BBQ to start my weekend

Yesterday we had a big BBQ at our new house. BBQ Japanese style is a little different than BBQ U.S. style. Normally in the U.S. you would BBQ hamburgers, hot dogs, or chicken. J people never BBQ hamburgers or hot dogs, and rarely eat them. They usually BBQ some kind of meat like steak, pork, or chicken and also cook vegetables like carrots, onions, lettuce, or mushrooms, right on the grill. Then everyone stands around the BBQ and eats the food right from the grill using chopsticks-then you dip it into your own bowl of sauce. It was BYOB and a small plate of food for everyone to share-so there was plenty of food!

So good food, nice sunny weather, and when you run out of beer you just walk across the street to the beer vending machines. What more could you want?

Email

Hi Everyone- just wanted to let you know that I just sent an email out, so if you didn't get it, let me know and I will add or update your email address. I'm not sure if I have everyone's correct addresses. Have a good day!

Life Lessons from the Japanese 1

Apparently the Japanese have discovered the secret of how to be a real man. Ha! I always thought it was the ability to belch loudly and crush a beer can on your head. Boy was I wrong!

BE A REAL MAN

Hagi

On Monday I went to Hagi to do some sightseeing. Hagi is a small town, famous for its pottery and castle ruins. It is located about an hour north of where I live, and is on the northern coast of Japan, along the Sea of Japan. The beaches were nicer there than on the southern coast, along the Inland Sea, where I live.

I mainly just wanted to get out of Ube and go somewhere and it was a beautiful drive. It's amazing to me that it only took an hour and 20 minutes to drive from the south coast to the north coast! To Japanese people this is a long drive, they don't normally travel out of their home area too much. But I love to drive, especially with beautiful scenery, so it seemed like such a short trip!

Karma?

So as you know in my last post, I said some unkind things about my little lunchbox car, and I got paid back for it .

As I was waiting to pull out of the 7-11 parking lot, a lady backed into the side of my car. It was totally her fault, I was stopped waiting to pull out into the street and she couldn't see me behind her in her big van, so she just backed right into the passenger side of my car. It didn't cause too much damage, just the rear panel got smashed in. The lady was really nice, she couldn't speak English of course , so that made things a little difficult. She kept saying "sumimasen"over and over, which means sorry. So she called the police, and they knew about 5 words of English, so that was a little interesting too. They just copied down my information from my $10 AAA international driver's license, and asked me a bunch of questions to which I answered, "wakarimasen" over and over, which means I don't understand. At this point I called my boss and he talked to the police and handled everything. So everything got smoothed out, and the lady got a ticket for the accident. So, my 5 minute trip to 7-11 yesterday, took about an hour and a half. Time is money you know.

Daihatsu Mira -Don't you wish you could drive this beast?  

My Pimp Ride

Pretty much the sweetest car in the world. Not only does it come standard with four wheels AND four tires, but it has blinkers and windshield wipers too! And, as a bonus they threw in a windshield wiper on the back. It surprisingly has 4 seats, but if you are over 5'0", don't even think about climbing into the back seat, you will not escape. Some other "features", if I may call them that, are a cassette player, a heater that only blows hot air at your feet, dashboard lights that work about 50% of the time, and 50 horses that live under the hood. Yep, that's right, 50. You don't even want to try and race me in this car!

Oh, my favorite thing about the car? That would be the sweet beeping noise the car makes in reverse. It makes me feel like a retarded bus driver! (Does anyone know how to disable this?!!)

Ringo Jusu 

Another Random Thought About Japan

Their apple juice here is awesome! It definitely tastes different than apple juice in the U.S. It tastes a little like apple cider or organic apple juice. Also, it is 100 % apple juice, unlike the juice in the U.S. I have tried a few different brands too, and they all taste like this. (It mixes really well with Sake too!)

Okonomiyaki 

Okonomiyaki

Tonight I went to Naniwa for dinner after class with some friends. Naniwa is an Okonomiyaki restaurant where you mix up the ingredients yourself and cook on a teppan (grill) on the table in front of you. Okonomiyaki literally means (cook what you like), so you can really pick anything to put into it. It looks like a thick pancake - and is composed of cabbage, egg, flour, and then any meat or vegetable that you want. You can add anything to it you want, like cheese, noodles, or corn. You mix all these ingredients up in a bowl and then pour it onto the grill and flatten it into a pancake and let it cook. Then you flip it over and wait for the other side to cook. You then add a sweet sake sauce, along with fish and seaweed powder, and then on top you can add mayonnaise if you want. The Japanese put mayo on a lot of different foods, including pizza! The Okonomiyaki was delicious. Oishii!!!

Man gets busted cheating on his wife on Craigslist

Check this out! You can also click on the link above to go directly to the ad.

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Reply to: mailto:anon-71453760@craigslist.org Date: 2005-05-03, 2:17PM EDT

I'm the Chappaqua blonde, grey eyes, great smile and skin, 115, who was looking for a married man, 40-45, reasonably fit, must send pic etc etc.

I found my guy - the exact guy, in fact, that I was looking for from the outset: my philandering husband. To the other 250+ married creeps who replied over the last two days - you should all pray your wives don't catch you out like this. Its so easy and obvious .. one doubts your collective intelligence. BTW, the 'meeting' at Starbucks in Greenwich never happened. I thought it made for good 'realism' though.

Andy:

We won't be meeting next Tuesday at the Yorktown Starbucks. I have moved to my sister's house. "Jenni" who you spoke with on the phone was an actress and probably earned the easiest $500 of her life. My lawyer taped the conversation. My lawyer also has a copy of your response to my ad, and transcipts of our three IM conversations.

To send "Jenni" a pic, including me with my face blacked out, taken at our anniversary party, was utterly unbelievable and underscores the contempt you apparantly have for me.

I've also taken the PC and your other laptop. My lawyer will have a computer expert check them. I suspect you've done this more than once.

No doubt you think you've been very clever. I suspected something was wrong in February when M****** told me that you and C****** had been talking about internet "dating" at the club. C****** told M****** that you seemed very knowledgeable about it and that you had mentioned Craig's List casuals several times.

I'm not heartbroken now. That was yesterday. You've lost a wife who adored you. Faith is a two way deal and you blew it. You are an a-hole and a complete shit.

I've left a print out of this on the kitchen counter although I suspect you'll probably read this online before you get home, when you next check out the casuals.

I have had somebody remove and destroy our bed. When you get home you can sleep in the guest room. I have cancelled our dinner with J* and P**** Friday night. I have told my parents that we are divorcing and why. You should speak to your father. You should understand that as a consequence of your actions you will cause great sadness and heartbreak to a good man who has shown me nothing but affection, and whom I love dearly.

I've put all the jewelry, and the wedding ring you gave me, into the storm drain at the end of the road. I've sent your mother's rings back to you father by recorded delivery. I didn't enclose a note - you can explain to him.

I have an appointment for a full STD check this afternoon. If I have the merest hint of any infection, I will send copies of your email, the IM chat and the pic you sent, to all our friends, your family and your work colleagues. Believe me, you will understand the meaning of the saying "revenge is a dish best served cold". I suggest you say a prayer that you haven't given me anything.

I'll see you in court. Don't call me - if you do, my lawyer will get a protection order against you.

Jennifer

Inspiration

A mind that has been stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

- Oliver Wendell Homes

Skype

This is a awesome service which allows me to call you people in the U.S. for only 2 cents a minute! (But you can go on feeling like you are important if you get a call from me - just because it's only costing me 2 cents, doesn't mean you aren't special.)
How it works: Basically, you download the program "Skype"(free) and this allows you to call other skype users(anywhere in the world), from your computer to their computer, for free. Next, you can download "SkypeOut" which allows you to call any phone number (in the world), including regular phone numbers and cell phones, very cheap. The per minute prices are listed on the website- calls from Japan to the U.S. are 2 cents, and to other countries the prices are almost the same. To use SkypeOut you have to have a PayPal or Moneybookers account.
The connection is not always great- especially if you are calling a cell phone, (and if you have a computer that rides the short bus), but for the most part it works OK, and the price is worth it! Skype also has Instant Messenger.

Egio Park in Onoda

These are pictures of Egio Park- which is a huge, beautiful park in Onoda- which is near Ube City. I teach a class in Onoda and afterwards I have an hour to kill before my next class starts, so I usually go here. There is a huge campground here too, all along the river- which is a rarity because Japanese people don't really go camping that often. Camping is way more common in the U.S. Kind of a bummer, but at least all of the campgrounds have vacancies :)

Egio Park Bridge 

 

View from the bridge 

Egio Park Campground 

Thank God I have a regular toilet!

Check out this interesting explanation on how to use a traditional Japanese toilet (click on the link above)

Random Thoughts About Japan

The first of many more to come.....

Japanese people for the most part seem pretty reserved and calm, that is, until they get behind the wheel! It's like they have to get their aggression out somewhere, and driving is where they do it. I read somewhere that Japan has the largest number of car accidents, in the world. I agree, they are crazy drivers! When you attribute their crazy driving habits to their tiny cars and tiny roads, it's no wonder that they lead the world with their number of car accidents!

Golden Week

Life here in Japan is good- I am in the middle of a week off from work. Golden Week is a national holiday which celebrates the Emperor's Birthday and Children's Day. Most businesses, except stores and restaurants, are closed. I have been keeping busy packing, reading, studying Japanese and enjoying the sunshine!

My boss bought a big house in Ajisu(near Ube) for me and Jamie and Joe(2 other teachers) to move into. It's a pretty sweet house- I will have 3 rooms to myself and my own bathroom and kitchen. The house is right next to the train station- which is really convenient. My boss has been pretty generous too- he put grass in the backyard (which is rare in Japan) and bought a couple of benches. He plans to do a bunch of other stuff too, to fix up the house for us. I have a regular Western Style toilet too- with a heated seat! Score! I will have the next couple of weeks to slowly move my stuff in. It kinda sucks that I have to move right after I get to Japan, but at least I'm moving into a nice house. That means that there will be more room for people to come and visit! (This means you)