CSW outing #2

I'm really lazy, and have to write a report about my CSW trips anyway. So here's the report for plan number 2, exactly as I turned it in to the professor:

I met with Shiori, and Satomi on Saturday May 27, at 11:00 am in Omote-Sando. Marion joined us after the tea ceremony class, as she had gotten confused about the meeting time. To set up the plan, all three of the students sent me e-mails by keitai to introduce themselves. I discussed the specifics with Satomi by e-mail for a couple of weeks before the meeting.

After easily reaching the meeting place, Shiori, Satomi, and I walked to the tea ceremony club. It was a very nice place and all of the rooms were beautiful. It took about an hour to go through the tea ceremony, and we each got to learn how to make the Japanese tea. The teachers were very kind and patient, and even did part of the lesson in English for me. Also, Shiori and Satomi were good to make sure I was following the lesson and was okay. I really enjoyed learning more about the tea ceremony. It was a great choice for an activity and it was something that I could not have found/done on my own.

We met Marion and she apologized to me for being late. She and I chatted as we walked the train and then to our next destination, a famous chopstick store, Ginza Natsuno, in Harajuku. We all chatted about the cute tiny chopsticks, the funny looking chopsticks and chopstick rests, and the giant serving chopsticks. I really fell for a cute star-shaped chopstick rest, or hashi oki, as I learned. I got it and a matching pair of chopsticks.

Saturday was a rainy day, so we took some time to decide how to adjust our plan accordingly. During that time, we all heard our stomachs growling, so we headed to lunch. Online the girls had found a place where we could have okonomiaki. I’d never had it before, and was looking forward to making it right at our table. The restaurant was kind of a hole in the wall, but the atmosphere was nice. It was the kind of place I wouldn’t have found as a foreigner living in Japan. Also, the okonomiaki was delicious! We also got monja. Yum! At lunch we all chatted together almost entirely in English, with everyone contributing pretty much equally. I was impressed.

By the time we finished eating, the rain had let up a bit. So we walked along the famous streets in Harajuku to the Meji temple. I was not expecting the walk up to the temple to be so long; I didn’t know there could be so many trees hiding in Tokyo. But it was very beautiful. The temple was beautiful and simple. I really liked the design. We even managed to catch a wedding procession. The bride was very beautiful and her hair was amazing! On the walk there and back I spent a lot of time talking to Satomi and to Marion.

From there, we went to Harajuku station where we split up. I felt like it was a good plan and a good and busy day. I had a fun and easy time talking with the students. And I think they felt the same way with me. The most interesting thing I’ve noticed on these meetings has been the way the students work together to communicate with me, when something is difficult for them to express.

A Blog Reader's Key to Terms: keitai = cell phone; okonomiaki = a pan fried vegetable and sea-food "cake" similar to latkas, except replace potatoes with cabbage; Harajuku = fashionable young shopping area.

Edited June 2: Find photos of the day here!