The Chronicles of Ochej

Jen arrived on Wednesday causing great rejoicing. Her arrival was bigger than Christmas. Not in a heretical sense because I am very glad that Jesus was born. Being without family or another North American made the day seem less traditional or festive. To celebrate Jen’s grand arrival my ladies class had a girl’s movie night (chick flick being Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. A vote was taken; the majority of females present would marry Mark Darcy). Jen’s first meal in Japan…KFC.

Thursday we were over at the mall so that Jen could experience tempura and the high tech toilet. In her words:

"It was kinda scary at first and it was very, very warm and didn’t know what all the buttons meant and I was scared to push them but once I figured it all out it was fun and I like the toilet seat sanitizer. The end." –Jen (for a person so anal about grammar, Jen seems to enjoy a good run on sentence).

Jen’s Friday cultural experience was a 100-yen sushi bar. Got to love the conveyer belt continually displaying new dishes past you’re table. It’s like waiting for luggage at an airport only more enjoyable and you don’t have to wait, so not really that similar except for the conveyer belt. We also learned that orange plates mean the sushi has wasabi. White plates do not and normally loved by children. An interesting feature where we went, you ring a "doorbell" to get the bill and you pay by the number of plates 100-yen per plate.

Word Up: sushi -flavored rice (normally with vinegar and salt) that is shaped into bite-sized pieces or wrapped with seaweed. Served with either raw or cooked fish, shrimp, octopus, squid, roe (aka fish eggs), vegetables, or egg.

PS Happy New Year

On the Throne

This week one of the students took me out to eat. The restaurant was in a mall so we did some Christmas shopping and such. Just before we ate nature called and I went in search of a public bathroom (I am very thankful the sign for toilets is internationally understandable). Walking in there was a strong odor, which made me think that I was going to be squatting over the ever popular floor toilet. That was not the experience. There was a very western looking toilet with a nice seat sanitizing/cleaner dispenser on the wall.

But this wasn’t your ordinary western john. It was a super-high-tech-get-out-your-owners-manual toilet. On the right hand side there was a panel with lights and buttons. I felt like was preparing for a NASA launch. Not sure what most of the lights and buttons did. The pictures seemed to indicate "bottom-washers" and "bottom-blow-dryers". The biggest surprise was sitting down the seat was heated! (Electrically heated not from someone else going just before me). It was an experience. For more on high-tech toilets go here.

I Lost

Hideki, Kayoko, Yukihiro and I visited Namba and Umeda today. While we walked around both cities I played “Spot-the-foreigner” (very similar to the Mbabane version of “Spot-the-White-Person”). Today’s score –11. Sadly the game is not as fun when you’re the only foreigner. Come back Steve and Tiffany come back!

Sumo News

Kotooshu, the Bulgarian Sumo I cheer for, has been promoted to ozeki. This is a very happy thing. He’s the first European to reach the second-highest sumo rank. The requirements are very strict. The next happy thing: sumo is back The New Year Grand Sumo Tournament begins on Wednesday.

Language Troubles

When I first arrived Hideki gave me a beginner’s language book. I only made it though the first chapter. Picking it up on my own between teaching hasn’t really been working so I asked Hitomi to help. We met together this past Tuesday. What does it mean when your language teacher laughs at you? She did at least three times that I can recall. Not that I blame her I made some big mistakes. Even with the laughter I enjoyed myself and no tears were shed during the lesson (or after).

Tonight went to Macdonald’s. Was able to communicate that I wanted take out. Thought I communicated combo six and that I wanted L-size-u. (Which is a funny thing. The drinks are M-size-u or L-size-u, aka medium and large respectively. But most people don’t seem to realize the letters come from English.) After I place my order the nice cashier asks me something which I didn’t understand. For what felt like the next five to ten minutes (reality it was probably only one or two) she ties different ways to communicate her question and I just wasn’t getting it. So in frustration I pull out my cell and call Hideki, explain my confusion and ask him to talk with the girl. She has been trying to confirm my order of six hamburgers…I only wanted one. After passing the phone back a few times the order was all sorted out and I was on my way with my combo six. Yeah for Hideki!

Word Up: Roku -six

More Fun With Vending Machines

This has been my personal favourite of all my vending machine findings. The God Mocha is really good. It begs the question: is it a spiritual beverage or a new form of putting God in a box …err…can?

Word Up: Dozo -Please

Cultural Taboos

It is to be expected that Japan will have a different set of expectations and rules of public conduct then North America. Like you don’t point with chopsticks, take your shoes off when you enter a home, and bowing instead of shaking hands when you great. Also means that there are different cultural faux pas and taboos (things you just don’t do).

I recently learned that blowing your nose in public is one of these “no-nos”. To the point others are embarrassed and feel uncomfortable if they see someone blowing their nose. The closest comparison I can think of is watching an adult picking his nose in public in western culture. No one told me about the “not blowing your nose rule” so over the last three months I have no clue how many people I have offended. (Friend -* I suck at this game*)

Word Up: Go -five