Monday: TKD made me tired, so I swept and vacuumed my apartment.
And the field outside my apartment was harvested. See a video here.
That evening I went to dinner with some of the Murata guys. It was probably one of the most interesting meals I’ve ever eaten, up there with that Tofu restaurant I went to a few years ago.
I ate saba (Sabae no saba), which is mackerel, it was cooked with miso, and it was really delicious. Soft and tasty. I ate Chinese yams cooked with wasabi — these things are slimy and not my favorite, but a funny taste. Usually yams are grated to make ‘tororo’ which accompanies just about every dish. There was a beef tendon soupy thing, tempura, salmon roe (actually liked it), little fried fish dipped in a special salt (pretty good), eggplant with miso (tasty), green peppers with miso made from houba (leaves of the magnolia tree), steamed (?) nuts of the maidenhair tree (green and squishy!), dashimaki which is egg-roll (rolled eggs) layered with different sauces, and a very popular fall fish, sanma (lit. fall sword fish), which we had almost-raw and also as a full fish with bones and liver and all. I kinda ate a lot.
And I had a great time. They are super nice to me, and this time I got to learn a little more about their work. They also help me learn some Japanese :)
I learned that the kanji (characters) for ‘tofu’ mean ‘spoiled beans’ but this is because Japanese misread the Chinese characters. Tofu isn’t spoiled beans. Natto, however, is.
I learned the Japanese don’t usually call them ‘mushrooms’. After all, that’s quite generic. They usually use the specific name, like shitake or ~ well, as I told them, we often just say ‘mushroom’ (unless you are a person who knows a little about mushrooms, which wouldn’t be me).
Tuesday: School in the morn. Work on stuff the rest of the day until evening classes. My back hurts!! The problem kid threw a tantrum. The second class was mostly ok.
Wednesday: This is the day. Finally. All I want is for it to be over.
4 hot and uncomfortable hours later, I had passed my written test... and failed the driving test. It wasn’t so much a surprise as a disappointment — I really, really, really didn’t want to have to come back. It’s such a hassle.
And I was a little angry: I didn’t fail on anything particularly worth failing on. I just didn’t stay far enough left (arggggg — I usually stay left), and he wasn’t confident with how I went through the really narrow streets. (Note when I say this, I mean narrow even for Japan. I would never choose to drive down a street like that.) But I didn’t go over the curb so puff. Grr. I was irritated all the way home.
Classes were ok, except in the second, two kids came to watch. One was about that level, but the other was so so extremely NOT that I couldn’t do anything I’d planned. Not even anything I’d changed-planned 2 minutes before the class when I was told people would be watching. Oh well I guess.
Miki was sick so at first she cancelled, but then we ended up doing class, it was pretty good, and she taught me some Fukui-ben (dialect) phrases.
Thursday: Little kids. Shopping. Sabae-Higashi Elementary. Some of the kids here are crazy. But the transformation that underwent the second class still amazes me. I love that teacher. The kids are so awesome now. (First class they’re still crazy.)
Friday: Once again I had to haul myself over to Harue and endure the hot confusing drive through the city. I hate driving in cities. But this time I had to go by myself! That’s daunting!
Here’s part of the course.
At least it wasn’t raining. But it was hot.
At long last, I passed. He had a couple of comments but I fixed everything he didn’t like last time so it turned out well. Thus, I got a Japanese drivers’ license. Well, after sitting about, getting a piece of paper, sitting about, getting a picture, sitting about, paying money, and sitting about. Then I got it. And I went home.
On the way back, driving in triumph, I managed to catch a shot of some hanging rice sheafs.
That night my classes were good, and I made it to dance class only a half-hour late, but I’m glad I was able to do it anyway.
Saturday: Two little kids were absent, and with 3, things were a whole lot better. Even though 2 of those 3 usually run around and fight with each other — this time they were downright chummy. Kids.
They’re really smart, too. I mean, I consider being able to say ‘light blue triangle’ as speaking English.
Afternoon classes weren’t bad. The second got carried away drawing. I’m kind of content to let them play since they’re do so in good spirits. Look what one of the girls drew.
It just makes me laugh.
That evening, I went with Casey and Nathan into the city in search of a Chinese restaurant. We found it, and it was really, really good. But kind of expensive. But really good.
I was full. But I have always always wanted to try these tai-yaki — literally fried sea bream whatever that is — it’s a fish-shaped pancake filled with azuki (read bean paste). So I did.
Sadly it wasn’t fresh, but it was pretty good. I’ll try it again sometime.
Also I ate a Haagen-Dazs ice cream bar. It was too expensive. But goodness, it was tasty.
Recent Japanese:
itotanbo = damselfly (lit. thread-dragonfly) (the little blue things I got tons of pictures of with the lotus flowers)
batta = grasshopper
ukon = turmeric
nochihodo (後程) = afterwards, later on
tsumayouji (爪楊枝) = toothpick (lit. claw of the willow bough)
hotate = scallop
nagaimo = Chinese yam
tororo = grated yams
idengaku (遺伝学) = genetics
nekketsu (熱血) = vigor, enthusiasm, veal (lit. hot blood)
hitomebore (一目惚れ) = like ‘love at first sight’ but not quite, more like ‘admire’ perhaps
seou (背負う) = to be burdened with, carry the responsibility
aozakana (青魚) = blueback (fish type)
sanma (秋刀魚) = saury (a fish) — lit. autumn sword fish.
urara (or urala) = us, in Fukui dialect
more Fukui-ben:
ozoi = dirty; low quality
nokutei = stupid (charming stupid — so a bit endearing)
motsukenei = poor~, kawaii sou ~
utsukusai = beautiful (us. this would be utsukushii)
kataikei no? = genki? are you well?
katakata ka? = genki datta ka? were you well?
kenarui (wa) = (I’m) jealous; no fair (us. ‘kedarui’ &= depressed)
omoide na = kimochi; ureshii, saiko — nice, the best
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