I`ve been plagued with really terrible skin lately. Its been getting worse since I got here. It would flare up then die down for a bit then come back worse. First it was a little patch of excema on my elbow, then on the other elbow, then a red itchy rash down both arms, both legs, patches of excema on my back, then the final straw that had me scuttling to the doctor, a huge red rash around me neck. I`d been avoiding going to the doctor because its really expensive and they often don`t speak English. I spent most of the morning working out how to ask about allergies and treatments in Japanese. Stuff like this does wonders for my language skills. I tried to find an English speaking doctor this morning and finally had to give up nearly crying in frustration because I couldn`t figure out where it was - Japanese addresses are impossible to work out because the streets are numbered as they`re allocated. Stuff like that has me just about ready to leap on the first plane home. After work I tried the hospital near my house and they pointed me across the road to a skin clinic. As luck would have it, the doctor there spoke pretty good English and in a mixture of English and Japanese we managed to make ourselves understood. I came away with 4 different kinds of medication (antibiotics, 2 different kinds of anti-allergy medication, and an ointment) so either I will be cured or sprout antlers.
The doctor also said I should avoid eating food with too much chemicals (such as McDonalds, to quote the example he chose) and avoid drinking too much.
Eek.
No more nights like Tuesday where me and Iain drank a bottle of wine with dinner then spent hours sitting in the park talking about anything that came into our heads and drinking another bottle? Although on the plus side that would mean no more days like Wednesday where I dragged myself to my 10 AM language class with a splitting headache and spent the whole day groaning on the sofa and wanting to die.
More on this subject later.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
Kimono Photos
1: Under kimono
2-4: Various stages of kimono wearing
5: For some reason, standing like a pigeon is kawaii (cute) here. This is me being kawaii. It plays merry hell with your knees.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
clammy
What's with the weather? It was lovely and hot last week and now its cold, rainy and humid. Cold and humid is just clammy and unpleasant.
Last Thursday I met Jo and we went to the aquarium for a few hours. I didn't really have the money for it, but never mind. Lots of pretty fish, dolphins and killerwhales, and I felt relaxed when I went home afterwards. I see why they put fishtanks in doctor's surgeries and dentist's waiting rooms. I managed to claw through the last few days of the week on the tiny amount of money I had left, swearing I wouldn't put myself in the same position next month.
I went up to Inuyama on Sunday and we went to Kei's for a couple of drinks and some food (because Kei, cunning fellow, lets Iain run a tab - a bad idea if ever I heard one). On Monday morning I was terrified in case the money hadn't gone in to my account and I would be stuck in Inuyama with no way to get back to Nagoya, but Halelujah! I was rich.
On Tuesday night I had awful insomnia so instead of being well-rested and ready for my first Japanese lesson on Wednesday morning, I was blearily replying to Iain's drunken text messages at four in the morning. I got up at nine feeling like going to a class was the last thing in the world that I wanted to do, but I've had enough of not being able to string a sentence together. I have been studying some stuff from a book and my vocabulary isn't too bad, but I don't get enough practice at using it. A lot of Nova teachers go to the language classes at Higashi Betsuin Women's centre. Ten classes for 1,800 yen - about 8 pounds - you can see why they're so popular. The only problem is that it's at ten am on my weekend, but never mind. I'll have to make the effort. I got up there just in time and joined my first class. The class was very mixed - there were 4 Chinese, 1 Taiwanese, 3 Koreans, 2 Canadians, 1 Indian, 1 Egyptian, an English guy and myself. The class itself was pretty fun and moved along quickly; just about everyone seemed to know basic greetings and how to say your name. I didn't know how to say where I came from, so yay, I learned something new. The teacher, Mitzuki, was great and everyone warmed to her - except one guy. He stood up in in the middle of the class and said, "I have a problem." I thought he was going to say, "I have to leave now, I'm sorry," but instead he said, "There is a problem with this class."
"Oh? What's the matter?"
"You said that this man is from Taiwan, but this is not so." The other Chinese students gave him dark looks, wanting him to shut up but he kept going. "Taiwan is part of China. He is not from Taiwan. He is from China."
Mitzuki smiled and said, "Olu says he is from Taiwan, so don't you think he can come from where he likes?"
"But this is wrong, Taiwan is part of China and-"
"-I love this class! Isn't it wonderful? We have so many people from so many different places!" Mitzuki beamed, all sweetness. You wouldn't want to pick a fight with her. "This is our own world in this classroom. We can learn about so many wonderful places. If he says he is from Taiwan, that is where he is from."
"This is wrong-"
"He's from Taiwan."
Everyone in the room glared$ at the man like they wanted him to crawl back under his rock. He slithered back into his seat. The lesson continued. I couldn't believe anyone would go to the bother of dragging an arguement like that to another country and into a classroom where he was going to have to get along with Olu for another 9 weeks. I almost felt sorry for him for making such a fool of himself, but he had been so self-righteous I couldn't find any sympathy for him at all.
I met Iain later and we went for curry (there's a cheap buffet place close to Kanayama station) and he nursed his hangover and smashed thumb.
"How did you do that?"
"Stupid taxi driver shut my finger in the door."
"Looks sore."
"I can't feel the top part at all."
It was raining and we were both knackered. The idea of doing anything strenuous didn't appeal at all, so we whiled away a happy hour or so in the odd second-hand music shop with a taste for obscure indie (watching Iain in there, the phrase 'kid in a candy shop' has never been more apt) and left with an armload of CDs. After a lengthy debate between three assistants in the videoshop who couldn't work out the year of my birth (they go by years of emperor's reigns - I was born in year 55 of Hirohito's reign as it turns out - but this system is only any good if your clerks can remember when the emperor came to the throne), the spottiest one finally gave me a video card and I was free to rent videos. The rest of the day was spent vegging in front of the TV and it was good.
Last Thursday I met Jo and we went to the aquarium for a few hours. I didn't really have the money for it, but never mind. Lots of pretty fish, dolphins and killerwhales, and I felt relaxed when I went home afterwards. I see why they put fishtanks in doctor's surgeries and dentist's waiting rooms. I managed to claw through the last few days of the week on the tiny amount of money I had left, swearing I wouldn't put myself in the same position next month.
I went up to Inuyama on Sunday and we went to Kei's for a couple of drinks and some food (because Kei, cunning fellow, lets Iain run a tab - a bad idea if ever I heard one). On Monday morning I was terrified in case the money hadn't gone in to my account and I would be stuck in Inuyama with no way to get back to Nagoya, but Halelujah! I was rich.
On Tuesday night I had awful insomnia so instead of being well-rested and ready for my first Japanese lesson on Wednesday morning, I was blearily replying to Iain's drunken text messages at four in the morning. I got up at nine feeling like going to a class was the last thing in the world that I wanted to do, but I've had enough of not being able to string a sentence together. I have been studying some stuff from a book and my vocabulary isn't too bad, but I don't get enough practice at using it. A lot of Nova teachers go to the language classes at Higashi Betsuin Women's centre. Ten classes for 1,800 yen - about 8 pounds - you can see why they're so popular. The only problem is that it's at ten am on my weekend, but never mind. I'll have to make the effort. I got up there just in time and joined my first class. The class was very mixed - there were 4 Chinese, 1 Taiwanese, 3 Koreans, 2 Canadians, 1 Indian, 1 Egyptian, an English guy and myself. The class itself was pretty fun and moved along quickly; just about everyone seemed to know basic greetings and how to say your name. I didn't know how to say where I came from, so yay, I learned something new. The teacher, Mitzuki, was great and everyone warmed to her - except one guy. He stood up in in the middle of the class and said, "I have a problem." I thought he was going to say, "I have to leave now, I'm sorry," but instead he said, "There is a problem with this class."
"Oh? What's the matter?"
"You said that this man is from Taiwan, but this is not so." The other Chinese students gave him dark looks, wanting him to shut up but he kept going. "Taiwan is part of China. He is not from Taiwan. He is from China."
Mitzuki smiled and said, "Olu says he is from Taiwan, so don't you think he can come from where he likes?"
"But this is wrong, Taiwan is part of China and-"
"-I love this class! Isn't it wonderful? We have so many people from so many different places!" Mitzuki beamed, all sweetness. You wouldn't want to pick a fight with her. "This is our own world in this classroom. We can learn about so many wonderful places. If he says he is from Taiwan, that is where he is from."
"This is wrong-"
"He's from Taiwan."
Everyone in the room glared$ at the man like they wanted him to crawl back under his rock. He slithered back into his seat. The lesson continued. I couldn't believe anyone would go to the bother of dragging an arguement like that to another country and into a classroom where he was going to have to get along with Olu for another 9 weeks. I almost felt sorry for him for making such a fool of himself, but he had been so self-righteous I couldn't find any sympathy for him at all.
I met Iain later and we went for curry (there's a cheap buffet place close to Kanayama station) and he nursed his hangover and smashed thumb.
"How did you do that?"
"Stupid taxi driver shut my finger in the door."
"Looks sore."
"I can't feel the top part at all."
It was raining and we were both knackered. The idea of doing anything strenuous didn't appeal at all, so we whiled away a happy hour or so in the odd second-hand music shop with a taste for obscure indie (watching Iain in there, the phrase 'kid in a candy shop' has never been more apt) and left with an armload of CDs. After a lengthy debate between three assistants in the videoshop who couldn't work out the year of my birth (they go by years of emperor's reigns - I was born in year 55 of Hirohito's reign as it turns out - but this system is only any good if your clerks can remember when the emperor came to the throne), the spottiest one finally gave me a video card and I was free to rent videos. The rest of the day was spent vegging in front of the TV and it was good.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Kimonos and pottery
Good morning, I'm sitting in a nice cafe watching the rain and occasionally typing. I'm also trying to resist buying a chocolate croissant.
Last Wednesday Iain and I got up early and went to Kani, the town where Iain works, to spend the day with four of Iain's students. The train ride out to Kani is lovely - all green hills and dense bamboo forests. It beats the hell out of the Nagoya subway. We met Kayoko, Mieko and Marie at the station and went to Kayoko's house where she made us coffee and served up the shortbread we'd brought as a vaguely Scottish present. Yumiko and Mai also joined us and Mai showed us her archery kit (see Iain's blog for the actual name of the style of Japanese archery). It all seemed very technical. Over coffee the four older ladies took out their notebooks (complete with pre-prepared questions) and quizzed me. Where do you work? Where are you from? How did you meet Iain? etc, etc. My answers must have been satisfactory since they let me play with Meiko's kimono.
It's impossible to dress in a kimono by yourself, and it's extremely complicated. Meiko had two silk kimono, one black and one light blue printed with flowers. I chose the blue one. First you put on an under-kimono, and that gets tied with a cord. Then the top kimono. Kimono are all one length so it has to be tucked up around the waist and tied with a cord. There's also a collar piece that goes around the neck (I suppose so you don't get your kimono grubby). Then the obi, a piece of stiff material about 6 feet long and one foot wide that gets folded and wrapped around your waist and tied in a very complicated bow at the back. This gets secured with another cord, then another, pulled very tight. The whole thing acts like a giant corset. I suddenly wish I hadn't drunk so much coffee. It's an extraordinary outfit, and I haven't had so much fun dressing up in years.
While still wearing the kimono, I (carefully) went upstairs with the others for a koto lesson. Kyoko is a music teacher and has several of these weird instruments. They're about 5 ft long and have 13 strings. You wear odd little finger picks to play them. Iain and Mai could read the Kanji on the music and so could pick out a tune without too much difficulty. For me however it was like a sudden flashback to Mrs Yule's piano lessons, and put it this way, I wasn't much good at piano. After having a go of the shimasen we trooped downstairs to be confronted by a year's worth of food. I thought the ladies would delicately nibble a little salad, but they tucked to the meat, salad, yakinobu and barbecued rice with gusto. Over lunch and a bottomless cup of beer Mai told us about her work as a curator at Little World, an open -air museum of different houses from around the world. It was great to listen to someone talk passionately about their work.
After lunch we drove up to Tajimi and had a go at making pottery. It's not as easy as it looks. My thing started off as a cup, then briefly became a vase, then collapsed into a splodge. Attempt number two was just as bad. Finally on attempt number three something emerged that was vaguely functional, but to be honest I don't quite know what it is.
It was great to spend a day with such nice people who went to so much trouble to entertain us, they were so generous. I hope I have more experiences like this.
Last Wednesday Iain and I got up early and went to Kani, the town where Iain works, to spend the day with four of Iain's students. The train ride out to Kani is lovely - all green hills and dense bamboo forests. It beats the hell out of the Nagoya subway. We met Kayoko, Mieko and Marie at the station and went to Kayoko's house where she made us coffee and served up the shortbread we'd brought as a vaguely Scottish present. Yumiko and Mai also joined us and Mai showed us her archery kit (see Iain's blog for the actual name of the style of Japanese archery). It all seemed very technical. Over coffee the four older ladies took out their notebooks (complete with pre-prepared questions) and quizzed me. Where do you work? Where are you from? How did you meet Iain? etc, etc. My answers must have been satisfactory since they let me play with Meiko's kimono.
It's impossible to dress in a kimono by yourself, and it's extremely complicated. Meiko had two silk kimono, one black and one light blue printed with flowers. I chose the blue one. First you put on an under-kimono, and that gets tied with a cord. Then the top kimono. Kimono are all one length so it has to be tucked up around the waist and tied with a cord. There's also a collar piece that goes around the neck (I suppose so you don't get your kimono grubby). Then the obi, a piece of stiff material about 6 feet long and one foot wide that gets folded and wrapped around your waist and tied in a very complicated bow at the back. This gets secured with another cord, then another, pulled very tight. The whole thing acts like a giant corset. I suddenly wish I hadn't drunk so much coffee. It's an extraordinary outfit, and I haven't had so much fun dressing up in years.
While still wearing the kimono, I (carefully) went upstairs with the others for a koto lesson. Kyoko is a music teacher and has several of these weird instruments. They're about 5 ft long and have 13 strings. You wear odd little finger picks to play them. Iain and Mai could read the Kanji on the music and so could pick out a tune without too much difficulty. For me however it was like a sudden flashback to Mrs Yule's piano lessons, and put it this way, I wasn't much good at piano. After having a go of the shimasen we trooped downstairs to be confronted by a year's worth of food. I thought the ladies would delicately nibble a little salad, but they tucked to the meat, salad, yakinobu and barbecued rice with gusto. Over lunch and a bottomless cup of beer Mai told us about her work as a curator at Little World, an open -air museum of different houses from around the world. It was great to listen to someone talk passionately about their work.
After lunch we drove up to Tajimi and had a go at making pottery. It's not as easy as it looks. My thing started off as a cup, then briefly became a vase, then collapsed into a splodge. Attempt number two was just as bad. Finally on attempt number three something emerged that was vaguely functional, but to be honest I don't quite know what it is.
It was great to spend a day with such nice people who went to so much trouble to entertain us, they were so generous. I hope I have more experiences like this.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Come on Barbie, let`s go party
Another week gone by, a little closer to pay day. I get paid on Monday, it's now Saturday night and I have the equivalent of seven quid to last me until then. Why is this country so expensive? (Please, let's not talk about buying food, beer, eating out or buying pretty shoes.) I've been trying not to spend too much money, but last Saturday I went out dancing at JMax with Lucy, Thy, Mike, Chika, Kyle, Francis, Maiko and Kyoko. I was working on Sunday so I figured not having any money would mean I couldn't drink much, so I would just about be able to function at work the next day. At least on Sunday we don't have any classes of kids. This was the first time I'd been to a club in Japan and it was pretty funny. Women and men pay different prices to get in: women pay 2000 yen (ten pounds) and men have to pay 3000 yen (fifteen pounds). This includes 5 drinks for guys and 3 drinks for girls, because obviously we're just drinking Babysham and small glasses of white wine until we fall over after the second one. Ordinarily I might have said, "hey!" but I was skint and wanted to stay sober so it suited me fine. The club was playing Japanese Happy House at top volume. Scantily-clad dancing girls stood around the edge of sunken dancefloor and performed their Macarena-style moves. On the dancefloor, everyone copied them. That was pretty weird in itself. Even stranger, most of the people dancing were men. Men don't dance! And they definitely don't make loveheart gestures and flail like an airhostess on speed. Getting onto the dancefloor was a feat in itself, and most of the time we were doing the Elbow the Irritating Guy Behind You dance. I was wearing very high shoes. After 2 hours of dancing my feet hurt. You'd think I would`ve learnt by now after nights out in uni that ended with me slowly hobbling along King Street at 3 am saying "ow, ow". It was pouring rain by the time we left. In the taxi on the way home I took off my shoes, then I sloshed through a big, cold puddle in my bare feet and it felt great.
Wednesday was a great cultural exchange day, and I will tell you all about it some other day. Right now it`s half eleven and I have to get up early tomorrow morning. Goodnight all.
Wednesday was a great cultural exchange day, and I will tell you all about it some other day. Right now it`s half eleven and I have to get up early tomorrow morning. Goodnight all.
Umeboshi explained
I'm sorry, I was sitting in the internet cafe about to tell you about umeboshi when they started playing Auld Lang Syne which is the general Japanese way of telling you 'you have two minutes to save your files and go away', and so go away I did. Anyway. I went to up to Inuyama last week and texted Iain on the train to tell him when I would get there. I got an odd phone call. "I'm not in the flat, I'm in the flat downstairs... um, it's a bit weird. Hang on, I'll phone you back," so far so ominous. He called me again. "Sorry. The people downstairs are having a party. Well, there's only four of them. But they came and knocked on my door and invited me. I'm in my flat now, but I said we'd go back down again."
"They're having a party? From the way you were talking I thought you'd been burgled."
We went to the flat downstairs and drank whisky while the women fired questions at me. When did you come to Japan? How long have you been here? Where do you come from? When did you meet Iain? How long have you been together? Then came the more difficult cultural questions. What do you think about Japan? How about the food? Have you tried natto?
Natto beans are the foulest substance known to man. They are allegedly healthy since they are fermented soybeans, but they have the flavour of marmite pickled in a sock and the texture of snot. "Yes, I've tried natto. I didn't like it much," and I never wanted it ever again.
"Have you tried umeboshi?" Umeboshi are something of a Japanese delicacy, pickled sour plums eaten with rice.
"Let's try!" They chorused. Mariko (I think her name was) went to her fridge and pulled out a large jar. "My mother made these," she said. In other words, you have to like it. She brought me one on a plate, and I cut a small slice off. I couldn't help making a face when I tried it, I don't think I've ever eaten anything so sour. In a strange way, it was like the first time you eat olives. Even though you can't help making a weird face and you aren't entirely convinced that you like them, you keep eating them because you think you'll like them when you get used to them. So it was with umeboshi. Mariko took though a Japanese recipe book and explained it. "Plums... and washing... and salt. Then press, then more salt. And press for a week. And more salt. Add spices. More salt. Leave for a month, and more salt." I could feel my arteries hardening at the thought.
Then there was some pickled garlic that was much nicer though sadly I've forgotten what its called. I could see them racking their brains for more odd food to inflict on us, but all they had were tortilla chips and salsa, and cake. It was much nicer than umeboshi.
On Tuesday night Iain came to Nagoya and on Wednesday we spent the day chilling out, starting with coffee on the balcony and watching a guy across the road painting his roof. I love watching other people working when it's my day off, it makes me more appreciative of my weekend. We bought bread, salami, cheese and beer at the international supermarket and found an empty park between Higashi Betsuin and Kanimeisu. We'd been heading for the park beside the art gallery which is nothing much to get excited about, a couple of fountains, tonnes of people and a dustbowl in the middle where someone forgot to plant grass. The park we stumbled across was shady with trees and full of flowers. We spent a couple of hours there drinking warm beer and wondering if a taking a knife might have been a good idea after all (since biting off chunks of salami is a bit unpleasant). We also started hatching plans to go work abroad next year. It felt a bit scary when we first started talking about it (it seems like such a long way away) but I got caught up in the idea of it.
After lunch we went to the art gallery (burping salami all the way) and looked at the George Renaud? Russeau? Ruand? Hell, I`ll check for you later, exhibition. I'm always a bit hit and miss with art. I know nothing about it and wish I did. I end up taking a liking or disliking to someone's work for what I feel are superficial reasons. I discovered I don't like Georges Renault Clio. I don't like the religious themes, the colours he used, or the style. And he painted way too much. After a whole room of the life of Jesus I felt like I'd earned the right to say I really don't like it. There were some other good things in the gallery I liked, the names of which escape me. It's always the way.
We thought about going to watch a football game, but what with it getting close to pay day I was horribly skint so instead we went to the bookshop and browsed for a while until Iain saw the new David Mitchell book in hardback and had to be forcibly dragged away babbling, "I don't have to eat until pay day... aah, get me out of here. After pay day, after pay day."
"They're having a party? From the way you were talking I thought you'd been burgled."
We went to the flat downstairs and drank whisky while the women fired questions at me. When did you come to Japan? How long have you been here? Where do you come from? When did you meet Iain? How long have you been together? Then came the more difficult cultural questions. What do you think about Japan? How about the food? Have you tried natto?
Natto beans are the foulest substance known to man. They are allegedly healthy since they are fermented soybeans, but they have the flavour of marmite pickled in a sock and the texture of snot. "Yes, I've tried natto. I didn't like it much," and I never wanted it ever again.
"Have you tried umeboshi?" Umeboshi are something of a Japanese delicacy, pickled sour plums eaten with rice.
"Let's try!" They chorused. Mariko (I think her name was) went to her fridge and pulled out a large jar. "My mother made these," she said. In other words, you have to like it. She brought me one on a plate, and I cut a small slice off. I couldn't help making a face when I tried it, I don't think I've ever eaten anything so sour. In a strange way, it was like the first time you eat olives. Even though you can't help making a weird face and you aren't entirely convinced that you like them, you keep eating them because you think you'll like them when you get used to them. So it was with umeboshi. Mariko took though a Japanese recipe book and explained it. "Plums... and washing... and salt. Then press, then more salt. And press for a week. And more salt. Add spices. More salt. Leave for a month, and more salt." I could feel my arteries hardening at the thought.
Then there was some pickled garlic that was much nicer though sadly I've forgotten what its called. I could see them racking their brains for more odd food to inflict on us, but all they had were tortilla chips and salsa, and cake. It was much nicer than umeboshi.
On Tuesday night Iain came to Nagoya and on Wednesday we spent the day chilling out, starting with coffee on the balcony and watching a guy across the road painting his roof. I love watching other people working when it's my day off, it makes me more appreciative of my weekend. We bought bread, salami, cheese and beer at the international supermarket and found an empty park between Higashi Betsuin and Kanimeisu. We'd been heading for the park beside the art gallery which is nothing much to get excited about, a couple of fountains, tonnes of people and a dustbowl in the middle where someone forgot to plant grass. The park we stumbled across was shady with trees and full of flowers. We spent a couple of hours there drinking warm beer and wondering if a taking a knife might have been a good idea after all (since biting off chunks of salami is a bit unpleasant). We also started hatching plans to go work abroad next year. It felt a bit scary when we first started talking about it (it seems like such a long way away) but I got caught up in the idea of it.
After lunch we went to the art gallery (burping salami all the way) and looked at the George Renaud? Russeau? Ruand? Hell, I`ll check for you later, exhibition. I'm always a bit hit and miss with art. I know nothing about it and wish I did. I end up taking a liking or disliking to someone's work for what I feel are superficial reasons. I discovered I don't like Georges Renault Clio. I don't like the religious themes, the colours he used, or the style. And he painted way too much. After a whole room of the life of Jesus I felt like I'd earned the right to say I really don't like it. There were some other good things in the gallery I liked, the names of which escape me. It's always the way.
We thought about going to watch a football game, but what with it getting close to pay day I was horribly skint so instead we went to the bookshop and browsed for a while until Iain saw the new David Mitchell book in hardback and had to be forcibly dragged away babbling, "I don't have to eat until pay day... aah, get me out of here. After pay day, after pay day."
Friday, May 05, 2006
Umeboshi... yum.
Good lord, how did it get to be the fifth? This is crazy. This past week has been Golden Week, a momentous occasion in Japan where there are several national holidays all together and some kind employers let their minions take the days off inbetween to allow the poor sods to have a whole week of holiday. Unfortunately the thought of so much free time scares the poor souls, so when faced with a whole week off they flock to English classes. Some seem to come because they like studying, but no, I can`t quite work that one out.
On Sunday a couple of Iain`s Bowlie mates stopped off as part of their world tour. So far they`d been to India and were spending a week or so here before hitting Thailand. I couldn`t resist pumping them with advice (wanted or otherwise) about where to go and what to eat. I also put in a plug for Helen`s guesthouse in Pai. It made me terribly nostalgic - again. We went to Kei`s for a few beers and Tacos. Darius and I sat in the corner and listened politely while Iain, Dan and James talked about obscure twee Indie bands. Kei proposed a barbeque for Monday night, so on Monday morning I raced back to Kanayama to pick up clean clothes before dashing out to Takabata to teach some decidedly ropey lessons. Thankfully I had nice students all day. I went back to Inuyama in the evening and followed the scent of roasting meat wafting down the road. I`ve not eaten much meat since I`ve got out here, its expensive to buy in the supermarket so I`ve been cooking mostly veggie stuff (tofu is cheap) and eating meat when I go out (when it would be impossible to eat only veggie stuff anyway). I think I could just about be a vegetarian if it wasn`t for barbecues, and grilled meat. Mmm, my mouth`s watering just typing that. I got to Inuyama just before 10, perfectly timed to gobble chicken and steak. Delicious. Kei`s house is enormous, and the proportions and decor reminded me of the house I stayed at in Canada though I doubt Kei`s house has quite as many neurotic students. After all that food we went back to the flat and sat around playing guitars for a bit before heading for bed.
On Tuesday Iain came down to Nagoya and we had a quiet night watching In and Out (old Kevin Klein film I hadn`t seen) and hit the sack pretty early to make up for sunday and monday nights.
On Sunday a couple of Iain`s Bowlie mates stopped off as part of their world tour. So far they`d been to India and were spending a week or so here before hitting Thailand. I couldn`t resist pumping them with advice (wanted or otherwise) about where to go and what to eat. I also put in a plug for Helen`s guesthouse in Pai. It made me terribly nostalgic - again. We went to Kei`s for a few beers and Tacos. Darius and I sat in the corner and listened politely while Iain, Dan and James talked about obscure twee Indie bands. Kei proposed a barbeque for Monday night, so on Monday morning I raced back to Kanayama to pick up clean clothes before dashing out to Takabata to teach some decidedly ropey lessons. Thankfully I had nice students all day. I went back to Inuyama in the evening and followed the scent of roasting meat wafting down the road. I`ve not eaten much meat since I`ve got out here, its expensive to buy in the supermarket so I`ve been cooking mostly veggie stuff (tofu is cheap) and eating meat when I go out (when it would be impossible to eat only veggie stuff anyway). I think I could just about be a vegetarian if it wasn`t for barbecues, and grilled meat. Mmm, my mouth`s watering just typing that. I got to Inuyama just before 10, perfectly timed to gobble chicken and steak. Delicious. Kei`s house is enormous, and the proportions and decor reminded me of the house I stayed at in Canada though I doubt Kei`s house has quite as many neurotic students. After all that food we went back to the flat and sat around playing guitars for a bit before heading for bed.
On Tuesday Iain came down to Nagoya and we had a quiet night watching In and Out (old Kevin Klein film I hadn`t seen) and hit the sack pretty early to make up for sunday and monday nights.
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