Food and New Friends

Tuesday was originally slated to be my day to recover from the flight. Didn't need the day off. I was good to go, so I got up and went. I shuffled through emails and took care of computer stuff, ate breakfast and then felt so good that I went for a jog. After lunch I walked to Zama High School to meet Candy and be introduced to many members of the faculty. After school I met up with Ed Fogell, who has served as my American link to the folks at Yamato Nishi High School, where I will observe next week. Ed played basketball for Penn State University from 1985-1990 (I will have to ask Linda Williams if she remembers him at our reunion in two weeks.) Ed (picture above) teaches Japanese at ZHS and also serves as athletic director.

Last night Candy and I were taken by and Alan and L.J. Corr , teachers at ZHS to Ebina City to the Vina Walk, a HUGE outdoor mall. There we ate at a restaurant called Okonomi-Yaki, whose feature dish is called by the same name. Apparently, there is quite a regional dispute as to who serves the best Okonomi-Yaki. Yokohama has their version, Tokyo their's. Okonomi-Yaki is shredded cabbage, whatever meat or vegetables you want and a raw egg that you stir with a wooden spoon in a bowl provided to you. You then dump the mixture onto the griddle at your table, cover it with a glass lid and then turn the hour glass-like timer over until the last grains of sand drop, four minutes later. You then remove the glass lid and, with the metal spatula provided, flip the Okonomi-Yaki over for an additional four minutes. At this point you grab your chop sticks and dig in. The way Alan enjoys his Okonomi-Yaki is with a thick Terriyaki sauce and mayonnaise, also provided. I bought in and enjoyed my combination of cabbage, pork and egg immensely. L.J. ordered a drink called "Peach Calpis" (be careful with pronunciation when saying "Calpis.") I ordered one as well and was not disappointed. It tasted like a sweet peach nectar. We then proceeded to Starbucks in the mall for coffee and pastries. About what you would expect from any Starbucks in the States, right down to the friendly, smiling baristas. We strolled a bit and then made the return journey to Zama. The whole experience was exactly what I wished for when I first conceived this trip. Thanks again to Alan and L.J. for a wonderful evening.

The pictures are of Alan and L.J., our meal and the mall. Today I am going to the Imperial Palace and then for a walk down the Ginza.

-k