Not Made In Japan
Once upon a time (in the late eighties), after studying Zoology with a minor in Japanese language, I (a Canadian sansei) decided to go to Japan to study marine biology, practice Japanese, and perhaps find myself, whatever that meant. Here are some scenes from that time.
Stories from this series
Breaking Fast
Jan. 15, 2014 • Raymond Nakamura
BreakfastsWere processed, Warm and white. Soup, often corn, Always a powder, Poured into a plastic bowlThat looked lacquered. Added water, Boiled in an aluminum kettle On the rusting gas table. In the shiny red toaster oven, Toasted a single piece of white bread, Soft and square and thick,With tiny holes Like styrofoam, Something to do with Japanese flour. On top Sat a single piece of white processed cheese Plasticized At its melting point. In rural Japan, Real cheese Was not …
Feeling Warm at Christmas
Dec. 25, 2013 • Raymond Nakamura
One Christmas... My Mom sent me a turkey one Christmas. It was a frozen, smoked turkey. I invited a bunch of people to my place to eat it. I took out the middle sliding doors of my rooms, so I had a fair amount of space. The tricky thing was that the turkey was too big to fit in my microwave oven. Since it was smoked, I just had to figure out how to defrost it. I ended up using …
The New Digs
Nov. 20, 2013 • Raymond Nakamura
Before me, a foreign couple with a young son lived in the house. Evidently, they let the boy trash the place. The marine station replaced the straw mat flooring and the sliding doors, but left the holes in the plaster walls for me to fix. I tried a wire mesh and smooth plaster combination, but as the plaster hardened, the wire popped out. I tried another kind of plaster with fibres in it that worked well. I covered the flesh-toned …
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