my car came back up easily. My car is a tank! The only damage was a scratch... no denting or anything. Instead, my car hurt the gaijin trap, knocking a stone loose.

Still Alive

Hi y'all, still alive! I haven't posted in awhile since I was sick. Tomorrow I'm going to Okinawa! Be back in a week with pictures... promise!

-Lisa

Graduation

In my last entry I spoke about graduation ceremony. Mainly I said it was very boring. I had to sit for two and a half hours (in a skirt suit nonetheless) listening to Japanese I didn’t understand. Also, I had been studying Japanese really hard all week, and I was tired of the language and wanted a break, so I did not even try to listen. I just sat there and thought about nothing!

Yesturday one of the English teachers at my school asked me what I thought of the ceremony. I said it was alright. She asked if it was different than an American one. I said it was the same, except there was more bowing and the ceremony was more like a high school graduation. I don’t remember my junio high graduation being nearly as formal. “Also,” I mentioned, “The speeches seemed boring because I could not understand them.” The teacher replied, “They were boring! It was very tiring to sit through the graduation.” I was surprised because I thought it might have been interesting to Japanese people. My supervisor had mentioned how she likes graduation ceremony because it shows the student’s unity, but perhaps she is more of a fan of Japanese tradition. I said so to the teacher. She said that there were not any jokes, and you had to be very quiet the entire time. I do recall that no one laughed the entire time (which is okay with me because I am always over curious to the point of insanity when Japanese people are laughing around me. I want to know what’s funny!!). In American graduations almost all the speeches have a joke or two. So I guess I didn’t miss out on much.

One thing that did strike me about the ceremony was this: as the students were marching out of the hall to forever leave the school, many of them were crying. I don’t remember students crying at my junior high graduation. I do remember many (including me) jumping for joy. Maybe they are sad to split from their friends and go to separate high schools (unlike America, where you often stay in the same town with the same people through high school, students in Japan go off to various high schools around the area and farther away). Or maybe students just show emotion more in Japan. But, I thought, there must be something special about this school if so many of the students were crying.

Tomorrow is the ceremony for the branch school. Since there are only six students graduating (as opposed to my base school’s 100 students graduating), the ceremony will hopefully be a lot shorter! Maybe I’ll even get to leave early!

Signing out,
Lisa