So basically I have been horribly negligent about keeping this blog updated... First, the big news is that two weeks ago I moved in with my host family, the Murakamis. Dad works for Toshiba while Mom stays at home taking care of things and minding toddler Tomoya and 8-year-old Naoya. My new parents are lovely and almost overaccommodating--I've been given my own bedroom while everyone else shares. The kids are full of energy, leading Dad to sometimes dub them as めんどくさい (troublesome). Naoya is surprisingly independent; he typically spends most afternoons in a nearby park with his friends, and he comes and goes more or less as he pleases. Tomoya chatters more or less continuously, but I catch less than 10% of what he says--the combination of poor enunciation, highly casual speech, and high speed does nothing for my Japanese comprehension. I felt a little better when I found out his parents don't always know what he is saying. And just knowing what he is saying doesn't guarantee comprehension... He often yells "mayonezu!" (mayonnaise) for no apparent reason.
Me with Dad and Tomoya.
Me with Dad and Tomoya.Which leads me to another topic: Japanese food habits. Apparently in Japan mayonnaise is seen as an all-purpose condiment to be used not only on sandwiches, but on pizza as well. When mixed with soy sauce, it becomes a veggie dip. Tomoya likes to eat it alone, but I think that this is atypical... He also likes to eat dried squid snacks and Calpis candy. Calpis is a brand of yogurt based food products, the main one being a carbonated yogurt drink. Also available are yogurt candy and yogurt popsicles--I guess yogurt is a dessert here. The Japanese seem to take Western foods and reinvent them, just as they like to take English words and reinvent those. This is how "manshon" (mansion) comes to mean apartment and "waishatsu" (white shirt) comes to refer to any collared shirt. Go figure.
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