"Tonkatsu to Gohan" Week 6-October 12th-18th

Well to answer the cliffhanger from last week, yes I did make it home on the 6:08AM train to Kasugai, after a brief bike ride to my apartment I actually fell asleep as I was falling towards my bed (the floor) and slept until 1PM when I was awakened by my cell phone.  My fellow English teacher and I had plans to head to Gifu to take in some cormorant fishing on the Nagawa River, after cleaning up and changing I was back on the bike to the station and we were on our way to Nagoya (again!) and then Gifu by 3:00PM.  After a stop at the Nagoya Foreign International Visitor’s Center and dinner at the Hard Rock (that’s 2 meals there now) we boarded the train to Gifu to meet our 7:15PM boat.  Now that I set it up, to explain cormorant fishing is an ancient tradition that dates back nearly 700 years ago in which fisherman use 6 or 7 cormorant (sea birds) attached to the boat via rope lines to fish for small sweet trout or ayu as they are known in Japan.  The highly trained birds are fitted with neck rings so they cannot swallow the trout and when they catch them they return to the boat to drop the fish into the basket.  Now since some of you reading may have concerns about the bird’s treatment as I did but I can assuage any fears you may have.  Not that I am a person known for championing the rights of animals and their plight but that does not mean I wanna pay $39.50 on a Sunday night to see them mistreated.  First off a wild cormorant’s life span is usually 6-8 years but the birds that are trained to work in this ancient art will often live to double that due to their treatment by the master fisherman.  Secondly since most of the current trade is done merely for adoring hordes of Japanese and Western tourists the “catch” is no longer going to feed a family or the like so most of it is given back to the birds for their dinner after the night is over.  Lastly the boat operator explained that the birds will only “work” if they are treated properly meaning if the are not well fed or cared for they will stop performing the function they are so trained for.  The spectacle of watching this ancient form of fishing was really amazing and the dichotomy of Japan was again in full view as a nearly centuries old tradition took place in front of us all the while modern Japan’s office buildings and boutique hotels shone on the shores nearby.  Two things came to mind after I had left, one was who was the first guy to come up with this idea and what did people think of it?  Also too I could not help but wonder if people ever had an issue with eating something a large water bird swallowed ¾ of the way.  I am guessing if you were living in rural Japan in 1408 and someone drops 10 pounds of sweet trout on your table you are not gonna make a big deal that it was obtained from a bird’s esophagus.  Lastly even though they are attached to the boat by a rope at no point were the birds ever pulled hard back to the boat or was the rope even necessary really to corral them in any way.  If I am honest with myself though and some one asked me to dive in the river shallows for like steak and cheese burritos with out the rope around my neck I would probably just swim away to shore and eat the thing by myself so there does need to be control of the birds to some degree.  After returning late from Gifu I slept in Monday and spent the rest of the day running some errands in town and doing some food shopping.  The week at work began with an interesting turn of events as I try to realize why the Japanese work so hard to feed me (their hospitality I assume).  After stopping in to a new Bento lunch eatery I attempted to order Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) and rice to go.  The owner responded with the Japanese word “ni” meaning two.  Assuming since I was ordering off the menu I thought he was confirming that I wanted two things, Tonkatsu and rice.  Of course as he set off to the kitchen to rally the staff I knew I was getting two full lunches, which I happily paid for not wanting to make him feel bad for misunderstanding my order after all the care he took to prepare it for me.  One of the most difficult things is to voice any displeasure in Japan over anything.  When you go to a Bento place for a $6.00 lunch and the entire staff comes out from the kitchen to bow and laud you with “domo arigato goyzimas” or “Thank You so very much” its hard to then say they got it wrong.  This has been one of many times the Japanese seem to have self confidence issues over the size and amount of food they eat.  Certainly in some cases things are significantly smaller but in almost all cases the size (even for me) is perfectly adequate.  On more than several occasions though the Japanese have seen me and assumed I did not want just want one muffin but five or like in Okayama I noticed I was served four rice balls when other people were given two.  There is no doubt that it is the Japanese nature to be accommodating that this occurs since they know I am a much larger American but it is funny sometimes.  I know soon I am going to order some spicy chicken and the owner is going to actually hand me a rope with four live chickens attached to the end thinking there is no possible way I could just want the sandwich.

The children at school and my interaction with them continues to get better so much so that I look forward to seeing my regular group every week.  Teaching is a truly difficult job with the parental conferences, the scheduling and planning but there are so many moments with the kids that make you smile I really look forward to it.  The kids have no filters for their actions like much of the other people here in Japan do so they don’t just view you as different but like a friend they can’t wait to see.  You walk down the street as middle age businessmen stare at you like you landed from Mars only to step into school and have a 4 year old come running up to you for a hug before they go to class.  This week I had a 5-year-old boy push me from behind towards a classroom at school as I was in mid conversation with another teacher, fearing he needed some type of real help I followed him to find he wanted to show me some new Pokemon characters he had carefully lined on the windowsill for my viewing.  From my preteen group who will not let me begin class until I have wrote on the whiteboard all the “inside jokes” that have occurred during class to today when a 9 year-old female student came running up to talk to me and say hello and while talking to me gently took my hand to hold the kids always have me smiling at sweet they are.  I have taken many lumps thus far in the teaching game with both peers and the like but as soon as I feel this is not a long-term career I am touched or put in awe by how great the kids are and how I look forward to seeing them.

     Friday excitement is building as the Kasugai annual late summer festival is beginning to rev up.  As I arrived at work Friday already large tents and platforms were being erected directly across the street from school in the City Hall Plaza.  Although I work through the fair all day Saturday I should be able to get over their Sunday to check it out.  I closed out the week like several others by stopping in to the Backbeat with my co net and again our fellow Japanese teacher who usually joins us.  I know I talk about this place quite a bit but I have to say my regular stop after work on Friday is one of the things I look forward to the most here in Japan.  While international travel is intoxicatingly exciting at times and the prospect of happening upon a centuries old shrine at any moment can be amazing but I am beginning to believe that there is something inherent in all of us that craves things we know and people who know us from time to time.  What is so special about this place is from the owners and some of the regulars (one particularly comical one) it feels like a group that knows me and happily looks for me each week.   Upon entering I get some assorted handshakes, bows and loud shouts, which feels good, to know someone is happy to see you coming through the door.  This week I did meet Mikka’s friend, Eriko who just returned from Australia.  She seemed real nice and we spent a few hours talking with Kazuhiko and Mikka, which was great.  We talked about maybe getting together and going to the Hub in Nagoya sometime soon.

They Are Still Interested During school this week I was briefing my most advanced group of pre teen students' parents on what had been covered during class.  One student's mother who is always there but never asks a question listened intently as I gave a read out of the lesson all the while looking like she had something to say to me.  Once I finished and the group began to head out she paused and held up her finger for a question, as I moved in expecting a detailed question on her son's English she asked me quietly "You no buy your shirts in Nihon (Japan), too big"?  As I began to laugh I explained that no I can not buy dress shirts in Japan because of the size.  With that she smiled, thanked me and headed out the door.