Friday, September 18, 2009

Thursday, September 17-Friday, September 18, 2009-

If a day is a second, a year is just over six minutes.

For me these past two days have felt like two seconds, tick-tick, the clock is playing tricks with my mind. I feel as if I am spending my days twiddling my thumbs at times, and yet I am fast approaching my 1 month mark. I now fully believe my new Rotex friend Ayano Baba when she said to me, “I got home to Japan after my year in Minnesota, looked at myself and asked, ‘was that just a dream?’”

To be brief the two highlights of my split second days have been twofold:

1) I got the new uniform for the Fishery. I get to wear a slick pair o’ slacks, a rather 1980’s fashioned zip-up with the initials BHSF on the back (Bato High School Fishery, because I know you were trying to figure it out), a pair of high-quality boots, and an impressive lab coat. To top it off the slacks and lab coat were embroidered with my name: サム.

2) SUSHI. I actually learned to make Sakura Sushi today in food design (I still smirk every time I say “food design”) along with Osuimono Soup, and Sakura Mochi. Sakura Sushi is made with the traditional sushi rice. To each 3 person batch of rice add 3 Tbsp. Vinegar, 1 tsp. Salt, & 5 tsp. Sugar.

Mix into the rice and leave to cool. If you have sheets of nori seaweed at home you can lay out a sheet on a rolling mat and fill it with your desired fixings. Today we added Egg, Carrot, Shitake Mushrooms, and two Japanese things I didn't recognize.

Mochi are small rice cakes that are cooked flat like pancakes and filled with delectable Anko – Red Bean Paste. Our final result was a nice second lunch for the day. Which reminds me, I think I have gained 2 kilos so far, but I don’t know how much of that is from my thigh muscles bulking up!

Tomorrow is the first of a five day stretch of holidays called Silver Week, so named because it is the autumn version of the infamous Golden Week which comes every spring. I have the next three school days off and I am planning on going ayu fishing, to a sports day, and to Nikko Forest. I am so excited for the last one. From what I've heard, it's quite impressive. As they say in Japanese 楽しいみにしています。”I am in a state of being prepared to do fun.” To translate- I’m excited!

PS I've started having dreams in semi-Japanese. Parts are in Japanese but I don’t actually understand most of it. Kevin Blackburn, the town employee that has been helping me, was joking with me, we decided that somewhere in there I’m already fluent! Now if my dreams would just become reality, then my dreams would really have become reality (WOAH, word play!)

2 comments:

  1. We were talking about you at aquacize this morning and Mrs. Salisbury said when you dream in a language you are trying to learn, you know you've made progress. Grandma

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  2. Hello Samuel - Just wondering if you could do a little better job of keeping your blog up-to-date. Signed the mom of your favorite eskanke and relative of a beautiful princess. ps we miss your guts.

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