Hello again from your friends in Japan!
I was hit by some kind of flu bug yesterday, so I took myself down to the nearby medical clinic so they could look at me. There I did what many Japanese people do to get well, get a “tenteki” (intravenous administration of medicine). Japanse swear by I.V.’s, and whenever they feel sick they will go to a nearby hospital or clinic for one. After my I.V. finished, the doctor gave me various medicines to help chase away whatever bug I had caught. I was pleased to see that each batch of medicine had a little slip of paper included, explaining what the medicine did and how it worked. In the past, Japanese doctors have been famous (among foreigners living here, anyway) for giving out medicine without the slightest explanation of what the medicine was for. In general, foreigners living here aren’t too thrilled with Japanese medicine, as it never seems to have any effect — I tend to prefer medicines from home, as most foreigners do, and fortunately for me, I brought back a cache of Nyquil, Alka-Seltzer, Contac and other medicines from the States.
If you ever come to live in Japan, you will probably gain a new appreciation for fish. The Japanese eat much more fish than most Americans do, which probably contributes to their overall good health. Before I came to Japan I liked sushi and sashimi, but didn’t eat much in the way of “yaki-zakana” (fish slit open and fried). Now I love many kinds of fish, from shaké go aji to hokke. There’s just one problem — living here as I do, I never had the need to learn what most of the fish I was eating was called in English, so I only know the Japanese names.
Money is important, and no one should be frivolous with it. However, I must admit that when I have American change in my pockets in Japan, I sometimes toss pennies or quarters on the ground, wondering if some high school girl might pick it up and be somehow inspired to do something like go study English in the States or something. It’s probably silly, but you never know how one event might affect others in some positive way.
A great moment of fatherhood has come for me — my son is finally old enough that I can read The Hobbit to him. I’ve been a huge fan of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings and have been waiting for this for years. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to time our trip to the U.S. to allow me to be around for the Lord of the Rings movie premier. Maybe I’ll get lucky and have to take a business trip to the States in January…
Remember that at J-List, we’ve got a wide variety of Japanese snacks and food products, from delicious Pocky (a chocolate covered pretzel stick) to “furikake” (a delicious food you sprinkle over rice) to wakame soup and more. Some of the items are very traditional, such as the Japanese “kuro-ame” (“black candy”), and others are just plain fun to eat, such as the super-sour Shigekix, or
