February!

I ate an entire fish head yesterday.  It was pretty large, and when I say entire that's a bit of an exaggeration on my part because, while I did eat all of the edible elements, a lot of it was bone.  But let me tell you it was an experience!  My host mom asked me if I could eat fish head, but I got the word for head confused with the word for eggs (actually though, I really don't like eating fish eggs haha!), so when I replied saying I could she was really surprised saying that most international students don't want to eat it.  It was at that point that I realized the errors of my ways.  But- it was pretty good!  The parts that were a little strange were the eyes (goopy!) and the collagen- again goopy, but I'll have nice skin, right?!  It was a really fun experience actually though. And my host mom told me that in Okinawa a popular dish is eating pig's ears, nose, and feet, so bring it on, I guess!

I leave for Okinawa on Saturday, which is really exciting!  Finals are done- they were not stressful at all.  It was actually kind of fun to study like a real college student.  My friend and I hit up a really cheap restaurant where they have an unlimited coffee bar, so we had some nice days sipping and studying and being silly when my kanji and his math problems stopped being interesting. I found out recently that I would be living with a host family in Okinawa, which I am really really really happy about!  I know if I were to live in a dorm it would be great because my friend Narumi told me the staff at the school is really welcoming and would look out for me, but how wonderful is it that I am able to live with an Okinawan family, eat local Okinawan cuisine, pick up some slang, and learn more about this place from people who actually live there.  My host sister's name is Miyu.  She is a junior in high school and I guess studied  in Iowa last year, so I'm sure we can commiserate on the winters of the mighty midwest!  I am really looking forward to my month in Okinawa.

Another really great thing about Okinawa is that when I return, it will only be a few weeks before my lovely mother comes to visit me!  I've been doing a lot of bonding with my host mom lately because she has been helping me plan out our schedule and book hotels.  But the reservations have been made, tickets bought, and my little brother Kojirou has even been learning some english phrases!  It is so hilarious and so sweet to hear him practicing welcoming my mom in english.  Ah, I am so lucky!

In other news, it's been a really really really busy last seven days or so.  I met with a lot of friends, some from St. Olaf who were visiting for a few days, a few going away parties for friends leaving, celebrations for the end of finals and other random activities.  Two of my favorite things I did last week were food related.  On Saturday I went to an event sponsored by my "town" in Tokyo, Koganei.  This event was for foreigners living in Koganei to try their hand at the art of Udon-making.  Udon is a type of Japanese noodle, kind of like a really thick spaghetti noodle.  It was so fun!  The ingredients are simple- flour and water, but it takes a long time and a lot of power to mix the dough properly and get it to the right consistancy.  My favorite part was when we put a mat on the floor, then a put the dough on the mat , covered on both sides by a piece of plastic with a final piece of cloth on top.  I was so surprised when the Grandma who was helping us took her shoes off and started turning in circles standing on the dough!  Haha it was fantastic! We all got to try and it felt very strange but all I can say is that our udon was extremely delicious.  It was so great to meet other foreigners in Koganei who are all here for different reasons, as well as being able to meet other Japanese people.  A really fun day!

The second food related activity was going to my friend's host family's home where he was making Korean food for his host mom, three of her friends, a guy who had lived in her home ten years ago as a part of the Japan Study Program, and me.  My friend's host family owns their own apartment building, so the place where we were wasn't their personal kitchen/dining room area.  I'm actually not really sure what it was, but it was interesting to see a living arrangement that was very different from mine.  My friend made one Korean dish, duc-bo-gi (cabbage, rice cake, spicy sauce, yum) and his host mom's friend made a korean kimchi pancake (can't remember the name!).  Her friend is actually Korean but has lived in Japan all her life.  The Korean population in Japan is has a very strong voice, especially in Tokyo.  Many of these Koreans are actually second or third generation and are called Zianichi-Korean. There are a lot of complicated political and cultural topics for discussion that arise when talking about this group of people, and I don't know a lot about them yet, but am learning more the longer I spend time here.

I can't remember if I wrote about this or not but this same friend's host mom also took me and another of our friends to see some historical buildings in a place called Kawagoe. She is so nice and has been really welcoming to me- it's fun getting to know other host families!

Must get going- have a brief orientation meeting regarding our cultural practicum where we receive the all important packet of money!  Meeting another crew of oles tonight for dinner- two were studying abroad in Nagoya, another city in Japan, and are heading back, and the other was on another program and is visiting Tokyo before heading back to good old northfield.  Should be fun!