Ramblings

Nothing particular happened today, so I figured I'd just ramble for a bit.

First, the food. I mostly cook at home (cheap and healthy), but I had to learn how to make a few things, since the ingredients here are so different. Bread is basically inedible - it smells funny and tastes like cardboard. Dairy products - cheese, yoghurt, sour cream - are expensive and the taste also can't live up to my expectations. Back home my diet consisted mostly of the products listed above, so I had to think of something to replace them. Now I usually make onigiri (rice balls with different filling), miso soup, sushi, many types of udon and soba noodles, and, of course, I'm slowly learning 101 ways to prepare tofu. Tofu really is a life-saver and it's especially good here in Kyoto. And last but not least - my favorite thing to eat as of late - stimmed kabocha (Japanese pumpkin). It's quick and easy, and it tastes heavenly. You only have to mix some water, sake (though I use mirin) and sugar and stimmer it till it gets soft.

Second, the people. I imagined they'd be more reserved and they'd keep their distance from me, but when they realize that I speak japanese they starting to be more open. I'm amazed by the number of questions I've been asked since I came here, from quite simple ones like "what's th e weather like in Poland" to quite strange like "is Polish the official language of Poland". But I have to answer all of them patiently because most of them don't understand sarcasm. They are just so polite that they can't imagine answering a question in any other way than helpful, I guess. I'm afraid that my sarcastic sense of humor may disappear if I stay here longer.

The other day there was a group of people from Italy in Tondaya, and we have a very small entrance, so taller people usually bump their heads. There's at least one such preson in every group, so of course one lady bumped her head while entering. When they were leaving I reminded them to watch their heads, and then one girl said "no, thank you, I think I'd rather smash my head" and my first reaction was "...huh?", and my sarcasm detector kicked in only a few moments later. Scary...

So, most Japanese don't get sarcasm. And I'm afraid that I don't understand their sense of humor yet. Whenever I crack a joke they tell me I'm mean. That's one more thing - you can't be completely straightforward with them, or they'll think you're mean, or crude. Sometimes I think you have to have some Jedi patience to get your point across. And if they had some bad news for you they will a)not tell you at all or b)say it so don't think it's actually that bad. But overall they try really hard to be helpful and hospitable, it's just that our cultures are so different, that there are situations when we stare at eachother not sure what to do, even if we speak the same language.

Enough of my ramblings for today. For the end is a photo of the maple leaves light-up at the Zenrinji temple (I went there yesterday)