The New Year is a Time for Mochi Making!

After a week spent crazily planning my wedding in Arizona, I returned back to Sendai shortly after the New Year.  When I got back, the New Year celebrations were still in motion.

At church we had a special mochi pounding event.  The staff cooked tons of mochi rice and set up two mochi pounders outside.  One was a mini one and one was a regular sized one.  The kids all lined up and I watched as they pounded (or attempted to pound) away!  Aaron assisted the kids as the mallet was really heavy.

He got a few good whacks in too!

And so did I.

When the mochi was all pounded up and mushy and sticky, we all went inside to turn it into something we could actually eat.  The church tables were set up on the floor and covered in mochiko flour.  We then used our hands to roll the mochi into little balls and coated them in the mochiko flour.  After covering ourselves in stickiness, we dipped the mochi balls into warm water and then stuck them into plastic baggies filled with different types of powder.  One was traditional kinako powder (which is made from sesame) and the other was cocoa powder (or the stuff from hot chocolate packets).

The cocoa powder wasn't very effective.  The wet stickiness just turned the powder into goo and it didn't really stick to the mochi and give it flavor.  Mostly it was just a mess.  The kinako was the winner.  

It was my first official time pounding mochi and definitely eating them right after.  This was Aaron's first time eat mochi for New Year's period.  Also his first time pounding and eating mochi in the traditional fashion.  It was his first time trying kinako.  He loved it.  He didn't really like the chocolate either.  I'd say it was one of those cool "Yay, I'm in Japan!" moments where you get to appreciate the Japanese culture for what it is.

Christmas and Children's Services

The next Sunday we had a special Christmas service.  The children and some ladies played some Christmas carols on hand bells, and afterwards we had a great feast.  It was a potluck and people brought many interesting and good foods.



The next day, we had a children's service Christmas service.  The kids all gathered on the sanctuary floor and Haruka and Tomowari hosted the event.  There was a short message, more carol singing, and several performances.  One was a repeat of the handbell performance.  The other was my Christmas Flashmob that I taught to the kids.  I used the same routine that Bluewater Mission had done several years ago and several of the English students and staff members joined in.  It was pretty fun.

Handbell carols.

After the singing and dancing, Santa and... Mrs. Claus (?) and Rudolph came in for a surprise visit.  We had another round of Secret Santa, this time with the kids separated into two groups of boys and girls.  Hisashi led everyone in a candlelit service.  Children and open flame candles, AHH!  Fortunately, the building didn't burn down.  Afterwards all the kids got a present.  And so did I.  Yay!

 

The Sasaki Family also invited me over to their house for their annual Christmas tradition.  We had a dinner around the table that was very American.  It included a carved Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cake.  Cake part not so American.

Hisashi carving the turkey.

After dinner, everyone gathered around the living room and exchanged presents.  Each member gave a present to everyone in the group.  I was surprised when even I got presents.  It was a very kind gesture.  Everyone got really nice things.  Hiromitsu got a nice sweater vest.  And Hajime got two cases of energy drinks.  Everyone was amused.

Hajime's lifetime supply of energy drinks.

Hiromitsu's new vest.

Pipe Organs and Bowling

In nearly every class I taught this week, we had a Christmas party.

The first was a Ladies Party held at one of my student's house (Mika).  She had a really nice, spacious house that was decked out with lots of Christmas decorations.  In one room, she had a Christmas tree and a huge pipe organ.  All 3 ladies have experience playing the organ and Yasuko especially loves playing the organ.  We all encouraged her to jump on and play a few songs.  We gathered around and she played various Christmas carols.  Mika and Junko sang along to the organ.  Listening to the big organ and the ladies sing very classically was definitely like stepping into an old black-and-white Christmas movie, like It's A Wonderful Life.  I couldn't sing along because it was a different sound and style that was really new to me.

Afterward the organ, we sat at the kitchen table, sipped coffee, at a delicious apple crisp Mika made, and talked story.  They were really kind and surprised me with a gift.  Two small gratin bowls.  I don't think I'll ever make gratin, but I know I could use it to try out some other stuff.  It was a thoughtful gift as they know I'm trying to teach myself how to cook.  They're preparing me for the married life!

The rest of the week continued with various kids parties and small talk with the older students.  Each class included lots of junk food, and after doing a vegan fast for two weeks, my tolerance for sweets and junk really went down.  I was really feeling sick for the first several days.

For the high school party, Hiromitsu, Yoko, and I took the teens out for a night of bowling.  It was really fun.  I was amazed once I saw the bowling shoes dispensers!  You just push a button and the shoes pop out at the bottom!  Genius!  By far, the coolest thing of the night.

Asuka going for the split!

Yoko and Riku.

For some of the students, it was their first time bowling.  A few were already very good.  I had a lot of fun and it was nice to spend time with the students outside of a stuffy classroom.  I think we all enjoyed it.  Our first games we were split into two random teams.  The second games we were split according to skill.  I got placed in the more experienced team... and lost.  Riku and Hiromitsu were both very good.

When we were done bowling, we found a pair of Evangelion Bowling Pin costumes.  I wanted Asuka to jump in the red one, but no one seemed to get that joke.  (Get it? Asuka was the pilot of the red Eva.  Get it?)  Riku was happy to try one on though.

Looking good in Eva 02 and Christmas sweater.

At the end of the night, we had a Secret Santa and I got a pair of polar bear snow globe salt and pepper shakers.  Yeah.  It was a good night and I hope to do it again one more time before I leave.