Jeshka san: The Martha Stewart of Japan

ごめんなさい！(I'm sorry!)

Shockingly enough, I've been surprisingly busy this past week. It's finally September, and not to bring Green Day into this, but just wake me up when September ends! There is much to look forward to near the end of the month (Renee and Vinny come to town!) and the following month as a whole (Gilroy group comes to Takko AND Jessica makes her second return to the US). But alas, work must come before play hence, this entire month. Anyway, I haven't been able to update from this past weekend and it definitely deserves some notice before we happen upon this next weekend.

About two weeks ago in some inexplicable state of euphoria combined with hospitality, I channeled Martha Stewart and proposed the idea of having a dinner party at the apartment. Subconsciously, my desire to host a party transpired for two reasons: 1) I knew it would force me to go to the store, buy a hammer and hang the shelf and pictures that have been hanging out in the living room corner since I returned from Kamagaya; 2) I really wanted to express my gratitude in some way to everyone that has helped me make this transition into Japanese life. Thus, Saturday night at Jeshka's aparto was born.

Living room pre-party: note the
hot plate on the table :)

There was little to no discussion on what would be served. Even if I wanted to serve American food, I didn't have the means to get it because let's face it, I'm just not that creative in Japanese grocery stores. Well, I'm not creative in American grocery stores! So anyway, it was a no-brainer for me to go with the yakinuki, or Japanese barbecue. Again, there was little to no discussion on whether or not I should buy a hot plate either and it is now my official contribution to the CIR apartment. To all future CIRs out there...you're welcome :)

The best part of yakinuki is that the preparation is simply chopping. That's usually my task when preparing meals at home, so I felt like I could handle that. Yasuyo, as always, was a superstar and we went to Ninohe to pick up the necessities (and the hot plate, of course). For those of you not in-the-know, these are the ingredients for a successful and delicious yakinuki: meat (we went with beef and lamb), cabbage, onion, eggplant, bell peppers, and of course, garlic. Naturally, I got the yakitare (barbecue sauce) from the Garlic Center...the same sauce used at the Garlic and Beef Festival (WIN!) and as side dishes, we prepared tomato and mozzarella (which is surprisingly popular here) and corn on the cob. And to top it all off, we threw in some yaki soba noodles for good measure. Add in copious amounts of beer and wine and you got yourself a party!

Made my first okonomiyaki

The day of the party, I found myself occupied at another engagement. Takko Jr High and High Schools held their annual Sports Day and I was invited to observe and inevitably participate (more to come in another post). Anyway, it kept me out of the house and from over-chopping and double cleaning. After the festivities were over, I made one last run to the store and finally set myself to work.

The start to an awesome evening

As guests arrived, so did more food and drink. I had never seen the apartment so full of people and I loved that I got to hang out with my fab coworkers outside of work. In addition to GC coworkers and their families, Takko's ALT, Joel, two ALTs from Sannohe, Kendal and Ululani, and Yurie (this year's Takko Garlic Lady) were also in attendance.

Karaoke!

After plenty of food and drink (trust me....plenty), we headed off to the karaoke bar conveniently located four doors down from mine. In my "happy" state of mind, I didn't realize the time and practically pushed people out the door to sing some tunes, both Japanese and American. We were there long enough for just a few songs and were then ushered back to my apartment for a nightcap and a video chat session with the one and only, Patrick (which was the second of the evening).

I am happy to report that my first dinner party was a success, despite the agonizing hangover that followed the next day. I powered through that too and simply took it as a sign that it was truly a great time. And the best part about it, besides the fun that was obviously had by all, was that I have a new meal that I can cook myself, thanks to my handy dandy hot plate.

This weekend's events: Since my position as CIR is hired exclusively through the Takko government, I don't have a network of foreigners to associate with like other programs such as JET. However, I have been adopted by the local ALTs and was deemed an honorary JET, basically meaning that I will be invited to all their crazy events. This weekend is the AJET (Aomori JETs) Welcome Party at a campground somewhere out west...or maybe it's north. Or not. I'm not driving so I guess it doesn't matter! Anyway, it will be my first time meeting all those random people who friended me on facebook thinking I was a new JET. Stay tuned!

Funny story: For the past couple of weeks, Takko has been invaded with an insane amount of dragonflies, or とんぼ (tonbo). I was told that it's a combination of the insane heat and humidity we continue to suffer through and the fact that they're attracted to the rice fields, which are almost ready to harvest. It's crazy; I've watched the rice go from growing in flooded fields, to becoming long and tall and will soon turn golden brown and it's only been two months! Anyway, I digress...so these dragonflies, like every other bug in this country, are about five times larger than our US versions. These tonbo are HUGE and they tend to get into the buildings all the time. There was one in the office that was desperately shooting about trying to find a way out, inevitably causing everyone to crouch and duck in order to avoid it. I perform this exact same maneuver whenever these "little" guys find their way into the classroom and it's not so much that I'm afraid of them as much as I'm afraid of suffering from a concussion if it smacks me in the head. The kids, on the other hand, chase after it like it's a snitch (that's right, I just referenced Harry Potter) and the kid with enough prowess to capture it will hold the thing up by its wings, parade it around the room and shove it in my face yelling, "Jeshka san, MITE!" Needless to say, my bug tolerance is growing, but not by choice.

Blog Addition: I've added a Japan "To Do" list on the side of the page. There are a couple things on there that I've done already, but I want to add more! I've done a lot of stuff that those "Top 10 Things To Do in Japan" websites suggest, so I'm looking for originality. Feel free to share your ideas!