Just last night I had my welcome party from Sanwa High School. They are my base school, my favorite place to be. I had high hopes for this party, and they did not disappoint. We first had dinner at a seafood restaurant with an incredible spread. I have come to anticipate the huge amount of food these welcome parties have, but it is always a surprise to see it all in front of me!
We began with some sashimi, tofu, and tempura. Then we moved on to onabe, which is a kind of Japanese comfort food. They serve it mainly during the colder fall and winter months and it is a "family dish." Essentially it is a big pot of soup cooking in the middle of the table. The restaurant gives you all the ingredients - vegetables, tofu, oysters, crab, shrimp, chicken - and you put all the fixins' in the pot and watch it cook. It is delicious and just nice and warm and oh so easy to make at home too. After the onabe we had crab legs and a huge fish that had been cut open and cooked. We had kamameshi, and this was a nomihodai as well. Nomihodai means "all you can drink."
Now I know my Mother is cringing a bit, but don't worry, the six drinks I had last night were spread over six hours. These parties tend to last well into the night. So as we are eating, they periodically stop and give speeches. They thank me for being there and ask me if I like it. I thank them for helping me so much with my transition to Japanese life and for always thinking of me and looking out for me. After our feast, we go for some impromptu karaoke! Always a fan of karaoke, I thought this was a great idea.
We sang our little hearts out for a couple hours. I was able to pull out the two Japanese songs I know and sing them! I wish I knew more Japanese music because it is fun for me to sing in their language. But we sang a lot of Beatles and they sang a lot of Japanese. I had explained to them earlier in the night, when they were talking about American television shows they like (Lost, 24, Heroes, The O.C.) that I tend to not like anything popular. This presents a problem only when I am trying to relate to the Japanese on a point of entertainment. I don't like the popular singers, or TV shows, or movies. So instead of singing the Macy Grey and Cake that I usually enjoy, I took requests. They asked me to sing the Titanic song (My Heart Will Go On), All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Carey, Beatles, Backstreet Boys. And I had a blast!
I think when I get back and strike it rich, I am going to have my own Japanese style Izekaiya restaurant and a Karaoke box. How can they not be popular!??!!
3 comments:
oh my gosh, oh my gosh, please open one! i'd love it! sounds like a fantastic little party :) it's making my mouth water, too! love and miss you!
(also, i FINALLY beat mikey to a post!)
There is totally a correlation between having six drinks and singing Mariah Carey, because I'm pretty sure you HATE that song. And now I'm hungry and want to watch some awesome tv shows, but sadly, there isn't much food here, and 24 and Lost do not start again until January. And Kaitlin, enjoy your little victory, as it will be very, very, VERY short-lived.
My girl will be a businesswoman when she comes home. I think that may just be a great idea, but you might have to start near a metropolitan city. I would go anywhere to hear you sing.
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