I think I have officially tried every single type of Japanese food there is. I have stayed with two different families already, and tonight, I will be staying with a third one (the principal`s). Boy, have they treated me well... Actually, I do not think I have received this kind of hospitality ever in my life...as they say, the Japanese are very eager to please. The first family (Kamatani`s - the English teacher) had three children, Tomoki (9), Mayuko (6), and Takuma (4), and they were all very, very cute and kept speaking to me in Japanese, and I would just stand there like the ogre that I am and smile. (I have really learned to smile a lot recently). So, I played with the kids, ate a bunch (the Japanese love to eat - breakfast, snack, lunch, tea time, dinner, every frigging day, at set times), discussed Koizumi with Takeshi (the father), and mostly just enjoyed my time. Over the weekend, I stayed with Nozaki-sensei, the Japanese teacher and his family (kids - Tatsumi (12) and Miho (14). We actually drove up to Nanao City, which is a sister city to Monterey California, for the Monterey Jazz Festival, which was like 8 hours of jazz, non-stop, on the sea shore. It was quite nice. There was a group that performed Girl from Ipanema, in Japanese, very nice. The main band was the band of Sadao Watanabe, who is this 72 year old saxophone player, and he was pretty amazing. (I am wondering if he was mentioned in Murakami novels, I think he may have been).
Frustrations thus far - primarily with the language; I cannot put two and two together. I know a bunch of vocab, but in terms of grammar, I can manage something like
Its a question of learning, studying, and trying to use whenever I can. The problem is, the Japanese do not expect any Japanese language to come out of my mouth, so whenever I try to speak in my broke ass Japanese, they simply think its an English word they do not know... It makes for quite amusing but also frustrating situations... Anyhoots..
Quick comment. I have not yet moved in to my house, and my online access is quite erratic, so I apologize for the infrequent updates and the inability to write emails back to you guys. I am checking whenever I can and am trying to utilize my time well. Hopefully, within a week or so I will be able to have more regular access and everything...
Ok, everyone take care....more substantiation coming soon...
10 comments:
this is substantial enough. miss you, man. i too have limited internet access and none at home, but i'll talk to you soon. sounds like things are pretty great - i read what you write and it makes me feel good. so waht is the best japanese food?
Hey Roman,
thanks for all the posts. Sounds absolutely wonderful - this will be such an interesting important year for you. Don't worry, the language will come to you over time (that's how it's supposed to work, right?) Meanwhile enjoy meeting everyone, the snacks, and all the royal treatment. As Walter said, we miss you and think of you a lot.
Roma - it's good to know that everyone is treating you well! I'm sure the hospitality will allow you to acclimate easier. As Sonya said, language will come to you with time.
Btw, do the women serve you tea? :)(So I've heard that it's the custom)
more importantly...have you impregnated anyone yet? how much tv do they watch? is there a presence of american culture (music, products, movies, etc.)? how about russian culture (semechki, speedos, hairy backs, golden chains, etc.)? but when it boils down to it, is it truly a different world? i suppose it is too early to ask you that. overall, it sounds like there is a sufficiency of basic human understanding, as well as mutual curiosity. upload some pictures. stay out of trouble. wear a rubber. although it would be kinda cool to have miyawaki marchenko running around...
condoms are for sailors
Walter, nothing beats sushi man, you should know that. Sonya, the language might take a little while and a lot of hard work, but I certainly hope you are right. Anna, damn skippy the women serve tea, but not everyday. Vasya, no one is yet pregnant, not even my palm. TV? The kids watch some, but its not as big here as it was in the US. Two nights ago, I watched the East Asian Soccer Championship where the North Koreans beat the Japanese 1-0, and last night when the same women`s teams played and the score was the same...I had no idea the North Koreans had teams, they must train like mothers. In terms of American presence, the only way I feel it is in products and even then its not really common to see that many American goods, and even if they are American, its all written in Japanese anyway, so who the hell really knows. Music, movies - man, I am in the country, no such things here, although I am hoping to make it out to a bigger city soon. Russian culture, as you might expect, is non-existent. I can`t answer the different world question quite yet, but yeah, it certainly seems that way. Days in the office are long, and as I have nothing official to do, I have to spend it studying, so it comes down to a self-motivation issue. People, give me some time to at least learn a little Japanese before the Miyawaki questions arise...but on that note, the Japanese girlies are HOT......out, in, out, in....
awesome! dude, i'm with you in spirit.
hey smiling ogre, what's sensei? and is the japanese food that they serve you very different from the stuff that we have here? enjoy!!
Has all this time eating sushi here prepared you for the sushi there?
Anya, sensei means teacher, and it is a fairly respectable title in Japan. Olay, about the sushi, eating it in America prepared me for it a little bit (at least the chopsticks part, because everything is done with chopsticks here, even getting the toilet paper - ok, that's some dry humor there, or wet, I can't stop). But honestly, the sushi restaurants in Chicago only barely begin to capture the essence of Japanese cuising. First of all, most seem centered around sushi, and even then equal time is devoted to sushi, sashimi, and maki, whereas in Japan, almost nobody eats maki, sashimi and sushi are very popular, but the raw fish category only makes up a small part of all the food. All sort of pickled foods are popular. I have had at least five types of miso soup already (kani miso - crab miso is my favorite). Unagi is huge - eel. Tempura shows its face sometimes, but as I mentioned earlier, the cuisine revolves around eighteen small plates with goodies on them and you get to pick and choose. Overall, its quite yummy, but I must say, having had it everyday so far, I think I need a break and have a bit of other stuff...
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