iPhone & and Ghengis Khan Party

Yay! It's the weekend after a very long week. I absorbed so much this week which is making me feel like I have been here at least for a month but it has only been over 2 weeks.

So, it was a great day today. Kelly, the outgoing teacher, who is fluent in Japanese, was super awesome enough to help me get my cell phone set up. Getting a phone, especially an expensive phone like the iPhone 3GS is a long long long process in Japan. In the past, foreigners were able to easily buy cell phones but many of them left the country without making their payments so now, not only I had to bring my official documentations (another long process at the city hall) which show my new address and registration as a resident in the city. I also had to bring my gas and electricity set up paperwork, bank info (again, another long process to get it set up), and health insurance card (which I don't have yet because guess what, it takes a friggin long time for to process) to prove that I am here to stay for a while. Then, you are not automatically approved so it basically becomes a minimum of a 2-hour tedious, almost nerve wrecking process just to get a cell phone. Needless to say, I was pretty happy when I got approved and also quite relieved that it was done.

Earlier in the day, I met Kelly at her host family's house. Chan, the host mother, invited me to her Genghis Khan (what the Japanese called lamb) aka Mongolian BBQ dinner party that night so after the cell phone, Kelly and I went to Daimaru department store to the Hokkaido Fair to sample some food and also get her an omiyage (gift). I bought her this amazing, melt-in-your mouth cheesecake called Snaffle from Hokkaido. I am not a big sweets fan but it was to die for. Then we returned to Chan's house which is big enough for a party of 9-10 people. There were sake, beers, wine, champagne. Then there were tofu appetizers, endless pieces of grilled Genghis Khan, mushrooms, onions, cabbages. And there were more - grilled mackerel, cheese, onigiris (rice balls, which was really good grilled with soy sauce and butter), rice crackers, tsukemono (pickles), some really really good Hokkaido (where Chan is from) ikura (salmon fish eggs)...with rice if you wish. Last but not least, coffee with my omiyage - buttery Snaffles. I am sure I missed something because the food and drinks just kept coming and I could hardly keep up. During dinner, Chan wanted to give me an extra futon pad for my apartment. Not only this was the best meals I had since I arrived (and I had a lot of really good food for the past 2 weeks), I was so touched to receive such kindness from a stranger who just met me. Though I didn't know the host or any of the Japanese guests at the party and all of them spoke very little English (Chan doesn't speak any), all of them engaged with me and made me feel welcomed in the most natural way. And I got invited to another party next week!

Looking back, I had only imagined an experience like this. It was a little surreal to experience it and I came away feeling extremely blessed. Below are some photos from today. おかげさまデ! (Okage-sama de)

Chan - the host mother.


The dinner party


The Food