The main point here, however, is that this idea of a fundamental alteration in the standard is one of the things that make thought about the past or future simply impossible. The theory of a complete change of standards in human history does not merely deprive us the pleasure of honouring our fathers; it deprives us even of the more modern and aristocratic pleasure of despising them.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Quote for the Day: From Chesterton's "Orthodoxy"
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Food Excursions: Greek sandwiches with Tzatziki Sauce
When I moved away to college, I started trying new international foods. Being from a large family, our cuisine rarely ventured out of the confines of casseroles and stir-fries at home and Mexican, Chinese and Italian when we went out. But in Seattle, I started eating more Indian and Thai food. And it was in college that I experienced the glories of hummus and pita bread. The first time I had gyros, I was seventeen and in France. One girl in my group had taken French in high school and was trying desperately to communicate with the rather annoyed shop-attendants. Later on that same summer I had them a second time in California at a chain restaurant called Daphne's; I think there were lots of baaaaaa's throughout that meal with my teenage friends, but it was delicious. The next significant time was on the day I moved away from home and into my dorm-room, junior year. Mom and I found this tiny Greek cafe in Kirkland, Washington and had gyros and Greek fries. And senior year, ReBekha and I visited this hole-in-the-wall place near Taproot Theatre in Seattle's Greenwood district. I think that was the day that we skipped Literature of American Diversity to see a play. :) We both thought the flirtatious guys behind the counter were ridiculously hot. It was that very same class that Rick made Tzatziki sauce and someone bought pitas from the local cafe for one of our culture-themed lunches. Ever since then I've wanted to make the famous cucumber-yogurt sauce. Needless to say, international food is a bit hard to come by in Japan, although I've had a gyro/kabob sandwich on the rare occasions I make it to Tokyo.
So anyway, I have very fond memories of the meal. Now let's move on to cooking.
Gyros pose a problem since the meat is made in a rather difficult manner. They skewer it with spices and fat and then cook it through. Then they shave off the meat into sandwiches or onto salad.
This poses a problem to anyone who doesn't have this equipment and although I did find recipes to make the meat in a meat-loaf style, I didn't want to go to that much work. However, I thought that perhaps with some spices and marinating, one could capture the flavor of the meat, if not the texture. So I did a little research, and tried to figure out what spices to use. In the end, I decided on garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and paprika if I could pick any up. Alas I could not. I ended up eventually adding cumin and that seemed to spice it up in an appropriate manner. I mixed these with extra virgin olive oil. The meat I chose was a kind of fatty steak. I cut it up in about 1 inch strips and poured the olive oil mixture over the top. Then I rubbed the mixture into the meat and let it sit while I worked on the sauce.
I found a recipe online for Tzatziki sauce that sounded good. I like to use www.allrecipes.com to get different ideas about how to make things. I generally find the comments on said recipes as helpful as the recipes themselves, since helpful members will post their own alterations. I used 1 part sour cream, 2 parts yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil for my sauce. I threw the cucumber in the food processor and then poured it into a cheese-cloth and squeezed out the extra liquid.
In all actuality, I don't think the sour cream is really necessary. If the sauce was too tart, more olive oil would have done the trick I think. As it was, I only used a tiny bit of olive oil, adding a little at a time, stirring it in and tasting it. Also, I only used a little squeeze of lemon as well. The finished sauce tasted incredible.
Then I chopped up red onion and tomatoes.
At this point, I had done everything I could do and since I was hungry, I wanted to cook the meat immediately. It probably would have been best to marinate it longer, but as it was, it turned out flavorful and delicious. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of fat (partially from the olive oil) but I drained off what I could.
I bought the pita bread at Costco in Kobe and it's been in my freezer for a few months now. But it held up just fine. I took out one piece before I went to the grocery store, so it had about 2 hours to defrost. I stuffed it with meat and veggies and dabbed the sauce on top.
It was amazing! Soooo delicious. I had of course tasted the meat to make sure it was good and tasted everything separately, but together it was incredible. And best of all, it wasn't all that difficult either.
I'm looking forward to making these again in the future and making them for other people to try as well. Unfortunately, it was just me home tonight. But I was accompanied by wonderful food, and that helps quite a bit. ;)
Goodnight!
So anyway, I have very fond memories of the meal. Now let's move on to cooking.
Gyros pose a problem since the meat is made in a rather difficult manner. They skewer it with spices and fat and then cook it through. Then they shave off the meat into sandwiches or onto salad.
This poses a problem to anyone who doesn't have this equipment and although I did find recipes to make the meat in a meat-loaf style, I didn't want to go to that much work. However, I thought that perhaps with some spices and marinating, one could capture the flavor of the meat, if not the texture. So I did a little research, and tried to figure out what spices to use. In the end, I decided on garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and paprika if I could pick any up. Alas I could not. I ended up eventually adding cumin and that seemed to spice it up in an appropriate manner. I mixed these with extra virgin olive oil. The meat I chose was a kind of fatty steak. I cut it up in about 1 inch strips and poured the olive oil mixture over the top. Then I rubbed the mixture into the meat and let it sit while I worked on the sauce.
I found a recipe online for Tzatziki sauce that sounded good. I like to use www.allrecipes.com to get different ideas about how to make things. I generally find the comments on said recipes as helpful as the recipes themselves, since helpful members will post their own alterations. I used 1 part sour cream, 2 parts yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, pepper, and extra virgin olive oil for my sauce. I threw the cucumber in the food processor and then poured it into a cheese-cloth and squeezed out the extra liquid.
In all actuality, I don't think the sour cream is really necessary. If the sauce was too tart, more olive oil would have done the trick I think. As it was, I only used a tiny bit of olive oil, adding a little at a time, stirring it in and tasting it. Also, I only used a little squeeze of lemon as well. The finished sauce tasted incredible.
Then I chopped up red onion and tomatoes.
At this point, I had done everything I could do and since I was hungry, I wanted to cook the meat immediately. It probably would have been best to marinate it longer, but as it was, it turned out flavorful and delicious. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of fat (partially from the olive oil) but I drained off what I could.
I bought the pita bread at Costco in Kobe and it's been in my freezer for a few months now. But it held up just fine. I took out one piece before I went to the grocery store, so it had about 2 hours to defrost. I stuffed it with meat and veggies and dabbed the sauce on top.
It was amazing! Soooo delicious. I had of course tasted the meat to make sure it was good and tasted everything separately, but together it was incredible. And best of all, it wasn't all that difficult either.
I'm looking forward to making these again in the future and making them for other people to try as well. Unfortunately, it was just me home tonight. But I was accompanied by wonderful food, and that helps quite a bit. ;)
Goodnight!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Writing adventures
One of my goals while in Japan was to read and write more. I figured I would have a lot of extra time on my hands that I could devote to these things that I had neglected in college. The reading has slowly been coming along. The writing has been a bit more difficult. Although I completed Nanowrimo (writing 50,000 words in the month of November) last year, the content I was working with was a story line I had been dreaming up for years and years. Frankly, I'm sick of it. As I've gotten older and imposed limits on my once absurdly limitless imagination (one cannot live in a dream world ALL THE TIME), I've had difficulty coming up with new material.
However, it seems as though I might be finally conquering this obstacle, or at least climbing up it a bit. I wrote my first short story in over a year last week (please see previous post). Also, I started work on co-writing our AJET production for this winter, our very own 'Treasure Island.' It's not an original piece, but there will be a lot of original thought going into it. We'll be adapting it to Japan in a way, with Japanese characters, locales, and jokes. I'm super excited. It's going to be a ton of fun.
I'm hoping to be almost finished with the first draft by November. Hopefully, I'll still have time to participate in Nanowrimo this year, which brings me to my third point. I think I may have found a group of characters to write about in November. I've already realized that plot is not my strong point. I have to start out with a group of characters and situations and find the plot from there. I suppose this weakness probably has something to do with the fact that my favorite part about writing is the dialogue NOT the narrative. However, I've realized that some novels aren't necessarily dominated by an over-arching plot, but rather are just about people with relatively interesting lives. All this to say, I can't wait for November. I have a little over a month to work out some ideas and then I could start on my third novel attempt! I'm quite excited for this.
One last thing I've been thinking about: when I've approached writing in the past, it has often been as a perfectionist. I read my work with disgust sometimes because it didn't meet some standard I had set. I've realized this is the last attitude I should have about my writing. I'm an amateur. I'm probably even less worth-while than an amateur. I should write, not because I expect myself to write the next NY Times bestseller but because I want more practice and because it's fun. I enjoy writing. I like creating. If I'm lucky, my mom and my boyfriend will read it, and that will be it, and that will be okay.
So, here's to someday writing something pretty cool, but for now, being okay with less than mediocre :)
However, it seems as though I might be finally conquering this obstacle, or at least climbing up it a bit. I wrote my first short story in over a year last week (please see previous post). Also, I started work on co-writing our AJET production for this winter, our very own 'Treasure Island.' It's not an original piece, but there will be a lot of original thought going into it. We'll be adapting it to Japan in a way, with Japanese characters, locales, and jokes. I'm super excited. It's going to be a ton of fun.
I'm hoping to be almost finished with the first draft by November. Hopefully, I'll still have time to participate in Nanowrimo this year, which brings me to my third point. I think I may have found a group of characters to write about in November. I've already realized that plot is not my strong point. I have to start out with a group of characters and situations and find the plot from there. I suppose this weakness probably has something to do with the fact that my favorite part about writing is the dialogue NOT the narrative. However, I've realized that some novels aren't necessarily dominated by an over-arching plot, but rather are just about people with relatively interesting lives. All this to say, I can't wait for November. I have a little over a month to work out some ideas and then I could start on my third novel attempt! I'm quite excited for this.
One last thing I've been thinking about: when I've approached writing in the past, it has often been as a perfectionist. I read my work with disgust sometimes because it didn't meet some standard I had set. I've realized this is the last attitude I should have about my writing. I'm an amateur. I'm probably even less worth-while than an amateur. I should write, not because I expect myself to write the next NY Times bestseller but because I want more practice and because it's fun. I enjoy writing. I like creating. If I'm lucky, my mom and my boyfriend will read it, and that will be it, and that will be okay.
So, here's to someday writing something pretty cool, but for now, being okay with less than mediocre :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
New Short Story: Expensive Brownies
Please head over to my creative blog to check it out. :)
http://evidentialparadoxes.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/expensive-brownies/
http://evidentialparadoxes.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/expensive-brownies/
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
And we begin again
Kody arrived September 1, which means that I'm no longer a lonely, lonely girl. :) His job is about a 45 minute drive, and while I won't make it everyday (due to gas expenses and keeping my life in order), I'll definitely get to see him 2 or 3 times a week I think. He doesn't have a car, but I do, and that's going to make this year a lot easier all around.
This summer was a breath, and now it's gone. I went to Tokyo twice on JET business. My hotel room looked out on the Notre-Dame-inspired Tokyo City Office, or “Tochyou” as they say in Japanese. It was quite fun. And the beach, the beach in Tokushima is wonderful. I must have gone swimming over 10 times this summer, sometimes several times a week. We can still swim because of the heat, but there's an increasing risk of jelly-fish stings, which curtails my enthusiasm.
And now September is here and we have record heat. It's been in the 90s all week, if not over 100, and though today it says 87, the humidity is probably through the roof judging from the cloud cover outside. This is when I bless my car. Last year at this time, I was putting on slacks and nice shirts and getting nice dark freckles due to the 8 am sun that greeted me on the way to work. I don't have pimples, except in Japan, where I sweat like an overexcited puppy.
One year changes a lot. Everything comes in stride now. The stress is gone. Frustration remains at times, but the stress has ebbed. I have a favorite bakery where I buy my favorite bread. I know the cheapest place to buy shredded cheese and ground beef and chicken. I know how to use my japanese microwave oven to make banana bread, and I've learned the secret to keeping my apartment cool without topping $100 in electricity fees. I can bumble my way through buying almost anything, and I no longer squirm when I spend $12 on ingredients to make dinner or $4 on a 12 ounce jar of pasta sauce. I eat sashimi as if it were cheese, and rice as if it were bread. My coffee addiction is worse. Notice how almost all of these have to do with food: Japan has forced me to cook – for a lack of anything else to do.
I've also learned how to use my extra time at work. Novels, Japanese, GRE books, writing, and budgeting fill the black whole that is free time. Goodbye yahoo news and celebrity gossip. Oh dear those were the dark ages. Okay, so I sometimes play Settlers of Catan online, but only sometimes. ;) I'm still struggling to tame the wild beast that is evenings alone at home, but I think I'm getting better. The cooking has helped with this a lot. And I'm sure that having Kody so close will help as well. I'll have fewer evenings to myself, which means I'll have to be more careful with them.
In a week and a half, I'm off to visit ReBekha in Okinawa! It will be the first time I've been, even though I promised her long ago that I would come visit. It will be really nice, after just having gotten back into school, to just run off for over a week. I'm wonderfully excited. Though I might come home and be more discontent than ever. I hear she has great cafes. Hmmmmm. I'm hoping to convince Kody to go to Kyoto with me in October or November for my birthday. As always, it's difficult because it's so ridiculously expensive to travel in Japan, and Kyoto might even be worse than Tokyo. However, it's also one of the most famous and beautiful places, so we have to go.
I'm going to end this now. (That sounds like I'm breaking-up with this blog – ha) I'm afraid this might be terribly boring, but oh well. My writer ego is not so strong anymore.
This summer was a breath, and now it's gone. I went to Tokyo twice on JET business. My hotel room looked out on the Notre-Dame-inspired Tokyo City Office, or “Tochyou” as they say in Japanese. It was quite fun. And the beach, the beach in Tokushima is wonderful. I must have gone swimming over 10 times this summer, sometimes several times a week. We can still swim because of the heat, but there's an increasing risk of jelly-fish stings, which curtails my enthusiasm.
And now September is here and we have record heat. It's been in the 90s all week, if not over 100, and though today it says 87, the humidity is probably through the roof judging from the cloud cover outside. This is when I bless my car. Last year at this time, I was putting on slacks and nice shirts and getting nice dark freckles due to the 8 am sun that greeted me on the way to work. I don't have pimples, except in Japan, where I sweat like an overexcited puppy.
One year changes a lot. Everything comes in stride now. The stress is gone. Frustration remains at times, but the stress has ebbed. I have a favorite bakery where I buy my favorite bread. I know the cheapest place to buy shredded cheese and ground beef and chicken. I know how to use my japanese microwave oven to make banana bread, and I've learned the secret to keeping my apartment cool without topping $100 in electricity fees. I can bumble my way through buying almost anything, and I no longer squirm when I spend $12 on ingredients to make dinner or $4 on a 12 ounce jar of pasta sauce. I eat sashimi as if it were cheese, and rice as if it were bread. My coffee addiction is worse. Notice how almost all of these have to do with food: Japan has forced me to cook – for a lack of anything else to do.
I've also learned how to use my extra time at work. Novels, Japanese, GRE books, writing, and budgeting fill the black whole that is free time. Goodbye yahoo news and celebrity gossip. Oh dear those were the dark ages. Okay, so I sometimes play Settlers of Catan online, but only sometimes. ;) I'm still struggling to tame the wild beast that is evenings alone at home, but I think I'm getting better. The cooking has helped with this a lot. And I'm sure that having Kody so close will help as well. I'll have fewer evenings to myself, which means I'll have to be more careful with them.
In a week and a half, I'm off to visit ReBekha in Okinawa! It will be the first time I've been, even though I promised her long ago that I would come visit. It will be really nice, after just having gotten back into school, to just run off for over a week. I'm wonderfully excited. Though I might come home and be more discontent than ever. I hear she has great cafes. Hmmmmm. I'm hoping to convince Kody to go to Kyoto with me in October or November for my birthday. As always, it's difficult because it's so ridiculously expensive to travel in Japan, and Kyoto might even be worse than Tokyo. However, it's also one of the most famous and beautiful places, so we have to go.
I'm going to end this now. (That sounds like I'm breaking-up with this blog – ha) I'm afraid this might be terribly boring, but oh well. My writer ego is not so strong anymore.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Thai no tabemono, onegaishimas?
That's translated, Thai food please?
I discovered Thai food in Seattle with ReBekha. I can't quite remember the first time I had it; actually, it might have been with Meghan Young. But ReBekha and I explored more Thai opportunities in the great metropolis. There was this cute little place in Kirkland we went to the day of our JET interviews. It was lovely and I think she got an adorable picture of me looking as though the sconce on the back wall was on top of my head. We would also buy kits from Safeway on our meager college budgets (these were definitely a splurge!), and we would make it at our apartments. My favorite was Pad Thai of course with bean sprouts and cilantro and lime and peanuts. When Rick, Martha, Juliana, Randall, Katrina, Sarah, Julia, Heather, Kody and I did our Shakespeare trip to Ashland, we all went to a Thai restaurant and had curry.
When I was in Tokyo, ReBekha and I had Thai again: curry, cashew chicken, pad thai. It was absolutely amazing. Then when I was at orientation, my presentation partner and I found another good place on the 5th floor of a cramped building in Shinjuku. I went there twice.
So naturally, upon coming home, I was determined to advance my culinary skills in this area. I'm tired of being a boring cook. I'm tired of not being a cook at all. I think cooking should be relatively easy. Honestly, the hardest thing I run into here is finding the proper ingredients. My quest began when I found an inexpensive jar of Thai green curry paste. A friend on FB translated the label on the back and then I went searching for the proper ingredients. I finally found the Asian fish sauce that had alluded me. So I made the curry. It was delicious, but so, so, so spicy. It's the spiciest curry I've ever eaten I think. So I tried re-making it with less curry paste - not so great. I have a couple more tricks up my sleeve, but I think my curry paste might just be irreparably spicy. I might have to shop for a new paste.
I'm not done though. Now that I had the fish sauce, I knew i probably had the proper ingredients for other Thai dishes, so I found a recipe for the cashew chicken. Cashews? Hundred yen store, check. And then I found this massive bag of chili peppers at the discount grocery store. Chili peppers are generally hard to find in Japan, and now I have a bag that could last me 10 years. Oh well. The chicken was too dry, and the dish had several problems, all of which I can remedy the next time I make it. The recipe was pretty simple: cook cashews in a little sesame oil until brown. Set aside. Cook chili peppers for 20 seconds in the oil. Add chicken. Cook until no longer pink, add fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Cook. Add cashews and chopped green onions (not sliced, just cut up in about 1 inch lengths). Cook for 2 minutes. Serve over rice. Even though it was dry though, the flavor seemed right on. I'm excited to try it again - with more liquid next time.
So these have been my Thai cooking adventures. After exhausting Thai food, I think I'm going to start experimenting with mediterranean food. I've already tried making hummus. It wasn't a failed attempt, but it could use some definite improvement. I'm hoping to try out the yogurt sauce and find a way to cook beef that will give it that Greek sandwich flavor, even if it's not quite authentic.
Good food makes me happy. ;)
I discovered Thai food in Seattle with ReBekha. I can't quite remember the first time I had it; actually, it might have been with Meghan Young. But ReBekha and I explored more Thai opportunities in the great metropolis. There was this cute little place in Kirkland we went to the day of our JET interviews. It was lovely and I think she got an adorable picture of me looking as though the sconce on the back wall was on top of my head. We would also buy kits from Safeway on our meager college budgets (these were definitely a splurge!), and we would make it at our apartments. My favorite was Pad Thai of course with bean sprouts and cilantro and lime and peanuts. When Rick, Martha, Juliana, Randall, Katrina, Sarah, Julia, Heather, Kody and I did our Shakespeare trip to Ashland, we all went to a Thai restaurant and had curry.
When I was in Tokyo, ReBekha and I had Thai again: curry, cashew chicken, pad thai. It was absolutely amazing. Then when I was at orientation, my presentation partner and I found another good place on the 5th floor of a cramped building in Shinjuku. I went there twice.
So naturally, upon coming home, I was determined to advance my culinary skills in this area. I'm tired of being a boring cook. I'm tired of not being a cook at all. I think cooking should be relatively easy. Honestly, the hardest thing I run into here is finding the proper ingredients. My quest began when I found an inexpensive jar of Thai green curry paste. A friend on FB translated the label on the back and then I went searching for the proper ingredients. I finally found the Asian fish sauce that had alluded me. So I made the curry. It was delicious, but so, so, so spicy. It's the spiciest curry I've ever eaten I think. So I tried re-making it with less curry paste - not so great. I have a couple more tricks up my sleeve, but I think my curry paste might just be irreparably spicy. I might have to shop for a new paste.
I'm not done though. Now that I had the fish sauce, I knew i probably had the proper ingredients for other Thai dishes, so I found a recipe for the cashew chicken. Cashews? Hundred yen store, check. And then I found this massive bag of chili peppers at the discount grocery store. Chili peppers are generally hard to find in Japan, and now I have a bag that could last me 10 years. Oh well. The chicken was too dry, and the dish had several problems, all of which I can remedy the next time I make it. The recipe was pretty simple: cook cashews in a little sesame oil until brown. Set aside. Cook chili peppers for 20 seconds in the oil. Add chicken. Cook until no longer pink, add fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Cook. Add cashews and chopped green onions (not sliced, just cut up in about 1 inch lengths). Cook for 2 minutes. Serve over rice. Even though it was dry though, the flavor seemed right on. I'm excited to try it again - with more liquid next time.
So these have been my Thai cooking adventures. After exhausting Thai food, I think I'm going to start experimenting with mediterranean food. I've already tried making hummus. It wasn't a failed attempt, but it could use some definite improvement. I'm hoping to try out the yogurt sauce and find a way to cook beef that will give it that Greek sandwich flavor, even if it's not quite authentic.
Good food makes me happy. ;)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Conquering the Japanese Driver's Test
I love Tokushima. And I love my Japanese supervisor. And I love them both for helping me get my Japanese Driver's license.
For Americans, getting a license in Japan is notoriously hard. There are horror stories of people taking the test 5 or 10 times, and each time having to pay the fee. I've heard people say that one should reallly invest in 'lessons' to get your Japanese license, because you might actually spend that money trying to pass the test. (This is mostly only true for Americans because almost ever English speaking country has a treaty with Japan for transferring licenses WITHOUT taking a practical exam.)
However, I hadn't really heard any bad stories about Tokushima. (I have NOW, but not before I took the exam...) So I was pretty relaxed. However, just the process for getting your license is pretty complicated. First, you have to get your U.S. license tranlated into Japanse. This costs about $30. Then you have to MAKE AN APPOINTMENT at the driving center for them to check your paperwork. They look over your translation, your passport, and ask you weird questions about visa stamps in your passport. They have to confirm that you were in the U.S. for 3 months after getting your driver's license there. This was a little weird, but my supervisor went with me and it was fine. The guy asking me questions actually remembered her from the time before when she helped another ALT get his license. Apparently she had to beg him to let this guy have his license even though he hadn't had his U.S license for 3 months before coming (this is a huge no-no). But she's amazing and she succeeded.
Next, we set an appointment for my practical and written exams, which was yesterday. the written exam was pretty easy. The weirdest question was something about keeping to the left of your lane (remember we drive on the left here), except when you want to turn you move to the middle and hug the center line. Super weird, but this ended up being a big part of the practical test (seriously, who actually does that????). Then he explained the map and the practical test to me, and my supervisor translated. Then I walked out side and looked at the course. Then we got in the giant Prius and he demonstrated the course.
And then it was my turn. I got one practice round and then the exam. Honestly, the hardest thing about that course was turnign the stupid Prius on. What the heck. Not a normal car (I guess this is a GOOD thing) but still, it was weird. There's a power button. Like on a computer. For a car. hahaha. So I did the course. It was fine. I was super obvious about looking around and checking my mirrors and probably turned my signal on too early a few times.
So we stop. He immediately turns to my supervisor and asks me about what schools I teach at. This is how I imagine the conversation went (in Japanese):
Driving Guy: Daiichi JHS? My sister works there. She's in charge of the kendo club.
Sato-sensei: Oh! That's your sister? Wow! I'm Sato Michiko and my daughter was in that club.
Guy: Your daughter is Sato-san? oooooh wooooooow! Amazing! She must be so old now. What is she doing?
Me: *inspecting the incredibly tacky, lacey, Prius seat covers. Who makes this stuff?*
Sato-sensei: She lives in Tokyo....yada yada yada.
Guy: Wow!! Cool. Small world, ne??
Sato-sensei: Small world desu ne!!!!!!
Guy: And she lives on Kizu (pointing to me). I live right around the corner from her house near the ~~~ Shrine.
Sato-sensei: Oh yes! I think my daughter and I went to your house once!
Guy: Right! Yeah because of kendo. Oh btw, she passed. She was perfect.
Sato-sensei: Great!
Me: *smile, nod, display incredible happiness*
hahaha. So that't it. Turns out this guy is an incredible kendo instructor. Who knew? And he lives in Naruto. I can't place his sister though. Going to have to ask at school to see who the kendo teacher is and then I'll have something to say to her in an incredibly broken English-Japanese-gesture hybrid: "Sumimasen, senshu wa, Driving center (with handmotions), uuuuuhhh, Komatsushima ni ikimashita. Your brother (point at her) was my (point to me) instructor." Wait for response. Most likely response: 'eeeehhhhh??? *look of disbelief*'
Indeed. That's how it went. Once again, I love Sato, I love Tokushima.
Small world, ne????? Small world DESU NE!!!!
For Americans, getting a license in Japan is notoriously hard. There are horror stories of people taking the test 5 or 10 times, and each time having to pay the fee. I've heard people say that one should reallly invest in 'lessons' to get your Japanese license, because you might actually spend that money trying to pass the test. (This is mostly only true for Americans because almost ever English speaking country has a treaty with Japan for transferring licenses WITHOUT taking a practical exam.)
However, I hadn't really heard any bad stories about Tokushima. (I have NOW, but not before I took the exam...) So I was pretty relaxed. However, just the process for getting your license is pretty complicated. First, you have to get your U.S. license tranlated into Japanse. This costs about $30. Then you have to MAKE AN APPOINTMENT at the driving center for them to check your paperwork. They look over your translation, your passport, and ask you weird questions about visa stamps in your passport. They have to confirm that you were in the U.S. for 3 months after getting your driver's license there. This was a little weird, but my supervisor went with me and it was fine. The guy asking me questions actually remembered her from the time before when she helped another ALT get his license. Apparently she had to beg him to let this guy have his license even though he hadn't had his U.S license for 3 months before coming (this is a huge no-no). But she's amazing and she succeeded.
Next, we set an appointment for my practical and written exams, which was yesterday. the written exam was pretty easy. The weirdest question was something about keeping to the left of your lane (remember we drive on the left here), except when you want to turn you move to the middle and hug the center line. Super weird, but this ended up being a big part of the practical test (seriously, who actually does that????). Then he explained the map and the practical test to me, and my supervisor translated. Then I walked out side and looked at the course. Then we got in the giant Prius and he demonstrated the course.
And then it was my turn. I got one practice round and then the exam. Honestly, the hardest thing about that course was turnign the stupid Prius on. What the heck. Not a normal car (I guess this is a GOOD thing) but still, it was weird. There's a power button. Like on a computer. For a car. hahaha. So I did the course. It was fine. I was super obvious about looking around and checking my mirrors and probably turned my signal on too early a few times.
So we stop. He immediately turns to my supervisor and asks me about what schools I teach at. This is how I imagine the conversation went (in Japanese):
Driving Guy: Daiichi JHS? My sister works there. She's in charge of the kendo club.
Sato-sensei: Oh! That's your sister? Wow! I'm Sato Michiko and my daughter was in that club.
Guy: Your daughter is Sato-san? oooooh wooooooow! Amazing! She must be so old now. What is she doing?
Me: *inspecting the incredibly tacky, lacey, Prius seat covers. Who makes this stuff?*
Sato-sensei: She lives in Tokyo....yada yada yada.
Guy: Wow!! Cool. Small world, ne??
Sato-sensei: Small world desu ne!!!!!!
Guy: And she lives on Kizu (pointing to me). I live right around the corner from her house near the ~~~ Shrine.
Sato-sensei: Oh yes! I think my daughter and I went to your house once!
Guy: Right! Yeah because of kendo. Oh btw, she passed. She was perfect.
Sato-sensei: Great!
Me: *smile, nod, display incredible happiness*
hahaha. So that't it. Turns out this guy is an incredible kendo instructor. Who knew? And he lives in Naruto. I can't place his sister though. Going to have to ask at school to see who the kendo teacher is and then I'll have something to say to her in an incredibly broken English-Japanese-gesture hybrid: "Sumimasen, senshu wa, Driving center (with handmotions), uuuuuhhh, Komatsushima ni ikimashita. Your brother (point at her) was my (point to me) instructor." Wait for response. Most likely response: 'eeeehhhhh??? *look of disbelief*'
Indeed. That's how it went. Once again, I love Sato, I love Tokushima.
Small world, ne????? Small world DESU NE!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)