Handstands in the kitchen

Not exactly the kitchen, more like the dining room but it did not sound as good. It is Sunday night and we start work in the morning. Last week was a strange one for weather with some warm days then two nights of snow I never new what was coming next, I would go to bed to clear skies and wake up with 6 inches of powder.

I am settling in to Japan a little more now. For the first several months I went back and forth about my opinions of my host country. It took my discovery of a really nice river 30 minutes from ARI and a random backyard full of kayaks to wake me up to the possibilities. I have since taken a new approach to language learning, started rock climbing and started planning a hike for May. There are some really cool aspects to the country and the people that I overlooked when I first got here. I don't think I have mentioned it on here before but before I decided to apply to YASC I had never really thought of visiting Japan. As such I knew little about the culture and history that I had not picked up from samurai movies. It just seemed to complicated for me. However, while I was re-watching Kill Bill vol. 1 today I started to recognize phrases and little elements of Japanese culture that I have picked up in my stay.

This afternoon we went to a local Ramen restaurant and then spent the rest of the day wandering along small trails and rambling through rice paddies. I have taken it upon myself to search out the best ramen and gyoza spots in town. For those of you that are missing out on this food phenomenon, ramen is not just a bag of freeze dried noodles and msg's that you heat up in 3 minutes, it is an art form. Ramen is a noodle dish native to China that has been welcomed with open arms here in Japan. They serve bowls of ramen the size of your head, and a very popular side dish is another Chinese immigrant the gyoza. Gyoza is effectively a wanton stuffed with meat and onions (or a wide variety of other foodstuffs I am learning) and pan fried, deep fried, stewed, or baked. They are delicious and I am seriously considering opening a small restaurant when I get back to the States.

This evening we spent some time trying to do yoga poses in the main room which led to handstands and break dancing. We have a boisterous group of Japanese volunteers who are getting ready to go overseas for 2 year service assignments with the Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteer organization (think Peace Corps.) They were my adventuring posse this afternoon and always down for a good time.

I am glad the video blogs have received a positive acceptance and I will be posting another one soon. Go find a local farmer or restaurant to support and enjoy some good company. All my love.

Peace,

Mike