Adventures in Cooking: Squid

Pregnancy cravings and aversions are a funny thing. They're never what you think they'll be. For example, though I've never been much of an OJ drinker, for 6 weeks straight I craved and drank multiple glasses each day. As for aversions: I never thought, being a missionary in Japan, that Japanese food would wind up on the "get that away from me, now!" list, yet somehow it has.

This little quirk of pregnancy has made life a bit difficult for me, as you can imagine. But, I think my greatest challenge was today's Japanese cooking class.

Today's menu: rice stuffed squid-head, & sauteed squid-tentacles.

I'm sure it has a pretty sounding name, but I didn't catch it while I was staring and the whole, raw squid I was about to dismember.

The last time I was that up-close and personal with a squid was 8th grade biology.

I'll spare you the gooey details. but,

with much prayer, I was able to disassemble, clean, chop, cook, AND eat the squid.

Pictured center: squid-head stuffed with rice

Pictured left: sauteed squid tentacles

the Japanese expression "Ganbatte" (try hard/persevere) has never meant so much to me.

I think today's class may have been the end of my Japanese food aversion. Just to be safe though, I'll still be staying clear of the fish section and the grocery store for now.

Snow?

This past week or so, we've been enjoying a sunny 60 degree Autumn, so I was quite surprised to hear that according to Hokkaido tradition, and my English students, Snow is on its way.

Yesterday morning, as I was getting ready for class, I glanced out the window and saw snow. At least, it looked just like snow. Even Stephen was fooled. But considering it was 60 degrees, and sunny with out a cloud in the sky, we decided it must be something else.

(The picture I took was not nearly as clear as this one I found online)

When my students arrived to class, they were all abuzz. "Did you see the Yuki mushi (Snow bugs)?"

So, that's what they were!

My students explained to me that these bugs, only found in Hokkaido, always appear right before it snows.

(Again, not my picture. But, don't they totally look like snow!?)

No one could say how long between Yuki mushi sightings and first snowfall. All they could say was, "mosugu" (soon).

UPDATE:

November 15th, we got our first snowfall. It melted quickly when the sun came up, it it fell non the less. That's 3.5 weeks from seeing the snowbugs. 3.5 weeks does not seem like mosugu (soon) to me.

10 days with "Living Hope"

Short term teams are a breath of fresh air: they give everyone new life, energy, and motivation.

Our short term team from Living Hope Community Church was no exception.

Before they said their good-byes today, I was able to interview a few team members to get their perspective on the 10 days they spent serving in Japan.

It was great for me to hear what things impacted them as they ministered this week. I was surprised to hear that many of their answers were the same. I guess it just goes to show their unity and how God was working in their team this week.

Q: What was a highlight in ministry this week?

-"Seeing the example set by Akita Sensei, the associate pastor ofthe Chitose Church. Even though, he is gentle and reserved, he never missed an opportunity to share the Gospel."

-"Watching the interactions of this very international church in Sapporo. It reminded me that God's grace is not limited to one people group. We are all one in Christ. Language doesn't separate us from God's grace."

-"Seeing God's plans overtake our own. For example, when we went to Hokkaido university's campus, I was hoping to meet non-christians. Instead, we met a young Christian man who came to our evening event and was the life of the party. Him being there was important for developing relationships that night. "

Q: What surprised you the most?

-"Separating the trash was a big surprise."

-"I didn't expect to give my testimony, until an hour before church on Sunday. I was glad I did though, because after, many people came up and told me that my story is similar to theirs."

-"Before I came here I was only superficially interested in Japan. I liked how cute and effiecient everything was. I was surprised that God has opened up my heart to love Japan spiritually."

-"I was talking to a girl on campus about if she knew God, and she said, 'What's a god?" That surprised me: that here, so many people have never even heard about God."

Q: What was the best food you tried this week?

-"Ramen!"

-"Tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet). It melted in my mouth!"

-"Soft creme (soft serve ice cream) from a dairy in Chitose. I can never go back to eating McDonald's soft serve again."

-"The sukiyaki that Akita sensei made for us our last night in Chitose. You could tell he put a lot of work into it."

Q: What was your biggest cultural misstep or most embarrassing moment?

-"Speaking in limited Japanese. I kept messing up my vowels can calling Sapporo, 'Sopparo'."

-"Putting trash in the wrong bin"

-"Jet lag induced delirium while playing Taboo one evening. I had a really hard time paying attention and everyone had a good chance to poke fun at me."

-"I told two people "Hajimemashite" (a greeting which means 'nice to meet you') when we were saying good bye."

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If you are interested in serving for a week or two as a short termer in Japan, send me an email (kborba@asianaccess.org), can I can put you in touch with the right people to talk to.

We would love to have you come and share in ministry here in Japan!

Welcome to Sapporo!

Our church has the pleasure of hosting a J-Team from Living Hope Community Church.

(Below: the team posing with the kids who attended an event Monday)

From Oct 7-Oct 15, this 8 member team will be hosting kids' events, meeting students on campus, hanging out with students at church, helping with English classes, and engaging in existing church ministry.

Pray with us for this short time of ministry would yield lasting fruit for God's kingdom.

Practical language

Language is awesome. The more I learn the more amazed I am at its beauty. Like euphemisms and expressions. I love how there are so many ways to convey the same thing.

Here's a list of my most recent, favorite expressions is English and Japanese:

I'm Eating for two.

I have a bun in the oven.

I'm in the family way.

I'm with child.

I'm craving pickles and ice cream.

We're expecting.

I'm preggers.

I'm knocked up.

My eggo is preggo.

I'm on stork watch.

I'm gestating.

I'm preggtastic.

妊娠しています(Ninshin shite imasu)

おおめでた(Omedeta)

できちゃった(Dekichatta)

Yep, it's true. There's a baby on the way!

Friends all over

This last week we received training through Asian Access, during the fall conference at a seminar house in Kobe. Great training but also it was great to see more of the Asian Access family again who live in different parts of Japan. Not only that but I also got to reunite with some other friends and make some new ones.




Nakano-san




Everyone says its a small world and it is. One of my supporters, Harry, had a close business partner from Japan 20 or 30 years ago. They remain friends till this day but Harry lives in California and Nakano-san lives in Osaka. I had the chance to meet Nakano-san and have lunch with him. He told me he was so indebted to Harry that he wanted to honor him by treating us to lunch. He also took me and Kathryn around to some famous sites in Osaka. Something that I will remember is that he mentioned that after all these years, he still remembers that on business trips with Harry that he would see him pray before going to bed. Nakano-san is 87 or so and still remembers that. Our prayers can touch people in ways we don't always know :) .

Keisuke



If you remember from a couple months ago, Keisuke was the Japanese highschool student who stayed with us for 4 days as a part of his summer vacation. I was able to give him a tour of Sapporo and invite him to our church's prayer time. It was a a very good time. Well, when his family heard we were coming to a part of Japan near them they invited us over to lunch at their house. The lunch was delicious and for desert they took us up to the hill country to a 400 year old house for tea.



Eri




"What kind of picture is that?" you might ask. Its "puri kura" the Japanese photo booths that make you look like a 13 year old girl even if you are a 26 year old man. When we were near Osaka we were also able to meet up with our friend Eri who we hadn't seen since she came to California. . When she came to California one year she did a home-stay with me and Kathryn for a week. Eri was my first Japanese friend and I feel that God used that friendship as a way to confirm Japan in my heart.


It is good for me to recount what God has done and where he has brought me. How he has brought people into my life. It brings me a lot of encouragement.

Thanks y'all.

Language Tests and Pretests

A few months ago, Stephen and I decided to challenge our language learning by taking the Basic level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) this coming December. Shortly after that, I jumped into the tangled maze that is the JLPT application process. Little did I know when I began that this particular test has several hurdles to jump, I can only assume, to weed out non-proficient people.

Let me fill you in on the madness.

Pretest 1: purchase the applications.

In the States when I applied for the many tests I had to take to get through college and credentialling (CBEST, 3 CSETs, & 2 CLEPs) it was always as easy as going online clicking a few buttons and voila! you are ready to test. For this test, I had to purchase the applications from "a book store in (my) area." That's really all the official website said.

I failed my first attempt at finding the test and ended up walking out of the store in shame.

After talking with a friend who took the test last year, I found the right bookstore, the right floor, and the right counter to find the application.

Pretest 1: PASS

Pretest 2: fill out the applications.

"No big deal," you are most likely thinking right now. NO! it WAS a big deal. Each application came with (I kid you not) a 53 page(!) instruction booklet. After my initial shock, I learned to love the instruction booklet, and I am sure it is the only reason I knew to do the next 3 steps.

Pretest 2: PASS

Pretest 3: take a passport style photo to include with your application.

WHAT?! Never in the history of education or test taking have I needed to included a photo in with my application. And of course it had to be a certain size and dimension. fortunately for us, our supervisor, Tim, pointed out the passport photo booth at the mall near our house, when we had just arrived in Japan.

Pretest 3: PASS (even if they weren't the prettiest pictures)

Pretest 4: Pay for application at the post office.

I mentioned in my last post about how Japan deals with the lack of checks. so, rather than including a check with my application we had to head to the post office and pay for each application, then include the receipt(with the id number that corresponded to the id number on the application) in the envelope.

Pretest 4: PASS (thanks to the very kind clerk)

Pretest 5: Mail the application via special certified mail.

I only knew how to ask for this because my now beloved instruction manual told me. And really, after all the other tests, this one was not only easy-breezy, it was my favorite one because it was the LAST!

Pretest 5: PASS

We are now just waiting for our test voucher to come in the mail, when I am sure we will have a whole new set of hurdles to jump. Oh, and studying Japanese, because after all this work, I'd kind of like to pass the REAL test in December.