nabe night
recently, i was invited to go to a dinner party at one of my friend’s student’s houses. my friend, carolyn, has lived here for five or six years now and is sadly moving back to the states in march of next year. her and her husband, alexi, another great friend, will be sorely missed.
carolyn is an english professor at joetsu university of education. she teaches all freshman and upper class english intensive classes. recently one of her freshman students had the idea to have a nabe dinner party. a good way to have some foreigners over (us whiteys from europe, america, and canada) and some good grassroots culture exchange.
i think about ten or so of us piled up in cars on one blustery, cold, rainy evening and headed over to our hostess’ house. we walked into the warmth of an old, big, family traditional japanese house. the heat was emanating from four big pots on a long table in the dining room. i should digress and take a moment to explain what nabe is. nabe is a traditional japanese winter-season meal. it’s made by throwing various foods in a big, ceramic bowl and boiling it over a fire stove at the dinner table. nabe is particularly great because a) it’s healthy and b) you can put whatever you fancy in it: meat, seafood, tofu, and various vegetables. this evening there were four different types: traditional japanese style, kimchi, a european consommé type, and a tomato based one. they were all great – what a feast!!! in true japanese fashion, there were also many side dishes and tons of alcohol. and in true japanese tradition, all the guests brought something to add to the feast. when going to a person’s home in japan, you always bring something – usually fruit, alcohol, or some type of food.
everyone listening to an introduction. when we first arrived, we arranged ourselves around the table, and then intoduced ourselves individually. then the kampai speech followed, and last we dug in! at big meals or parties in japan, someone must make an opening kampai speech (an opening toast) before eating or drinking anything. the hostess made our speech.
a look down the table
some of the food to be put into the nabe
how expensive it must have been to buy all this awesome food . . .
brooke: ooooh, oishii! (delicious)
in order to get the full effect, you have to try the many different types of nabe by going to all the pots
on the far left is kei, a senior in high school. he's the son of a good friend, midori, of carolyn and alexis. his english is fabulous; i'm always impressed when i talk with him. so is his best friend's english, kensuke, in the middle of the picture. kensuke is the younger brother of the hostess. and stacia, a first year alt from the states. culture exhange at its best!
these boys both came a little later, so i didn't get to talk to them as much. but they both want to be english teachers; i hope they fit in some good practice that night.
we feasted, snacked, chatted, and culture exchanged into the late hours of the evening. success!
carolyn is an english professor at joetsu university of education. she teaches all freshman and upper class english intensive classes. recently one of her freshman students had the idea to have a nabe dinner party. a good way to have some foreigners over (us whiteys from europe, america, and canada) and some good grassroots culture exchange.
i think about ten or so of us piled up in cars on one blustery, cold, rainy evening and headed over to our hostess’ house. we walked into the warmth of an old, big, family traditional japanese house. the heat was emanating from four big pots on a long table in the dining room. i should digress and take a moment to explain what nabe is. nabe is a traditional japanese winter-season meal. it’s made by throwing various foods in a big, ceramic bowl and boiling it over a fire stove at the dinner table. nabe is particularly great because a) it’s healthy and b) you can put whatever you fancy in it: meat, seafood, tofu, and various vegetables. this evening there were four different types: traditional japanese style, kimchi, a european consommé type, and a tomato based one. they were all great – what a feast!!! in true japanese fashion, there were also many side dishes and tons of alcohol. and in true japanese tradition, all the guests brought something to add to the feast. when going to a person’s home in japan, you always bring something – usually fruit, alcohol, or some type of food.
everyone listening to an introduction. when we first arrived, we arranged ourselves around the table, and then intoduced ourselves individually. then the kampai speech followed, and last we dug in! at big meals or parties in japan, someone must make an opening kampai speech (an opening toast) before eating or drinking anything. the hostess made our speech.
a look down the table
some of the food to be put into the nabe
how expensive it must have been to buy all this awesome food . . .
brooke: ooooh, oishii! (delicious)
in order to get the full effect, you have to try the many different types of nabe by going to all the pots
on the far left is kei, a senior in high school. he's the son of a good friend, midori, of carolyn and alexis. his english is fabulous; i'm always impressed when i talk with him. so is his best friend's english, kensuke, in the middle of the picture. kensuke is the younger brother of the hostess. and stacia, a first year alt from the states. culture exhange at its best!
these boys both came a little later, so i didn't get to talk to them as much. but they both want to be english teachers; i hope they fit in some good practice that night.
we feasted, snacked, chatted, and culture exchanged into the late hours of the evening. success!
posted by Unknown at 9:20 AM
4 Comments:
Gee, what a feast!
Flattered 'cause you thought I'm teaching...I'm just a PhD student!
god im hungry
paulo, how long have you been in japan? and until when are you living here? well, a phd doesn't sound too shabby either! what kind of doctor are you studying to be?
've been eating with hashi for a year and 8 months by now. More 2 and a half years, and I'll graduate as a PhD in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery... But you know what, you're right! Once in a while I teach, though the subject is Portuguese.
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