Day 5-New School! New Food!

Today was my first day at my new JHS, Mirumae! It is much bigger than my last JHS. Otobe has around 290 students, and Mirumae has over 500! WOW! That's a lot of students! There are 5 classes in each grade, Otobe only had 3 per grade...So, that's 15 classes versus 9! I'm going to be teaching a LOT more than I did last year. Mixed blessings, I think. I *would* rather complain about working too much, than working too little. At least this way I'm actually doing something!

I was only at Mirumae for half a day, and I did not do much. After a tour of the school (I'm going to get super lost, I already know this), I wrote out a small intro profile about me (focusing on where I am from).  OH quick side note: My school is so big, I get to post "Miss Lydia's English Board" in THREE DIFFERENT PLACES! One on each floor, so the different grades don't have to share one board.

After I wrote out my little "I'm from Kansas..." bit, I worked on an English recitation with a 2nd year student and his English teacher. This is the same guy who gave me the tour around the school, but boy was his personality different. I can tell that the second years won't be giving me any lip at this school. I can honestly say I am a little relieved, although the student we were working with was obviously becoming increasingly upset every time the teacher told him his pronunciation was okashii (strange). All I could do was to tell him "good job" after he said a word with [what I judged as] good pronunciation. In the end, with me telling the him "good job" and his teacher telling him "okashii" I can only imagine he is even worse off.

My first day of work. Lasted a few hours. Got home by 1 and had lunch!! I made tumuric rice and served it warm with natto. In case you don't know what natto (納豆) is, it's fermented soy beans. It smells like it sounds, fermented beans. You know that really smelling cheese? Limburger? I always think of that and blue cheese when I eat natto. I mean, I don't know what limburger tastes like, but despite the way it smells, people still like it. That's what natto is.

Doesn't that look super appealing?

I know you want to try it...it comes with shiso tare (perilla flavored sauce)

Natto is always one of those things that comes up in a conversation with a Japanese person you've just met (most likely someone older, like a co-worker, or a principle of a school)

Japanese Person: Oh, you're Japanese is so good (lie)

Lydia: No, no...I'm still learning.

JP: Well, what sort of Japanese foods do you like?

L: I really like beef, so some of my favorites are sukiyaki and gyudon.

JP: Oh, well, don't you like sushi?

L: Of course, but I don't eat shellfish. Only fish, like salmon and tuna.

JP: So you can't eat raw food.

L: No...I like raw salmon and tuna. I'm Jewish so--(*think twice about trying to explain being kosher*) I don't like shellfish.

JP: I see. Well, what sort of Japanese foods do you hate?

L: (Oooh, I see where THIS is going. But I wont let you win this one, I've been training with natto the way a marathoner trains for long distance! By JUST DOING IT!) OH YOU MEAN NATTO?! I LOVE THAT STUFF (lie).

Ask any ALT (exchange student, worker) in Japan. They have had this conversation many times. Whether or not they like natto depends on the person, but the conversation generally follows the same path.

My masterpiece: Turmeric rice with natto.

The ingredients in the rice: rice, water, some chicken bullion, red pepper, tomato.

This was one of those recipes that made itself. I decided I wanted rice (since I had my lovely rotten soy beans), but I didn't want plain rice. So I threw a whole red pepper (minus the seeds and stem, of course) and a few mini-tomatos into my food processor and added them to the cooking rice (half cup) with a few shakes of turmeric, some chicken bullion and set the lid on. I added water and stirred as I saw fit, so it ended up like risotto in consistency, instead of the Japanese-style sticky short rice I wanted. BUT it was still good. And it went surprisingly well with the strong taste of the natto. Tomorrow I will just make normal rice and natto...Maybe throw some kimchi on it. That's a good, simple way to eat natto. 

Well, I hope this wasn't a terribly gross update. 

Eat more natto!

xoxo