Seriously...

Do people really care about Brad and Jenny? This stumps me every time I go through the check out at the grocery store!

Nostalgic, but not quite right

なつかしい、けど何か違う。
Lucy and I went into Missoula for some shopping, and decided to try out the Japanese-Korean restaurant that was so highly recommended to us by several people. On the restaurant 5-star scale, I gave it 3 stars, Lucy 2, and I would venture to say Eiji would have trouble giving it 1. Here is our critique:
1. The rice. Japan has made me a bit of a rice snob, and after just one bite, Lucy said "this rice is too mushy and has too much sour (vinegar)." I agreed, precisely.

2. The sushi. Again, we were spoiled in Japan. Even the sushi at our favorite Dollar Sushi Bar in Japan was twice the size of these $5 sushi. Lucy was happy to have Maguro (tuna), and happy that they automatically serve the wasabi on the side here.

3. Tempura. Yummy, we both agreed...except that Lucy preferred Japanese veggies over peppers, carrots and zucchini.

4. Pot stickers. Yummy!

5. Miso soup. Too thin.

6. Salad. This is where we most disagreed. They had an amazing cucumber-fruit salad with sweet and sour sauce that I could have eaten three servings of. Lucy, and her father surely would agree, didn't like fruit interrupting her veggies.

7. Restaurant ambiance. Decor was simple and cool, and at 6:30 on a Friday evening, the place was packed. We were disappointed to learn, however, that this Korean-Japanese restaurant's main chef was neither Japanese nor Korean, but Philipino.

8. Price. Worth it for the nostalgia, but too pricey to justify not making it ourselves the way we like it.

金曜日の夜だから、昨日は近くの「大きい町」に買い物と食事に出かけた。何人がすすめた日本＋韓国レストランに行ってきました。レストランの5星ランキングで、私は３星、Lucyは２星。栄二はまたいないけど、本人がいたら１星しか与えないだろ。この８点で評価をつけた。
１番：米。日本に住むとお米の事がうるさくなる。Lucyは一口を食べたら、すぐ「ごはんは水ぽいとすっぱい物（酢）は入れ好ぎ」。あたり！私もそう思った。

２番：寿司：Lucyは久しぶりマグロを食べて大喜び。でも100円回転寿しより、この＄５寿司はちょど半分ぐらいな大きさ。Lucyが喜んだのはこちらで最初からワサビは中ではなくて、横に付けっています。

３番：天ぷら：美味しかった。しかしLucyは日本の野菜ではなくてピマンとズキニの天ぷらは嫌だたみたい。

４番：餃子：美味しかった！

５番：みそ汁：薄かった。

６番：サラダ：私は大好きだた。キュリとフルーツサラダでした。甘酢パイのソースが付いてお美味しかった。でもLucyはダメだた。栄二もたぶん食べられないと思う。野菜か肉にフルーツを付けて好きじゃないから。

７番：レストランの雰囲気：レストランのインテリアはシンプルと格好いい。金曜の夜で６：３０頃ですぐ満席になった。私たちはカウンターで座って、料理人は近くに見えた。メインの料理人だけはアジア人で「日本／韓国のレストラン」ので、どちの国から来たと思って、最後に聞きました。日本人ではなくて、韓国人ではなくて、フィリピン人でした。

８番：値段：なつかしいから、まあいいか。でも、自分で自分が好きな風に作れるのに高かったな〜。

また買っちゃた。

Visited Helena this weekend, the town I did some really fun, and really stupid things. Going over McDonald pass, my head was spinning with flashbacks. I think I WOULD actually go back to that part of my life.

週末は久しぶりHelena市に行きました。大学時代はそこで４年間を過しました。町に入った瞬間に色な思い出が頭に出て来た。なつかしい！また２０歳だたら楽しいな〜。
今日はリサイクル店とAntique店に行った。これは気に入りはこの物だった。日本製みたい。かわいいでしょう？

ほかはblueの物が多かった。安く見つけたワクワクします！

Lucy's class on Valentine's Day. Can you find her?

Valentineの日。Lucyのクラスです。皆かわいいいいい！

Valentines

I actually am taking the day off to go to a kindergarten Valentine's party today. Ya, I'm not sure that makes sense either... I'll report back later about any inspiration found there.

Being away from Eiji My Love (which is how I've typed him into all my email and phone address books...), and watching my daughter get excited about delivering her High School Musical Valentines (now with little temporary tattoos attached!?!?), I was trying to remember any super exciting Valentines Days I've had. Yesterday at the drug store, looking for printer ink, I also saw a sweet row of 4 men searching through Valentine cards. I will make a Montana-fashion-biased guess that 3 of them were farmers/ranchers and the other a banker. Eiji-M-L doesn't get very excited about gifts or mushy cards, so after one attempt at a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt that produced no big fireworks one year, we usually settle for sharing chocolates and red wine (which we do on non-occasions regularly too BTW.) Not complaining...but a tad jealous and missing EML (which will be remedied with the usual choco-wine trick).

栄二へHAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. XXOO

I've heard too many sad stories from real people around me lately. These honestly are scary times for many of us. I cling to the hope that rings from every tick of the clock. Time shall be the test.

最近は悲しい話はたくさん聞いている。今は本当に色な人に大変な時期だね。私も時計の音に聞こえる希望を期待している。時間は答えになる。

I Touched Her Today!

I woke up having dreamt of her, super-sized and fluorescent green. So, when I saw her again this morning, I drew up the courage and touched her. It wasn't so bad after all...and I think I will grow to like her.

See below!

夜の夢の中出て来た。大きいくてまぶしい緑色ではっきり覚えている。だから、朝から触ってみた。恐がり気持ちを押さえて触った。そうなに悪くなかった。好きになるかも。

。。。次の見て。

Meeting the creatures of 5th grade Science

I've been playing science teacher all week. The kids are great, but I keep getting wigged out every time I turn around and am greeted by creatures big and small, dead and alive. Meet the biggest of the live creatures, Peaches. You can only see a bit of her here, but when she stretches across her cage, from head to tail she is a yard long. The kids pet and play with her, and she apparently usually gets a walk around the hall most days. She stays in the cage on my watch!
今週は５年生の理科教室にバイトしています。先生の代わりに４日間は授業しています。学生は良い子ばっかりで楽けどボウットしている時、びっくりしています。小さい物、大きい物、生きている物、死んでいる物はあちこちにあります。この子は一番大きい生き物。名前なPeaches /モモちゃん。頭から尻尾までは１メートルあります。学生は触ったりえさを与えたりします。普通は廊下で散歩もしているみたい。ごめんね,Peachesちゃん、私がいる間は散歩なし。

More classroom ambiance

Skulls of every shape and size fill every nook and cranny of the shelves and counter space. この教室は 何でもかんでもの骸骨があちこちに飾ってあります。

More creatures.

One of the smaller, foot-long creatures. もう一個／ 一匹／一頭？この子なただの３０cmくらい。

What I like/ What I miss

I've been back in the states almost 2 months now. I wish I could say that time flies, but it has been a terribly long two months. Friends who have made the same move have asked me if I am experiencing reverse culture shock yet, but I honestly can't tell. I am happy with where I am, physically and mentally, but a little anxious to taking the next jump forward into a full time job, house hunting and decorating, and time alone with my my husband and daughter. And leave my laid-back part time work, my parasitic living conditions that include free babysitting, and have to get dressed up for an evening out on the town? Maybe the reverse culture shock has hit me harder than I thought!

Today my parents asked me if I am missing anything in Japan besides my husband. I have 4 big ones: food, friends, the absence of talk about religion, and the anonymity of the city. What I like about being here: family, food, my daughter's enthusiasm for school, the energy of young people, and the local public library.

アメリカに来てそろそろ２ヶ月になります.　早かったと言いたいですが、そうではない。長かった。旦那は４月に来る予定と思えば、ただ半分ぐらい。海外に長く住んだ事ある人はたまに聞きます「逆CULTURE SHOCKになった？」。。。分からない。今はこの場所にいる事、そしてこの生活変化を決めた事は嬉しい。でも次に待っている事。。。仕事探し、家探し、家族３人でゆっくり出来る事。楽しみけどちょっと不安もあるな。だて、今はチョウ楽なバイトしてうるし、Parasite Singleではないけど両親のParasiteになっていると言えるかも、そして娘のタダの子守りもある。逆CULTURE SHOCKはまだ今後に待っているかもね。

今日は両親が「What do you miss about Japan」を聞いた。旦那いがいには４つの事ある：１）友達　２）食べ物　３）宗教の話は出ない会話　４）大きい町の匿名性。　今アメリカの好きなところ：１）家族　２）食べ物　３）勉強は熱心になた娘の姿　４）若者の元気さ４）図書館。

Lucy's first play date

Ice skating at Glacier Rink. After this first attempt, her friend is going to be out-skating Lucy after a few more tries. Little Miss Competitive is already in a huffy! 初めて友達を誘ってICE SKATINGしに行きました。友達は初めてだたのに、後一回ぐらいLucyより上手になりそう。負けづらいLucyにちっと大変だ。SMILE!