More Fun with Food in Japan

Japanese cucumbers are the best tasting, non-burp inducing cucumbers on the planet. They are slim and very dark green, with very few bumps on the skin. In Japanese, they are called kyuuri, or きゅうり。(Please let me know if I wrote that incorrectly, nihon no tomodachi.)

What I didn't know is that Japanese cucumbers, when fresh, have a delightful little magic to them. My good friend Tamie-san told me she was watching a cooking show on NHK that said when cucumbers are extremely fresh, you can break them in half by hand and then stick the cucumber back together. Doesn't that sound like a fun thing to try with your kids?

What's He Worth?

Another language faux pas from yours truly. I am so embarrassed and my teacher would really scold me if she reads this. Saito-san, please forgive me, I am so terrible with numbers and counting.

A few weeks ago Sam brought a friend home from school some playtime. Sam and Aidan had a great time playing - they found some of the other kids in the building from the ELC, and played in the kids room here. They constructed legos, pretended they were in the jungle, and then ate dinner together - a great playdate.

Aidan's family live in Moto-azabu, about a half hour away from us in Yoyogi-uehara by train. We decided the best thing to do was to meet in a station in between and Aidan's dad would meet me on his way home from work.

The subways in Tokyo are superb. They are punctual, clean, reliable - and best of all - kids under the age of 6 ride free. So to take 2 small boys on the subway is not a big deal - it's kind of fun. Aidan, Sam and I met Aidan's dad in Omotesando, and Aidan and his dad headed on their way and Sam and I turned around and headed back home. 

Now, I did not exit the station at Omotesando, so my subway card did not register when I came back to Yoyogi-uehara, and the turnstile alarm went off. I knew this would happen, so I was prepared with my meager Japanese to explain what I did:

Pam: Sumimasen. Omotesando ni ikimashita. 

Pam: Excuse me. I went to Omotesando.

Stationmaster: 

Well, I'd be lying if I said I knew exactly what he said, but he said something to the effect that I didn't leave the station, and I agreed with him. The stationmaster took my subway pass, and proceeded to deduct the fare to and from Omotesando.

Here is where I am embarrassed to say that I got confused, and I thought he was deducting a fare for Sam. I wanted to explain that Sam was only five years old.

All that I managed to tell him was that Sam was 5 yen. I don't know if he thought I was offering to sell Sam, or what kind of crazy deal I was trying to make, but he looked at me kind of funny. I immediately realized what I had said, and turned so red that I looked sunburned.

"Sumimasen, sumimasen, gomen nasai, wakarimasu, da joobi desu. Excuse me, excuse me, I apologize, I understand, it's okay," I stammered repeatedly. These are very useful phrases when you have said something really foolish, like your son is 5 yen.

I realize that reviewing my Japanese numbers and counting is crucial to avoid these cringe-causing moments, so I am now reviewing all my Japanese lessons - particularly counting and numbers.

Enough to be Dangerous

Many of you know that I started taking Japanese lessons about 5 weeks ago. It's coming along ok, I guess. Learning Japanese is so different from learning a European language. I have absolutely nothing to anchor the words to - everything must be memorized. 

For example, in English, cat, hat.

In French, chat, chapeau. (Dr. Seuss fans, anyone?)

In Spanish, el gato in a sombrero.

In Japanese, neko, and kubo.

So many words in the European languages are familiar to English speakers, that much of the basic vocabulary is not completely new. Not so with the Japanese!

My tutor is a very sweet young woman who is studying for her PhD at a university in London, and she received her undergraduate degree from Carthage University in Minnesota. Saito-sensei has started me with the basics I need to find my way around and do my basic shopping. I am learning how to ask for directions, ask WHAT things are (very important), WHERE things are, how to tell the time, etc.

One of the sentences she taught me to use is: Kore wa nihongo/eego de nan desu ka? - What do you call that in Japanese/English? Frankly, I wasn't sure how useful this would be, but I have dutifully learned it. 

A couple of weeks ago I went to Tokyu Hands, an amazing shop that carries just about anything. Think of it as Target meets Home Depot with a healthy dose of Michael's - with a Tokyo price tag, of course. My goal was to hang some of the pictures we brought with us from the states. Our apartment has a very modern wall gallery set-up with a picture rail and hooks set into the ceiling. The only thing missing is the wires and special hooks to use on the picture rail. I was told they were at Tokyu Hands, so off I went after dropping Sam off at school. 

Well, I found them, and selected what I wanted - only one wire plus hooks, just to make sure I had the right thing. I knew I would be coming back to purchase more if everything worked out, so I carefully asked the sales clerk, "Kore wa nihongo de nan desu ka," wanting to know what to ask for the second time around.

Well, she looked at me like I had just stepped off Mars, and then said to me very carefully, as you would to the village idiot, "Kore wa hooku desu." This is a hook. And so it was.