Because of all my responsibilities before winter vacation, I didn’t have much free time to study Japanese. As I fell back into a more regular routine this week, it was easier to dedicate some time to being a student once again; rather than a teacher. In fact, I was able to pencil in time for two Japanese lessons; one on Monday and another on Friday. I met up with Ogino-san (Ms. Ogino) on Friday and we went over how to read numbers in Japanese. This is especially useful when you wish to inquire the price of an item.
Q: Kono saifu wa ikura desu ka? (This wallet, how much is it?)
このさいふはいくらですか？
A: Sono saifu wa sanzen en desu. (That wallet, it is 3000 yen.)
そのさいふはさんぜんえんです。
I had also studied this on Monday, but had left my lesson without fully understanding the pattern behind the Japanese way of counting. Thanks to Ogino-san, I was able to say the cost (according to her opinion) of a apartment/house (43,295,250 yen), building (5,230,020,950 yen) and car (2,570,500 yen). As native English speakers, we don’t realize the general knowledge that we take for granted. In this case, reading complicated numbers.
After my lesson (11-12pm) with her, I didn’t have anything special planned. I thought ,maybe I would go walk around the outlets, spending some time window shopping until my 2:30pm lesson with Harumi. As I was walking out of the classroom, Ogino-san asked me what I was doing for the rest of the day. When I said I had nothing planned, she cordially invited me to her friend’s house for hirugohan (lunch).
At her friend’s apartment, I learned how to make traditional Chinese dumplings (the Japanese call them gyoza) from scratch. The wrap is made from four and water and the filling is usually made with ground pork, cabbage and Chinese chives. The ladies and I also made a vegetarian version filled with only cabbage and chives. Despite their simplicity, the finished veggie dumplings were absolutely delicious. After boiling them in water, we dipped them in a mixture of special Chinese vinegar and soy sauce. Jay-san, the lady who taught us how to make the dumplings, was born in Southern China and spent a great deal of her life living in England and other parts of Europe. It was interesting to learn that she was a Doctor of Computer Science specializing in Computer Networks. She is also a member of my Japanese class and is trying her best to learn the language. I really enjoyed Ogino-san’s unexpected invitation. I told her how much I enjoy cooking but since I have no oven, I’m really not sure how to cook food here in Japan. In response to my concern, she mentioned that I should come to the Japanese cooking class for foreigners and young mothers. The next class is February 28th!
Lauren forwarded me the Chiba Newsletter. She must have missed this interesting little tid-bit:
Mustache Stroking Festival (Higenade Matsuri)
This bizarre festival, first held, according to legend, in the
Kempou Era (1213-1219), is said to bring good harvests and
prosperity for descendants through, you guessed it, the stroking of
mustaches. The functional purpose of the event is to pass
stewardship of shrine events from one family group to another. But
the means by which this is accomplished is mustache-stroking and
drinking copious amounts of sake. Fourteen individuals from each
side (outgoing stewards and incoming stewards) displaying splendid
facial hair (both real and false) will line up to drink sake from
large bowls as part of a Shinto ritual. It is tradition that when
a participant strokes his (or her!) mustache, they challenge
themselves with extra sake for that round. Expect plenty of heckling
and hollering from the crowd.
Date: Sunday, January 13th
Time: 1:30-2:30pm
Location: Sobataka Jinja, 5 Okura, Katori City
Access: From Sawara Stn. on the JR Narita Line, take a Chiba Kotsu
Bus toward Omigawa Stn. by way of Okura (大倉経由小見川駅行き)
and get off at Sobataka Jinja (側高神社)
Inquiries: Katori City Tourism Division
Tel. 0478-50-1212
Sobataka Jinja
Tel. 0478-57-1545
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