Ep 41. Two for One

So, as I sit down here to write
I find my light is much less bright
and after I go flip the switch
I find that I then have an itch
And after that I deftly scratch
I wander if a 'mon I'll catch
and so with many things to do
the blog gets left behind, oh shoo...

So, I missed a week (no, say it ent so). That means that this week, I will be doing double duty. That's right, four days of updates instead of two. So, starting in no particular order:

Monday, June 30: For the most part, this was a hermiting day. I did a little cleaning, a little piano playing, a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but on the whole not much. That all changed at the end of the day, when I went out to have dinner with a good friend. Sadly, I got a little lost on the way there (NNNOOOOOOO!!!!) But arrived on time...at the wrong place.
We had agreed to meet on the top floor of a book store. However, unknown to me, there were two different iterations of that book store in Shinjuku. Expletive. However, we eventually met up and made it to the restaurant only a tad later than planned. I will start by saying that it was a very lovely restaurant, both in decor and in food options. That's right, they don't use meat. They do use fish--it's living animal protein, but sure, even in the US some people keep it in a different category--but nothing that you'd find in a kids book on farm animals. The food truly was exquisitely good, as though my taste buds were finally quenched after months of thirst. I had forgotten how good actual vegetarian options can taste.
That's definitely one of the things about Japan that I have noticed. In general the populous has very little imagination when it comes to vegetables. You can boil them, fry them, pickle them, or eat them, but no matter what you do your vegetable will always look like a vegetable. Back in the states, the food fairies have discovered that, although many people like the idea of a vegetarian lifestyle, they don't want to actually give up eating meat. Why? Because some meat tastes good (I would like to note here that, to my tastes, steak always has and always will be absolutely 100% revolting). Which is why America has such amazing things as veggie burgers, veggie corn dogs, and--dare I dream--vegetarian ribs, sans bone to break the teeth. There are even vegetarian restaurants and...well, I should stop thinking about this before I drool any more on my computer.

Monday, July 07(told you no order): Not a lot to say here, just more hermitting. And cleaning. And some doodling. Oh, and I went to see another movie. Normally, going to see a movie on a Monday is an exercise in solitude. The theaters are far from packed, and in general everything is relaxing. Not so, surprisingly, at the first showing of the day. Apparently Monday mornings are the time to go see a movie in Japan. Still, we got seats and enjoyed ourselves as usual. What really surprised me is that almost four months after its initial release, they are still showing Frozen in theaters over here. I get it, this is a fun movie, and I love singing the songs, but dear freaking heebie-jeebiekins people, this is not some fantabulous classic. Like I said, I enjoy that movie immensely and love singing the songs. However, I do have a LAF (Life After Frozen), and I seriously believe that most people will as well.

Sunday, June 29: Not going to lie, this was a bit of a long day. It was really fun, but also really long. I have a friend who works in Akita, far to the north of Tokyo, but she came down to Tokyo for her birthday. As such, I spent the whole day with her. We started at the Pokemon Center, which was as hectic as usual. It was also as fun as usual, with a lot of great nerd stuff. We then had lunch in the park across the street and just...chatted. It's one of the things that I do really miss from the states. Don't get me wrong, I can chat with my Japanese friends, but I always have to enter my, "careful" mode where I have to keep my language relatively simple and free of idioms. It really is amazing how many idioms we use without even realize it, but all are a no-no when talking to someone still learning the language.
After lunch, we went to Ueno zoo. The animals were really active (minus the sun bear, as usual). A penguin was molting, and I must say that nothing is more depressing to look at than a molting penguin. They look absolutely miserable, and itchy, and like they are generally having a good day. Really, I wanted to do nothing more than to go over to him and pluck out all of his little feathers to make him feel better. Less sad, but depressing to look at none the less, was a shedding brown bear. He also looked so sad and kept scratching himself against everything in the cave...ugh! It makes me glad that humans don't go through that.
The animals were very active for the most part. The polar bears and seals were swimming, and a lioness was on a rock roaring at everyone who went by. The most packed place, however, was the tiger enclosure. The tiger was cleaning itself, and had decided that the best place to do so was against the glass of the enclosure. Everyone wanted to get a picture of a tiger licking itself. All of the adults were pushing and shoving to get a view, while all of the children were shouting, "miranai, miranai" (I can't see, I can't see). Thankfully we got out of there quickly, but man what an adventure.
Following the zoo, we went to dinner and met up with some of her friends. We went to a theme restaurant, which are rather popular here in Japan. Basically, it's a restaurant with an interesting decor. Some of the ones that I have heard about are Gundam, Anime, or even Maid restaurants. This one was a hospital jail themed restaurant. This basically means that the restaurant looks filthy, with people eating in cages and all of the servers dressed in medical gear. Inevitably, there was a, "prison break," or an utterly terrifying few minutes. I hate being scared, to the extent that I tend to avoid horror movies with a passion. That being said, on the whole it was enjoyable (even if the pickings were slim. Yay french fries and...More french fries), though I will probably never go back. I even made a new friend; he's a socially awkward introvert, so we naturally got on great. Nothing makes an introvert more talkative than someone who shares their pain.

Sunday June 6 (the last day): So, yesterday was (no surprise after so many people) hermitting until early evening, when I went over to a student's house for dinner. He is one of my kids who went abroad and then came back, so his English is rather good. How this came about was that a couple of weeks ago we had open house lessons, where the parents could come, watch, and see what we do. I was talking with his parents after the lesson, and they invited me over. I must admit, I was very nervous. I have never done anything like this--going to one of my student's houses--and I wasn't sure how to act or dress. I decided that, at least for this first get together, being more formal would be better than casual. I also decided to go with what I knew, so I brought a gift and a thank you card.
The results: I am really hoping that things went well. I might have stayed to long (I don't know), and I might have dressed too formal (ibid), but I just don't know. At the end they asked if I wanted to do this again, and I think that it would be a lot of fun. These are such nice people, and their son is very good in my class and they could all be a very good friends.
The experience: First, their apartment is, incidentally, in the next building over. By American standards, it's fairly small, especially for three people. In fact, back in the states, it would probably be a one-person apartment, or a smaller two person apartment (going off of my sister's apartments). Having said that, I have found that people don't need as much space as most Americans seem to think we do. I am in no way saying that one room for seven people, a la early 20th century America was the way to go, but that I actually think there apartment was a really nice size. And it was a really nice apartment. They have done a great job of decorating it and making it feel really homy. Plus, it has everything a person could possibly need: a small kitchen, a few rooms, a balcony, etc. All in all, I really liked their apartment.
Next, the food. Being a vegetarian in Japan is its own special kind of heck, because of all the many multitude of things that one must watch out for. These people were kind enough to make food that I could actually eat, and all of it was absolutely delicious. American food--though very imaginative in the faux department--is never the most flavorful of culinary delights. This food was all so flavorful and amazingly delicious. Being a foreigner, they were surprised that I don't mind natto (fermented soy beans) too much, though only in small amounts. With so much scrumptious food, I could only try a little bit of everything, but it was all so good I wish that I had the stomach space for more. His mom is such a great cook! I need to learn how to cook more Japanese food.
Lastly, the conversation. We talked about many things. As is expected, they were just curious about me. I was probably a bit more formal than I needed to be (new people always seem to bring out Mr. Manners), but the conversation was really good. I enjoyed hearing about their life and their experience living in a foreign country. I showed them my residency card, and instead of doing the reaction that I mostly get (really? this thing exists?) they showed me theirs from their time abroad. All that I can say is that I really hope that they enjoyed having me over, and that I hope I wasn't too much of a bother on them.
One last note on last night: I decided to go for an evening constitutional. I quickly ran inside to put away my nice shirt, and then dashed outside before it got too late. As I was walking down the "hall" (for lack of a better word) to the stairs, the bushes below suddenly began to move, and shake in a terrifying fashion. Immediately, I froze as a single word popped into my head. Raptors! A few moments later, I peeked over to find the bushes below doing the terrifying tango, yet there were no animals in site. suddenly, a small form shot out of the branches, followed by a couple more. I was right, but off by a few million years worth of evolution. Apparently, my foot falls had disturbed some birds resting in the bushes, causing them to panic and swarm a bit. However, when I returned, I found them bushes immoveable, no matter how much I walked. Why? Well, it clearly wasn't that the bushes were empty, because I could see the little blighters hopping from branch to branch occasionally. No, the issue this time was a cat, who was sitting under the branches, staring at them. I have no idea what transpired next (I secretly believe that they broke out into a musical dance number on the importance of friendship) but it was still the most terrifying thing that I have seen in a while. It also speaks volumes that I have apparently transitioned from thinking, "monsters" to thinking, "raptors" in an event like that.

Well, this has been another adventure in the austentatious. If you liked me, tell your friends; if you hated me, tell your enemies; and if you don't care then tell everyone. And now, good night.