Phew

Ok, finished! My catch up is done! Finally!

I did not post anything for a long time because my boyfriend came over for two weeks, and then my computer broke down, so that I could not use it for one and a half weeks... Another post is in the making, but it will probably be online but next week, because from tomorrow I will go to Fukuoka. We will watch a sumo match! And from there we will travel to Nagasaki. Yay!

A day with a Japanese family

Probably one of the best and most interesting days so far: we Germans were invited to our Japanese friend Eriko's house in order to get to know the family, cook dangojiru together, have dinner, go to an onsen (hot bath) and have a sleep over!
I was so excited because I really wanted to have an insight into Japanese family life.
We thought about a gift for the mother. I think that not bringing a gift for the host in Japan is a major social mistake. But we were not sure what to get her. We had some German chocolate (Ritter Sport), but this did not seem fancy enough. Also we had some Gummibärchen from Germany, but you can also buy them in Japan. And I think that fruits are rather given when somebody is sick. In the end we decided to buy a nice bouquet of flowers.
When we arrived we were warmly welcomed by Eriko's mother. Later I wondered why I saw the flowers lying on some table in the corridor, as if she had forgotten them. I was a little bit disappointed, that she did not seem to like the flowers and put the into a vase. But then I remembered that Japanese often ignore presents in order to not make the guest feel ashamed. It has to do with politeness. I hope that this was the case...
What was striking was the fact that the apartment of the faily consisted of two small apartments on the third floor in an apartment building. One apartment has two rooms: Eriko's and her little brother's room in the first apartment and the dining room with kitchen and the parents' room in the other apartment. So in the middle, where the corridor and the stairs are, you have to change from house slippers to shoes and to house slippers again, in order to move from Eriko's room to the dining room. The apartments are really small, the ceiling is lower than in Germany, everything seems a little bit narrow - but also very cozy. What was also immediately striking was that it was extremely cold in the apartments, as if it had been vacant for a week. Eriko did not seem to notice the extreme coldness, so I guess she is used to it.
But a very convenient device, which could only be invented by a nation with cold houses, is a table, which is a heated blanket at the same time. A heating device is installed under the table and the blanket keeps the warmth. It love it! We Germans immediately put our legs under it.

2 in 1: a table with a blanket

One of the best Japanese inventions - a heated table!

What I also noticed was that Eriko's little brother came to say hello and sat down with us, although we did not talk to each other much. For me it seems as if he was obligated to spend time with his big sister's guests. In Germany I think it is rather the case that the big siblings want to talk to their friends alone and would feel disturbed if the little siblings stayed in the room. Also Eriko's big sister and her child sat down with us. So it felt like the whole family welcomed us, rather than only Eriko just having some friends over for dinner. (Oh my God, everything is so hard to explain!)
Eriko's room is very big in contrast to her little brother's room. This is like my own home. The big sister gets the bigger room. It has something to do with hierarchical thinking in Asian families. Her room looked like a German room, only that she had a huge bookshelf with many many mangas!

Erikosan's manga shelf - takusan ne?

When we went into the kitchen in order to cook dangojiru we found out that already everything except the noodles was prepared. Eriko's mother had cooked and prepared so much and had left out the noodle part so that we had a Japanese cooking experience. It was they had done much thinking and had set up an event for us. When we made the noodles Eriko's brother and sister took our camera's and took pictures of us.

Eriko's mother shows us how to form the noodles. 

She was working in the kitchen all the time. She had prepared so much food for us.

 

We make dango ^^ The noodles are cooked in hot water until they float. And during the whole procedure our every move was documented on our camera's.

I do not know how to express it in words properly. But how would you feel when you are invited to a friend's house and your hosts voluntarily pick up your camera in order to document everything you do and experience? It feels a little bit like a visit in a theme park. But you also have to consider the Japanese relation to photos. They love pictures and posing for pictures. It seems as if for them taking photos is much more natural and everybody accepts and even expects it that pictures are taken in any situation. Also I think that being a foreigner in Japan (especially when you look like one, i.e. European or American)  is special. People look at you more. So maybe also for Eriko's family it was something special that Germans came over for a visit.

I noticed that the whole family in a way served us. Eriko's mother constantly brought food or drinks into her room, and even the little brother poured tea for us! Being a guest in Japan is like feeling like a king, because the whole family is involved. In Germany of course the guest is served too, but the mother never spoke with us, but was busy in the kitchen all the time and the brother served us tea as if he had taken off his evening to do nothing else. We felt really special.

Eriko's father came back late from work. He said hello, but did not sit down with us.

Eriko, her mother, and her brother care for us guests really well

 How does a Japanese dinner look like? Rather than having 3 courses (entrée, main dish, dessert) all the food is layed on the table at once. Next to the dishes in the middle of the table, which everyone shares, one also gets seperate dishes. A typical Japanese meal consists of several small dishes rather than only one main dish. So Erikosan's mother had prepared many different dishes for us! She must have done a lot of thinking and preparing, because we were so many guests. We had Dangojiru, chicken tempura, kabocha (squash), renkon (lotus root), and of course rice.

We love the magic heating table

 

 

Group picture with Eriko's mother

 

Eriko and her mother help me to try on Eriko's yukata. It is like a kimono, only that the kimono is made of expensive material and is tied differently. But the cut is basically the same. Japanese girls usually do not own kimonos as they are extremely expensive. They are only rented for special occasions.

As the apartment is small, we ate with Eriko, while the rest of the family (ate seperately in the other apartment. Later, when we had finished dinner, Eriko's mother, brother, and sister finally sat down with us and talked to us. Eriko's father also sat down later, but only for a short time. The whole family is very friendly and very attentive. We felt welcomed and taken care of.

As Japanese homes are often small I wondered how they would accommodate us three girls for a sleepover. When we came back from the onsen, the tables in Eriko's room were removed and the floor was laid out with futon and many blankets. So that's where guests can sleep! Eriko's family had taken care of everything while we had been gone. It looked so cozy and I slept so well on the futon! It was comfortable and warm, every one had much space, and I wish my bed in the Kaikan was as comfortable as the sleeping place Eriko's house. Erikosan actually offered us her bed like a good host would do, but we declined.

The whole floor covered with  futon and blankets - so cozy!

The next morning a Japanese breakfast awaited us! I was so excited! My first Japanese breakfast ^^ Eriko's mother came in with more and more food. We were served some of the dishes from the dinner the night before. Eriko said, that it is normal that leftover dishes are served the next morning. This is very convenient, because Japanese meals all consist of many different small dishes. And preparing so many different dishes must take a very long time. And of course, again, warm rice also in the morning! We had renkon, salad, pickles, spaghetti, shitake tempura, and kabocha. What a delicous breakfast. And so much work involved. If I were a Japanese mother I would probably cook all day long.

Our breakfast

All in all, Eriko's family was so great. We were welcomed warmly, the family was so attentive and friendly, all the family members took care of us. And it must have been a very busy and exhausting day for Eriko's  mother as she did all the cooking. And as I know from my own mother, Eriko's mother's head must have been turning around this day for quite some time in order to prepare everything. I am very grateful for this day. I loved it from the beginning to the end! ^^

It is so cold!

Winter in Japan. Now I know why my German friend, who went to Oita two years ago, mentioned (twice!) that she had bought a heating blanket. I always thought those are only for old people who suffer from rheumatism. But now I want one! Outside it is probably around 10 to 15 degrees. And inside it is the same. It would not make any difference if I had windows or not, because they are poorly insulated. In my Kaikan room I wake up and it is only 15 degrees! But this is not only the case in our Kaikan but also in the university. It seems as if in Oita nobody wants to keep the warmth in buildings. Rather, they heat like crazy! I have an aircon in my room, which can blow warm air. But the second I turn it off, the room immediately becomes cold again. What a waste of energy! Why?! I will freeze to death here! I do not want to heat my balcony.

And although it is around 10 degrees I am freezing like crazy. Maybe it is the humidity here, which makes it worse than dry coldness? But what I do not understand is how the girls here can possibly still wear short skirts and even wear ballerinas. It seems as if they are used to the coldness. Their urge to be kawaii has trained them lifelong to stand the coldness I guess. 

Production of a present and Indonesian food

One of my favorite things to do: basteln (do not know an English word for that, sorry). We made a birthday present - a calender with photos. Our Japanese friend helped us. As we already noticed all the Japanese seem to be more creative than we Germans (see University festival). And today it was obvious once again - we just lack the creative skills!

 

Busy assembly line. 

An Origami heart! ^^

In the evening a friend called us up to go to a restaurant and we decided to try Indonesian food! I LOVED it. It tasted so good! The food is a little spicier than Japanese food. The Japanese cuisine emphasis more on the taste of the ingredients themselves I think.

Entrée: plain leaves of cabbage. And some secret sauce. Yummy ^^

 

Fried Indonesian noodles

 

Some hot pot with Indonesian noddles

 Rice with egg and beef

Kaffee und Kuchen

We went to have some Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake). Yes, sometimes we need some Germanness ^^ It seems that Japanese come to cafés in order to smoke. They smoke so much! Unfortunately, this café did not have a seperate non smoking area. This is one big plus in Paderborn: smokers cannot disturb your enjoyment of coffee and cake.

We found some cheese cake! But it tasted nothing like a good German cheese cake at all...

Our Japanese teacher once said: in Japan the food looks delicious, but then it tastes like crap. 

It was not meant so serious, but it actually is a little bit true. The Japanese place great emphasis on the visual appearance of food. And sometimes (like with the cheese cake) you are disappointed.

 

Thank you guys for the nice afternoon ^^

Bamboo festival

We went to a bamboo festival. 60,000 candles were lit in the whole city!!! So we walked around the city and everywhere candles lit our way. It was amazing and beautiful. And of course, no good festival without food ^^

Does this look delicious for you?

 

 

 

So simple: just a candle in a piece of bamboo. But such a huge effect!

I made fire!

I love Hijiki so much that I decided to make it on my own. And also my computer had broken down so that I needed something to do.
I was very excited to make it because it is so different from German food and is traditional Japanese.  It is fun to look for all the strange ingredients in the supermarket, which you will change into an edible dish.
What you need is dashi stock (you have to let a piece of konbu kelp sit in water for an hour), hijiki (dried kelp that looks like tiny little black tree branches), age doufu (deep fried tofu pockets), carrot, renkon (lotus root), soy sauce, sake, sugar, mirin.

Renkon - lotus root. It is rock hard! 

But when you cook it, it has a nice crunchy texture and tastes very mild.

 

I made it! I was so excited! And it was delicious ^^

Jazz concert

I went to my first Jazz concert! A Japanese friend who plays in a Jazz band had a concert in a small Café in Oita. It was so tiny and cozy inside. It was like a living room with probably a thousand CDs and vinyls on the walls, and a grand piano, percussion, and bass. People were already sitting on couches and benches. It was a great experience to sit right next to the band. It gives the music a more personal touch and you can feel better what the musicians want to deliver.

 

The cutest dog. He likes Jazz.

753 Festival

In Japan, on November 15th, girls and boys of the ages 7, 5, and 3, go to the temple with their parents in order to pray for good health. It is the 753 festival (shichi go san). The little kids are dressed up nicely in their kimonos, the parents and relatives look their best and everybody is celebrating this day. It is a family festival, everywhere families with their children, taking family pictures. Also, the kids seem to lose their shoes all the time, I saw many parents picking up tiny shoes.

 

A day for family pictures

  

The kids get surprise bags with toys and sweets

  

The little children are dressed up like mini adults

  

The shrine was well frequented

 

The kids get long sweets, which stands for a long life

After watching the little kids we went to Takasaki Mountain in Beppu to see little monkeys. They move around freely and you could actually touch them. But it is forbidden as you can see on this self explanatory sign.

 

I love Japanese signs. They are always foreigner-friendly

 

Everywhere monkeys

  

Cute!

  

The monkeys are not afraid of people. You could actually touch them.

 

Maybe I should have gone to him to take care of my hair....

This way please 

 

 Mr and Mrs Monkey

At the end of the day we cooked with our Japanese friend some Hijiki - it love it! 

It is kelp, tofu, carrot, seasoned with dashi, soy sauce, sake, and sugar. 

It is a typical Japanese dish. It is exotic for me, because it is so different from what I eat in Germany and yet so delicious!

 

In the back also chicken seasoned with sesame oil on raw shredded cabbage. And in the middle my version without chicken - raw shredded cabbage with sesame oil. It is fun to cook Japanese food!

Speech Contest

I never actively noticed the Konpal Hall near our Kaikan. It the Speech contest, where international students held speeches in Japanese. It was a big event. I was surprised to see that there is such a big stage in this building. On the other side of the building there is a library and a gym. And on the third floor there is even a gym where you can play soccer or basketball. It is interesting how one building can hold so many different functions.

Speech Contest for international students

Chinese performance at the Speech Contest

 

Dance performance

If you want to work out in the gym you have to buy a ticket at a vending machine. 

Of course.

The Konpal Hall library has some English books. 

Of course only the old classics.