The Christmas and New Year break was a difficult time for me, my first ever away from home. Although I’ve lived away from my folks for over ten years, I always returned home at Christmas, making it a special family time. So unsurprisingly I felt a bit sad on Christmas day, although I was cheered a lot by a little gathering held at a fellow teacher’s house. We ate traditional Christmas foods, played games and watched a film together, and when I got home I was able to Skype with my family which really made my day. New Year’s eve was similar – I spent a few hours with fellow teachers but then was on my own again for the big countdown, again something I’ve never experienced before. A few friends were online which was great, but it made me miss them all tremendously, so I’ve already decided I’ll be going home next winter vacation to spend it with them. (Unless I meet a beautiful Japanese man to keep me entertained here. Well a girl can hope!)
I made the most of my days off anyway, going to see movies, exploring nearby Kyoto and Himeji and in a real first for me, I went snowboarding. Although the journey to Nagano prefecture took 12 hours on a fairly crowded bus (O_o) it was worth the trip. Beautiful scenery, getting some exercise, and eating traditional Japanese food as well as my first taste of an Onsen (Japanese hot bath). Wow. So after a day of snowboarding, a dip in the onsen and a meal of Soba noodles, boiled pork and vegetables, rice and oolong tea, I was fast asleep by 8.30pm on the tatami mat. I slept really well, as the snow drifted outside the window. It was kind of magical.
I have a fellow teacher, Chris, to thank for organising the snowboarding trip. Chris is from Louisiana, and he loves cooking, and learning Japanese. He seems very much at home here, and I think it’s because he has got to the heart of Japanese culture: the language and the food.
Food was always going to be a challenge for me, being a vegetarian, and a picky vegetarian at that. So I’ve had to be brave. Try things I would never have tried at home. So I tried real Sushi at last in Kyoto; the lovely Saki took me to a fantastic, homely restaurant where we got a massive plate of sushi for 1,000 yen (approx £7). I tried everything on the plate, and discovered I liked Salmon. Which was lucky, as it turned up for breakfast a few days later in Nagano. I’ve discovered I love Soba noodles (thin, made from buckwheat) but not Udon (the thicker noodles most common here). Of course, I love the desserts here. Oh my. The cake and waffles I’ve had would put the IHOP to shame. Japanese cake is somehow lighter, fluffier than the UK fare, but by contrast the bread is also white, sugary and thick. Luckily there are a few French bakeries around that sell baguettes baked the traditional way, and my local supermarket (a Co-op.. yes really!) sells English muffins. Curry has been my other new delight: the Japanese curry is sweeter and milder than those in the UK, and while it’s not authentic Indian, I think it’s delicious. Finding familiar chains from home has been strange and wonderful at the same time. Starbucks is exactly the same as the UK but it has cinnamon buns like the US franchises, and sells a smaller cup size. McDonalds fries taste the same, but their burger menu is a little different and they have exciting additions like the bacon potato pie (like a mini pasty). Subway is my favourite find so far: the same breads as the UK, but they have an avocado and veggie sandwich as an option, and loads of different fillings you can add as well as your salad, for example egg, tuna, more avocado. As a side, they do potato wedges in different flavours, and best of all, melon soda. I’m a little bit addicted to the green stuff. There are other big chains here: KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos and even Krispy Kreme in Tokyo, but time and money has prevented me from trying them so far. Pizzas particularly are expensive: a medium pizza costs about £25, although you get a lot of toppings for that – Pizza Hut’s cheese harmony pizza has whole wedges of camembert on it. I believe they are delivery only as well, which makes ordering one a whole new mountain to climb. Oh yes. Bringing me back to the language.
The Japanese language is challenging, no doubt about it, but not impossible for westerners to wrap their brains around. Twice a year thousands of foreigners apply to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, which measures your ability to read, write, listen and speak the language. Run by the Ministry of Education, the test is graded into 4 levels, and less than half of the 52,992 people who took the highest level test in Japan in 2008 actually passed it. So no doubt it’s tough.
Well I’m a long way off applying for that test, as my Japanese lessons have only just begun again. I have a two-hour session every week with Takahashi-sensei, a sweet older lady who has volunteered her time for free to help me get to grips with the language. We use a handmade textbook with no pictures and scary looking tables about conjugating verbs. I wanted a challenge, I got it. But I’m lucky: I’ve got free lessons, my teacher is pretty patient and smiles a lot while I try to make sentences. So I’ve made myself revision flashcards at home to try and study every day a little more. I’m also trying to watch as much Japanese drama as I can, so I can see the actor’s expressions and tones when they’re speaking, as opposed to anime. Thanks to a film release and a recommendation from my friend Robby, I’ve fallen in love with the live drama Nodame Cantabile, which I feel is improving my classical music knowledge as well as my Japanese… well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
When I’m not watching drama, studying or working, I find myself drifting around on the internet a lot, nibbling Pocky. To try and combat this I resolved this week to find a new gym or karate club. And I’ve already had a small setback. A fellow teacher Sara kindly invited me to her circuits club, and while the staff member was lovely and helpful to me, trying out her English as I tried out my Japanese, Sara was later told by her boss that I couldn’t join unless I could read Kanji, due to the safety notices the club has. It sounds like a fair point, but what’s frustrating is Sara offered to translate for me, and they said that wasn’t allowed. I have to admit I was disappointed, and I felt a little bit like it was personal – like they just didn’t want the hassle of trying to explain anything to me, ever. I wonder if foreign residents of the UK have ever had to deal with that kind of situation? Anyway. My overall feeling is, if they clearly don’t want me there, I don’t want to pay to be there either. I’ll take my money elsewhere. It’s a little bit disheartening – will every sports club have some safety notes I can’t read? – but Sara has kindly offered to help me find somewhere else to go, so I guess I’ve got to just put it behind me. And tell anyone who moves to Sannomiya to avoid that club! (Bodies, next to ABC cooking school in SOL) :-P
Anyway, I hope that joining a club of some sort will help me improve my Japanese too, so I won’t be easily put off. Martial artists are made of sterner stuff! Just like the weeks before a karate grading, it feels like my mettle is often being put to the test in this country. So will I pass? It’s not for anyone to judge but me. And I’m damn well gonna give it my best shot. So thanks to everyone who supports me with facebook messages, care packages and skype chats… I’m doing it for you too!
That's all for now - have a pic of me with fellow ECC senseis Robby and Sophie ^3^
