Day to Myself in Kasugai

Kana woke me up early today (7 am) so that they could feed me breakfast before they left for work. Today I had rice with a seasoning on it (it was supposed to be vegetables, but there was definitely fishiness to it, too), pickles, seafish, I skipped the pickled plum (too strong), sweetened white beans that I actually liked, instant miso soup, and greens (ohitasi) with sesame seeds and soy sauce. Another very filling breakfast! I spent some time praying and reading the Bible after getting ready this morning (I did much better with the shower today). I took several pictures around the house before calling Joel and my parents! Kana’s family has a phone plan where it’s cheap to call the US, so they said I could. How wonderful! There was no delay and the connection was great! I made myself lunch after that – Yoshiko had all the instructions written out for me to make Chinese noodles (aka Ramen noodles). Then I headed to the 100 yen (pronounced “en”) store. I took several pictures as I walked there, and I had a blast in the store! I got most of my souvenirs for my family, including dried small shrimp, dried seaweed, and some origami paper. I spent about 2200 yen ($22), but I could’ve spent twice that much. I didn’t because I can’t add any more weight to my suitcase – I’m already going to have to pay cartage on my flight from Jakarta to Sentani. Yoshiko got home just before I did, and I helped her with the laundry. She’s making “tempura” for supper tonight, so I watched. It’s various foods (green peppers, pumpkin, eggplant, onions, leek, carrots, dried shrimp, seaweed) dipped in a batter (eggs, flour, water) and fried in oil. I offered to help, but she had it all under control. My favorite was the kakiage - a mixture of onions, carrots, and leek. I also had some sushi tonight, but it wasn't raw fish....it was nore (??? - at any rate, seaweed) with rice, imitation crab, egg, and some sort of plant in the middle. It was a wrap, and the rice had a vinegar flavor. Not my favorite, but not to bad. The seaweed tempore I wasn't a fan of, but the pumpkin and eggplant and green pepper were just fine. We talked and laughed after supper as we flipped through the North Dakota book my family had mailed to Kana last year. Shin (Kana's dad) really likes the badlands and the greenery of ND. It sounds like we’ll be going to Inuyama Castle tomorrow, about a 1.5-hour drive from here.

“Ohagi” is the name of the rice/bean sweet I talked about yesterday. They call me “Holly-chan” – “chan” is the feminine word for “friend.” I have my own mug (Kermit the Frog) to use for tea and at meals, and the toilet paper’s pink! “Mansions” are large apartment buildings, and gas is 98 yen/L – I don’t know what that means in $/gal. My chopstick skills are improving, but they were virtually non-existent before I got here, so I have a long ways to go. I broke down and used a spoon to eat my noodles at lunch today. Kana, Shin, and Yoshiko have all said that I'm doing well with them....woo hoo!