Asian Blush

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Beautiful weather!!! I wish it were always like this! I have all my windows open and I’ve just finished cleaning! FINALLY! (I just now got to unpacking from my trip to Tokyo a week ago) (…I also couldn’t find a skirt one morning a few days before the trip so all my clothes were all over the floor…all of them)

Remember that high risk behavior I was doing when I said that I left my front door open to get a breeze but for some reason there weren’t any bugs that came in too? Well, I got my small share of bugs. They were only little spiders and flies but hommy don’t play that. So I’ve decided to keep my front door closed and I’ve opened the window on the floor in front of my bed (check out the pictures when I finally post them)

I keep finding things in my apartment every time I get the inkling to clean. For example, I found a menu for….some place in America that isn’t in Florida so I can’t say I’ve ever eaten there but damn if it didn’t make me miss American food!!! See, I love Japanese food so much that if I don’t think about American food outside of McDonalds, I don’t really remember that I used to love it just as much. But I saw a big bowl of French onion soup on the cover of that menu and I sooooooooooooooooo miss Panera Bread!!! And Skyline Chili! And Hops! And Burger King! And bah, everything!

I also finally cleaned and plugged in my rice cooker. I still have no idea how to use it. But it has less functions than my old Japanese/English rice cooker (zojirushi high recommended) so it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out. I think it has a timer so that will totally help me in the morning and also if I want to make lunch. I have been spending too much money at the convenience store on breakfast and lunch and their selection is growing thin. There are only so many days that I can eat a cold egg and cheese crap sandwich!

In other news, this week I went to the last two of my three enkai’s. (drinking/welcome parties) I must admit that of all the parties I’ve been to I really don’t like enkai’s as much as I like all the others. The food is very traditional and raw and though it is good and I eat until I am full, I just don’t enjoy it as much. It’s really really traditional food! And I’m finding that I don’t like beer with raw fish. They don’t mix well in my stomach. I’m finding that I like beer less and less actually. Now, sake and chuhi are another story ;)

I also don’t like that I can’t talk to anyone. They are all having great conversation and I know that if I could join in I would be the life of the party but …. how depressing. I’m working on it!

People have told me that drinking parties are a good way to really get to know your coworkers. This is sooooo so true. I feel much close to all the people that I have had these parties with and it’s because we are finally together in a neutral environment where they can just let loose and open up!

Now, as for the actual drinking, half the people don’t even drink! In Japan, if you have a single drop of alcohol it is illegal to drive a car (or a bike, but no one’s counting) so half of them have oolongcha (oolong tea in a can that looks like it’s beer)

The other half get totally smashed though. And it’s hilarious!!!! I can not describe in words exactly what goes on but I will try my best!

So, at the Tosayamada enkai, I saw one of the English teachers, whom I like and who has been to Largo on more than one occasion, begin drinking and he went bright pink from the top of his forehead to the tips of his hears down his neck and his arms were even pink!!!

Next was my principal. Great guy. But I have a hard time reading him. He’s really excited that I’m here, as I’ve said, but sometimes I just can’t tell if he’s overly happy or somewhat annoyed. I have to assume he’s happy because everyone says so.

So anyway, he sits next to me at the party and he’s pretty pink himself. He says that it’s a good thing that I’ve been in the newspaper and TV. He said it’s good because it makes me famous. I smile and nod. He then giggles like a little girl and says “It’s me!” in a much higher pitched voice than he normally has. His meaning was that it was he who did all of that for me! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA I almost died laughing!

The next day I went to an enkai for Oodochi where I learned the Japanese word for big breasts. (that guy was really wasted…and I have no idea who he is because I don’t think I’ve ever seen him at school…hmmm)