A Nanay (Mom) in Japan

DONg!

2010-03-18T13:39:00.004+09:00

I've had this Japanese clay pot called DONABE boxed and unused for over a year (we got it as a raffle prize) until my friend Yumi brought kimchi chahan/stirfried rice for lunch last November.

I didnt imagine that it IS the perfect cookware in winter! It saves me on gas coz once the soup boils, I can turn off the fire, and let veggies cook. It even stores warm cooked dishes longer than ordinary pots.

What's more, it is like a witch's magic pot for my kids who enjoy the mystery of seeing the donabe sitting quietly in the center of our dining table and wondering what's inside it.

Planning a Visit

2010-03-18T11:21:00.005+09:00

we're all entitled to ponder about life, but i'm putting off my ponderings and allowing myself to get distracted with other things such as suggesting wall paint color schemes for my father and planning a long-awaited visit to our country.

Our old house was made of wood and cement and the walls were of the standard creamish offwhite color. But now that it has to be repainted, I'm trying to influence my father on his color choice.

The walls will be in offwhite but the windows will be in deep wood green. Inside the house will just be dull yet clean color, but I suggested slate blue for the exterior. I'm not even sure if my dad knows what slate blue is, but just the same - he said ok coz I'm paying for it;)

Inspiration for the color choice for the windows and door in this apartment building right outside my window.

still stuck here

2010-03-15T13:46:00.006+09:00

No one reads this blog anyway so i might as well write about what's in my mind right now.

yes i am stuck with what i am, where i am, and what i do right now but there is such a thing as being happily stuck.

i am happily stuck right now. not that i am complaining about my life but i guess we always reach that age when we have the maturity to look back at how we have lived our life, to know the mistakes we've made, to learn a few things from them and above all, to know how to somehow manage our present life so that we can make the most of it.

i am now at that point: how do i make the most out of the life God is giving me? Pastor Hamasaki said yesterday that the moment we believe and have faith in God, we ARE blessed. That's not in the past nor in the future tense, grammatically speaking. We don't have to look at our neighbors and compare ourselves with them. We amply have what we need. God is giving us everything that we need in every aspect of our life.

but human as i am, there are pebbles, stones, sometimes boulders or even mountains that hinder our ways so that instead of receiving the full blessings of the Lord, we only get a minute part of it. Or even if we are already receiving the blessing, we only appreciate the 'tip' of it, because our eyes are focused only on things that we can see, and not on the bigger and more beautiful picture where we stand.

it definitely is hard to see the picture when you are in it.

much as i know in my heart i am blessed, i still have some doubts, questions in my head. what happens if a loved one dies? what happens if i die? i should be doing this instead of that. i may be making a big mistake. how do i know i am doing what is right?

how about you? can you see my picture?

Sour tones

2010-03-11T15:20:00.004+09:00

i can't always be writing about good things here when i feel down.
It's a few more days before April starts and I always always associate spring with the start of good things in my life... not only good things but changes since i am the type of person who wants to try new things, be with new friends or in a new place. i don't like getting stuck in the same place, as much as possible.

but sometimes we are stuck.

Nanohana

2010-02-26T13:56:00.006+09:00

It is just February but somehow we are having a fine weather with temperature above 15C, which might be why the nanohana (rape blossoms, canola) in Moriyama City has started to bloom. Right after church last Sunday, we had a nice lunch at Jolly Pasta, then headed straight to Lake Biwa to check those yellow blooms out.

Our first stop was to watch the kamo birds (seagulls) flocking at the lake. It was a windy day but my 2 kids had lots of fun feeding the seagulls with bread so they fly right on top of them. It was such an experience for our little girl to see birds flying all around her.

It was almost 3 pm and while the sun was still up, we drove right away to the yellow nanohana/rape blossoms field. Indeed the Lord created so many beautiful things for us so we can appreciate His greatness and love.

To end our beautiful Sunday, I made an easy dinner with scallops and squids tossed in butter and garlic,topped with blanched rape blossoms, then drizzled with olive oil.

2009-12-25T11:12:00.001+09:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Lord giveth... and taketh

2009-10-15T10:37:00.002+09:00

My sister's mother in-law was just victimized by some kind of gang. She was supposed to withdraw money from the bank, and she ended being hypnotized and withdrawing all her hard-earned money from 4 different accounts, and giving it to the heartless person.

She worked in Italy for over 20 years as a helper, missing her two children's growing years and trying to save that money for their olden years.

Who in the world can be that ruthless to steal it away from her?

But amidst all the questions in my mind as to why and how it happened to her, the Lord taught me a lesson.

Money and wealth are transitory things. We shouldn't spend our days trying to amass things that can easily be taken from us.

Invest in heaven. Teach my children how to worship, pray to God and lay all their worries to Him. Value family and friends, they can't be taken away from me no matter how and by no matter who.

Happy birthday to the man I love

2009-09-25T23:38:00.003+09:00

When I had chicken pox, you braved visiting me in my hometown with 2 boxes of buko pie and with no idea where our house is. My lolo and lola were so amazed that they asked me where my real boyfriend is.

When I had acute typhoid fever and was hospitalized for a week, you were the only one who was constantly at my bedside, risking getting the virus.

I don't look good in mornings, but you hug me and kiss me each day.

You love cooking breakfast for us.

You give the nicest gifts on all occasions.

You say 'sorry' first even if I was the one who is wrong.

You know everything about me, can read my mind and understand my misgivings.

You never fail to make me smile whatever the time of the day is or in whatever mood I am in.

You always give me the cornbits in your mixed nuts.

You give me time to eat my favorite daing na bangus.

You give me massages even when you are the one who needs one more.

You've given me my early retirement that I am now enjoying a relaxed life.

You are the father of my two lovely children.

You will always be my best friend no matter what.

I am what I am because of you.

They say that life begins at 40. One more year to prove to you that your beautiful life began when you met me ;)

Mango Memories

2009-08-01T16:11:00.002+09:00

My good friend Yumi showed up unexpectedly one morning and gave me two mangoes. Surprisingly those two mangoes triggered some axons and dendrons in my brain that made me unearth lots of deeply hidden memories of my childhood.

Mango trees everywhere. I am so thankful to my grandparents for investing in a big lot enough to grow fruit trees. We've got at least 4 different mango varieties surrounding our house (carabao mango, Indian mango, supsupin, paho)and every summer, we enjoyed climbing trees or picking mango fruits. April is the best time to pick carabao mangoes (green yet starting to ripen, crispy and perfect to dip in shrimp paste or in a mixture of patis/soy sauce/sugar/salt/chillis). By May, we could enjoy sweet ripe mangoes with my Lola's suman.

Under the spreading mango tree, I read love letters from my first love. The trunk is so big that I can hide behind it and bury the love letters inside it's trunk (yup, there was a hole in it and just like a squirrel, I used it to hide the love letters from my father).

Sweep and burn the leaves to create smoke that will drive away insects that feast on the mango blossoms. My Lola (grandmother) was so strict and she made us sweep the garden every morning. She would encourage us by saying that the more bamboo leaves we could sweep and rake towards the mango trees, the more fruits we could have in summertime. I got blisters from sweeping the whole yard. My sisters and I would draw demarcation lines to make sure each had her share of the backbreaking sweeping.

Wash, peel off the skin and bite the mango fruit. We had all the mangoes we could eat then that we hardly ever use the knife (oh well we did to make those nice pineapple-looking mango cuts) when we eat mangoes. The sweet juices running down our face and hands, staining our shirts but those were really good times. Whoever eats the mango fastest is excused from washing the dishes.

Two mangoes and lots of almost forgotten childhood memories.

Thank you so much, Yumi-san.

Otoosan's Asagohan

2009-07-02T09:24:00.004+09:00

he remembers vividly how his tatay would wake up at so early in the morning to make breakfast for them. it didnt matter that sometimes there would be some eggshells in their sunny-side-up eggs, or the fried rice would be a bit salty. what lingers in that young boy's mind is his dad making the first meal they'd have for the day... for them.

and now that he has his own precious son, i feel that unconsciously, he is reliving those happy memories while he makes breakfast. he will have a very busy and stressful day at work, he has to leave the house by 7:30, drive for 30-min and be the only foreigner among his colleagues. BUT just the same, before he assumes all those roles, he will everyday be a loving dad first.

and i'm so lucky, no... BLESSED... to be married to this man.

Love you, Dada!

Naiah-chan and Natto-chan

2009-06-16T12:14:00.003+09:00

Ask me what Japanese food I won't ever eat and I can give you a reply as fast as a shinkansen: NATTO.

Natto is fermented soybeans that is usually eaten for breakfast. Mix it with soy sauce using chopsticks to get the stickiest yuckiest slimiest gooiest healthiest food (coz the proteins are already broken down into readily-absorbable amino acids) you can ever have.

Today our little baby Naiah had fermented natto with rice porridge. I thought she would give me the whats-that-food face but in fact, she enjoyed eating it.

So what's worse than feeding your baby natto?

Breastfeeding her later on.

But it won't be fair if only the baby will eat natto right? I'm having the leftover natto for lunch. Never too late to be japanised. Wish me luck! Itadakimasu!!!

Too many thoughts, too little time

2009-06-11T11:49:00.003+09:00

these past days, i havent been blogging much coz our baby has more waking hours now. she takes an hour or 2 of naps several times a day, and i have to squeeze an endless number of things to do into that oh so little time.

everyday has to be done in a jiffy. even writing here has to be done right away.

concerns for this week:
1. a lady friend will know the result of her MRI (ovary) tomorrow. I pray it's not the deadly C.

2. a high school friend was diagnosed just last Tuesday of cancer. he has a sarcoma in the leg, is due for a removal operation this sat. i pray it hasnt spread to his other organs.

3. i have an unidentified mass too in between my right lungs and ribs. i too have to go to a doctor to have it checked. i used to have ctscan 2x a year to check it's growth, but being pregnant last year prevented me from doing so.

My list can get long but i have to stop here.

Living in Japan has its ups and downs indeed(i'll tell you later why we are starting to feel a bit constricted (a bit is an understatement, yes!) living here. Maybe it's time to move on?

Friday tomorrow. Weekend is fun time with the family, except that my hubby has work this Saturday ;(

Benri Japan Series: No.2

2009-06-01T14:37:00.005+09:00

PERFORATED ENVELOPS

Note: 'Benri' means convenient

Even in this computer age, isn't it an exciting feeling to receive letters via postal mail?

My friend Fumiko will do everything she has to do in her house FIRST... wash the dishes, clean the house, hang out the laundry... then open letters next. She says that it means giving more importance to her friend's letter by building her excitement on what the letter contains. By the time she finishes all her chores, she will be 100x dying to open the letter, than she would have been had she opened it the moment she received it.

In my case, I'd tore open an envelop especially when I'm so excited to read what inside. That is why I give a thumbs up to this one from the automobile tax office. Much as it was easy to open the envelop, this is a bill to pay, sad to say.

Benri Japan Series: No.1

2009-05-23T16:53:00.008+09:00

EXPIRATION DATE ON EGGS

Note: 'Benri' means convenient

I love cooking eggs, i buy eggs in bulk but sometimes it's hard to track down the expiration date of each egg once i place it in the ref's egg section.

An egg farm in Hiroshima must have heard my mumblings and started printing the expiration date on EACH egg. Way to go!!!

Post script: Right now, the eggs in my ref has small stickers with the expiry date printed on it. Cool!

Now and again in Nagano

2009-05-19T10:48:00.006+09:00

Golden week in Japan is definitely the perfect time to go somewhere and our family have chosen (there's no other place we love best actually) to revisit Kawakami, Nagano again. We've been there on two summers but this is our first time to go in springtime.

It was chilly at night and perfect temperature in daytime. Here are some of the places we visited:
1.Shizen no makiba

2.Seki Family's lovely cottage situated in the mountains, overlooking Mount Yatsugatake and Kawakami town's lettuce farms, and surrounded with birch trees />
3.We had a lovely aftrenoon picnic at a nearby park

The best part: family time and catching up with good friends. Mata aimashou ne!

Me Mesmerized by Mie

2009-04-10T11:03:00.008+09:00

We made more memories by spending the weekend in a ryokan in Mie-ken.
1. Iruka (dolphin) Island Cruise

2. Onsen and traditional Japanese dinner at Urara ryokan

3. Sashimi and kaeten sushi : the best place to enjoy being a japanized foreigner

4. Toba Aquarium

5. Ise Pearl shop

2009-03-27T10:18:00.002+09:00

Miso shiru and me

2009-03-04T09:29:00.005+09:00

It took me almost a decade to love miso soup and learn how to cook it well enough to serve it for breakfast.

During my English elective class, we were doing a warm-up activity : "What did you eat for breakfast?" Almost 80% of the class said " I had miso soup and rice." I even doubted my students' lack of originality in their replies but now I realized that most Japanese kids indeed have miso soup and rice for breakfast, plus maybe some side dish whose name they can't say in English.

But for the first time today, I made miso soup for breakfast (I've been making it for tonkatsu dinner for so long) and onigiri rice. My 10-year old son loved it and gobbled it all up in no time.

All because of 1)a morning TV show that featured creativity in making the best-tasting miso soup (3 tbsps miso paste to 4 cups of water, never allow the soup to boil once you've added the miso paste and tofu, add some dashi, what to add to the classical miso soup to spice it up into a different one... add pork slices and you have tonjiru...add asari clams for a different taste, etc). 2) a 10-day stay at a public hospital where I had several versions of miso soup for breakfast and 3)a nice tonkatsu restaurant called WAFU that served the best asari clam miso soup.

The best miso soup for me? Sliced radish, onions, tofu, carrots and horenso/spinach. No yamaoimo/yam please!

The best miso paste? Red or white will do. The ones with barley grits are the best. And I buy the 40% less salt brand.

Itadakimasu!

In My Daughter's Eyes

2009-01-09T13:22:00.004+09:00

In My Daughter's Eyes (by Martina McBride"

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the
world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me
strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand
around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart
has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy"
she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes

She's out!

2009-01-09T11:39:00.002+09:00

Our sweet baby is keeping me off the net. But look at her, isn't she a darling?

Arigatou, Sir AUB

2008-12-20T08:43:00.009+09:00

God sends people our way to lead us to the plan He created for each one of us. One person who influenced our lives was Sir Ochie. He was coach of the kapnayan chemistry quiz contest in 1989. My husband was already on the team and somehow he made me join that team para magkalapit kami ni neil. After the quiz contest, I don't know how it happened but i found N in Sir Ochie's chem 115 (quantum chem) class...a chem engg student doesnt need chem 115 so what was he doing in it?... classmate ko! turned out sir ochie advised him to take his class. That was how our love story started kaya nasa top list ng ninongs and ninangs namin si Sir Ochie at Ma'am Liz.

if not for him, i wouldn't be able to do a one-year research visit at hiroshima university. at that time, he was the only pinoy sensei at hirodai. i would call him on the phone on saturday mornings, to relieve my homesickness. sa ka-busy-han nya, he'd just say 'punta ka ng saijo at mag-shopping sa Y100 shop', sabay tawa. he cooked for ritchie (a phd student at that time) and me at times. i had my first fish nabe the aloysius-way. he had tons of good books kaya lagi ko syang nahihiraman ng novels.

after going back to pinas, he also involved me and my husband in some consultancy jobs at memsi. he was just like any dad who saw to it that the careers of his anaks were doing fine. of course, we weren't the only ampons of the baes at that time. other chem students (roy, noel, rizaldy, ruela, bagets, etc can attest to the warmth and love each got from that couple).

if not for him, my husband wouldn't have entered the same laboratory i did for his phd. we are in japan now and is having a good life all because of baes-sensei. we were even looking forward to his next japan visit so that we could have a good time with him, treat him out to show our gratitude for all he had done for us, but that chance never came.

in his last e-mail to me, sabi nya "OK ka na ngayon. Sana di mo makaligtaan ang baby mo. I am glad for you and for Koons. Keep up the good work.
Ochie" i will treasure that e-mail for life.

Sana masaya ka na rin ngayon, Sir. We followed your advise to prioritize family and here we are now: the 4 happiest people in the world!

You were described as a student leader, a scientist, a national hero. But for us, we thank you so much for being the best professor, thesis adviser, Ninong, love bridge, Tatay, phone pal, friend that God blessed Neil and I with.

Naomi

2008-10-28T17:31:00.001+09:00

There are several ways to write our daughter's name in Japanese character Kanji. Here are just some of it :

直美 = honest, beautiful
尚美 = esteem, beautiful
奈緒美 = greens, cord, beautiful

But since my husband and I aren't Japanese, our daughter will have her name in Romaji characters.

We are naming our little girl NAOMI ELISHA.

Naomi is originally a Hebrew name that means "beautiful,pleasant, delightful" ; mother in-law of Ruth.

Elisha is another Biblical name that means "My God is Salvation"; the successor of prophet Elijah.

Her nickname will be NAIAH (we want her name to sound close to her big brother's name) which we later found out to be a Greek name meaning a "dolphin"; in Latin, it means "flowing".

Cosmos blooms to welcome autumn

2008-10-23T10:40:00.007+09:00

We live near rice fields and mountains that used to be all green. But now it's so refreshing to see wide spaces covered with pink of all shades and white blooms of cosmos.

Autumn is finally here and so will our little baby girl, Naomi! Countdown as of today is 14 days to go.

I wonder how Naomi will look like... I'm sure she'll be as sweet as any little babies always are.

Milling Rice the Japanese Way

2008-10-21T08:37:00.016+09:00

Japan is a first world country but what we appreciate about it is that, in the rural areas, life still runs slow and simple. Here in our place, we can still see lots of rice fields and vegetable gardens. We can even buy unhulled rice from farmers at a way lower price than that from the grocery stores.

For the first time, my husband came back home one time and was so proud to get a 30 kilos of unhulled quality rice (the koshi-hikari type that is good to use for sushi) for Y? (let me confirm the price later from him). BUT we'll have to bring it to a rice hulling station.

This is a rice hulling station except that everything is automatic just like a softdrink vending machine. Pay is cheap, Y300 for 30 kilos of rice, it's almost everywhere and are open 24 hours a day. Cool!

Easy to use coz there's an illustrated step by step procedure that sure works well for foreigners like us:

STEP 1: Insert 3 Y100 coins into the slot.

STEP 2: Place the unhulled rice into the tray.

STEP 3: Select button 1, 2 or 3 for the degree of "white-ness" you want (3 the whitest).

STEP 4: Push the foot pedal to collect the hulled rice.

Maja Blanca in Japan

2008-10-21T08:27:00.001+09:00

Maize Maja
Ingredients :
1 cup cornstarch
250 ml. condensed milk
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
a pinch of salt
1 can cream-style corn
1/2 tsp. softened butter

Toppings:
whole sweet corn
shredded butter

Equipment:
metal tray, measuring cups, mixing spoon, cooking spatula, pot, stove

STEPS:
1. Grease a 6″ x 10″ metal tray with the softened butter.
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1 cup water.
3. Add the coconut milk, salt and cream-style corn.
4. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring until thick and no longer cloudy.
5. Turn off the stove and add the condensed milk.
6. Turn on the stove again and cook over low heat, stirring until milk is fully mixed into the cornstarch mixture.

7. Transfer into the buttered dish. Cool to set before cutting and serving.
Best topped with coconut milk curds, or shredded cheese.

Experiencing Philippine Culture
Kirihara Elementary School
Omihachiman, Shiga
December 10, 2008