Hey all!
Sorry I haven't posted for a while, it's because I was packing up and moving to JAPAN!
That's right, 日本, land of wonderful delicious food, toilets that clean you (so you don't have to...?), tatami rooms...you dream it, it is part of the Japanese fairytale.
When I first got here, I didn't do much but go to my super posh hotel room and get a rental phone. The next day, though, I woke up looking for someone to hang out with before breakfast (since it was quite early). No one was around, so I went out for a walk. As I am obviously gaijin (foreign), my new friend Tooru came up and just started speaking English to me! He's a Nagoya native, and started telling me about the area. He showed me around a Buddhist shrine, and then drove me around Nagoya Castle--all before breakfast! My first Japanese meal was quite good, especially the fried noodle/shrimp things and the hojicha (Japanese morning tea). Also, all the people in our IES Abroad group are just really motivated and warm, too. I feel like everyone just wants to be friends right off the bat, there's been none or very little of the awkward "getting-to-know-you" time. We all packed onto a bus to Inuyama, and that is where I have been.
Our traditional Japanese inn (Ryokan) is right off the banks of the Japanese Rhine, and our rooms inside are traditional tatami ones with the rice paper screens, a sitting area, and toilets that will spray your behind (no joke...I don't think I'll try it more than once). We get tea and tea snacks every day :) The first day we did orientation, some Japanese lessons, then had some of free time in which we explored shrines close to where we are staying. We followed this by a super delicious traditional Japanese dinner, a dip in the onsen (Japanese hot spring) that is part of the ryokan, and tea time with the roommates.
The second day, we had Japanese classes in the morning after breakfast. For lunch, we trekked to the nearest conbini (convenience store) to grab lunch. Then we went to Inuyama-Jou (Inuyama castle) to hear about the history and tour it. It is a 400+ year old castle overlooking the Japanese Rhine with simple but beautiful architecture. From there, we watched a impromptu puppet show about a drunken sprite (who changes faces from white to red through a mask hidden in his chest). The puppet-masters even let me play a ridiculously expensive drum and pull the puppet strings! Then we went to a traditional tea ceremony. I was absolutely not able to sit on my feet the whole time, or understand all the instructions. But basically, we washed our hands Buddhist-style, bowed to the guest's sumi-e pictures, then took our seats. Then we were served a little snack, which we ate rather ceremoniously from a pretty piece of paper. Then we watched the tea master make the tea and drank it (3 gulps, then you turn the clean cup over to admire the craftsmanship). We got to make our own cup of tea to serve to the staff...my drinker was ridiculously nice and kept telling me how good it was. Then we toured a history museum and hung out around the ryokan for an hour or so.
For dinner, we all climbed onto traditional Inuyama riverboats and had a huge bentou dinner with lots of fish. Thank god there were little containers to put what we didn't eat away, since that's what I had for lunch today! After we finished, we lit the lamps in the boat's ceiling and went to a resting place where we played Egyptian Rat Slap while the tables were put away in the boat. When we got back on, it was dark out, and we watched the cormorant fisher's boats. They light a huge fire in a cage that is in the front of their boats, and one person keeps 10 or so cormorant birds on leashes while they dive in the water for fish. When a bird catches one, they take the fish from its mouth and put it back in the water. I'm pretty sure we were eating some of the fish they caught. When we returned, we went to the onsen again :)
So basically, I am becoming a tea and onsen addict, and Japan seems to definitely be a dream world. Tomorrow I go to meet my host family, I can't wait to see how that will go down! Mata ne!
Good luck meeting your host family, Katie! You're going to be fabulous and they will love you as much as I do. Drink lots of tea and don't sit on the toilet seats. <3
ReplyDeleteUmm, toilets that clean you? I always thought that I would probably not like the feeling of that. Sounds creepy to me. Plus, the day I let a toilet clean me is probably the day that I am letting machines feed me and breath for me as well... actually that doesn't sound too bad. Wow, we live in seriously different worlds don't we? I am lucky if the water is even running here.
ReplyDeleteThe food here is pretty amazing as well! There is a lot of rice and potatoes but they are served in every way imaginable. Did you know that Peru is the origin of all potatoes on earth? Ireland got them from the european conquistadors! I love discovering all the different amazing foods here. The other day I had cebiche, which also originated here. I had it in Guate but this was something different. This was slices of raw fish covered in garlic, lime juice, onions, and ahi (their chili hot sauce). Really good stuff. I plan on heading back to the coast in a month or so to get some more (only 2 soles, or 66 US cents). My favorite food right now is causa, which is spicy ahi mashed potatoes with chicken or tuna salad in the middle, usually served with palta (avacado). It is some pretty amazing stuff. I have also discovered my new favorite fruit in the world, called chitimoya, which is a green spiny looking fruit with a white, soft, custard-like fruit with big black pit seeds in the middle. I know it may not sound appetizing but I can honestly say I know it will be something I will really miss when I am back in the States.
I am so glad to hear that your host family and living situation has turned out so well! I want an electric bike! I'm jealous. I can get a bike from peace corps if I want it but here in a city with pretty rough roads and tons of moto-taxis, I don't think I could use it. It would end up being a pain in the ass getting up here and back down to lima. I love how easily you make new friends. Your social nature is one of the things that first attracted me to you. I really hope you have photos of this cool castle. I love castles. I have one of your photos from Bishop's castle right here as a matter of fact! Are there shines everywhere or something? You make it sound like everywhere you go there is a shrine or two to explore. I have to go pretty far out to see Incan ruins. I am actually headed out to some today to take photos of the trash situation.
Sounds like you are in the right place dear. I mean, tons of tea, good food, and plenty of friends... and most of all, ummm JAPAN! Fricken awesome. Your stories just from this first blog sound unreal. Your excitement has transferred a bit and I am pretty psyched to go hiking now! Your love of life is always contagious - Thanks!