a brief history of cravings…

i’m talking about food again… i’ve decided the japanese aren’t very adventurous with their meals, which isn’t surprising if you examine the way they live so many aspects of their lives. i truly miss the variety of cuisines available in america. there is no el cerro grande or monterrey’s to turn to when i want a chile relleno so bad i can taste it. there is no after-work spot with top notch grape juice and creative dishes like gervais and vine [a tapas and wine bar in cola]. i can’t find a pita pit or a grecian gardens when i’m craving a gyro so badly i am dreaming about it. it’s amazing how often i get cravings here, some that can be satisfied and some that cannot.
i recently discovered frozen flour tortillas at yamaya, the saving grace foreign food market in town. we promptly had a fiesta to celebrate and attempt to satisfy our mexican urges. i invited over liz, carrie, sato [met him on a train back in october] and his friend for chicken enchiladas [a decent cream of mushroom soup version, available at yamaya for about $3.50 / can, smothered with monterrey jack, same store for about $5.00], beef soft tacos, mexican corn and guacamole [which they weren’t really in to]. it was absolutely amusing trying to explain to the guys how to make a taco. they literally stood there, staring at the table, until we began step by step instructions.

we stuffed ourselves with food and beer and had a lively time chatting [excellent Japanese practice] and goofing off.

the only time time we’ve had proper mexican food was during a trip to Tokyo about 8 months ago. the restaurant is nestled in an entertainment complex a bit outside the city. the food was great although we had to repeatedly ask for more cheese please.

it’s always so interesting to realize the cross-cultural bridges span more than the divide between American and Japanese culture. the Americans were having a mouth-watering conversation during which we decided a philly cheesesteak dinner party was in order. one of our british friends, mel, had never heard of this sandwich and even mistakenly called our get together a philly cheesecake party. we shopped together and headed to melanie’s to make the cheesiest, greasiest meal i’ve had in a long time.

i stole this pic from carrie
there is a serious lack of sandwiches in this place, that’s one reason Tokyo is such a treat, they actually have delis. our desperation recently lead us to pay $11.00 for a footlong at subway which was worth every yen.

recently...

another exciting weekend comes to a close...
friday night we hit nakamachi, the bar and restaurant strip a block from my apartment, with anna [the younger sister of a good friend from back home] and her friend who had been in kyoto studying. we started at funae, a lively bar with great food and the infamous nomihodai [all-you-can-drink].

then it was on to our favorite karaoke joint, PTA.

it was packed. turns out it was a japanese friend's birthday party.

i really only know this fella from around town but he's super nice; one of the first people we met after arriving in japan. he even came, along with the owner of PTA, to visit me while i was in the hospital.

saturday afternoon i threw together a picnic of guacamole, cheese and crackers and snacks and the girls headed to takada park for a little relaxing and reading. the park is about a 10 minute walk from my place and is a beautiful spot this time of year. there is a castle in the center surrounded by a pond covered with lotus flowers. the weekends find lots of families, lovers and fishermen making the rounds.
that evening we were at it again...started off at a swanky coffee shop, then to the cheap draft beer spot, next was the place with great pizza and darts, and late night was the one local dance club which was pleasantly busy.
before...

after...

a successful evening.
my car's being repossessed!
not because i didn't pay the bill... sunday afternoon a few of the jet participants in town met with a representative of the company from which we rent cars. they are going out of business and can no longer lease us vehicles. initially they had given us a 2 week notice that we had to turn in our wheels, but they reconsidered and we can now use them until july 31. if lining a car up the first time is any indication, finding a new ride is going to be a mess of stress. the breaking of a contract is very un-japanese-y and was quite a surprise to us and our japanese friends. afterwards, to unwind, we headed back to takada park with our books, basket of food and blankets.

so here it is, sunday night in japan. i just finished a great dinner of fresh spinach and tomatoes sauteed with olive oil and pork tenderloin. [a new grocery store opened down the street this weekend. you know how much i love to shop for food... it's the first time i've seen a tenderloin in the grocery store. they're coming around.] i'm really feeling comfortable here now. i've been realizing what a great crowd of friends i've made. i figure the jet program did a good job of weeding out the losers before shipping us over here. now it's a concentrated group of interesting, ambitious, outgoing people, all traits i appreciate in others. i'm also doing well integrating myself into daily life here. the hospital is no longer an insurmountable obstacle. i can leave the house without my dictionary. i can ask questions in important situations. i am not, however, complacent here. there is still much studying to be done, many places to see, so many people to meet. in my mind, i view complaceny as hesitation. it's a signal that it's time to shake things up, to reconsider your goals and aims. it's not a positive because it's like a rut you're stuck in. that's why i'm still enjoying life here; it's challenging.

a beautiful discovery

yone yama [yama is japanese for mountain] is in yoshikawa town, about an hour away, near yoshikawa high school where i teach every tuesday. our friend simon organized a hike there this saturday to celebrate his birthday. about 10 of us met at a nearby grocery store to stock up on food and wine before driving to the base of the 997 kilometer mountain. it had been raining all morning and continued to drizzle, but we decided to brave the weather and head for the public cabin located at the peak. the fog and mist gave the hour-long hike a surreal quality. the walk was strenuous but fairly easy as we weaved our way through the woods, along narrow paths with breathtaking views edging on sheer drops.


the log cabin at the top is for everyone's use and we discovered there were already 5 middle-aged japanese folks there. i am sure they were thrilled to see 10 rowdy gaijin [the borderline rude term for foreigners] with loads of alcohol. we agreed to split the cabin, them upstairs, us downstairs. we circled up for drinking and dinner.
on the far right is simon the b-day boy. in the orange shirt is ben, my predecessor. i currently live in his old apartment, use his old things, have his old desk and previous coworkers at his old schools. weird huh? chad is sitting to his left. he's the one who organized our christmas trip to thailand.

there is also a shrine behind the cabin where we hung out a bit. the foggy weather made visibility near zero which made our evening shenanigans eerie and fun.
we rose early to make our descent before the morning hikers began arriving at the cabin.

because of the unyielding rain, the clay path had become muddy and slippery and some of the steps carved out of the earth had eroded a little making the climb down a bit tough.

you'd think that my thumb problems would have very little to due with hiking, but i was fearful of losing my footing in the mud and falling, which would have meant putting my hands down to catch myself which is a huge no-no. so i had to use the slow and steady method while everyone else joked and barreled down the mountain.


after we reached the bottom, we all caravaned to a nearby onsen, a natural public bath, for a rejuvenating soak.

maybe we should just amputate

so i recently went out with a couple young doctors i met while in the hospital. [i have a small crush on one of 'em but i've been unable to ascertain whether he's single. i'm doubting he's available because he's intelligent, sexy, wealthy and 35. in this society, if you're pushing 30 and you're single, you're the talk of the neighborhood, something must be wrong with you, all your elders are pressuring you, etc. so for now i'll just hang out, talking english with him while drooling.] they are both orthopedic surgeons so of course they inquired about my hand. their reaction was not positive. apparently i have some extreme flexor tendon contraction, possibly due to scar tissue. they said something will have to be done to correct it, possibly more surgery. when i covertly questioned my dr. at the hospital the next day, he said we must wait two more weeks, so there is no possibility of re-rupturing the tendon, before we begin really aggressive therapy. check out my new device...

even though this thing is attempting to wrench my thumb straight, this is the best i can do...

do i even need to tell you how frustrating this is?

All look the same?

undoubtedly asians from many countries share common ancestral and anthropological ties. this fact is a little hard for some asians to come to terms with mostly because of the disparities in their current political and social situations. there is an ongoing debate about how physically similar asian people really are. some individuals will vehemently assert they can discern between Koreans, Chinese and Japanese on sight. i’ve always found it incredibly difficult and have relied on eavesdropping to hear what language people are speaking in order to decide. i’ve talked a few of my Japanese friends into testing their skills and was delighted when they realized that they had grossly overestimated their ability to categorize their genetic cousins by sight alone. a friend recently emailed me about this website which is a hoot. click on the link below, then click on ‘take the test’ on the top left side. you should all post your scores in the comments section here so we can see how truly ignorant we all are! even with all my recent practice, i only scored a whopping 4!
www.alllooksame.com

kankoku no ryoko

update...
a group of random south koreans we met at gyeongbokgung who were thrilled to try and chat with us. they asked their friend to photograph us all.
they guy next to me later emailed me this picture.

carrie snapped this shot from a park bench of the whole thing transpiring .

how cool the difference in perspective is.

korea, part two:
5/3/05
i forgot to mention the martial arts theatre production we attended, "JUMP!". although it was not what i expected, it was entertaining. instead of being some sort of martial arts diplay, as the posters hinted at, it could have passed for an hour-long sitcom on korean tv. the story revolved around a family of martial arts experts, each with their quirks, and told the story of their training, social lives and their house being robbed. we were able to pick up on quite a bit through body language and the slapstick, visual humor.
5/4/05
on recommendation from a rockin’ guy we met at our hostel, we headed to jongmyo, a UNESCO world heritage site. it’s a royal ancestral shrine where the spirit tablets of important kings and queens are kept.
we weren’t able to ascertain exactly what a ‘spirit tablet’ is but we did figure out there are no bodies buried here. there was a map outside the gated entrance that detailed where each particular person's spirit was kept.

i was surprised by the plain, austere architecture of this revered structure although it did in some ways add to the solemn and important feeling of the place. there were some parts with more detailed architecture and more colors.
the complex is huge, comprised of many buildings and gardens surrounding the main shrine.




there is also a park that was truly surreal as it was crowded with hundreds of old men. some were in circles dancing to traditional music, others danced to modern tunes, and they were eager for us to join in with them. some grandpas lined the walkways standing and smoking, some were picnicking, drinking at 2 in the afternoon. they were all friendly and funny.

we stopped for lunch at a tiny mom and pop place on the second floor with no windows. we were struggling to describe the grill your own meat with rice, bean paste and lettuce wraps that we'd eaten earlier when a young asian man approached us. in perfect conversational english he asked if we needed some help. he translated into korean for us and even checked up on our meal later to make sure we were alright. we questioned his ethnicity to which he replied german. huh? i'm increasingly jealous of people who are multilingual.
from there we headed to one of the city's most famous markets, namdaemum, which is busy day and night. i was unimpressed with their wares...

mainly grandma clothes and orthopaedic shoes which explains why we didn't splurge on too much.

there were also alley ways which criss-crossed the area selling all sorts of food.

they are really into the realistic wax models of meals just like the japanese.

some of the stalls were carts parked next to quick assembly plastic tables and chairs. strangely enough, many of these carts appeared to be hawking the same exact foods, meats and seafood to grill fresh. in the bottom, right-side corner is the famous, or should i say infamous, korean liquor sojou.

we sat down and drank some beers...

and before too long we were chatting, if that's what you wanna call it, perhaps playing a game of charades more accurately describes it, with a table of men near us.

they passed us tray after tray of food to try and bought a bottle of sojou for us to taste. after a while they were heading somewhere else for drinks and asked us to go. we ended up in a denny's-like restaurant where they ordered plate after plate of food, everything from bizarre nachos to fried rice. it did turn out to be a little more lively than the average 24 hour breakfast restuarant back home. it was amazing all we were able to talk about with them, from their work as jewelry makers to what restaurant serves the best dog. an english-speaking korean man was seated at a table near us and later confessed how stunned and impressed he was that we were able to sit in their company for hours without being able to speak via a common language. it definitely helps that we've been practicing this non-verbal socializing for months now in japan because there are some tricks and methods that work better than others.
5/5/05
the next afternoon we had reserved seats at "nanta" which is a fixture on the seoul theatre scene and has even appeared on broadway. imagine something along the lines of stomp! crossed by a live performance of emeril from the food network. there is a story line that unfolds completely in the kitchen of a classy restaurant. they chop and fry and clean and taste and goof all the while giving a decent percussion performance. this picture came from a recent review.

afterwards, we headed dowtown to the hi seoul festival and wandered through art markets and exhibits.

we stopped to have kimchee pancakes, dumplings and other stall food for lunch with a hite prime, our beer of choice in korea. a 50-something couple wandered up and the man began chatting us up about all sorts of things. turns out he is the dean of a private high school and he studied in california at stanford, where his son is now enrolled. they pulled up stools and invited themselves to join us. he strolled off briefly and returned with more food and sojou liquor for us to sample. as we chatted, he picked up my beer can, which had a few sips left, and poured the liquid onto the sidewalk. he proceeded to fill it up with the korean liquor and use it as his glass. i was slightly dumbfounded but chose not to say anything as he had just presented us with food and alcohol. this is just one example of how comfortable koreans are interpersonally. often people we met would hug us goodbye which was a refreshing change from japan where mothers and daughters rarely embrace. on another occasion, a women used a communal spoon to stir the stew she'd concocted at our table, then tasted from it and continued to serve us with it. after a while i thought nothing of men at foodstalls feeding us with their chopsticks or people drinking from our cups. back to the couple who had joined us for a chat at the festival... we traded contact info with him, dr. moe, and he eagerly urged us to come work for him in seoul.
as we readied ourselves at the hostel for a night out, one of the housemates, jared, returned eager to hit the town. the 4 of us headed out for drinks and dancing. i know we look awfully friendly, but nothing happened. really.

5/6/05
the next day we slept in and hung out with some of the other interesting people in kim's guesthouse. we perused the local grocery store and cooked for ourselves in the kitchen that all the residents share. then we walked to a nearby by onsen, or public bath, and lounged in the relaxing , steaming pools. jared, the fellow from the night before, has spent quite a bit of time in korea and has several local friends, one of which he wanted to introduce me to. we all arranged to do dinner that night together. we headed into the hongik university area and ate a great meal at a restaurant with an interesting concept, dump it all in a pot with a delicious broth. you chose which ingredients you want to add; we opted for everything from sausages to seafood, rice cakes to fish cakes, cabbage to mushrooms. the soup was a meaty stock spiced with red peppers. delicious with cold beer. afterwards we headed to another dance spot in the main club district.

carrie and i...

our new friend ji and i... he was incredibly smart and really interesting. when we met he was reading 'to kill a mockingbird' in english so i questioned him about where he'd learned. um, self-taught. he has a degree in german, is probably fluent, and plans to move there as soon as his mandatory military service has ended. i was amazed at how comfortable he was speaking english in a very colloquial way. he lives in an international housing complex where he gets lots of practice, but still his grasp of the language was unreal considering he has yet to leave korea.

it was quite a wild night, so much so we didn't end up making it back to the hostel until, well actually, the following night. that explains why i'm wearing the same outfit when we're out and about on saturday...
5/7/05
ji agreed to take us to a restaurant which serves dog for lunch so we all met up at a station near korea university. we wandered around the campus for a bit, amazed at all the activity [which is not evident in this picture].

when we arrived at the restaurant, other customers told us the proprietors had run to the store but would return shortly. we only waited about 10 minutes during which time one of ji's friends joined us. soon after we ordered, they brought a cauldron to the table. they poured in the broth and soon it was simmering. there were tons of vegetables, chunks of meat, some cooked on the bone with pieces of pimpled skin hanging from them, sesame leaves, peppers, garlic.

ji served me a spoonful and i realized i had been lucky enough to get a dog rib. gulp. i dredged the chunk in the sauce we'd each made from pepper and seasoning paste and vinegar and took a bite. it was truly tasty. tender and a bit stringy with a flavor not unlike beef, although a bit more gamey.

afterwards, our friend took us to a bookstore with a huge english language section where i could have browsed for days. the girls split off and headed back downtown for a bit of shopping. in the subway station i noticed the most creative anti-smoking ads...


we treated ourselves to a fancy grill everything at your own table restaurant, bul go gi in korean.

i'm really amazed we don't have anything like this back home. it's such a social way of eating which requires minimal kitchen prep. i'm sure it would go over well...liz and i are currently discussing our plans to open a shop of this sort if/when we return home.
we finally returned to the hostel to clean up after nearly 2 whole days on the town. what nasty hoes. melanie was exhausted and opted to stay in and catch up on sleep. carrie and i headed back out to club hooper.
5/8/05
luckily we were smart enough to pack our bags the night before as dragging out of bed at 7:30 am to head to the airport was hell. i couldn't resist having a whopper at the airport for breakfast. [don't make fun of me. i haven't seen a burger king in japan so technically this should qualify as exotic food.]
i was so glad i was able to convince the girls to join me in south korea. we were all pleasantly surprised to find rich culture, warm people and great food.
they have achieved a level of comfort in south korea; comfort with themselves, their neighbors, their place in the world, with visitors, with friends. this is not to say they don’t have a grasp on their social hierarchy as well, it is simply approached with fewer pretenses and more understanding. often the japanese strictly adhere to formality even when it is one of those ‘i know that you know that we know’ who is really in charge here situations and there is no actual need for the pomp and circumstance. south korea and its people seemed more relaxed and inviting, which was a welcome change from the condition of our everyday lives here in japan.

go climb some monkey bars

i sat in my car in the parking lot, eyes wide, unblinking, mind numb. the heat was sweltering which accentuated the coolness of the silent tears that meandered down my cheeks. i had just left a rehabilitation session at the hospital and had made my way to the vehicle in a true daze. i was unable to concentrate on the fact, but unable to think about anything else… my hand is not well. it had been 8 weeks since the surgery and it was the first day i’d been given a simple task to perform, pick up the pegs and stick them in the pegboard, easy as that. i recalled watching my hand chase the pegs around. i was unable to bend my thumb to grasp the small wooden obstacles; i would chase them to the corner of the tray, using my other fingers to urge the peg up the wall and into my grip. i experienced a serious mind/body disconnect as i was having trouble admitting the fact that this is my hand. i knew the digits were responding to my neural firings but the hand is so unlike the one that resided at the end of my limb a few short months ago. the doctor keeps telling me not to get ‘aseru’, or impatient, but his words [the ones i can understand] do little to allay my fears that it may not get much better than this. i beat myself up daily for lapsing back and forth between optimism and hopelessness…it’s only my thumb, it could be worse…we’re talking about serious quality of life issues here…the rest of my fingers will learn to compensate for the digit’s inadequacies…think of the things i’ll never be able to do again. yesterday they crafted a new apparatus to aid in straightening my thumb, which is swollen, discolored and holding strong at an odd 50 degree angle. it’s the fourth in my collection of rehab accessories that i must employ daily. although the apparatuses’ [apparatais’ ??] schedule is a bit confusing, all i need to do is glance at the seemingly arthritic, grandmother-like, disfigured digit to remind me it is time to exercise.

my doctor was baffled that i went to papua new guinea while my hand was healing from the first injury. my rehab nurse kept urging me to please stay away from bicycles as i kept asking for permission to ride. the hospital staff found it amusing that my goal while incarcerated was to heal quickly enough to be out in time to make the trip to korea. their bewilderment reminded me that many people never realize that life is the sum of the days you spend actually living. i don’t believe it is all about setting long-term goals and racing toward them at light speed so that all other opportunities become a blur in your periphery, bleeps that aren’t even registering on your tightly focused radar. it’s unfortunate that some people can never let go of obligations and expectations long enough to serve themselves, to chase dreams, seek adventure, be spontaneous. this isn't a completely selfish idea; by enriching ourselves we contribute more to the lives of those around us also. i’ve always found it fascinating that misfortunes and tragedies can be so invigorating and motivating. these hardships provide a much needed catalyst that urges us to do what we can while we can. i may not be able to break apart my own chopsticks or fasten the buttons on my sleeve, but a weekend jaunt to Tokyo, that’s do-able. we could all benefit by learning from the misfortunes of others instead of idling, waiting for adversity to light a fire under us personally. in other words, you should all go out and do something crazy while you still can…now…go…get outta here.