Oh, Canada! (Volume 2)

Since I can't go home for the Obon holidays as I had hoped, I am stuck remembering Canada and preying for my next visit to come soon. In honor of this I wanted to help my Japan-living friends understand a little more of Canadian culture so here is the long awaited part 2 of Oh, Canada!

Ritsy+ me + toque = Synergy

1. Toque; It's not a beany... this is a beanie....
It's not a knit cap.. I tend to imagine a knit-styled baseball cap
It's pretty clear...
It's called a toque!

Yes, she is wearing Red Pants!

2. Totem Poles; What is more Canadian than the artistic works of the Native Americans. Though many won't recognize the style of a lot of the paintings- they are very much unique and beautiful and we can see a lot of that style in the Totem Poles. Always a tourist favourite, the Totem poles have been referenced for over 200 years in historical writings, but it is believed that the history goes back even further. It is difficult to say there is one meaning for totem poles, the reason behind each one being erected is probably routed in the history of whichever tribe built it. Either way they are a big part of the true Canadian history.

3. French; Yes- Canada is a bilingual country! Our great history is riddled with tales of the battle between France and England for control of the great big county. Even as recently as 1995 there was a referendum- or decisive public vote about whether or not the French speaking Province should separate from Canada. The vote was won by the slimmest of margins- wikipedia says by about 1% (HERE). But I digress, while the East coast has a larger presence, the majority of Canada does not use French in any way shape or form. I just remember French class as a course I had to take to fill out my graduation requirements! That said- it is a large part of our history as a country and I do wish that I studied harder- just please don't expect me to be able to understand very much French!
4.Hockey; We love hockey. There is no sense in denying it. It is a fast paced, under-appreciated game. Nothing tops going to the stadium for the first time and watching a game live, once you understand the rules and you get behind a team, you understand why the games get more physical sometimes and you end up enjoying a solidly played, potentially beautiful game. Recently there has been a big crack down to make the game more accessible to the average sports fan (aka- the Americans :-)) and the game is looking more exciting and clean than ever- please give it a try!

5. The final bit we will give some quick facts about Canada;
- Tallest Mountain - Mount Logan 5,959 meters
- Longest River - MacKenzie River - 4,451 kms long
- Tallest Building - CN Tower - 553.33 meters
- Largest Lake (fully in Canada) - Great Bear Lake -31, 328 kilometers square
- Largest City - Toronto - population 2, 500, 000
- Some famous Canadians - John Candy, Mike Myers, Dan Akroyd, Jim Carey, Mike Myers, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morisette, Neil Young, Pamela Anderson, Shania Twain, Keanu Reaves, Bryan Adams. I could just keep on going...
- Most handsome Canadian.. This guy...

That's Japan! (Issue 1)

In today's issue of That's Japan! We will explore the exciting world of the things that make Japan unique and a couple of instances of what makes Hamamatsu unique.

1. Unagi
When you travel around Japan, or talk to the Japanese about travelling you learn that one of the great identities of a region is often what food is famous from there. In Hamamatsu the big popular dish is broiled freshwater eel- also known as Unagi. Probably the most popular way to eat it is Unajuu- Unagi broiled and slathered with sweet barbecue sauce served over a bed of rice. Sometimes we will eat it broiled without the sauce with soy sauce and fresh grated garlic, it is actually quite delicious (and healthy!).
You can also find Unagi Pie- which doesn't look like pie at all , it looks like little cookies and tastes like sugar cookies. The little unagi pies are supposed to be very good to improve fertility and... relations.... I am so happy I ended up here since I love Unagi, it would have been a nightmare to end up in Ibaraki where natto comes from.

2. Enshu Kara Kaze
It doesn't usually hit me so much living a bit north in Hamamatsu, but the region in infamous for it's windy conditions. Quite logically too, as this area is quite close to the ocean. Enshu is the old name for this region, it was Enshu province a very long time ago. Kara Kaze translates to dry wind. If you are in the southern area on a dry windy day, it can bite!
3. Some websites about Japan
I would love to go on about the crazy signs(or shirts) we often see written in bad English, or the interesting commercials featuring North American celebrities, but there are already two excellent sites that I can point you to that have been around for a long time! Both Japander and Engrish have been quite popular for a while and have been a constant source of amusement! If you haven't checked them out, please do!
4. Chikan
I find most of my experiences in Japan have been positive and leave me with a great respect for the people of Japan. But some things make me sick to my stomach and one of them is chikans. Ladies, if you take a train or subway in Japan, especially a crowded city like Osaka, Tokyo or Nagoya- you may find yourself being groped by a stranger. I have never seen a profile of who the culprits are, but I tend to think it is usually older men- but I remember an incident where a group of college students surrounded a girl on a train in Tokyo to touch her. It is sick and cowardly, I was always trying to catch someone in the act when I lived in Tokyo but to no avail. Recently the trains in the bigger cities have a "Women only" train to give safe haven from the perverts.
5. Karaoke
Out for a night with your friends and missed the last train at 12:45? No sweat! Sing the evening away at a big box karaoke place! I hear that karaoke isn't as popular as it was 10 years ago, but it is still prevalent here and I have even partaken in it myself from time to time! While I heard it is a way to wait out the night for some, it is also a destination as the main event for a night out sometimes. It is surprisingly addicting and fun, try it!

That concludes this installment of That's Japan! Tune in next time as we explore the world of me-do kissas, the red train, music to wake up to and more!

Tuesdays ramble

1. Hockey - Got a call from Chris on Saturday with a couple of options for the evening, either drinking with Adam again or watching more hockey. Being a Canadian and having to work the next day, I chose the hockey and volunteered to be designated driver so the boys could pack back a few brews. We found Tomoko there to take in the game as well and we cheered for Pete Wright and his buddy Dave. Unfortunately as they were the two biggest and best players on the ice for their team they were picked on madly by the referee with the big head (didn't take picture, his head was too large), and Peter was given a 10 minute misconduct for shooting the puck after the whistle (some of the worst reffing that I have seen, some even muttered the 'r' word). Needless to say the ref killed the game, I guess he was trying to protect the smaller Japanese players by calling tight, but he ended up making calls on clean hits that were just to hard for his liking (he told Dave- "It's because you are big" --- can you imagine a ref in NHL telling a player that's ridiculous!). Well our spirits severely dampened by what turned out to be a 2-2 tie we hit Denny's for a little after game grub.

2. Kyoto - I complained about my Prime Minister's comments about the Kyoto treaty but it seems I was too quick to react. Thankfully in Canada the Conservative govenment doesn't hold a majority of the seats in the Parliament so the House was still able to vote in favour of Kyoto's emissions regulations. I had neglected to save the link, but I did see that Harper acknowledged (naturally after he read my blog) that the environmental problem is one to be reckoned with, I guess he just didn't like Kyoto's method as he heavily rallied the Conservatives to vote against it.

3. Basketball - Pete, Chris and I hit the ball courts on Sunday for what turned out to be a good day of gaming. We played two matches and I thought I played alright, though I am far from the pro that my colleagues are. Chris actually blogged about it here, though I think he had fired up his photoshop a bit because I don't remember being as excellent as he reported . Anyway, we had a wicked time and my bones ached for the next two days (yes, that includes today), but it kind of aches in a good way.

Bits and Pieces 2

Nothing special has really happened so far this week, so a few short topics;

1. Bike Ride
I didn't really get my required exercise in through the weekend, so I took my bike out for a bit of a ride. I went to Cainz Home which is a home center- like Home Depot or Rona back in Vancouver. The ride is about 6 kms and includes a killer hill that should help condition me a little bit for the Forest Park mission. I did alright on the hill but about 2/3 of the way up I had to get off and push the bike. On the ride, there used to be a couple of farms with a bunch of trees with funny things hanging from the branches like mirrors and CD's. While they were probably there to scare away birds- I was hoping to use them for comedy in my blog. Tragically they were taken down from the trees.Cainz is a great place to shop, anything you need for around the house. Furniture, landscaping, lumber, even pets- yes it was at this Cainz home that we found the irreplaceable Santa;
2. Pickton. Back home in Vancouver there has been an interesting trial of a pig farmer that had allegedly murdered a large number of hookers. The details can be pretty gross, but it amazes me that this sort of sick person can walk the same earth as we do. Well if you want to read about the Pickton trials just click here.
3. Hockey All Star Game. Okay I have only watched the Super skills competition so far, but Vancouver's only representative Luongo looked good so far, good job! I think it is a travesty that the Sedins are left out of the game though!
4. What it takes. I was thinking during my bike ride yesterday about what it takes to live in a foreign country. It boils down to Patience, Hard Work and a Positive Mentality. You need to be patient with learning the language and becoming more functional and a part of the environment (it is easy to have the illusion that you don't need to learn Japanese when you teach English but it isn't entirely accurate). You also need to be patient with meeting people, networking and making friends. All our best friendships take time to develop and basically will always take time. The Hard Work comes into play with establishing yourself with a job and learning the language. The positive attitude helps you get by day to day. Sometimes it is easy to question your decision to live somewhere else, but it is more healthy to accept that you made the decision and not to waste time asking 'what if...'. You made the decision stick with it! If you aren't happy with the way things are at the moment, then work to make it a better situation, or move again.

That is all for today, have a great one!

Hockey Night in Hamatown

Sunday was mostly spent resting the head after a night of drinking (of course after I made it through my classes- sorry to my students!). But I was glad that I called Chris up because he reminded me that our other friend Pete had invited us to watch him play some hockey. He even promised to score some goals and get in a fight for us.

Well even Ritsy was interested to go and watch- it's pretty dry for watching live hockey around here.

So when Ritsy got home, we hopped in the car and picked up Chris, then headed off to the Miyatake Sports Center to watch some hockey. Our plan was to have some McDonalds on the way, but we changed our plans and settled for some kaiten sushi nearby. What a great call! My hungover body was so happy to be taking in sushi, I automatically felt 5 times better by time we left. Incidentally if you ever have a chance to eat kinme(gold eye red-snapper) nigiri do it! It's delicious!

Pete literally letting off some steam between periods.

The game was actually pretty interesting, I think even first time hockey watcher Chris was enjoying it. Unfortunately Peter Wright's team only had 8 men so couldn't actually change a whole line out at a time. So by the third period the team was really slowing down and looking exhausted against a fully stocked opponent. They got up to a 5-3 deficit, but then the other team started scoring like mad and it was a 9-3 final I think. Pete was great though, he had some great stick handling, could muscle the opponents out of the way, and even tried a Mario Lemieux style behind the feet shot. Well I want to check out a game when he has some more players! Or even better yet try to learn to skate and play too! We'll see....
Incidentally if anyone was looking to buy a single Ice Skating item, they have it for sale at the center. I wonder what the one item is, I hope it is a skate...