Inakamono

Garlic Jo's

I went to dinner with the staff from CLAIR (the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations) and business coach Peter de Valda. I lead the group to Garlic Jo's where we devoured all manner of things garlicky until they kicked us out.

Curry Part III

A few people commented on the fact that at every session of the Nepalese Cooking course we had curry. "Curry again?" they said.
I explained about the different types of curry but the response was "Curry is curry".
Then today, as I introduced the final class, the perfect analogy came to me.
"Complaining about Nepalese cooking being all curry is a bit like being in Japan and saying 'Not fish again!'"

Shopping

It snowed lightly this afternoon as I drove around Shikokuchuo doing various bits of shopping. At Time Hardware I popped in to the Pet Centre and said g'day to the resident galah. For all I know this chap was born and bred in Japan but as an Aussie bird I felt we shared a special bond and it was the least I could do to give his head a scratch as he leant forward and allowed me. I also tickled the tummy of a hyperkinetic squirrel but his impressive incisors and nervous gnawing of the cage bars made me wonder for the safety of my finger. Next door at Dik Garden Centre I was amazed to see and smell Australian boronias and hardenbergias in flower. I thought of buying one, but I fought the temptation, though for a few moments I could relate to those misguided Bristish settlers who, homesick for familiar fragrances and foliage, transported and released European plants into the Australian environment.
    I was looking at socks in Uniqlo when I heard someone say "Namaste". I told myself I was imagining it but 2 seconds later I heard it again. I turned around to see a familiar face - one of the women who attends the Nepalese Cooking Course I am running on Wednesday evenings. She was too busy to chat and scurried off to serve a customer, leaving me to smile at the idea that I had managed to sneak a little bit of the Nepalese language into the town.

By the book

I have a love hate relationship with my local Tsutaya video shop. I love the fact that it is within walking distance and is open until midnight but the listless and unfriendly staff always make the actual act of borrowing a less than enthralling act. I have been to the store about once a week for the past 6 months but the staff never acknowledge that I am a regular customer. No smiles, small talk or comments. And it is not for want of me trying. Today I walked up to the counter where the clerk, a guy with enormous wingnut ears, stood unsmiling.
"Konnichiwa!" I smiled.

He wasn't programmed for this - customers normally just hand over their membership card, and the staff take it and say "hai".

Would he panic at this aberration? Would he reply with a smiley "Konnichiwa!"?
"Hai" he said, and processed my card dully.

Omiyage

One of the women from the Human Resources section teaches me Mandarin for 15 minutes each lunchtime (she spent a year studying in Beijing). Today we talked about what we each did on the weekend and she said that she had competed in a mini-marathon. I asked where and she suddenly looked left and right, lowered her voice and said "Quite far from here."
"How far?"
She leant forward and scribbled the characters for Hyogo, two prefectures and about 140 km away.
"Why the secrecy?" I asked.
"Because no ones knows I was there"
"So?"
"Well I'd have to bring them back omiyage"
"So what?"
"I didn't"