Voice to Voice

I have accomplished a goal. Remember this list? You can put a check next to "Publish an article or photographs in a local paper or JET publication." I was asked to write something for the Ota International Association's newsletter, Voice to Voice. I don't know when it will show up in print, but hopefully I can get a copy.

Here is what I wrote.


Making Delicious Memories

Before I came to Japan I could cook eggs, boil pasta, and that was about it. After living in Japan though, I know I can never return to those days. My life here is rich in fish, rice, fruit, seaweed, noodles, beans, mushrooms, meat, and subtle seasoning. My taste buds have been awakened to the pleasure of fine food.

While I have eaten incredible meals in Ota’s restaurants, the place where I get the best introduction to Japanese food is at my desk at Kizaki Junior High School. Through school lunch I have discovered new favorites like wakame salad, mochi ice cream, Japanese-style curry, fried squid, eel, lotus root, daikon, and innumerable others. It is also where I unfortunately met with the few Japanese foods that I don't like: the sticky, smelly web of natto and the packaged, crunchy fish with heads and eyes intact. School lunch is more than just food; it is a way to experience a fuller view of Japan. It allows me to taste a wide array of typical Japanese foods. Foods that are infinitely more varied than the sushi and sashimi I was used to seeing on menus at home in the US.

I love the food in Japan so much that I am determined to move beyond my basic attempts at making miso soup and sticky rice. I would love to return to the United States and be able to share what I have learned about the Japanese diet with my friends and family. I want to be able to cook for them.

To help me with that goal I signed up for cooking classes at Tochinomi Cooking School. Three days a month I spend two to three hours in the back room of Tochinomi learning how to prepare traditional dishes and other foods that reflect the diverse training of my fantastic teacher, Otsuka-sensei. Since the class has begun I have skinned squid, decorated a Christmas cake, prepared traditional Doll Festival dishes, and pickled vegetables. I am learning how to cook and appreciate Japanese food with an eye to complementary flavors and textures.

The cooking lessons also help me practice and learn Japanese. There is only one other native English speaker in the class. Neither of us can speak much Japanese. Our three tablemates are generous and patient as they use gestures and half-remembered English from high school to guide us through the meal's preparation. It is because of them that I no longer stumble over the kanji for words like salt, oil, or sugar, and have felt more comfortable in Japanese grocery stores and in my own kitchen.

I believe that food connects people. It also connects me to this country. My time in Japan can be measured in meals and by the people I am lucky enough to share them with.

I Am An Expert At Making Lists

Hello, I'll be your all-knowing expert on everything! Explain the difference between "would like" and "want" in simple English with no warning? Okay! Explain the culture of the Maori people? Okay! Draw a map of Papua New Guinea and its relative position to Japan and the United States? Okay! Read in Tok Pisin? Sure! Sing John Lennon's Imagine? Ehrm. . .

Despite this wonder-talent of mine to spin plausibility on any subject in mere seconds (ignore the fact that my map of Papua New Guinea bore no relation to the actual country, and that I initially spelled Guinea wrong on the board), I have spent the last few days seriously contemplating what I want to get out of my time in Japan. I was handed a set of forms for recontracting (due in February). I don't plan on staying more than this one year, but it put into focus that I have less than twelve months to do everything I want to do in Japan. So, I made a list of things I want or want to do.

My list:

Beginning fluency in Japanese
Climb Mount Fuji
Japanese friends
Art classes (calligraphy, wood block, flower arranging)
Publish an article or photographs in a local paper or JET publication
Design my own webpage
Save money
Ride my bike for long distances
Ease with cooking Japanese food and with Japanese ingredients
Go to an onsen
Choose a post-Japan path