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
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