Back to the Grill

Greetings Friends, Family and Foreigners

First of all, a Hearty Chag Sameach to all family and friends across the world, for now is the time to remember yet another-quite important-Jewish holiday; they tried to kill us, we survived, so let’s reinterpret it, discuss, laugh, think and eat. It has been quite hard for me in this past week to get into the Passover state of mind, though. I am an ocean away from the smell of my Grandmother’s matzo ball soup. My local grocery stores do not have a kosher isle. I am the only practicing Jew in my programme and what’s more the nearest synagogue is in the next prefecture-the chabad in Kobe is the only one of its kind in Japan. With that said I have found other ways in which to honor the Exodus of the people of Israel. In the past few days I have been taking every opportunity to tell who ever I am with the story of Passover. Of course I sound like a bit of a Grandfather when I do so, but it does bring me joy to have expose my friends and fellow students to a significant era in my people’s history that they would have otherwise remained oblivious to.

In other news, the new semester is in full swing in many more ways than one. My new Japanese classes, to my delight, are very fitting for my skill level and I look forward to my progress in the next four months. However, my teachers, compared to last term, are sub-par. I do not doubt their ability to teach the material, but I have noticed, in a few, but all of my teachers, a lack of enthusiasm and interactive drive during class. I’m not saying that I am being taught by teaching certificate totting robots, but class could be a bit more exciting and the teachers could be a bit more approachable. On the other hand I have had wonderful encounters with my teachers from last term when I see them in the halls between classes.

Besides my academic endeavours, I have just recently joined the Ritsumeikan Cycling Circle (RCC). I heard word from my good Korean friend Segun that the RCC was where it is at in terms of extra curriculars at Rits. Taking the chance, I contacted the RCC via email and that same night I received a reply saying that they would like for me to join them for spring semesters first meeting. I showed up after class to the empty classroom, ate some chips, drank some pop, flipped through some cycling magazines and was profusely complimented on my Japanese skills, to which I replied, いいえ、いいえ、全然。(Oh no, not at all).

The RCC gathered on the following Saturday at the nearby Hidano Shrine and after a quick tutorial about useful hand signals for city riding, we were off, riding, in the city that is. After an hour plus of steady-paced city riding to the south of Kyoto we took to the hills-still paved. Our destination was Karazaka-ya Chouyu-en (Karazaka Bird Aviary). It was a pleasure to be able to see Kyoto from a different perspective. Not only was I in a not so crowded area of Kyoto I was in the south of the city, a place I rarely visit. The highlight of the visit to the aviary was, as expected, the bird watching. As I sat on the terribly small wooden benches huddles closely to the RCC crew we were able to a rare sight, the often-aloof Ooruri bird. Ruri is a rare shade of blue, so naturally the small birds main attraction is its strikingly exotic blue back. The real pleasure, however, was not just seeing the bird through binoculars, but it was hearing the elderly people rave about the Ooruri and that in the twenty years they had been coming to the aviary it was their first sighting. Exhilarating.





The next day the RCC met up again for a more relaxing day, that included a day-long barbeque by Matsuo-bashi (Matsuo bridge) on the west side of Kyoto. Similar to the outdoor American BBQ there are the three B’s: beef, blankets and beer. As one could guess though the feeling was a bit different. The beef wasn’t as thick, there were tons of vegetables, we were cooking yakisoba on the grill and there were hundreds of people crowded in one small area enjoying the succulent combination of hops and bovine. Aside from the strong wind the day was a success, especially because I was blessed with the opportunity to teach all of the circle members how to skip rocks (水切り-mizukiri, literally water cutting). Yeah my arm hurts, but as my fellow circle member said on that sunny Sunday in broken English and Japanese, “As children in Japan, if you are good at skipping rocks you will ascend in the hierarchy of the playground.” Seriously, think about, mizukiri playground diplomacy, the way of the future.

Before closing this entry I would also like to recall last Friday’s big karaoke bash. By big I mean 33 Study in Kyoto Programme (SKP) students saddling their bikes and taking the 3o minute ride downtown to the crowded intersection of Sanjo and Kawramachi-a hilarious sight, truly. After locating the karaoke establishment, our loud Italian friend’s lovely Japanese girl friend kindly collected our money and split up the fuming group of internationals into five separate rooms. One thing everyone should know about karaoke is that there is always the option to chose the all-you-can-sing (utaihodai) and all-you-can-drink (nomihodai) option for a much cheaper and hilarious time; Friday was another utaihodai/nomihodai night. Last Friday, how can I say this…someone discovered that whisky on the rocks was included in the drink menu and then there were none. After my routine Frank Sinatra, Fugees, Astrud Gilberto, and old-school Japanese songs I was holding foreheads in the bathroom and pouring waters for my lady friends. I thought high school was over. By 330am I had shoved a handful of friends into taxi cabs and was on my way home sober as a…I don't know someone who had been watching their friends lay down in the hallway of the karaoke establishment for hours because the lights were too bright in the booths. Mom, Dad, everything in moderation.

Shout Out to the close families this week and a special hug and kiss to Grama Selma who made it all the way up to Seattle for Pesach, what a trooper, love you Gram. Also, a big shout out to my boy Phil Casey who is on his way back home from 107 days on a big boat traveling around the world. Phil you’re my boy, thanks for stopping by Kyoto, it was a pleasure to show you around the spots and get lost in my own city with you. Big reunion in Vancouver when August rolls around, dig?

Until Next Time.