Valentine's Day

Valentine's day in Japan.  For starters, Japanese are really shy and orderly.  These two adjectives may seem incongruous at first, but I think that if most people thought their actions through in an orderly fashion, and contemplated how they might be perceived by others, I think that the majority would also be rather reluctant to carry out certain behaviors.  In other words, confessing one's feelings is a big deal in Japan.

This explanation is a bogus attempt to preface Valentine's day.  In actuality, Japanese people abide by customs in all facets of life, and Valentine's day is no different.  Girl's give chocolate to the boy they like, giri-choco to the boys they like as friends, and tomo-choco to their girl-friends.  In return, boys give chocolate back to girls on White Day, which falls a month later on March 14.  Yes, white chocolate is often given in return, as well as cookies, jewelry, marshmallows, lingerie, and presents which are generally expected to be three times more expensive than the original, hand-made choco gift.

Of course, hand-made choco gift sets can get to be expensive too.  On a whim, I purchased a kit (just to see what it's like) that was a little over $5, from which one can produce 10, 4cm hearts of strawberry-white crunch chocolate.  Hardly worth the money, but worth all the fun of attempting to fail at melting chocolate while your friends watch Korean music videos.  I think this is one of those MasterCard commercial moments; the kind that dictate that certain things in life are priceless, thus encouraging you to spend money to get to that priceless moment.
Anyways, I was considering returning it but it ended up being a fun investment.

 

Don't they look 巨大？！

Of course, receiving chocolate is also fun.  There was a lot of tomo-choco to be exchanged this year, and all of them are delicious (but I'm rationing chocolate for later this week :P)

My friends made flavors like white-chocolate coconut, chili chocolate and a fudge mishap. We are all still newbies at cooking.  But you can't become a pro out of nowhere.  I should just turn my blog into a food blog, as the people around me are gourmands :).  We have established Friday night "family dinners" in which we make a big mess in our attempts to create a meal.  Last friday we had okonomiyaki, an egg-like pancake with seafood, green onion, mayonnaise and random toppings which explain the origins of the dish's name, "as you like it."

This week marks the end of my first semester of Japanese classes.  For our oral final in general Japanese, the class was split into 3 sessions of 5 or 6 students, and we were told to prepare to discuss ways to promote mutual understanding between Japanese and foreigners.  Initially, I felt this would be an easy topic to discuss, as the obvious method is to interact more and learn about each others' viewpoints.  Yet, as much as I try to look beyond what I am told by numerous sources, I have to admit eventually that yes, there are Japanese people that simply aren't interested in talking to foreigners, unless they want to practice English.  Of course, Japanese people are also shy when it comes to speaking to foreigners, but I feel that globalization will definitely breed generations of Japanese who are more interested in international affairs and interaction.


The time is nearing for my excursion to southern Japan.  As I flesh out the details for my trip, I begin to wonder where my brain was when I decided that I have the confidence to travel across Japan alone over the course of two days by train to live with Japanese people I have never met before who can't speak English in order to farm on the outskirts of winter.  I daresay that my confidence is waning, although it wouldn't surprise me.  I have never really booked a hotel in America before, let alone a youth hostel in a foreign land.  I'm also not quite used to using public transportation, although I hope to remedy that in the next upcoming weeks with plenty of excursions into Tokyo and the surrounding area.  How hard can all of this be, really?

Regardless, this will be a good test of willpower.  I leave on the first of March and return (assuming everything works out smoothly) on the 5th of April.  I will have limited internet access, but I will try to maintain my blog when I get the chance.  Until then, stay tuned for updates about future travels!