Off to Kyoto
From what I can tell, Elena seems to be enjoying herself. Most people here are surprised at how much she likes the food. She seems to like anything they ask her to try which always seems to put a smile on their faces.
Wednesday after school, we went to Todoroki Waterfalls in Koyama. This is probably one of my favorite places here in Japan only because it is something I have definitely never done before and live so close to. Unfortunately, it is still a bit too cold to really appreciate taking a dip in the cool (read freezing) mountain water. However, being the daredevil I am, I jumped in a couple of times only to come out extremely quickly because of how cold it was. Perhaps when Cristina's uncle JuanP comes he will join me for a dip and we will stay for longer. We were also going to try to climb to some other tiers but quickly realized that it would be a bit too scary to absail down or slide down. Later that night, we introduced Elena to Tomo-chan and his wife Yoko in Osaki. It was fun to catch up with him. I cannot remember the last time we spoke.
Yesterday, we had the Katos over for dinner. Cristina cooked some really good Arroz con Pollo. I would almost go as far as saying it is as good as my grandmother's but everyone would think (know?) I was lying. Point is, it was excellent and I wish I knew how to make it so well. She also made a huge flan which was a bit of trouble to make because of the lack of large convection ovens. Here they have an all in one microwave/toaster/oven-type thingy. She figured out how to use it though and it came out AMAZING! It was truly a hit and she gave the Katos the recipe so they could attempt to make it on their own. If you are wondering what my contribution was, I made the salad and the salad dressing. You may laugh, but my dressing was a great concoction of garlic, olive oil, vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper. I also began to take some video. Hopefully I'll have some interesting stuff to send home soon.
Today Elena came to Uchinoura and lounged around exploring the surroundings. It is a bit more scenic than Higashi-Kushira. I haven't spoken to her so much since I last saw her, but it seems to be going ok. Well, she did tell me that she refused to climb the mountain because of the huge birds hanging around. Tonight we are going to dinner with Cristina's mechanic and Jill and Laura. His name is Ono-san and he is apparently quite the character. I look forward to meeting him, but I am a bit tired and am feeling a bit unsocial. Let's see how it fairs.
In any case, tomorrow we leave bright and early to go to Kyoto. We will spend a couple of days there sightseeing before going to Kobe for our Recontractor's Conference. It should be fun, but the weather is expected to be horrible. Obviously, Cristina, Elena and I are going. Laura and Osa are also coming too. I can't wait. It really just suddenly creeped upon us. I am not the least bit prepared. I usually obsessively plan trips. I guess we'll just have to wing it! (I just taught that to my Japanese teacher -- wing it.)
As a side note, today I got served tomatoes and raw onions with coffee at tea time -- 10:40 AM. I take pleasure in the little things.
Wednesday after school, we went to Todoroki Waterfalls in Koyama. This is probably one of my favorite places here in Japan only because it is something I have definitely never done before and live so close to. Unfortunately, it is still a bit too cold to really appreciate taking a dip in the cool (read freezing) mountain water. However, being the daredevil I am, I jumped in a couple of times only to come out extremely quickly because of how cold it was. Perhaps when Cristina's uncle JuanP comes he will join me for a dip and we will stay for longer. We were also going to try to climb to some other tiers but quickly realized that it would be a bit too scary to absail down or slide down. Later that night, we introduced Elena to Tomo-chan and his wife Yoko in Osaki. It was fun to catch up with him. I cannot remember the last time we spoke.
Yesterday, we had the Katos over for dinner. Cristina cooked some really good Arroz con Pollo. I would almost go as far as saying it is as good as my grandmother's but everyone would think (know?) I was lying. Point is, it was excellent and I wish I knew how to make it so well. She also made a huge flan which was a bit of trouble to make because of the lack of large convection ovens. Here they have an all in one microwave/toaster/oven-type thingy. She figured out how to use it though and it came out AMAZING! It was truly a hit and she gave the Katos the recipe so they could attempt to make it on their own. If you are wondering what my contribution was, I made the salad and the salad dressing. You may laugh, but my dressing was a great concoction of garlic, olive oil, vinegar, lemon, salt and pepper. I also began to take some video. Hopefully I'll have some interesting stuff to send home soon.
Today Elena came to Uchinoura and lounged around exploring the surroundings. It is a bit more scenic than Higashi-Kushira. I haven't spoken to her so much since I last saw her, but it seems to be going ok. Well, she did tell me that she refused to climb the mountain because of the huge birds hanging around. Tonight we are going to dinner with Cristina's mechanic and Jill and Laura. His name is Ono-san and he is apparently quite the character. I look forward to meeting him, but I am a bit tired and am feeling a bit unsocial. Let's see how it fairs.
In any case, tomorrow we leave bright and early to go to Kyoto. We will spend a couple of days there sightseeing before going to Kobe for our Recontractor's Conference. It should be fun, but the weather is expected to be horrible. Obviously, Cristina, Elena and I are going. Laura and Osa are also coming too. I can't wait. It really just suddenly creeped upon us. I am not the least bit prepared. I usually obsessively plan trips. I guess we'll just have to wing it! (I just taught that to my Japanese teacher -- wing it.)
As a side note, today I got served tomatoes and raw onions with coffee at tea time -- 10:40 AM. I take pleasure in the little things.
posted by Jesse Montano at
1:30 PM
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