Japan Trip: Hangovers and Amazing Toast - Day Four
I started off Sunday with a bit of a headache. It then became a mild hangover that I chased with water for most of the day. I woke up around 9 surrounded by other people who had crashed out at Steph's. Dan spent some time showing off his amazing paintball bruises and we all took off around 11.
Dan went to start his car only to find that the battery was dead! Doh! Steph and Mari showed back up with jumper cables, but their yellow plate car was not powerful enough to get the Largo back to life. Fortunately, Beata had a white plate car, so we were able to get a jump off that one.
Apparently, there are two classifications of cars in Japan. Yellow plate cars have an engine that is 660 cc or smaller. So sort of a large motorcycle engine. White plate cars are what we would have in the States.
For lunch, which took place for most of the early afternoon, we went to a restaurant called Tom's Toast (Tomo Toasto?) where we had what much be one of the best artistic delicacies of the Echizan City area. It is like taking a huge slice of brea, hollowing out the middle, and filling it with fantastic food. Or like taking the same enormous slice and creating a wonderful sandwich. Or like taking the same slice and battering it and creating French Toast. Someone took pictures, but it was like experiencing eating art. It was really amazing and definitely a unique experience!
Sunday was mostly a recovery day. We just hung out with some of Dan's fellow JETs, watched Once Were Warriors, a movie about domestic violence and coming of age as a Maori in New Zealand, and played some Super Smash Brothers. Matt joined us for a dinner of curry - apparently a typical Japanese meal. I got to experience a chain restaurant. When you wanted to order, you hit the buzzer at your table and the waiter came over and took your order.
One thing that gets to me - napkins are rare here. They often bring a wet napkin at the beginning of the meal, but it is no fun to clean your face with. Many Japanese here seem to carry around their own handkerchief so perhaps that is why napkins are in short supply.
We talked about Japan and how it differs from America from the JET's teaching perspective. Some interesting conversation - apparently things are changing in Japan. They are no longer allowed to beat the kids in school, but a new punishment has not been created. Because of that, there are really no consequences to kids who act out. This makes it a little difficult for the JETs who had unruly children. Additionally, there are kids who simply do not attend school. Their parents cover for them and allow them to stay at home because that is a better way to save face than to admit that their kid has a problem. They are called "parasite children" and there are about a million of them in Japan.
Dan and I dropped Matt back off at his apartment and went back home. We crashed out around 9:30.
Dan went to start his car only to find that the battery was dead! Doh! Steph and Mari showed back up with jumper cables, but their yellow plate car was not powerful enough to get the Largo back to life. Fortunately, Beata had a white plate car, so we were able to get a jump off that one.
Apparently, there are two classifications of cars in Japan. Yellow plate cars have an engine that is 660 cc or smaller. So sort of a large motorcycle engine. White plate cars are what we would have in the States.
For lunch, which took place for most of the early afternoon, we went to a restaurant called Tom's Toast (Tomo Toasto?) where we had what much be one of the best artistic delicacies of the Echizan City area. It is like taking a huge slice of brea, hollowing out the middle, and filling it with fantastic food. Or like taking the same enormous slice and creating a wonderful sandwich. Or like taking the same slice and battering it and creating French Toast. Someone took pictures, but it was like experiencing eating art. It was really amazing and definitely a unique experience!
Sunday was mostly a recovery day. We just hung out with some of Dan's fellow JETs, watched Once Were Warriors, a movie about domestic violence and coming of age as a Maori in New Zealand, and played some Super Smash Brothers. Matt joined us for a dinner of curry - apparently a typical Japanese meal. I got to experience a chain restaurant. When you wanted to order, you hit the buzzer at your table and the waiter came over and took your order.
One thing that gets to me - napkins are rare here. They often bring a wet napkin at the beginning of the meal, but it is no fun to clean your face with. Many Japanese here seem to carry around their own handkerchief so perhaps that is why napkins are in short supply.
We talked about Japan and how it differs from America from the JET's teaching perspective. Some interesting conversation - apparently things are changing in Japan. They are no longer allowed to beat the kids in school, but a new punishment has not been created. Because of that, there are really no consequences to kids who act out. This makes it a little difficult for the JETs who had unruly children. Additionally, there are kids who simply do not attend school. Their parents cover for them and allow them to stay at home because that is a better way to save face than to admit that their kid has a problem. They are called "parasite children" and there are about a million of them in Japan.
Dan and I dropped Matt back off at his apartment and went back home. We crashed out around 9:30.