Long Long Time

We are on the last stretch of our trip in Japan and we have been busy being tourist and learning Japanese which is why the blog has been slacking. Here is a short update with more to come.

(Wednesday, February 18)

(Japanese Bar - Chi Cha Ra?)

This evening we spent with some of Sean’s co-workers. Trevor, Patrick, Sean and I had Indian food of all things. Yes, I know we are in Japan of all places and having Indian food. It was really good just like one of my favorite place back at home, Taste of India. We had two types of curry, nan (Indian bread), Simonas, rice, and a mango yogurt type dessert. After dessert we went to listen to music at a local bar. The Japanese man that was performing was excellent. He placed guitar, trumpet, and several other small trumpet-like horns. One of his favorite singers is Neil Young, so he did several Neil Young cover songs. It was a lot of fun. We were some of the first people at the bar. The Japanese don’t tend to start going out until later and it was around 8:00 pm. We left around 10:00 pm when more people started coming into the little bar. We definitely miss the smoke-free restaurants and bars back at home.

(Kimono Class)

The Navy base offers several different classes. I thought it would be fun to take the Kimono class. I took the class with two other ladies that were here visiting their husbands. These were the ladies on the same flight from Seattle. The class was a lot of fun and it was only Ann, Carol, and me. The women teaching was a Japanese woman who had about ten different Kimonos to choose from. It was amazing the amount of time it took to get all wrapped up in the Kimono. It definitely is an art form and I can’t imagine someone getting themselves ready without help. The Kimono with long sleeves is meant for single women and short sleeves for married women. The lady teaching the class joked that it was different because the married women have work to do so they have to have short sleeves. After you put on the Kimono, you wrap a belt around you called an obie which is tied in a bow or in other fun ways. The bow is tied in a box shape if you are married, but our teacher tied our obie’s in different fun ways.

(Thursday, February 19)

Sean and I started to take Japanese class through a program called Kumon on the Navy base. We have class twice a week either with Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday. Class goes from 2:30pm to 6:30pm. We usually go on Tuesday and Thursday from 4:00pm to 6;30pm. At our first class I arrived first because Sean was still at work. I wondered if I was in the right place because there were lots of kids. Then I saw a few adults and then spoke with one of the lead teachers. The program Kumon offers help to kids and adults who need help with Math, English, and Japanese. There are very few adults there but it is fun to watch the kids and remember the days of being so little and care free. We are learning the Hiragana characters. We are given 4 to 5 lessons to work on. You are supposed to have those done by the next class, so Sean and I get to do homework!!! Once the lessons are done we go over them individually with one of the Komun teachers. Each lesson has about 3 Hiragana characters to learn using associated words. Sean and I are proud to tell you we can now say deer (shika), cow (ushi), moon (tsuki), crane (tsuru), chopsticks (hashi), legs (ashi), and shoes (kutsu). Shoes is good to know when shopping. The only problem is that for me wearing a size 8 is a little big by Japanese standards.

(Friday, February 20)

Today, was a very rainy day. My friends Ann and Carol and I walked to the Navy base for a class on Japanese tea ceremony. I know that I should be used to the rain being from Seattle, but normally I’m in my car driving instead of walking several miles in the rain. By the time we arrived at our class we were soaked. My shoes, socks, and pants were all wet. The only dry part of me was under my jacket since it is waterproof.

We had a fun time at the tea ceremony class, but it sure is hard. You are supposed to fold the napkin in a particular way and it was hard to understand what exactly we were supposed to do. Everything in the tea ceremony has it’s particular place. If we were graded, I would not have passed. The tea we had was green tea and it was made from a fine green powder. We first rinsed the cups we were using with hot water and dipped the bamboo whisk in the hot water. Then we poured out the water. Then we scooped the tea with this very small wooden spoon and put it in the cups. Then you pour in the hot water and start whisking the tea. I wasn’t doing the best job, so the teacher came over and whisked my green tea until it was nice and foamy and frothy. Then we got to enjoy the tea and it was good. Afterwards we cleaned the cup with the cloth napkin. The class was a great learning experience, but I don’t think I will be holding a tea ceremony on my own any time soon.