In mid October, Leigh, Aaron, Esaka-san (a friend from Kota International Association), Rhett, and I went to a cooking class near Toyota. But it was much more than just a cooking class. We went out into a garden and picked our own vegetables. We picked sweet potatoes, carrots, daikon, tomatoes, papaw, and several other things and used them to make a meal. We made quite a few dishes, but the best thing that we made was tofu. Yes, you read that correctly; I made tofu.
Tofu is surprisingly easy to make, the just require a bit or preparation because you have to soak the soybeans in water overnight. The owners of the cooking school did that for us. We did the rest, starting with blending the softened beans with water. After blending them, we cooked them on the stove for bit, and then put them through a cheese cloth. There were several kids in the class, and the really enjoyed squeezing all of the soy milk out of the mixture.
After separating the soy milk from the okara(soybean puree), the teacher added some sort of mineral to the soy milk, and then let it simmer for a bit before pouring it into the cheese cloth again. As the mixture cooled, it solidified and became tofu. Now, normally, I'm not a tofu person. It's always tasted strange to me. However, this tofu was AMAZING. Absolutely unbelievably amazing. I loved it.
At the cooking school, I also got to try Japanese calligraphy. I really enjoyed it and want to do it again. I can see it becoming a hobby because it was very fun.
As most of you know, Halloween is my all time favorite holiday...but it's almost nonexistent in Japan. Sure, there are a few costume/drinking parties here and there, but there's no trick-or-treating and very few decorations. This year, I made it a point to make sure that all of my cute little students got to experience the holiday--American style! I bought candy for all of my elementary school kids (over 600 pieces of it!), and did some really fun activities with them.
A few weeks later, we went to Leigh's surprise birthday party. Aaron planned it. I was a little afraid because it was being held at an Indian curry restaurant. My first experience with curry (though, it was Thai curry) was TERRIBLE, so I thought that I had no chance of enjoying my meal. But I went anyway, since I wanted to be there to celebrate Leigh's birthday--and I'm sure glad I did. We had so much fun! And I found out the Indian curry is actually good--provided you order a sweet curry with absolutely no spiciness. We went to karaoke afterward and I sang Zankoku no Tenshi no Thesis (a Japanese song from an anime) with one of Leigh's friends. Rhett and I sang a couple songs together too. He was a good sport because he's not really a fan of karaoke.
We had two newish teachers come to the school at the beginning of November. They worked for William's English School for several years before they took a year off to see the world. They have some amazing stories about India and Africa. They are a really great couple, and Rhett and I are very happy that they are here. We share some interests with them and hope that we can become good friends.
We had a welcome back potluck party for them at the park. Four of my favorite students came to the party. They each brought such delicious food. But what was so sweet is that many of them brought food they knew I would like. For example, one brought pizza toast with pineapple on it. Everyone here knows how much I love pineapple. Another person brought egg rolls, but made them with pork so that I could eat them (I don't eat shellfish because I think I'm allergic). I am lucky to have so many wonderful students.
That night, we headed over to Leigh and Aaron's house with anyone left over from the potluck to hang out while they waited for a bar to open. It was the first time that all of the foreigners in Kota were together, minus one that made it to Leigh's birthday party the week before.
Around mid November we had a couple of lunch parties with some friends. We made pizza with Hiroko and had the best okonomiyaki in the world with Junko. Okonomiyaki is a savory Japanese pancake made of batter, meat, and cabbage. It's a very famous food here, especially in Osaka. Before I came to Japan I promised myself that I would eat okonomiyaki in Osaka when I went, and I did. Junko's okonomiyaki was SOOOOO much better than the kind I had in Osaka. I was disappointed the first time I had it, but now I think okonomiyaki is one of my favorite Japanese foods.
The seasons changed very quickly this year, and a lot of people are sick. Working in an elementary school means that I am around sick kids all day. And those little kids don't know the meaning of "cover your mouth." So, I got sick. But I didn't just get sick...I got sick TWICE. That's right, I was sick twice in a row. I had one healthy day between the two different colds. The whole ordeal lasted almost three weeks. I just got over the second cold this week.
While I was sick, the elementary schools had their school festivals. I feel bad that I didn't get to go to their sports festival, so I made it a point to go to the school festival. All of the students performed on stage during this festival. Certain classes worked on a play, while others worked on songs. Rhett and I could only catch a couple performances, but I'm sure we got the best ones. The fifth graders played the Star Wars theme on recorders, xylophones, accordions, and melodicas. It was amazing. The sixth graders put on a play about time-traveling people from the future and used the cheesiest/most awesome lighting effects ever.
Last weekend, we celebrated Thanksgiving. We didn't celebrate it on the actual day because we didn't have the time, but at least we did something. Most Americans here don't even do that. Rhett and I made a pumpkin pie from scratch and he made an excellent sweet potato casserole. We also made tacos. Why? Because they don't have turkey here. But they don't have tortillas either, so we had to make those too.
And that brings us to the present. Right now, it's 1:00 in the morning...and in two days I am taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. To say that I am nervous would be a gross understatement. I honestly think that I am going to fail. But, I'm going to do my best, and study up until the end. I'm planning on spending all day Saturday studying, so maybe I'll make some sort of breakthrough. We'll see. I won't know whether or not I passed until March 2011. Here's hoping.
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