The Kaji-sans of Keyaki Ryo

At first, I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be having a host family like some students who go abroad, but not only did I have a wonderful roommate, dorm mates, and friends, but I also had the Kaji-sans!! When I went back to visit ICU in March, two of my need to see people were the Kaji's, and this is why.

Momma Kaji-san hasn't changed a bit since I last saw her. Rei and Mr. Kaji took
pictures of us, and we seem to be looking up for her photo here.

Every dorm, to my knowledge, at ICU had dorm parents who monitored who came into and left the dorm, spruced up the garden and lobby's, manned the dorm phones, received packages on behalf of the students, and helped anyone who became sick in the infirmary room. It took me a long time to decide just how to address my dorm parents, but Japanese has so many evasive tendencies that the issue never really came up. In my old blog, I called Mrs. Kaji "House Mom" and helped her with English and watched over her bonsai tree. She was like a Kanga and we were her Roos, but you could see sometimes that we were disappointing her by being too noisy after hours or if we left our things all about the lobby. However, her English was rather good, and she would always give me treats, presents, and smiles. Mr. Kaji, on the other hand was like Mr. Miyagi to me. He looked really similar to the famous karate film teacher, but he also spoke very little (at least very little to me), so there was that element of aloofness and mystery. I would see him behind the front desk at almost all times, unless he was working in the garden or trying to fix something in one of the kitchens. When I found the gecko in our kitchen, I learned the word so that I could tell him about it, but after I informed him of the critter, I got nervous and left. Mr. Kaji's English wasn't so great, and he mutters when he speaks, so my Japanese wasn't ready to fully understand him.

However, the first day I went back to visit ICU in March 2013, he was still there behind the desk and recognized me! We spent the next hour talking in Japanese; I informed him of everything I had been up to and he invited me to try and come back tomorrow to the open house so that I could roam the halls of the dorm again. However, that open house day was the Wadaiko concert, so I had to decline. Then, he tried to think of all of the students who were still in the dorms that I would know and call them up so we could spend time together. I had already seen Mika and Rei, and the Wadaiko kids would be the next day, so he ran out of friends for me, but I thought ti was great that he tried to reunite me with them!  In my entire time at ICU, I don't think I talked as much to him as I did on that day. I told him that I would come back sometime that weekend to see his wife and he thanked me with lots of polite bows!! He is so very good at bowing!

When I did come back on Sunday, I was headed toward Keyaki, when I hear a "Zaitooonnn!" from across the street. It was the Kaji-sans out for a stroll! I was so flustered that I forgot everything I wanted to say. They looked so similar that it was like I hadn't left. For some reason I could speak Japanese with Mrs. Kaji because I was so used to being her English buddy that none of my words could help me. Rei and Mr. Kaji came in for the save, since I had already told them everything I was up too. She gave me a big smile and wished us a pleasant hanami as she and Mr. Kaji finished their walk.

I wonder if I return to Keiyaki in another 8 years for the 10-year reunion if they will still be guarding the dorm. I'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I have their email now, so I can keep in touch from all the way in Mie!

My Friend Rei

Before coming back to Tokyo, I needed to find a place to stay, and my friend Rei was very gracious in letting me stay with him. 

We met back at ICU because he was still living in the dorms at that time. The Keyaki OYRs for that year were loud and proud (perhaps -no, definitely- a little too much of each). The four year foreign students understood where we were coming from, though, and weren't afraid to join us in feast-making, clubbing, and late night "study" sessions in the main lobby. I swear, we actually did get work done at school, but all work and no play makes for a dull time abroad, no? One of the four year foreigners to join our group was Rei, the playful-yet-chill, movie-making, super-confident, Aikido-flipping, gourme-food-sampling, yo-yo-spinning New Yorker. Rei was not to be confused with Rei-chan or the Soul Run Rei. Those were different people.

When I spoke of the boys protecting the girls when we went out dancing, Rei was in that group of guys. Even if they didn't realize it, their presence did a lot to repel unwanted attention for our smaller girls. Having Rei around during down time at Keyaki was also great for conversation. He is witty and a deep thinker, who was willing to try and find all sides of an argument. As a four year student, he also had inside knowledge about the school, teachers, program, and life in Japan that we OYRs didn't have or were developing. He is part of the reason I tried Aikido; his personal testimonies and knowledge of the art made it sound so appealing, I needed to give it a shot! Sadly, my time was already stretched too thin as it was, so I couldn't keep it up. But he has! And was even able to show me how to fold hakuma, although I need quite a lot more practice.

I would like to take this time to thank Rei for being such a great friend and for giving me a place to stay, good conversation, and new perspectives on life! Good luck in all your future endeavors, Rei!!

If anyone is interested in seeing his take on Japan and life (his "Half Plus Half Does Not Equal One" helped me put into words a lot of my own feelings), I'll leave the link here.

Ramen: I know what you're thinking, so don't! It is sooooo much better here.

Do you know what this is? A blessing upon the seekers of happiness! A testimony to the strive for perfection in food!

These two ramen shops operate and compete side by side.
The one with the red sign is called 武蔵家 or Musashi House
and the one with the white sign is calledぐうたら Guutara,
which means lazybones/good-for-nothing/idler. Very
similar to slacker, right? :D

When I was here last, I developed a connection with food and my moods. When I was feeling victorious, I would eat sushi, typically from a conveyor belt. When I was in a celebratory mood, izakaya/bar fried foods were a perfect match. When I was feeling homesick, Japanese style curry and rice tasted a lot like beef or chicken stew and would help me. And when I was feeling like a failure (in language class or Wadaiko club, or just a bad experience with Japanese bureaucracy), I would save up my money for a day or so, eat nearly nothing and go out for ramen. Where does one go for ramen? Well, you have several choices, but if you are in the ICU area, might I suggest Guutara Ramen? They are my boys. Let me tell you why!

There are many types of ramen, noodles, and ingredients.
This was the ramen they called the Guutara Ramen, kind
of like their house special, with free appetizer rice and pork. 

Guys don't care about going out to eat ramen. It is filling, it is delicious, and it is a good time (just you and a bowl or a social time with your buddies). But girls don't want to eat it often. "I'll get fat" "It is too salty" "Ramen shops are so hot and gross" sorts of complaints are common from girls. To keep the girls coming into their shops, ramen workers are overly nice to them. Girls tend to get free appetizers, special attention from the cooks during the meal, free refills and free dessert! That was why I went there when I felt low about myself; with all that special service, how could I stay upset? On top of that the food was fantastic! And since I was so active, I didn't fret about all the other stuff girls did. One meal at Guutara is about $8-$10 American, though, so I made sure I got as many refills of noodles as I could.

The typical ramen shop set up. The tissues are when your
nose starts to run from having your face over a bowl of
hot soup for too long. And they also work as napkins.

Ramen is the Japanese version of Lo Mein (say them a couple of times - they sound similar, right?) but depending on where you go, it can be far less oil based. I personally love when they put the undercooked soft-boiled egg in the ramen. There are individual shops and large corporate ramen chains all over Japan, so no mater where you go, you'll find somewhere to eat. They are open late at night and are a great place to wait for the spring rain to stop. Noodles not your thing? Most also offer other side foods like gyoza. But whenever you make it to the Land of the Rising Sun, do yourself a favor, and get a bowl of ramen! Money well spent for sure!

Today's free dessert is douhua, or sweet
tofu pudding with fruit syrup. I'd liken this
to the Chinese (yes, it is ia Chinese dessert)
version of jello.

The Gourmet Club (GuruMegane) at ICU wrote this brief review of Guutara when they were sampling ramen locations near campus.

Likewise, students other than me at ICU include Guutara in their blogs and websites.

Even two years ago, my words failed me. This was my first impression about ramen.