Just Another Aomori Weekend...

In light of two very eventful weekends in a row, when I realized I didn't have anything big planned for this past weekend, I was relieved. The pile of laundry that had been staring at me all week and my sad, empty refrigerator were happy to hear that I'd have some free time. But as the end of the work week approached, plans quickly changed, of course.

"What is your schedule this weekend?" (Japanese people like to call it your 'schedule' instead of your 'plans'...something I 'schedule' to change pronto)

I'm always tentative to answer this question because I feel like if my "schedule" is open, then they have automatic rights to fill it with whatever event they are ready to propose. Of course, with the right person/people, I don't really mind.

So first, my snowboarding nihonjin pals asked what I was up to, and it was quickly brought to my attention that 229 Skiland, Takko's mountain, was having its end-of-the-season fiesta (multi-lingual...impressed?). After the day events, the Takko Snowboarding Association (TSBA) would be having a get together at Ikeda Farms, the beef farm in Takko and also the site of one of the many welcome/sayonara events for Patrick and me. Sunday? Booked.

Next, Nanbu Ben was gushing about this sushi restaurant in Hachinohe that was cutting up a huge tuna on Saturday night. Apparently this place is one of the best sushi restaurants in the area (arguably in the entire prefecture), and I love me some tuna, or maguro, so Saturday night? Booked.

Lastly, since finding out that 229 was in its last week of the season, Nanbu Ben, Kendal and I talked about trying to get in a last night-snowboarding trip. Due to some fairly busy schedules, Friday night was decided upon as THE day. Booked.

Friday morning came and went and as the afternoon slowly came to a close, plans of snowboarding were nixed. It hasn't snowed here in nearly two weeks, and it had RAINED earlier in the week. Yes, it has been too warm for snow. Sadly, this makes for some very icy, therefore resulting in painful conditions. Instead, Friday night's plans turned to a beer fest at Nanbu Ben's with Whitney...involving power hour, tuna melts, and a drinking game involving the movie Casino Royale. Well, when you drink as infrequently as I do, six beers go straight to the head, tuna melt or not. I was out thirty minutes into the movie...who sleeps during James Bond? Especially when we're playing "drink at every 'that's-what-she-said' moment"? This gal. The next morning, I woke up to a wonderfully long phone conversation with my honey, Pato chan, chocolate chip pancakes, and Whit's nighttime staircase story which doesn't need to be spelled out in print. I headed home soon after the last bite of pancakes to freshen up before the night.

Fish head!

Believe it or not, I have only been to one real sushi restaurant in Japan. I have only recently developed the taste for raw fish, but haven't had the chance to really indulge...that is, until this past Saturday night. The crew of gaijins: Nanbu Ben, Michael, Whit, Ululani, and myself...ready to take on one of the best sushi joints in Aomori! We expected it to be packed, and it was. This event of chopping up a huge tuna only occurs once a month (I believe) at this particular restaurant, and it really draws a crowd. Of course, the sushi chef makes a big show of beheading the fish and parading it around the center of the restaurant...much to the delight of the children present. We were the only gaijin there, but people would have figured we were foreign by the subsidiary oohing and aahing on our part...oh, and the picture-taking too. I was fascinated by the size of the fish...my entire life, tuna has been this pink chopped up fish mess found in a round can at the grocery store and that my cats would go crazy for every time I drained the juices. My head could fit inside this fish's head. I was also enthralled by the fact that this fish had been swimming merrily about mere hours ago in the ocean a few kilometers away. He was probably hanging out with his fish buddies, minding his own business and enjoying the increasingly warm weather when...BAM! A fish net swoops him up, and he's screwed. You can bet that he wasn't planning on being tonight's entertainment, but at least he's going out with a bang. When we finally sat down, no one lost any time in grabbing the sushi plates as they rolled by on the conveyer belt next to our table. I enjoyed several kani rolls (crab), king salmon (that's what they call it too...), and of course, maguro. The *special* pieces of maguro were served to the select few customers who could raise their hands the fastest at the sound of a bell...our table was usually all over it, and I had the opportunity to try the meat of the tuna from its cheek. There's probably a much more sophisticated name for it, but you're going to have to deal with what I gave you. Anyway, I was very much about this sushi place and "schedule" to return at a later date.

The prize won for quickest hand

The next morning, I forewent (really?) a ride from my nihonjin pal, Ayumi to 229 in exchange of talking to Pato chan all morning (his temporary free use of his phone is spoiling me again...I'm sure no good will come of this). I finally rose at midday to prepare myself for an afternoon of riding when...dun dun dunnnn. I realized I had left my gloves in Nanbu Ben's car. Woo is me! With all my snowboard gear and no gloves to go, I was forced to stay in for the day. At least my apartment finally received the TLC it had been looking forward to all week.

As the last load of laundry happily tumbled in the dryer and my sparkling clean floors sighed with relief, I ran my brush through my hair once more before running downstairs to meet my ride for tonight's Ikeda farm par-tay. The usual spread was available (including cow tongue...remember that from when I first got here? And yes...I tried it again) and I helped myself to a beer or two. There were several others that helped themselves too...but to more than just a few. At first I thought it was my imagination that the table behind me was saying my name, but when I was ushered into a picture and the usual giggling and gesturing to "practice English" ensued, I knew I hadn't imagined anything. Any kind of "flirtatious" behavior in Japan can be likened to that of a pre-teen on a hormone high. In other words, there is a lot of giggling, gesturing, and instigating on the part of the friends. Engaging in conversation was like being back in Jr High, except I wasn't 13 years old. Needless to say, it was entertaining because they were quite yopparai (drunk) and I was not quite, and to top it all off, their English was just as good as my Japanese. Excellent. The translating went through three or four people to get back to us, although I could hear my friends, Ayumi and Yoshie, doing the translation from across the room. The climax of the conversation occurred when they asked, "Jeshka have boyfriend"? Yes, I do. Yes, he lives in America. His name is Patrick (keep in mind that most of these people knew Patrick from snowboarding and it was brand new information for many). "Oh my gaaawdd...shock! Shock!" (Shock in this term of use meaning sad). Yes, yes it is quite sad. Oh, and I leave Japan in four months. "O my gaawdd...shock!!!" Probably the most utilized English word of the evening. It was quite the to do, I suppose, but these guys did have one English phrase down pat: "I love beer!". Yes, yes I can see that. By the end of the night, this is what was made clear through a very specific rating system illustrated by what level their hands were at as they called out each item:

-- beer...
-- coffee....


-- chocolate.....





-- Shaun White.......



-- JESHKA!


You can imagine how thrilled I was to be a higher priority than the great Shaun White. Oh, joyous day.

Oh you know, just hanging out in an igloo. NBD.

So like I said...just another weekend in Aomori :)

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Coming up... Tomorrow is Takko HS's graduation, and I recently learned that the entire country of Japan holds their high school graduations on March 1st. Oh yea, by the way? February is over. It's truly shocking (in the surprising, not sad sort of way)! Japanese graduations are VERY different from American ones, so I'm excited to see that. And to wear one of my suits.

ALSO coming up... Julia comes in less than TWO weeks! I visited Shimizugashira today (one of the schools we'll be visiting), and they're all so excited. One of my 6th graders kept saying, "beautiful! beautiful!". Oh, they have no idea :) I can't wait!

Letter update... Letters are currently at a stand still. We have truly lucked out this past week with regular phone/email contact. Like I said earlier, I'm being spoiled. I'm sure the letter count will be brought back into action soon enough. Stay tuned!