(fast) Q&A
Whale
Where did you get these numbers from? According to US 2000 Census, US average family size is 3.14. Based on Google, sampled Japanese family size is 3.66 in 2006, and projected to be 2.73 in 2010.
Well mister anonymous, I’m not so sure why you want to take issue with my numbers, but I’ll treat you anyway. I pull all my numbers from CIA World Factbook. I used the average number of births per family (wherein a birth is measured as a child that lives past a certain age, usually around 5) to determine my family size. This is my general definition of a family (ie, children + parents). On the other hand, your census 2000 (8 years old!) numbers are simply stating the US family household size (ie, a family with children under the age of 18). So a family with 1 child out of school and one child under the age of 18 would be counted as a family size of 3 instead of 4. Therefore it is a bit different from what I was looking for. Secondly, the CIA World Factbook uses 2008 estimates where possible. And looking at your numbers we could project Japan’s estimated family size in 2008 to be around 3.2 children per family, which only supports that my number of 3.2 is quite valid. So I hope that clears things up for you, and you’ll do a bit more than a basic google search to obtain your data in the future.
What have you missed the most about the US while you've been in Japan?
Cars, Mexican Food, Hot Sunny days
What will you miss the most about Japan when you get back?
Trains , Japanese Food, Rainy Humid Days (Just kidding! lets switch this to short skirts)
But really, its hard to say, because what I miss changes on a daily basis, and its really hard right now to know what I will be missing in the future about Japan. It’ll be one of those, you-never-knew-how-much-it-meant-until-its-gone moments.
Hmmm...ever thought of becoming a politician...or a speech writer for one? Lol
Ouch. Must be a very boring for you guys to read this!
WHALE
2 weeks ago, one of my students and I were talking about Japanese food, and I said that I had never had whale. So during our next meeting, he presented a small essay he wrote about whale, and then finished the essay with a line like “so why don’t we go enjoy whale together next Tuesday!” Needless to say, I complied and he even invited me to drag along Jen so he could bring his girlfriend! Anyway long story short, he paid for everything (50$ per meal! 12$ per drink), then we went to a ritzy bar on the tallest tower in Shibuya, and were promptly removed from the bar because I was wearing sandals and shorts (Jen, student, and student’s girlfriend were all in formal wear (oops!)), so instead we drank at some other fancy bar in Shibuya, were he paid for more drinks. All in all in was a good night, and maybe the highlight of the trip was where we were asking questions back and forth about each others cultures and at one point the conversation went something like this.
Student: ….. and that’s why Japanese girls carry empty suitcases with them everywhere they go.
Me: So anything else you ever wanted to ask?
(pause)
S. Girlfriend: Would you mind if we drove you to Nikko (three hours away!) one weekend?
So yea, now we are going to Nikko in 2 weeks. Okay picture time!
Us ready to eat some whale, and sporting these sexy bibs.
This is some whale tale. Its a bit chewy, and had some spice to it.
This is whale tongue. This tasted exactly how I thought whale would, that is to say a bit oily and fatty, probably my least favorite (but still delicious) part of the meal
This is some fried whale. It was very good, but still somewhat chewy.
Raw whale. The white part is the skin, the red part is the meat. This was really good, like a big piece of sushi.
Easily the best part of the meal, we grilled the whale at the table along with some vegetables. It was seasoned well, and very soft going into your mouth.
Okay, thats it for today, catch you next time!
