Udon - yummy!

This month, I'm quite jealous. The preschoolers will be donning their aprons and cooking yummy Japanese udon at school. One goal for Japanese preschools is to help kids "learn to enjoy a variety of foods," so they cook about twice a month. Udon is popular in Japan in the winter because it is hot and "warms you to the core." It's made of fat wheat noodles and a fish stock soup, then you top it with things like fish cake (the pink swirly things), seaweed, and fried tofu. Or you can top it with tempura - my favorite! To eat it effectively with chopsticks, get your mouth close-ish to the bowl, grab some noodles with your chopsticks, and put them in your mouth, slurping as you go. You'll have the udon hanging from your mouth as you slurp, which is totally correct. My grandma would have my hide if I slurped and had stuff hanging out of my mouth during dinner, but if it's udon it's OK!! Yay!!

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Chat Circle

I went to my first Chat Circle (おしゃべり　さあくる) for parents (ok, for moms) at my daughter's preschool. The other moms were happy to speak to me in Japanese, so it was great practice for me. It made sitting in those tiny kindergarten chairs worthwhile. A good way to start a one-on-one conversation with someone is to act like you forgot their name (everyone introduced themselves at the beginning) and ask their name (すみません、おなまえは？). If they have a child with them, tell them their child is cute (かわいい　ですね) and ask them how old their child is (なんさい　ですか). You can use even very basic Japanese in daily life situations. As you get more advanced, you can say more interesting things, of course. So if you get the chance to, please use your Japanese with a native speaker! If you can't, then stop your friend in the hallway and use it on them. Good luck!