I like my Wednesdays a lot, because there's not a lot of demands on me. I don't have any classes until 6pm, and my total number of students is 3, including Naofumi-san, who is always amusing. The kids are amusing too, especially since they usually want to spend the first five minutes sending my Obi-Wan doll on new adventures around the room.
There aren't any kids' classes because it's a "catch-up" week, when any classes missed due to GEOS holidays or teacher absences can be made up. I have no need to do this, so that ejects eight classes from my weekly schedule and leaves me with only Naofumi-san's classes today. I love it when I can show up at the school in jeans and know that I have ample time to do whatever the hell I want to most of the day.
Benni-sensei showed up with taco leftovers, so we all sat down for a taco fiesta for lunch, which was brilliant in so many ways. A delivery guy stopped by to drop off a package, and being the generous people we are, we forced him to eat a taco. Can't imagine what he thought of that - Mexican food isn't incredibly popular or available here (Shinobu-san had never eaten tacos before, and neither have Hitomi-san's parents) - but he seemed to enjoy it. He should have, because they were damn good tacos. Again, I ate way too many of them. We decided that we should do this more often, so our next theme will be a pizza party. No telling when we'll actually have it, but it's an idea.
After lunch, I went out to do something I've been putting off all month long: buying a set of weights. I stopped by Beisia first to get the ingredients to make peanut butter balls for this weekend and then went over to Cainz Home to get the weights. 3kg each, which is a little more than what I used in the States. We'll see if doing all this bike-riding has actually improved my endurance or not. I even brought my Biggest Loser DVD with me, so I'll be giving that a try this week. Good thing I don't have any kids to worry about, because I'll probably be in pain for a couple of days. Nice.
I dropped my stuff off at the apartment, changed into appropriate attire, and arrived back at the school in time to learn that Naofumi-san had called to say he would be absent, thus affording me my first day of 0 classes taught. Hitomi-san and I gave Benni-sensei her card and present (a small blanket and pillow for when she wants to nap in her classroom - seriously, she's done it a couple times, and she's slept there overnight too), and then I spent three hours studying Japanese.
Have I mentioned lately that I love my life? Because I do. Totally.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Benni-sensei's reverse birthday
Benni-sensei's birthday is this week, and Sunday, she had a little taco party to celebrate. She invited three of us over to her apartment for the afternoon (another GEOS teacher, her best friend, and me). As always with Benni-sensei, I had only a vague notion of what was planned, but that's okay. All I had to do was show up, and that was simple enough.
Kozue-sensei (from the Maebashi school) picked me up at the train station in Maebashi and told me that we needed to stop by the nearby mall to get some chicken from KFC. Apparently, Benni-sensei was afraid the tacos wouldn't be enough. So, off we went to Keyaki Walk, where we ordered a box of chicken and wandered around the mall for a while. There's a really nice bookstore in the mall, and it even has a small English section, so we browsed there for a bit. I finally bought a book to help me practice reading and writing both kana and kanji. I'm pretty solid on the hiragana, and the workbook I use in my lessons with Benni-sensei is helpful with conversation, but I want to work on my kanji recognition. Doubt I'll ever really be able to write kanji correctly, but I'd at least like to recognize some of it.
After picking up our chicken (note: Japanese KFC is merely "okay" in terms of fried chicken; I was not overly impressed), we drove over to Benni-sensei's apartment and immediately dug into the food. There were only four of us, so we had more food than we knew what to do with. We decided to wait on the tacos, instead focusing on the KFC and a couple bags of Doritos for lunch. We also decided that we needed a diversion between lunch and dinner, and because it was Benni-sensei's birthday after all, we asked what she wanted to do. She suggested karaoke, and off we went.
It was an amusing birthday party - Benni-sensei had asked us not to bring gifts (we did anyway), and she gave gifts to us. Granted, they were souveniers from her trip to Thailand, but it was still kinda funny. She also treated us for the karaoke, which we protested vehemently, to no avail. She insisted. I've never attended a reverse birthday party, and it was interesting switch. Reverse birthdays and un-birthdays deserve more attention.
Continuing with the party . . . Japanese karaoke is highly amusing, even without alcohol. We stayed for three hours, singing both Japanese and English songs (they tried to teach me one Japanese song - something about a bear, pretty simple, like a kids' song - but it didn't go all that great). Benni-sensei studied music in college in Los Angeles, and she has a beautiful, trained voice, so it's nice to listen to her sing, even if I don't understand exactly what's being said. Also, it was incredible fun singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" with her. Benni-sensei has seen "Wayne's World" and agrees that head-banging is necessary when singing this song. We startled Kozue-sensei and Shinobu-san with our exuberant head-banging.
We'd worked up an appetite with the karaoke, so we went back to the apartment and absolutely gorged ourselves on tacos. Benni-sensei had asked me to make guacamole, and we also had refried beans, Pace Picante salsa, and jalapenos to top off our tacos. The taco shells were small, and I have no idea how many I ate. They were absolutely delicious and messy and fun. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.
The awesomest thing about Benni-sensei's apartment? It's right next to a train bridge, so you can watch the trains go by. Every time one passed by, we all stopped what we were doing and waved at it. Benni-sensei says she does it all the time.
Definitely a very fantastic birthday party. Benni-sensei's presents from Thailand were matching purse bags for us - orange for Kozue-sensei, purple for Shinobu-san, and chocolate-brown for me. I'll have to take a picture of it, it's really pretty. It has flowers and an elephant stitched on it. I like it.
I've been having very entertaining weekends this month, and next weekend should also be entertaining: we're finally having our New Year's party at the school. Going to an izakaya with my students should be incredibly entertaining. Add in that I don't have any kids' classes this week (hurray for William's perfect attendance! there's no need for me to do any make-up classes), and January looks to be ending on a high note.
Thus far, 2009 hasn't given me too much to complain about.
Kozue-sensei (from the Maebashi school) picked me up at the train station in Maebashi and told me that we needed to stop by the nearby mall to get some chicken from KFC. Apparently, Benni-sensei was afraid the tacos wouldn't be enough. So, off we went to Keyaki Walk, where we ordered a box of chicken and wandered around the mall for a while. There's a really nice bookstore in the mall, and it even has a small English section, so we browsed there for a bit. I finally bought a book to help me practice reading and writing both kana and kanji. I'm pretty solid on the hiragana, and the workbook I use in my lessons with Benni-sensei is helpful with conversation, but I want to work on my kanji recognition. Doubt I'll ever really be able to write kanji correctly, but I'd at least like to recognize some of it.
After picking up our chicken (note: Japanese KFC is merely "okay" in terms of fried chicken; I was not overly impressed), we drove over to Benni-sensei's apartment and immediately dug into the food. There were only four of us, so we had more food than we knew what to do with. We decided to wait on the tacos, instead focusing on the KFC and a couple bags of Doritos for lunch. We also decided that we needed a diversion between lunch and dinner, and because it was Benni-sensei's birthday after all, we asked what she wanted to do. She suggested karaoke, and off we went.
It was an amusing birthday party - Benni-sensei had asked us not to bring gifts (we did anyway), and she gave gifts to us. Granted, they were souveniers from her trip to Thailand, but it was still kinda funny. She also treated us for the karaoke, which we protested vehemently, to no avail. She insisted. I've never attended a reverse birthday party, and it was interesting switch. Reverse birthdays and un-birthdays deserve more attention.
Continuing with the party . . . Japanese karaoke is highly amusing, even without alcohol. We stayed for three hours, singing both Japanese and English songs (they tried to teach me one Japanese song - something about a bear, pretty simple, like a kids' song - but it didn't go all that great). Benni-sensei studied music in college in Los Angeles, and she has a beautiful, trained voice, so it's nice to listen to her sing, even if I don't understand exactly what's being said. Also, it was incredible fun singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" with her. Benni-sensei has seen "Wayne's World" and agrees that head-banging is necessary when singing this song. We startled Kozue-sensei and Shinobu-san with our exuberant head-banging.
We'd worked up an appetite with the karaoke, so we went back to the apartment and absolutely gorged ourselves on tacos. Benni-sensei had asked me to make guacamole, and we also had refried beans, Pace Picante salsa, and jalapenos to top off our tacos. The taco shells were small, and I have no idea how many I ate. They were absolutely delicious and messy and fun. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.
The awesomest thing about Benni-sensei's apartment? It's right next to a train bridge, so you can watch the trains go by. Every time one passed by, we all stopped what we were doing and waved at it. Benni-sensei says she does it all the time.
Definitely a very fantastic birthday party. Benni-sensei's presents from Thailand were matching purse bags for us - orange for Kozue-sensei, purple for Shinobu-san, and chocolate-brown for me. I'll have to take a picture of it, it's really pretty. It has flowers and an elephant stitched on it. I like it.
I've been having very entertaining weekends this month, and next weekend should also be entertaining: we're finally having our New Year's party at the school. Going to an izakaya with my students should be incredibly entertaining. Add in that I don't have any kids' classes this week (hurray for William's perfect attendance! there's no need for me to do any make-up classes), and January looks to be ending on a high note.
Thus far, 2009 hasn't given me too much to complain about.
Friday, January 23, 2009
and still more flavors of Kit Kats!
You can probably expect this to be a monthly thing. The awesomeness of Kit Kats was meant to be shared.
I'm not sure what flavor this is supposed to be (or if there is indeed a flavor intended), but you'll notice that they're in the form of cute little balls (tee hee). Cherry flavoring may have been involved, they tasted a little like that. Of course, they were yummy. I found them in a food mart at the Takasaki train station on my way to Takayama. I haven't seen them since, but maybe I haven't been looking hard enough.
I completely forgot to get a picture of these Kit Kats, which I must remember to do because they look pretty awesome. I also found these in the Takasaki train station, but they're fairly prevalent right now and can be found in many stores. Kozue-sensei even bought me a pack. These are sweet-potato-with-honey-and-sesame-seed-glaze Kit Kats. I should mention that such potatoes are available for purchase at Beisia, and I buy them whenever I got there, which is 2-3 times a week. These potatoes have become a large part of my diet, and so I find these Kit Kats particularly intriguing. It's hard to describe the exact taste, and they're actually not that bad. I like them. My only complaint is that they're white chocolate-based, and I'm not overly keen on white chocolate. But they're still tasty.
You want to talk yummy, let's talk about strawberry Kit Kats. And by strawberry, I MEAN strawberry. As you can see, they're strawberry pink, and the chocolate outside is strawberry-flavored. The wafers inside are also strawberry, so this little treat is like a strawberry explosion in the mouth. Not only is it pretty in all respects, it's delicious. Definitely my favorite pick from this month's choices.
I'm not sure what flavor this is supposed to be (or if there is indeed a flavor intended), but you'll notice that they're in the form of cute little balls (tee hee). Cherry flavoring may have been involved, they tasted a little like that. Of course, they were yummy. I found them in a food mart at the Takasaki train station on my way to Takayama. I haven't seen them since, but maybe I haven't been looking hard enough.
I completely forgot to get a picture of these Kit Kats, which I must remember to do because they look pretty awesome. I also found these in the Takasaki train station, but they're fairly prevalent right now and can be found in many stores. Kozue-sensei even bought me a pack. These are sweet-potato-with-honey-and-sesame-seed-glaze Kit Kats. I should mention that such potatoes are available for purchase at Beisia, and I buy them whenever I got there, which is 2-3 times a week. These potatoes have become a large part of my diet, and so I find these Kit Kats particularly intriguing. It's hard to describe the exact taste, and they're actually not that bad. I like them. My only complaint is that they're white chocolate-based, and I'm not overly keen on white chocolate. But they're still tasty.
You want to talk yummy, let's talk about strawberry Kit Kats. And by strawberry, I MEAN strawberry. As you can see, they're strawberry pink, and the chocolate outside is strawberry-flavored. The wafers inside are also strawberry, so this little treat is like a strawberry explosion in the mouth. Not only is it pretty in all respects, it's delicious. Definitely my favorite pick from this month's choices.Monday, January 19, 2009
Japanese Food Journal: gyoza
For the past week, my food of choice has been gyoza, a Chinese dumpling filled with meat and vegetables (usually cabbage). The dough is thicker and chewier than wonton dough, and overall, they are much better than wontons. I ate gyoza four times in the past week: twice at ramen shops and twice from 7-11 lunch boxes. The ramen shop gyoza is better (duh), but I'll take what I can get. I only noticed the gyoza at 7-11 this week, and since their items seem to be "limited-time only," I'll eat it as it pleases me.
Let us speak of gyoza. They're a fairly simple creation when you think about it: meat (usually pork) and vegetables (mostly garlic and cabbage) wrapped in dough and pan-fried. It's an interesting texture combination: one side is crispy from being pan-fried, while the top of the dumpling is softer from being steamed. Obviously, they're best served hot. You dip them in a tare sauce, which is soy-based, and depending on your tastes, you can add rice vinegar and a red-chili sauce to it as well. I usually just use the chili sauce, just a little bit. Soooooo yummy.
I had never had gyoza before coming to Japan, though a form of them is also popular in North American, where they're called potstickers. Being a Chinese food, they're often found in Chinese restaurants, and there's also a Korean version of them too. Fillings can be varied with them, while it appears that the Japanese versions are pretty standard. That doesn't mean that flavors don't change just a bit. Subtlety always intringues me.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
update: commercial love, part trois
So, I'm some kind of freak who is obsessed with American celebrities on Japanese tv. I accept this.
George Clooney Honda commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8yUbngqX98
http://www.dalealplay.com/informaciondecontenido.php?con=142697
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O13WPQMVPcY (I really liked the soundtrack in this one, even if the rest of it isn't all that inspiring)
What I like so much about the TLJ commericals is that they've got that little bit of social commentary - there's something of the satirical about them, if only in the slightest and most innocent of ways. It's like fluffy satire (fluffire? saffy? er, pass) Filming 30 seconds of attractive people ostensibly doing nothing but look attractive is going to get people's attention, but it's probably not going to generate any kind of deep thought. Whereas, with the TLJ commericals, I've actually had discussions about them with some of my students, even beyond "wow, you really like them?"
What would a post about Japanese commercials be without a TLJ commercial? Here's the latest (#17 in the series):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNP90Lunvyg
and #16, which is my favorite after #9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdMksVjzI8
Speaking of getting people's attention, here's my favorite non-foreigner celebrity commercial:
Gatsby Moving Rubber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk2FBNlOmR8
This mesmerizes me every time. Every time.
George Clooney Honda commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8yUbngqX98
The advertising's in Japanese, but the language at the gas station is something else. Whatever. It's shown on Japanese TV, and that's what interests me. The music makes it for me. Without the Bee Gees, that commercial wouldn't be much at all.
I was talking to Naofumi-san about my obsession with Tommy Lee Jones commercials, and he asked me about the Brad Pitt commericals, if I liked them. I hadn't seen any of them, so he told me they're for SoftBank and it's kind of a phone thing. He also mentioned that they're a little weird (which is not saying much, most of what's on Japanese tv is a little weird). I finally saw one the other day, and yes, Brad Pitt in a bright yellow pantsuit, photographing a topless woman is a little strange. That's one of the newer ones; the older SoftBank commercials are just shots of him wandering around various places while talking on the phone. Definitely not as cool as Tommy Lee Jones. There are also some older ones (from circa 1996 - the "12 Monkeys" phase) that are for a brand of jeans. They're also slightly insane. Or incredibly boring. I found them unworthy of being posted here.
SoftBank commercials:http://www.dalealplay.com/informaciondecontenido.php?con=142697
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O13WPQMVPcY (I really liked the soundtrack in this one, even if the rest of it isn't all that inspiring)
What I like so much about the TLJ commericals is that they've got that little bit of social commentary - there's something of the satirical about them, if only in the slightest and most innocent of ways. It's like fluffy satire (fluffire? saffy? er, pass) Filming 30 seconds of attractive people ostensibly doing nothing but look attractive is going to get people's attention, but it's probably not going to generate any kind of deep thought. Whereas, with the TLJ commericals, I've actually had discussions about them with some of my students, even beyond "wow, you really like them?"
What would a post about Japanese commercials be without a TLJ commercial? Here's the latest (#17 in the series):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNP90Lunvyg
and #16, which is my favorite after #9:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZdMksVjzI8
Speaking of getting people's attention, here's my favorite non-foreigner celebrity commercial:
Gatsby Moving Rubber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk2FBNlOmR8
This mesmerizes me every time. Every time.
Friday, January 16, 2009
"roam if you want to . . ."
Is it too early to be thinking about where I want to go next? I mean travel-wise, not move-wise. I was checking out my school calendar the other day and found myself looking for periods of time that might be good for travel - weekend trips and extended trips. Hey, it's never too far ahead to plan!
weekend trips - These I can do at anytime, and I would like to do more of them. Just little trips to places to do a little sight-seeing and a little cultural expansion. I really want to go to Ise-shi in the Mie Prefecture to see the shrines there, as I'm told they're among the most sacred shrines in Japan. Also, one of my students suggested Kawagoe; she thinks I'd like it there. Also also, I once mentioned to Naofumi-san that I like horses and horse-back riding, and he took it upon himself to do some research on it. There are some places very close to Isesaki (up in the mountains) that offer horse-back riding, lessons and trails. Looks like a lot of fun, so I want to try that in the spring! Also also also, I want to go back to Tokyo and explore more there, and there is the obligatory trip to Tokyo Disney that must be made (but not without Sarah!).
September - There's a 4-day weekend, for holidays and de-facto holidays. I'm thinking this might be a good time for a trip back to Takayama; I bet it's beautiful there for the summer/autumn transition. If not Takayama, then Kyoto if I haven't managed to get there sooner.
November - I have a 3-day weekend early in the month, so it would make a good time for an extended weekend trip. Where I go depends on where I haven't been yet. And yes, I am thinking this far ahead because that's just the way I am.
New Year's - Undecided. Will probably travel, I just don't know where - shall I stay in Japan or shall I explore elsewhere? It would be cool to spend New Year's in Australia or New Zealand, though it'll likely be monstrously expensive. At least I've still got time to think about it.
weekend trips - These I can do at anytime, and I would like to do more of them. Just little trips to places to do a little sight-seeing and a little cultural expansion. I really want to go to Ise-shi in the Mie Prefecture to see the shrines there, as I'm told they're among the most sacred shrines in Japan. Also, one of my students suggested Kawagoe; she thinks I'd like it there. Also also, I once mentioned to Naofumi-san that I like horses and horse-back riding, and he took it upon himself to do some research on it. There are some places very close to Isesaki (up in the mountains) that offer horse-back riding, lessons and trails. Looks like a lot of fun, so I want to try that in the spring! Also also also, I want to go back to Tokyo and explore more there, and there is the obligatory trip to Tokyo Disney that must be made (but not without Sarah!).
early April - My parents are coming to visit me, so of course I want to take them to a couple of nice places in Japan. A hot spring resort is definitely on the itinerary, along with a daytrip to Nikko. As for the rest of it, I'm not sure. I was thinking about Kyoto, but that seems almost stereotypically touristy. But then, nearly everyone has said that I should take them to Kyoto. It'll probably require a bit more research before I finalize anything (along with a consultation with Benni-sensei).
Golden Week - I'm postive that I want to travel, I'm just not sure where I want to go. Probably not someplace in Japan, which is something I want to do anyway, travel to other countries while I'm here in Japan. Anybody want to go to Hong Kong for a couple of days with me? ;)
July - I'm taking five days off (for a nine day vacation) in July to fly back to the States for my high school reunion and the 7th Annual Birthday Fiesta O'Fun. Yay!September - There's a 4-day weekend, for holidays and de-facto holidays. I'm thinking this might be a good time for a trip back to Takayama; I bet it's beautiful there for the summer/autumn transition. If not Takayama, then Kyoto if I haven't managed to get there sooner.
November - I have a 3-day weekend early in the month, so it would make a good time for an extended weekend trip. Where I go depends on where I haven't been yet. And yes, I am thinking this far ahead because that's just the way I am.
New Year's - Undecided. Will probably travel, I just don't know where - shall I stay in Japan or shall I explore elsewhere? It would be cool to spend New Year's in Australia or New Zealand, though it'll likely be monstrously expensive. At least I've still got time to think about it.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
random pictures that I haven't posted yet
I'm doing clean-up with my picture files and half-written blog entries. I've had some of these pictures for a while, and it's about time I posted them. I was going to wait until I decided to write more about them, but who knows when that will be. I do have a couple of posts I want to put up (about the awesomeness of nabe, the latest Kit-Kat haul, and future travel plans), but I need to actually get around to writing them first. Until then, enjoy the pictures.
This is a fig. Until I came to Japan, there were certain fruits I'd only heard of and never seen but knew must exist somewhere in the world. Figs were such an example. Eating a fig is not like eating a fig newton. Figs are actually very tasty. This is an organic fig that was at its perfect moment of ripeness. It was therefore delicious. One of Benni-sensei's students gave them to us (I have no recollection of who it was, maybe Motosu-san? He's a farmer.)
This is yokan, which is basically jellified sweet red bean paste. Naofumi-san brought this back from a business trip, and because Benni-sensei doesn't like sweet things, she forced me to take it home. Not that I was complaining. It was very good with some plain butter cookies I found.
Of all the anko-filled sweets I've had, this remains my favorite. It's anko wrapped in mochi covered in sesame seeds. The first anko I ever had was at a buffet sushi place in Jacksonville, which served fried sesame balls filled with anko. These are actually more Vietnamese than Japanese, but it was close enough, and I've loved anko ever since. I LOVE these sesame balls and am somewhat sorry that they aren't around much anymore. Maybe they're a seasonal thing.
These are my hashi - my chopsticks. One of my students went on a trip to Shanghai and brought these back for me. I like them, they're pretty. And they were a gift, which is always nice. They even have a little storage bag! It's nice (even if it is pink).
This is a persimmon, another of those mythical fruits that I'd never seen, only heard of. I ended up getting about a dozen of these from various students. After I got my convectional toaster oven, I made persimmon bread, which was very yummy and enjoyed by everyone who tried it.
This is a fish cookie filled with custard that Hitomi-san gave me. She said it's called taiyaki. No surprise, it was yummy.
This is my homework from the holiday break. You probably can't read it, but it's my attempt to master the days of the week. My kanji sucks. My hiragana isn't much better. However, my pronunciation and memorization of the vocabulary is flawless. Or so I'm told. (By the way, today is suiyobi, in case you were wondering. You probably weren't; that's just me showing off a little.)
These are the cookies he helped make, the first batch. Notice how buttery, greasy, and generally sub-par they are. That's not Eddie's fault. Now that I have shortening (yay, thanks, parents!), I can make proper cookies. After I'm done with this whole being sick thing.
And these are the brownies he helped make. They were very easy and very good and everybody liked them (everybody liked the cookies too, but they don't know what I can really do).
This is the Christmas wall, just before I tore it down. The kids make almost all of those snowflakes, and they had a very happy time doing it. They also colored all of the pictures and made the Santa figures too. The adults also liked coming in and every week and seeing what new things had been put on the wall. I have a world map up there now, with arrows pointing to the GEOS schools worldwide. It's a homestay work-in-progress.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)