Kurume Day and 25-year old’s Rebirth, again

Kurume Day

We were taken to explore the city of Kurume (Kurume-shi) last Friday with a group of Kurume University students who are involved in the English-intensive program. They spoke ALL day in English and it was impressive… We visited the Kora Shrine and Ishibashi Cultural Center and were treated to two wonderful meals. And, with the mantra of, “Try Everything (it’s Japan)” I enjoyed a fabulous dinner. It was slow-going through the first round of fish-gelatin-covered sashimi of raw octopus (tako) and something else… maybe squid. Sure. The three types of ice-cream/ custards of caramel, coconut and watermelon finished off famous Kanagawa-style kinda-tempura pork rolls… delish.

(Kora shrine)

So much for being vegetarian… in the house I am doing ok, but outside… there is too much to try… and being that I am “trying everything”… well, you get it. Oh, I forgot to mention the Kabocha soup during dinner… so good! I don’t even know what that means or what the Kanji (characters) look like, but if I hear it again, I’m downing it without hesitating- well, I will hesitate to say, “Itadakimas” which is like a pre-meal blessing. After this entry, can you tell that food is important to people with the last name, “Strich?”

(Kurume city from the Kora shrine- You’ll also notice mountains everywhere… I heard 60% of land in Japan is considered mountainous… Pretty crazy stat… it is perhaps 60% true. Furthermore 60% statistics are made up on the spot, though it might be more like 70% of those which are only true 55% of the time… THERE ARE MANY MOUNTAINS AND HILLS in JAPAN!)
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25-year old’s Rebirth, again (wow, confusing)

It’s so amazing when a baby is born. We celebrate its birth, its first everything- words, steps, day of school, graduations, etc. I don’t have kids, so I can’t necessarily celebrate these with the same vigor as a parent, but I have celebrated nonetheless. And, again, huge props to cousin Sara and Jeff because now they have new Jem to go along with Big Ben! Congratulations on such a wonderful beautiful baby boy!

Like I said, I help celebrate these special occasions when they arise… and I have recently celebrated myself. Having recently emerged, yet again, from the womb- I have discovered that this time it’s in Japanese… and boy am I as lost as a newborn! The difference is that I am supposed to somehow understand because I am bigger. The baby takes it for granted that it’s small, and humans somehow understand that it is just beginning… well, hey, I am too! Japanese is hard and I am getting used to the cultural nuances that I learn everyday… wow that was a long poorly thought-out introduction for discussing my “accomplishment” over the weekend.
(A nice beach shot, sans waves, but thats OK because the water was warm)

Armed with a couple of key phrases, a hand-drawn map and some time on my hands, I left my apartment and set out for the big city to go to the beach. I had my firsts: language phrases, public transportation uses, etc. Long story short is that I made it to the beach, went up Fukuoka Tower (123 meters), survived a day out of the apartment and got home safely and soundly… sounds somewhat boring… but it sure felt great! [Drew and Jen, you certainly should have been recognizing these pictures!]
(Fukuoka Tower from the beach)

The most dangerous part was on my bike ride home from the train station… it was the grey-haired lady in a yellow dress with the umbrella that was walking right in the middle of the sidewalk/path. I hit the curb, lost a shoe and nearly flew off the bike into on-coming traffic. I know what you’re thinking- I should have been riding on the right side of the street. I was on the RIGHT side… but in Japan folks drive on the LEFT… and the steering wheels are on the right side… get used to THAT! So, karmaically (if that is a word) I deserved it because I was on the wrong side of the road-- Although, it seems that pedestrians and bicycles often just fit in where they want-- So, I laughed it off and got some fresh plums to sweeten up my arrival at home.
(Momochihana beach from above- from the Fuk Tower)

And today, after I wrote most of this blog, I went out to lunch with the ladies with whom I work (yes, that’s how you say it… proper grammar!) I was able to read the menu that was in Katakana. I am almost proficient in this first (easiest!) of the three written Japanese languages… a couple more repetitions through the characters and I should be able to navigate the streets a bit more.

(Looking towards Fukuoka Harbor: behind JAL building is the Yahoo! Dome, where the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks baseball team plays. I am possibly going to a game on Wednesday!)

So, lots of firsts, lots of newness and it is like being reborn in another culture. It happened to me in Italian, Spanish and now in Japanese… but this one will take a bit more time to get used to… however, it’s clean here so waiting and being patient is a lovely experience. So long as I take my time, things here seem to fall into place… there is always a person to help, always more Japanese to learn, always a new place to travel.

(This was a random entry… hope you were able to follow it!)

Matan-e,