1) I made pizza for my host family and their daughter and 3 grandsons. That was an INTERESTING process to say the least. Let me just give a shout out to my dad who sent me our pizza crust recipe, however, when I asked my okasan for some measuring cups and spoons she handed me a cup that said: 50, 80, 110, 150, and 180cc. The two spoons read 5cc and 15 cc. Problem. My recipe called for cups, tbsps, and tsps. However, that is what google converter is there for. It all SEEMED to be working out until I mixed everything in in its 'proper' measurements and the dough was not the right viscosity, and it tasted like playdough. Hm. So I wound up splitting the batter in half. Half my okasan said she could use to make udon noodles, and the other half I doubled the flour, added a little more yeast, and it finally resembled pizza dough. Apparently the salt I was using was concentrated in some way or another, because it was STRONG. However, I baked the crust, added the toppings, (sund-ried tomatoes, don't ask where I found them, green peppers, and some sausage) sticking with ingredients the family could identify and be comfortable with, and the pizza's came out beautifully. for the little boys' pizza, I cooked them corn and ham, because that is what they wanted. Corn here is comparable to sushi in the US. I don't know why, but people are really into corn.
2) I found a Catholic Church here! This past Sunday I went venturing out on the Keihan Train line (the line that is used by our area) and wound up finding a straight-up Catholic Church. It was pretty neat. Of course, in typical Catholic Church style, I found it by the distinctive steeple that was jutting out above all the surrounding buildings. Getting closer, I saw it was in interesting building colored turquoise and white, with an adjacent community building, which was very surprising to me. Space is tight in Japan, and the Church seemed to have its own spacious grounds. It was also shocking because the style of the church with its separate community building was like almost any other Catholic church I had been to- truly universal, the Catholic Church. The church was built up on a twenty foot tall cliff edge, and I have my suspicions, due to the lack of hills anywhere in the area, that it was a manm-made cliff. However, it served its purpose in making the church more prominent and easy to find!
The Mass was done in Portuguese, which makes sense. One of the places Japan went to do work in the early 1900s was Brazil, and subsequently, a large partially Brazilian/Japanese workforce has returned to Japan. They are called the Nikkei, and are a minority, but they are all very beautiful, their looks very distinctive. Along with many other aspects of their culture, the Nikkei brought Catholicism and make up the majority of the parishoners at this church. It was an interesting Mass, to say the least. Japanese people are very formal, you almost never see them come into physical contact with one another, and when they do, they apologize. The Nikkei were the exact opposite. There was more love and physical contact than even I am used to with my Italian family. Because the look of your average Brazilian person can be a wide range of things, most people in the Church thought I was a Brazilian, but everyone knew I was new. No one sought out a conversation, but every person in the church, as I found was customary, came up to me and kissed me on the cheek and greeted me as I entered. It was this way with every person and family. Everyone greeted everyone.
The church priest, whose name escapes me was a Mexican man who spoke Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and English. He was young as well, maybe early 30s, but he was very kind and explained that the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month, masses are in Portuguese. The 2nd Sunday of the month they are in English, and the 4th Sunday, they are in Spanish. I think he was expecting me to leave, but was delighted when I said I would stay. He asked if I spoke Spanish or Japanese, and I said I did; a little of both, to which he countered that I should be able to follow along just fine.
And I could, much to my delight. My 4 years of high school Spanish provided me with a rough but relatively solid basis by which I could understand the Portuguese of the Mass. Portuguese, however, has French influences combined with Spanish, which make it one of the most beautiful languages I have ever heard, even more so than Italian. I was mesmerized the entire mass by the readings, the Gospel, even Father's homily, whose message I am proud to say I understood.
When it came time to offer one another a sign of God's peace, I turned to my neighbor to shake their hand, but was grabbed in a firm hug and kissed on either cheek. This went on for 10 minutes. Not the one minute usually allowed in a Mass, but 10 minutes. Everyone hugged and kissed everyone, saying "Paz Christo". After the first ten hugs, I learned how to pronounce the Portuguese 'peace of Christ be with you'(padze christo) and I said it as well. Then father shook my hand and said 'Peace be with you'. That was kind of nice, as well.
At the end of the mass, before the going forth song, the entire congregation turned around, because I was sitting near the back, and called for me to come up to the front and introduce myself. Many hands pushed me forward and a microphone was pushed towards me. In a voice that sounded awfully foreign and American I said "Hello, I'm not Brazilian, I'm from America, and I am here as a student." And then I waved. There was a moment of silence and confused looks and then Father translated for me and then every one said what I think was welcome and many other things and then clapped. After that everyone insisted that I stay after for the post Mass party in the adjoining building, but I declined because my family was expecting me home 40 minutes ago (The mass was 2 hours long).
I left feeling content that I had found a new Church, though I do feel like the 'Milk-man's child' of the Hirakata Catholic Church, I certainly to feel like I belong.
3) My okasan and I made my first ever batch of Takoyaki, which I am making ALL the time when I come home. It's so good, I can't even describe it. Here are some pictures: It's a pretty easy process, nothing to sautee or season. In Japan, as my host mother has frequently said, they don't use many spices. She was surprised when I told her how I would cook a typical meal. In Japan they use raw ingredients to make amazing flavors. I think we all can learn something from that.
Picture time!
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