well well well so much to tell!

the jet-lag has kicked in good and proper. only got two hours sleep last night ahead of what was a unique and tiring day.

headed off to hiroshima at noon. the smoking rooms in japanese airports are very depressing places! when i touched down in hiroshima prefecture (a prefecture is like a province) I, along with the other JETS was greeted by three people from my school - with a banner! I felt like a rock star. Martine, Kaneshima-san and Okimoko-san then escorted me through the green hills of Hiroshima o my new school and new life in Mihara...

I was whisked off first, to my suprise, to school where I met the principal and vice principal (that's Kyoto-san and Kocho-san...I think). Kaneshima-san, my sweet sweet supervisor, translated for us as we went through the school contract - the men seemed particularly adamant about my being on school grounds at 8:20. The headmaster said to me 'do you know the difference between high school in South Africa and high school in Japan? In Japan we are very punctual'. I must say, I have never been more terrified in my life: sweating, wearing the wrong shoes and sososo tired in a room with three distinguised, calm and serious men - all in blue shirts and black pants.

I then went to buy a watch (go figure) with Kaneshima-san guiding me through a department store and neighing at the prices of watches these days.

I then returned to school and in front of the staff - i had no choice - i shamefully transfered panties, shampoo and gifts from my big bag to my small one.

i also used a japanese style toilet. :(

then Okimoko-san and Kikawa-san who are teachers at the school took me to dinner and the prospect,　honestly, mortified me. I was SO tired, I speak no japanese and to top it all off we go to an Italian resturaunt. I thought I wouldn't survive. But i did. The food could not have been further from Italian kitsch. It was like a backward fusion style - the best Italian flavours simplified into a japanese style. So get this; we order a chef's salad, fried fish and okimoko-san has fresh garden vegetable pasta. The so called chef's salad is a delicate portion of italian lettuce topped with macerated onions, strips of pan seared beef and two blocks of vegetable terreine: wafer thin strips of carrot and mushroom suspended in gelatine that was lightly pickled in flavour. The fried fish was a whole sardine pan-seared on broccolli with a little portion of rattatouille and a single prawn - split down the middle - its head gunk removed and replaced with blobs of mayonnaise. the prawn had been seared too i think but grated tempura batter was piled on top. The pasta was italain spaggetti in a vinegarette topped again with wafer thin radish, broccolli, red pepper. every dish was so beautifully presented. very haute cuisine. and utterly delicious. delicate! i,m sorry to have rambled ala-jamie oliver or whatnot but it really was remarkable.

conversation was not at all formal or uncomfortable. these two japanese ladies were so kind to me. at no point did i feel that being polite pushed me to incinserity (which had been a major anxiety). my genuine suprise and enjoyment of the food and the company was huge.

tomorrow i get a cell phone. Kaneshima-san got me an english brochure (eigo no hon). They look bloody amazing. all the colours and whizz banging!



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