Welcome, さとる！

My Japanese teacher and her husband welcomed a new baby boy into the world in November and I finally got a chance to visit him! Sooooooo かわいい！

All the best to you and your FANTASTIC hair, little Satoru!

Mochi Madness

The end of the year is nearing, and that can only signal one thing: mochi.

Okay, so the end of the year usually signals a lot more than this mysterious Japanese oddity I speak of (Does she mean "mooch?"), but at our school (and in most of Japan, for that matter) mochi-making is a celebrated event marking many endings: the end of the school term, the end of the year, and the end of the 3rd year students' school life as they leave to study for university entrance exams:

So what the heck is mochi, anyway? It is a soft, glutenous, blob of pounded rice which is sometimes filled with sweet or savory fillings, and eaten in a variety of dishes and snacks. As with the cult obsession here with plain, white rice itself, mochi can be considered a national, cultural point of pride in Japan. In Western culture, we envision a boring old man on the moon...for the Japanese there are two rabbits living up there pounding out mochi:

Our school's PTA moms host a mochi-pounding event for the 3rd year students (basically, our seniors) so that they can experience the old, traditional way of making mochi in Japan. I especially like this event because of it's guaranteed-free-food factor:

The guy on the left is a hardcore mochi master who's been coming here all three years that I've been here, and probably longer:

The principal and vice-principals have their go at the sticky rice:

As did I...

Whacking grains into submission is most definitely an excellent way to say "sayonara" to 2010.

Far Away Turkey Day

Thanksgiving in Japan once again has come and gone for us, and this year it was no short of another amazing feast! The unseen star of this year's culinary performance was my husband, who prepped, cooked, and worked for days and hours on end to produce an entirely home-cooked traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 30 people (all while cooking regular restaurant orders at the same time)!

With good food and our family of friends from around the world (Japan, the USA, the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia representin'), Thanksgiving continues to be one of the most delicious times of year (warning: gratuitous food and eating pics to follow):

Out from behind the kitchen (is it me, or is he already trying to get a little snoozing in):

And, once again, the prospect of stuffing ourselves like the proverbial turkey makes us realize just how darn lucky we are and thankful we should be. Traveling, health, amazing food experiences, two good jobs, inspiring friends, laughter, ups and downs shared together, a nice warm house, and this continued crazy Japanese adventure all make the list this year. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Urban Homesteading in Japan

With the new brood of English teachers starting work here in Sapporo this summer came a coolio couple with a passion for travel, brewing their own beer, and bluegrass...be still our hearts! Definitely our kind of folks! And to show you just how cool they are, Brian and Jess have brainstormed and put together the Sapporo DIY Exchange promoting urban homesteading here in Sapporo. You can visit their website here, but they basically intend to "build an international community of folks curious about all things DIY, from homesteading and crafting...yogurt and cheesemaking, other fermented foods, soapmaking, gardening, crafts,...and anything else we get curious about." Yup, sign us up!

So our first meeting of the Sapporo DIY Exchange was held at their house last weekend and it was a complete success! First workshop: yogurt-making...

...complete with step-by-step instructions for constructing homemade incubators:

Like any good workshop, there was plenty 'o food...in this case, a variety of their own homemade yogurts, flavored yogurts, yogurt sauces, and homemade falafel for dipping!

And we each got our own tub of yogurt to take home...I'm a big fan of parting-gifts:

I can't think of any better way of "cultivating" new knowledge, experience, and a little internationalization (not to mention, bad puns) all at the same time! Totally looking forward to learning more from these two and having a little afternoon community time to boot!

What About Jacob?

So, a lot (all?) of my posts recently haven't really featured the Thiessen Twosome so much as it has just been about...me. There's a pretty good reason for that, folks, honestly! As of this past July, Jacob has been the head (and most times, the only) chef at the bar and restaurant he's been employed at since he first got here, TK6:

This guy is a crazy working and cooking machine, and while I don't see nearly enough of him as I like (demand), I'm still super proud of him and happy that he's carved a niche out and formed a community here that doesn't revolve around the ubiquitous English-teaching world of Japan.

Yes, Jacob's family at TK6 is wild, strange, supportive, and...shall we say...close:

But he's happiest when he's working and I'm happy that he's working in the field that he loves. While the job doesn't always allow for us to travel or get away with each other too often, it's still an incredible experience for him, and after all, that's what this little Japanese adventure of ours over here is all about...