The original title of this installment of On My Knees With The Japanese was going to be "Who Had The Best Week Ever? This Sis Mish!" which is still true, but during my meal with our investigator a few hours ago I came up with this gem instead. Here's the story...
So! All over Japan, each region has their own famous "Hot Pot" dish, called なべ (pronunciation: "Nah, bae.") And Hokkaido's version of this wintertime classic includes gobo root, daikon radish, Chinese cabbage, pork, tofu, mochi, and no, not just fish, but the whole fish, chopped
up--or rather hacked--into not bite-sized pieces, but pieces of carcass just the size to fit your whole bowl!
Haha I know it sounds kind of unappetizing, but it was literally delishish uh delicious. Couldn't spell that one for a minute.
So when you eat, there's a little bowl for everyone to toss their bones into. :) Japanese table manners are really different, dear mom, I will come home a slob. :)
ANYWAY I AM OVER-EXPLAINING THINGS AGAIN! Long story short I was eating, and came across a mass of flesh and, while I was trying to decipher what was edible and what was not, suddenly a strange looking, curved... Oh is that a lens? (my freshman year biology vocabulary
pertaining to the parts of the eye clicked in) I can neither confirm nor denEYE whether or not it was an eye, but I wasn't quite keen on finding out (and it so totally was.) Before I could start hyperventilating I quickly tossed it with my chopsticks and a swish and flick into the bones bowl. I then continued eating, and had to pretend like it never happened so I wouldn't freak out. :) Eyes are
gross man! That's actually probably the one thing I have yet to bring myself to eat...
Oh and my companion got the jawbone with teeth still on it!
Yeaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!! Hardcore hardcore.
Um, so I am so sorry but, that was only one story from the best week ever... You're not close to being done... But don't worry, I have pictures!!
IT WAS ZONE TRAINING MEETING!!
And one of my MTC district friends is finally working with me! よろしく、ね！ (pronunciation: "Yo, Roe, she coo'.") (It literally means "treat me kindly," and Japanese people say it alllllll the tiiiiiiime.)
WE GOT CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!!
The elders in the mission always get the coolest striped ties that say "To Become" (sort of a Mission Motto, if you will) on them and they always wear them to missionary meetings and they all match and all of the sisters are jealous.
Last year, the sisters got scarves for Christmas. This year, we got stamps. AND THEY ARE SO CUTE!!
TANGERINE NATIVITY SCENE
Yeah, I made it rhyme.
One of the sisters in the ward was sick, so of course it's Sister Missionaries to the rescue! Vitamin C power!! I don't think I ever have been or ever will be this sister missionary in my life. I drew a nativity on oranges. And put cute quotes on the back. And I have never been more impressed with myself.
I THINK THEY ARE SO CUTE, OKAY??
Okay, so sounds like a pretty awesome week, right? WRONG!! Well, you're still right, but we haven't even hit the best part yet!!
*T*H*E* *W*A*R*D* *C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S* *P*A*R*T*Y*!*
The missionaries had a big part in the program, because whenever you need someone to make fools of themselves in front of an audience, of course you invite the missionaries!
Really though, we're great at parties!
Here are a few of the highlights!!
TOP : Because 12 Days of Christmas is apparently THE NUMBER ONE FAMOUS Christmas song in America, and of course all of the missionaries from America know it, we had to do it for everyone... In Japanese. Which is one of the hardest languages to sing in, I'm sure.
Apparently I was really adorable though...... When I had to do my bit (AND I WAS DAY NUMBER ONE, SO I HAD TO DO IT THE MOST) hushed squeals of "Oh my gosh, so cute!!" broke from the crowd. I thought I was just self conscious, until church the next day. When people asked me to repeat my performance. Yes, my Japanese is so bad, that it's adorable. Or something.
LEFT : Our very under-practiced performance of John Lennon's beloved Christmas classic, "Happy Merry Christmas"... Oh, is that not what it's called? Because that is what these two adorable young Japanese dads thought it was and I was literally dying.
For the record, the actual title is probably "So This is Christmas" or something, you know what I'm talking about.
RIGHT : I finally did it. I participated in a nativity play. I don't know how I've gone so far in my life without doing so, but I finally did it AND IT WAS SO GOOD PEOPLE!! I was like the best Mary anyone 'ere seen before! And my companion Sister Rory Gilmore (from Gilmore Girls) was Joseph. Yesssss, LOOOK AT THAT BEARD, GURL!! We killed it! And of course, the elders were totally under prepared on the side of costumes, so I stepped up with my three years of high school fashion class skills and look at them now. We even had sheep. You may recognize the sheep costumes from Halloween, but that's my little sheep-cret. (I laughed so hard my companion was worried about me with that pun. Oh gosh.)
This is the best photo of me ever.
And then, to cap off our evening, one of the cool sisters drove us home in her tiny cool car. She says, "Oh, I just have to stop somewhere really quick!" It's 30 minutes until curfew, sure, Sister, you do that. She's a little lost, the time is passing away. "Uh, Sister, maybe we can help you find it. Where are you heading?" Her enigmatic reply was only, "A beautiful place..."
30 minutes later we pull up to none other than KFC, the GO-TO Stop for all of your Christmassy dinner time treats, from which she bought us a lovely, greasy meal.
A beautiful place indeed.
Man, I think that's everything! I'm sorry I wrote so much, I must be happy or something! My head still hurts from laughing at that sheep pun I made earlier...
Anyway. Here's me, signing off, have a fun Christmas in a Christmassy place where they actually get a day off for Christmas. I keep forgetting its Christmas... But at least I am having FUN FUN FUN!!!
BYE BYE!!
