Family, Friends, Culture, and Tradition Part II

Sunday morning, I was awoken at 8 am by the siren that sounds throughout the town every day at the same time (it also sounds at noon and 5 pm). Mrs. Kondo came in my room to make sure I was up, and once everyone was dressed and ready, we left the house and went to an open air market that is held on Sundays in the center of town. At this market, local farmers, fishermen, and merchants sold their goods. The merchants at the markets knew that the American teachers staying in Takeo would be at the market this week, so they made special signs in English to welcome us and explain their products. I bought some handmade New Year’s cards and Mrs. Kondo bought food for breakfast. When we got back to the house, sat down to eat the breakfast Mrs. Kondo prepared.

Breakfast in Japan is VERY different from breakfast in America. While she was preparing a typical Japanese breakfast, Mrs. Kondo asked what Americans eat for breakfast. I told her that we usually have eggs, toast, cereal, or a bagel and cream cheese (I had to explain what a bagel was). For breakfast at the Kondo’s, we had rice (rice is eaten with EVERY meal in Japan), soup with chicken, mushrooms, and bean curd, and two different kinds of tofu (raw and fried). I didn’t love the fried tofu, but I didn’t want to offend

anyone, so I made sure to finish everything in my bowl.

After breakfast we headed to the nearby town of Arita, which is famous throughout Japan and the rest of the world for producing beautiful porcelain. In Arita there is a museum that documents the history of ceramics in Japan. Almost all of the information in the museum was in Japanese, but I was able to see that the earliest Japanese pottery in the collection dated back over 400 years. As the pottery became more modern, the shapes and designs became more complex and the colors were more varied and brilliant.

On the way home from the museum we stopped at the supermarket (again) to pick up food for lunch. Since Japanese kitchens tend to be pretty small, families tend to shop for one day or one meal at a time. Many families in Takeo also practice some kind of farming. They might not grow all of the food they need to exist, but they grow some of the food they need. For example, the Kondos grow onions and squash, and they got their rice from a friend’s paddy nearby. Lunch on Sunday was a yummy dish called yakisoba. Mrs. Kondo and Hanai sliced the vegetables and meat, while Mr. Kondo cooked the veggies and noodles on a big, electric pan in the middle of the dining room table. While we were eating our yakisoba, the tofu truck passed by the house. Much like ice cream trucks in America, the tofu truck plays a simple song through a bullhorn on top of the car (it almost sounds like the truck is singing "to-fu") and the people in the neighborhood who need to buy tofu run out to the truck to make their purchase. Since the Kondo's bought tofu at the market in the morning, they didn't need to purchase any from the truck that day. In fact, we were already eating tofu in the salad we had with our lunch!

After lunch, we took some time to relax at the house and watched the Phillies play in the 3rd game of the World Series! I was so excited to be able to see the game, and it was so awesome to be watching it in Japan!! The neatest part was that the Japanese sports channel actually had reporters in a Press Box at Citizens' Bank Park, so the announcing was in English and Japanese. While I expected to hear the announcers speak Japanese, I did not expect to see the player stats and batting line-up in Japanese. We also noticed that an advertisement for a juku, or cram school, was superimposed over the digital sign behind home plate. Over the course of the weekend, I had been trying to explain to the Kondos what Philadelphia was famous for (other than Rocky), like cheesesteaks, the Liberty Bell, and the Philly Phanatic. This was not an easy task without pictures, but during the World Series, the TV cameras showed each of these highlights of Philadelphia and I was able to share visuals of these local favorites with my Host Family.

While we were watching the game, Mr. Kondo's sister came to visit from Arita with her daughter, Namiko, and Namiko's best friend, Maiko. Namiko and Maiko are seniors at Takeo High School and they were looking forward to meeting me and practicing their English. When they came over, Namiko and Maiko were both in their school uniforms, which means they were at school studying on Sunday! Both of them attend a juku and are preparing for their college entrance exams. Our guests took a break from studying long enough to share some tea and cream puffs they brought from a famous French pastry shop in Arita. I was able to ask them questions about high school in Japan and they asked me what I thought of Japan and Japanese food.

Once the baseball game ended (Go Phils!), Namiko gave me a lesson in shodo, Japanese calligraphy. By creating an example for me to copy from, Namiko taught me how to write the Japanese symbol for Peace, which is pronounced "Heh-ee-wa". After the girls left, Mrs. Kondo taught me how to write the Japanese symbol for Compassion, pronounced "Na-sa-keh". Hanai warned me that Mrs. Kondo teaches shodo to her fourth grade students and is a very strict teacher, and she was right. I kept forgetting to use my left hand to hold the paper steady and Mrs. Kondo corrected me every time. In the end, Mrs. Kondo might have been a strict teacher, but she was a very good teacher and I learned a lot from her.

After my shodo lesson, it was time to pack my bags and say my goodbyes to my Japanese family. They drove me back into town to the ryokan where I and the rest of my group would be spending our last night in Takeo. It was hard to say goodbye to the Kondos. They showed me such kindness and welcomed me into their house with open arms. They also did so much to teach me about Japanese culture and family life. We promised to keep in touch, trade pictures from the weekend, and send music suggestions. I let the Kondos know that if they ever visit Philadelphia to run the steps of the Art Museum like Rocky Balboa (something Mrs. Kondo is really looking forward to doing), they always have a place to stay.

My group's night at the ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn), was the perfect way to end our stay in Takeo and spend our final night as a small group. We started the week hardly knowing each other, and ended it knowing that we will each remain a part of each other's lives forever. I was very lucky to spend my time in Takeo with such an amazing, diverse group of dedicated teachers and administrators. At the inn, we dressed in yukata and we were treated to a traditional Japanese feast. I have never seen so much food in my life! I tried to take a picture of my place setting, but I had to start eating the food so there would be room for the next course! The beef was served to us raw, but was cooked on our tables in little clay pots by a candle. It was so yummy! After we finally finished all of that food, the owner of the inn rolled out the karaoke machine and we all took turns singing songs. Finally, after a filling dinner and lots of out of tune singing, we took our final bath in the onsen. After that, it was back to the tatami rooms we shared together to get a good night's sleep and prepare for our flight back to Tokyo the next morning.

Now, I am sitting in my hotel room in Tokyo, back where I started this adventure, getting ready for our closing banquet. I can hardly believe that it is already time to come home! I have had such an amazing time in Japan and I've learned so much more than I've had time to relate in this blog. I can't wait to continue sharing this experience with you once I return to Pennsylvania!