A new sort of education Thursday

After the undergrad Intro to Education course I took on Thursday mornings in spring term of last year, I had a break from education in the fall term. This school year, however, (the Japanese school year starts in April and runs to March, with breaks in both summer and late winter/early spring) I've got another ed class, this time at the grad level, but still on Thursdays.

This term I'm taking a grad course on the history of Japanese education. It doesn't have much bearing on my thesis, but I knew as soon as I read the syllabus that I had to take it because of the assigned text. We are reading the Japanese translation of Andrew Gordon's A Modern History of Japan. Why would I want to read the Japanese translation of an overview of Japanese history written by a well-known American scholar of Japanese history? Well, Gordon was my advisor for my first thesis. He wrote a message and signed my copy of the English original, which I used when I was one of the TAs for the intro-level overview of Japanese history course that he co-taught. The book was written out of his lecture notes for that class, and the year I TAed was the first one after the book had been published and was being used as a text.

It has been a truly odd experience to read the book for a grad-level Japanese course. (I'll admit that most weeks I cheat and read the English original and only glance through the Japanese translation) I'll find myself suddenly remembering discussing a certain section with my students, or listening to Gordon's lecture on a different section, or marking the exam questions, or climbing the rickety little stairway to my discussion section's classroom - overlooking Annenberg Hall , high in the eaves of the historic and stunning Memorial Hall . But really I'm sitting in a windowless classroom in the upper floors of a modern skyscraper in downtown Tokyo.

The class itself has its moments. I've had a number of frustrating weeks, sitting through seemingly endless comments of "wow - for a foreigner he really knows a lot about Japanese history! It's so impressive!!" The fact that this is a typical Japanese response to any knowledge of Japan by a foreigner is annoying. Given that the professor of the course I'm currently taking and the other two students have freely admitted they are education/sociology majors and NOT history majors and thus the only (one-time) Japanese history major in the room is the one with the white skin and big nose, makes it somewhat more annoying. But given that the comments are about a scholar who is both very well-known and extremely highly regarded in the field (both in the US AND in Japan), the condescension is particularly annoying.

In class this evening, however, we got off topic waiting for one student who never actually showed up. We got into discussing and comparing higher education in Japan and the US/Canada. The prof, who's area is Education and who is involved in the teaching certification program at my university, was blunt and direct in his criticism of many Japanese practices. In particular he blasted the Japanese system of double standards for athletes, the lack of expectation that students actually study, the practice of students working part-time jobs til the early hours of the morning, and a host of other issues. My beef is the glaring lack of feedback given to students. They submit papers and write tests and all they get out of it is a grade on their report card. 99% of professors provide absolutely no feedback to students, giving them no idea of WHAT was good or bad about what they did and where/how they could improve. The only time many students get any type of response from professors is on their graduation thesis, in their final year. In addition, the vast majority of undergrads, and some grad students even, have a difficulty in expressing their own opinion or engaging in critical thought. With issues like grade inflation and babying of students, however, the US/Canadian system is far from perfect...

It was a lively and interesting discussion, but I'm still looking forward to next week (the last for this term) and then another term of a new sort of education Thursdays...

Green with...

On Grey's Anatomy, Izzy Stevens goes into a baking frenzy when she is stressed or upset about something. I'm not nearly that bad, but I do find that baking calms me down. I like baking muffins on a regular basis, and love making cookies or other treats to share with friends. Making up a batch of something I know a certain person will like is my way of saying I'm thinking about them. Not having access to an oven (the Japanese concept of "kitchen," especially in small apartments, does not much resemble that which I grew up baking and cooking in), my ability to bake is severely limited.

A number of years ago, when I lived out in the boonies of Chiba and had a fairly big one-room apartment I had a toaster oven. I decided to try using my toaster (which was a oven-type toaster, not one of those ones with two bread slits in the top) to bake cookies, and made up a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. I discovered the cookies had to be quite small to bake properly in the oven, and I could only bake two or three at a time... it ended up taking me about three days straight to bake the darn things, jumping up every 20 minutes to take out three cookies and spoon three more onto the pan... The sad thing was that I took the cookies to work and they were inhaled immediately - disappearing in under 30 minutes!

With all of that in mind, when a good friend of mine finally admitted (after about 20 minutes of beating around the bush) that she and her boyfriend of 2 years were in a very rocky patch and it seemed like they'd be breaking up, I immediately wanted to make her something. I settled first for taking her out for a couple of drinks and listening to her (I'm guessing she hasn't actually told anybody else, so this in itself was important). But when I got home I wanted to make her something, to cheer her up or at least make her feel cared for. I settled on Bakerella's Oreo truffles, and whipped up a batch that very night. They turned out really really really yummy, but it has been years since I made chocolates and I hadn't figured out how to make do with the limited supplies I had, so the end result didn't look all that impressive. They were yummy though, and my friends (including the intended recipient) gobbled them down happily.

I went out with the friend in question again this weekend and she's still in a pretty tough place - things are dragging out and both parties are getting hurt. So after I listened and offered some advice I got to thinking about making another batch of chocolates, this time incorporating one of my friend's favourites, matcha (green tea). I had a few problems with the centres of these ones - trying to balance matcha and chocolate flavours. They looked better than last week's bunch though and disappeared just as quickly.





The only trouble is, after taking in goodies two weeks in a row, one friend innocently asked me today "so what is next week's flavour?"

Mosaic

Over the past few weeks I've been in a bit of a funk. I've been homesick, which despite the fact that I consider myself fairly patriotic, after 7 years living outside of Canada happens pretty rarely. This all culminated with me watching the Canada Day celebrations on the CBC, but it is due to a number of discussions in class that have reminded me just how different Japan is from the society I grew up in.

I remember when I lived in Toronto as a very young girl we used to go all over the city during the annual international festival. I used to love visiting the community centres, to taste the various types of food, watch kids perform traditional dances, and admire traditional costumes. Once, after watching the performance at the Latvian Community Centre, where my best friend went every week for language and dance lessons, I turned to my mother and asked her why I didn't have an interesting culture. I wanted to be wearing one of the frilly dresses and dancing up on stage too!

A number of years later my grade two teacher had a system in class where parents were encouraged to come in on the day of a special festival in their culture/religion. The parents would bring in snacks and various items and tell us about their festival or country. We got a break from classes, instead eating, playing games, and listening to stories. I still remember the potato pancakes one Jewish family brought in to share with us for Hanukkah. I remember again complaining to my parents that we were sooo boooooring, not having any special culture to share with the class!

The family of one of my closest friends was from what was then Czechoslovakia. Her grandmother would often spend periods of time with the family and while she didn't speak much English she sure was a great cook - I looked forward to afternoon snack at my friend's house on those days, much more exciting than whatever was on offer at my home.

It took many years for me to realize that my family wasn't nearly as boring as I thought. First of all, since my mother was born in the UK I have dual citizenship. Second, since my father married a Chinese-Canadian woman when I was in high school I had many years of home-cooked Chinese food that means that to this day when I get upset or tired one of the first things I crave is good Chinese food - especially my favourite mapo tofu.

It took even more years, especially those spent outside of Canada, for me to realize just how special and unique the country really is. While I realize that racism and prejudice do exist there, as in any country, the fact that people from different cultural backgrounds and religions, speaking different mother-tongues, not only co-exist, but that children grow up feeling that this co-existence is normal, that different cultures are interesting, is a truly amazing thing. Which is why I proudly talk about the Canadian mosaic, the idea that just like the beauty of a mosaic coming from its myriad of coloured stones, the beauty and strength of Canada comes from all the different cultures/religions/languages/beliefs of its peoples.

Trying to actually make some of the other students (who come from a society that prides itself on its homogeneity, where individualism is NOT encouraged) in my sociology classes actually understand what this means in reality, however, can be more than a little frustrating. Recently its left me wanting to pack up and go back to Canada where I wouldn't have to explain things that seem so basic to me...

July 2

Twas the morn after Canada Day
And along the train route
The locals were rushing
In their usual commute.

No maple leafs had been hung
From flagpoles with care.
No people had gathered
For barbecue to share.

The beer cans were nestled
All snug in fridges,
Not strewn about the lawn
And under the hedges.

No parades had been seen.
No fireworks set.
No red shirts worn proudly.
No friends had been met.

The night before had been simple,
Plain vanilla flavoured.
No maple syrup to be found
On the food being savoured.

Awoken this morning
At the usual hour,
I couldn't help but mourn
My lack of national fervour.

And so somewhat belated,
Though nonetheless sincere,
I send out a message
To the whole blogosphere.

All the way from Japan
And just one day too late,
Happy Canada Day to all -
Hope you celebrate!

A kick in the cooking butt

I love to cook. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to leave the dorm and get back into an apartment of my own, one with some semblance of a kitchen (I may have gotten used to many aspects of life in Japan but I still have serious issues with calling a couple of elements and a sink in the hallway an actual "kitchen"). I really enjoy cooking for my dad when I visit for the holidays, and have started occasionally cooking for friends here in Japan. But I find myself more likely to pick up a quick bento or throw together a basic bowl of pasta or a sandwich than to actually cook myself a full meal. "What's the point? It's only me eating after all!" I think to myself, and throw together whatever is in the fridge.

I read blogs like La Fuji Mama and Blue Lotus and think "Mmm, that looks good! I should try that next time I'm in Canada." But hold on... I have a kitchen right? I may not have copious amounts of free time to make elaborate ten course meals every night (and I definitely can't make it all look as delicious or as easy as La Fuji Mama does), but if I make up big batches of freezeable dishes (as I sometimes do with home-made vegetable soups, various types of curry/stew, and veggie stirfry), then I can enjoy good, homemade food for a number of meals with only minimal effort and time needed any given night. I won't be "wasting time cooking just for me," instead I can enjoy the actual cooking process and get yummy food out of it.

My kick in the pants for all of this was La Fuji Mama's recent call to join her in cooking up recipes from the incredible Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen by Elizabeth Andoh. I read LFM's post and before I knew it I had ordered a copy of the book on Amazon.co.jp. It arrived yesterday afternoon and I'm thrilled!

I love Japanese food, and I eat it regularly, but I don't cook more than a few set dishes (okonomiyaki, ozoni, etc). As I found myself explaining to my dad, I blame this on my tendency to cook without a recipe. This works fine for dishes that I grew up watching my mother or stepmother make, but doesn't work so well for the cuisine of my adopted home. I'm going to try to remedy that situation - one recipe/one month at a time. We'll see how far I get (my thesis is beginning to really loom over my head) but I'm excited. And I know my mother, who inspired in me a love of cooking from a very young age, would be proud.

Hangaku bento

I have a bad habit that I am trying to convince myself is actually budget conscious. I picked it up a few years ago, when I was teaching English in the boonies of Chiba. My work days would end at 9 or 10 pm and since lunch time had been at 1pm and I had normally been teaching straight right through the afternoon, I was exhausted and hungry by the time I left my classroom. If I didn't have something in the fridge waiting to be heated up for dinner I'd often swing by the big 24 hour grocery store on my way home, stopping at the prepared food section to grab dinner (many days I was so hungry that dinner didn't make it home in tact, I would munch on it as I walked through the dark streets to my apartment).

Early in the day the prepared food and bento section would be well stocked with a variety of freshly made meals and separate packages of all sorts of different foods - sushi rolls, rice balls, sandwiches, salads, noodle dishes, dumplings, stirfrys (or is that stirfries?), breaded pork cutlets, tempura,... and the list goes on and on. By the time I'd get there, however, the pickings were usually pretty slim and somewhat random. I'd end up with a couple of skewers of yakitori and a caesar salad one night, and a cheese and roast beef wrap and shrimp tempura the next. It was a bit of an adventure never quite knowing what I might find! Given how tired I was some nights not having to make a choice was very much appreciated. The real bonus, however, was the price. At that hour most things were 10% or 30% off, or even half-price.

Supermarket prepared foods have a limited shelf-life. In some stores there is a set time of day when all the remaining foods go on a certain discount. An employee will go around with a sticker machine, affixing bright red and yellow discount stickers to the plastic and styrofoam containers. Often times the employee will be followed by a trail of shoppers who swoop in and grab packages of certain items as soon as the sticker goes on. One grocery store near where I used to live closed at 10pm. At 5pm the bakery counter closed and baked goods went on various discounts. Prepared foods were 10% off after 5pm, 30% after 7pm, and 50% (if anything was still left) after 9pm. At 24 hour places, however, food tends to be prepared at different times during the day, and so the discount stickers will go on items based on how long they've been sitting out. The older the item the better the discount and the more likely it is to be snapped up by an eager shopper.

Now that I am back in an apartment and have a kitchen, I do find myself cooking a lot more than I did when I was in the dorm (when I all but lived off of the discounted prepared foods and bento from a network of different grocery stores). I especially like to make up a big pot of soup or stirfry or stew and freeze individual-sized portions for later meals. But there are also days when I have evening classes and find myself sizing up the discounted prepared foods at my local grocery store...

on the menu for tonight: salad, kara-age chicken with a spicy Chinese sauce

note the big red and yellow sticker emblazoned with "taimu sabisu" or time-service, and a discounted price

and one of my all-time favourites, negi-toro maki (rolled sushi with green onion and tuna belly)

at half-price (han-gaku) how can you go wrong?!!

Perhaps not the best way to ensure a healthy balanced meal, but still a cheap way of getting a quick and yummy late meal (or breakfast, if you dare to defy the eat-before time stamp and save a couple of things for the next morning - I've done so a number of times and lived to tell the tale!)