The first two photos are ones that I forgot to put in the weekend post...
Krispy Kreme! In Osaka! So strange. I obviously had to take a photo. We didn't go but I asked my coworker if he had been and he hasn't. So I told him that we have to go sometime since these doughnuts are unlike any in the world. But knowing Japan, I'm sure they've changed them just slightly. We'll see. Maybe next time.
Here are the octopus nuggets. Takoyaki... I think. Tako means octopus, yaki is cooked or grilled. So hot. So drippy. So delicious.
From here on out is the past three days. Look how good I'm staying up to date!!! Let's see how long this lasts.
My coworker brought these treats into the office this week. In general, sweets like this are either called mochi (which I've mentioned before) or dango. I think both are made from grains, ground into a pulp and maybe cooked until this paste/gelatin like state occurs. I'm not an expert, just piecing together information from coworkers. So this is called kibedango and is specifically made from millet. It's special to the Okayama area of Japan and was brought back by a colleague during a business trip. The texture is mushy and kind of jelly-like, tastes just slightly sweet and I think really good. So I had a few alongside my miso soup.
Here's the part where I tell you about what I'm doing all day at the office. Or show you. I spend my time in labs with flames and other hot things and watching things burn and smoke. I get to wear these super cool polarized glasses and pose for photos with my awesome colleagues. Love it.
The next few photos are from my favorite experience of the past three days. Last week, my supervisor mentioned that we have an office softball team. I thought that sounded really fun and asked when the games were. Everyone loves a good church league softball game, right?? Well by the end of the day (and at my welcome party), it was pretty much understood by my entire office that I actually wanted to play softball and practice with the team. I was introduced to the captain of the team and told that practice was after lunch at the softball field (aka, the safe place).
After asking more questions and learning more about this team, it turns out that it's not just like any old church league. These guys are pretty much the equivalent of Japanese minor league players and have won national championships in the past. Maybe this is why everyone was laughing so much at my welcome party when I said I wanted to play with them?? Could be.
So when Monday lunch rolled around, I decided that I wasn't quite ready to practice with the team and chickened out. By Tuesday, I had made up my mind that it was good to do scary things and decided that I would venture out to the field after lunch. Of course I recruited a few colleagues for backup. As it turns out, the team was just having a meeting on Tuesday (whew) so I just ended up playing catch with my colleagues. Still really fun and a good first experience at practice. On Wednesday, I had been told that we would be practicing batting. So as I walked to the field Wednesday after lunch (still with my colleagues in tow), my heart started beating harder and harder as I imagined stepping up to bat for the first time in probably over ten years. I told my coworker about how nervous I was so he volunteered to go first.
Yep, that's me being terrified in the background. My coworker played baseball in high school so was actually really good at batting. Unfortunately for me, his successor, he made it look way too easy.
Here's the pitcher. Also the captain (I think?) and "ace" of the team.
The first pitch absolutely made me jump back from its speed. He pitched SO fast. I don't ever remember pitches being that fast when I was younger. But maybe I was just a lot braver back then. Basically put, after a few (or maybe more than a few...) swings and misses and instances of me yelling "too fast!!", they decided that maybe I needed something a little easier.
So my sweet and patient colleague (the former baseball player) stood fifteen feet in front of me and gently tossed me the softball. FINALLY I managed to make some good hits and hopefully redeem myself. But please, please note the entire team watching my progress from the sidelines. This all went down in around fifteen minutes and mysteriously, no one else did any batting practice that day. So I'm not sure how much real practice actually takes place during the lunch hour, but I'll definitely keep coming back even if it's just to play catch with a random coworker. Hopefully the team doesn't mind wasting some of their practice time on me... I know that I enjoyed every minute. Even with the stress of super fast pitches, a laughing audience of (semi-pro) softball players and a bunch of swings and misses.
I'm checking on the schedule of their games so that I can hopefully catch one or two and at least be a good cheerleader. This is just another example of the patience, laughter and hospitality that I've experienced in Japan. They even let the kids that really stink play!
New words: gobi- garbage, mido- hello (Osaka specific), osaki shitsurei shimasu- goodbye (when leaving the office), moukarimakka?- hello/how much money do you make (Osaka specific, when a woman greets a man), mican- orange, ringo- apple, megane- glasses, hijiki- branchy brown seaweed that I had for lunch today.
Exciting things: Rode my bike to the office today after a weeklong break from biking, the security guard gave me a bag of okaki (rice crackers) and a mican (orange). So, so sweet. The guard, not the snacks.
What I need help with: Halloween!! I'm in charge of "teaching" my colleaugues Halloween next week and I need ideas on what to take, do, etc. Any and all ideas are welcome!
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