7 Month Check In

Following up on Heather's post. 7 month check in...assemble!!!

Since we have been in Japan for about 6 months i thought it would be fun to do a survey for the blog. Kind of a way to catalog how we are doing and share it with others. 

Favorite Drink: Green Tea

It’s not like I’ve never had green tea before, but the powered green tea they have at a number of restaurants is delicious, and you get an unlimited amount.

Best food eaten so far: Niku Udon

Meat + noodles + soup = so so good.

Best dessert: karinto

 It’s more of a snack than a dessert, but these little fried sticks come in different flavors. My favorite is the white sugar variety, and I can eat them by the bag full.

Worst food eaten so far: Natto

I don’t even have to describe this food thanks to Wikipedia:

Nattō (なっとう ) is a traditional Japanese food made from soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis. It is popular especially as a breakfast food. Nattō may be an acquired taste because of its powerful smell, strong flavor, and slimy texture.

Yep. Slimy, fermented, bacteria infested soybeans. No thanks.

Favorite place to visit: Tamiya Park

It has a track, is a great morning workout spot, and helped introduce me to the leagues of pleasant elderly folk performing radio taiso. Check the video below for the awesomeness that is radio taiso. It is broadcast every morning, and it is popular among awesome elderly Japanese people who approach with smart phones and ask you to point out where you’re from on google maps.

Favorite activity: 

Going to Plum House bakery on a Saturday morning

Japan has a number of little bakeries, and they’re all awesome. I never thought this would be something available in Japan, but it is, and it’s fantastic.

Biggest daily frustration: Not being able to communicate with my coworkers

I get by with broken English with the teachers I share classes with, but I there are a number of other teachers that seem really cool and try to talk to me, but the language barrier prevents us from getting very far. I’ll be stoked when I’ve learned enough Japanese for us to have an actual conversation.

Small thing that makes you happy: 

That the kids never show any less excitement to see me everyday.

There is literally nothing better in this world than having a group of junior high students with giant grins on their faces waving at you at shouting, “good morning” in Japanese accented English.

Most thankful for: Having my wife here to share it with me

I know this one is cheesy, but it can be lonely when you don’t know the language, and having Heather here to laugh about things and complain about small frustrations makes life infinitely easier and more fun.

Something you wish you would have done before coming: 

Taken care of my teaching license and the IRS bill

Ugh, I let a few things slip before I left, and it’s a huge pain in the ass to get everything taken care of with the time difference and the lack of an easily reachable phone number and address.

Best experience so far: 

swimming in Katsuura and then going to the waterfall in Kamikatsu

Item most missed: My bike

The single speed cruiser is good for getting around, but I miss my Surly.

Food most missed: Anything from a real coffee shop, good beer

There is coffee in Japan, but I have yet to find a great coffee shop with delicious snacks and a solid Americano. The beer is ok, and it all tastes the same. The additions of sake and plum wine don’t make up for the microbrews I’m missing from home.

Most surprising/shocking discovery: 

Life here really isn't that different 

I get up, go to work, come home, workout, hang out with my wife, and spend time with friends. There are definitely strange things about being half a world away, but for me they are overwhelmingly positive. Besides the struggles with the language and the initial culture shock, my life hasn’t changed that much.

Goal for the next six months: Finish Minna No Nihongo book one

I’m taking private lessons once a week and working my way through this Japanese textbook. In six months I should be through the first book and hopefully a little bit better at speaking Japanese.

Living in Japan 7 Month Survey

Well we have been here for just over 7 months now and we thought it would be good for you (and for us) to see how we are doing with things in Japan. Some of these are silly some are more important. We came up with a short survey of our experiences here and we will both tell about the same things, I will share now and Clint will put his up in another post.

Favorite drink: Royal Milk Tea

Best food eaten so far: Yoma’s

            I have started going toing to a bi monthly dinner hosted by an older Japanese man named Yoma. He started by cooking dinner for his friends and band members many years ago and he has branched out to inviting English teachers in the area as well. There are between 5 and 15 people at any given dinner. We all gather in his house to eat and chat. He makes delicious traditional Japanese food that includes no less than 6 components and often many more.

Best dessert: baumkuchen

            Originally from Germany it is a very popular Japanese dessert. It tastes similar to a crepe cake, slightly eggy and slightly sweet. It is usually topped with a syrup of some kind and the hole is filled with whipped cream. So tasty!!

Worst food eaten so far: tako yaki

            Octopus balls are a common street food that is often made at home also. They are fun to watch being cooked in giant trays. Though octopus isn’t my favorite I don’t mind it in pickles or in sushi occasionally. My issue with them is a texture one. When tako yaki are cooked they get brown on the outside but remain “creamy” in the middle, this results in a semisoft ball filled with chewy octopus pieces. Think undercooked pancakes ball with an edible rubber band in the middle. Some people love it, I do not!

Favorite place to visit: Tokushima Castle Park

            Tokushima’s Central Park is situated on old castle ruins and has great walking paths with ponds and rose gardens. It also has a big hill where you get a great view of the city.

Favorite activity: eating

          This shouldn’t surprise anyone, My favorite regularly done activity is eating lots of different foods. Japan has an amazing cuisine and I can’t get enough of it.

Biggest daily frustration: Where does this trash go?

            I did a whole post on trash but this is a daily frustration. Every piece of trash needs to be discarded thoughtfully, which is great for the environment but makes throwing things away very difficult. Particularly storing the trash in the kitchen, we need five trash cans and extra space for things that only get picked up once a month. Grrr

Small thing that makes you happy: reading a sign in less than a minute

            Learning Japanese is hard, I’m getting better… slowly.

Most thankful for: Technology

            Having a smart phone has been a lifesaver.  It makes talking to family and friends easy, it also makes getting around the city, catching the bus, translating signs and packages, and keeping track of my schedule much easier.

Hardest thing to do: get anything fixed

            Language barriers as well as cultural barriers make this soooo difficult.

Something you wish you would have done before coming: gotten a driver’s license

            Not romantic, but perfunctory.

Best experience so far: playing on the beach at the river

            I think we also posted about this experience here. It was an amazing day with good people and awesome scenery

Item most missed: bike

            I really miss my wonderful single speed glow in the dark bike. I have a bike now it works to get me from place to place but I have to peddle like I’m riding a clown bike, it’s silly.

Food most missed: Mexican and margaritas on the patio

            This is self-explanatory, these things don’t exist in our area.

Most surprising/shocking discovery: The separation of outdoor versus indoor spaces, except for air.

             I may have to do a separate post on this because it is fascinating and not something I completely understand yet.

Goal for the next six months: practice Japanese in order to be more involved in the community

If there are things you are wondering about that we didn't cover please let us know. We can answer any question yo have.