Immaculately Rolled Burritos and some Dou-Dou

A few weeks ago, my vice principle asked me a lose-lose question: "Jeremy, do you like to cook?" I felt like I'd been backed into a corner...what should I say? Would I be commiting to myself to something dreadfully painful if I answered in the affirmative? Would I be a poor conversationalist and general disappointment if I answered truthfully and said no, I hate cooking? What was going on? Well, I answered, "A little." In the end, I ended up being in charge of a cooking class for the PTA, making my "specialty," Mexican food. I didn't know I was an expert in anything resembling cooking, but that's how it ended up.

In Japan, it turns out the PTA pretty much rules the school, so the vice principle was really eager to please, and this translated into me losing the rights to a Friday evening, 7:30-9:30. The minute I agreed to cook, they were uber-busy printing flyers and making phone calls related to "Mr. Jeremy to eigo no me-ki-shi-ko-ri-o-ri no ku-ki-n-gu ko-su" (Mr. Jeremy and English Mexican Cooking Course). The preparations went really well (including a trip to Costco) and before I knew it, the much-anticipated evening had finally arrived. The menu: messy nachos and chicken burritos. This picture is a group of PTA ladies early on in the cooking process. Notice the exceptionally fresh ingredients, as well as their unnecessarily repressed enthusiasm. We had a crowd of around 30, so it was quite the event. And to be honest, I've never seen more beautiful nachos, nor such perfectly rolled burritos. They treated these dishes as if they were formal flower arrangements going on public display. A few even used left-over veggies to make a garnish to improve the presentation of their own food. I guess they wanted to impress themselves!

Here is a picture of our most enthusiastic participant, my vice-principle, Ushijima sensei. In spite of my earlier complaints, he is a man that I really love and appreciate. From day one, he's been an enthusiastic supporter of mine and a general all-around good guy. This guy was so excited to cook some Mexican...he was constantly running up to my station, asking if he had cut his vegetables to the right size, if he had used too much of this or too little of that; in effect, he was running around like a nervous little dog. But he was by far the best student, hanging on every word I said and precisely executing every command. It was really funny! So, in honor of his cooking excellence, here he is with his perfect burrito. I introduced him to green Tabasco, and I think he'll be forever grateful.

In some ways, this cooking course was the beginning of the end of my stay in Japan. Jackie was there to help, and it really felt like a bit of a formal good-bye and final present to the school, sharing my time and a little "taste" of my culture. They really did love the food, and even though it was amazingly hot and humid (sauna-like) in that home-ec room, I really do view it as time well-spent.

Finally, here's a silly picture we found in the subway last night. There's really only one way to pronounce this one, isn't there?!?! That's one of the things I'll miss about Japan...unexpectedly humorous things around every corner. We've been up and down this part of the subway station a million times...and this is the first time we noticed this shop. It was a trendy little clothing retailer, by the way. Don't think I'd name my shop after some fecal matter, but I guess it works in Japan!