Shiroi kurisumasu de yumemiru

Osaka was brought to a standstill by a surprise snowstorm this morning. At least it was a surprise to me. Those 3 inches really packed a wallop. The Sea of Japan coast had a bit more.

There wasn't a car on the street this morning, and there was certainly no plowing or shoveling. The cafeterias had to close early because of a lack of food; deliveries didn't make it through due to the "traffic procrastination", as Google translated so colorfully. The sun came out all afternoon and melted the snow, so after dark everything turned to ice. I didn't break my neck walking home, but I begin to see some advantages to living in a litigious society.

Next Wednesday I return to the States for a bit, barring additional snowstorms (knock on wood).

Banpaku, mo ichiban

Sunday I got out of the "house" and returned to the Banpaku Kinen Koen to see if the Japanese garden was open. It was indeed, so I walked around and took some photos. It's actually a very nice park, and it was chilly, so there were very few people there. There's a tea ceremony house where for 500 yen or something you can actually take part in a tea ceremony, but I didn't do that.

After the park I stopped at the mall and got some sweaters, so now I won't freeze to death at work. Actually, we've started closing the door to our lab, so it's warm in there now, as the rooms are heated (or not ventilated). The building doors are poorly sealed, and the halls are not heated, so walking between rooms and buildings (inside) exposes one to 45 degree temperatures plus about a 20 mph gale.

At the store I also found a shirt made by one of Dad's favorite textile concerns. Alas, the salesperson kept the big label with all the Japanese characters on it, and I didn't realize it till I got home. But I've got this picture. It doesn't actually say "Made in the USA" on it...

Osoji wa oishikatta desu

Monday was osoji or "big cleaning" day in the lab. This is a year-end tradition in Japan akin to spring cleaning in the US, where people do a thorough scrubbing of their homes and businesses (and cleanse the stress and bad karma of the past year from their souls, neh?). School children have get down on their hands and knees and scrub the cafeteria floor and hallways. We spent the day cleaning the labs and our own personal workspace. Fortunately I have very little stuff in my own personal workspace, so I was able to goof off for a bit.

After the big cleaning, we went out for a tasty dinner. The food was a bit different from what I've had before, although there was the usual sashimi and various fish-based things, such as shrimp (with very tasty heads) and yakizakana (grilled fish, not Japanese gangsters). There was also an interesting soup containing what amounted to an egg custard (egg whites cooked to tofu texture) in broth. And a nabe dish, or hot pot of tasty broth wherein we each cooked fish, mushrooms, vegetables, etc. I believe it was technically chanko nabe, the favored dish of the sumo wrestler. It was, as I've said, quite tasty.

Japan's Hayabusa asteroid probe is running into problems. It seems to have landed successfully on the asteroid, but now it turns out it might not have collected any sample. It also has an attitude problem, and might not want to come home. It hasn't been the best year for JAXA, or space research in general.

Biiru to issho ni fatto supureddo wa kuru neh

This week has been rather work-intensive. I normally try to avoid such a situation, but occassionally it's impossible. Nevertheless, I have had some interesting experiences. On Tuesday evening (at 6 pm sharp) there was an "exchange reception" for the inhabitants of the International House, hosted by various Osaka University dignitaries and local community groups (e.g. the Rotary Club or "rotari kurabu"). The party featured free beer and food, as well as cultural performances (dancing, music, etc.). This evening (Friday) there was a reception for foreign science researchers, including grad students and postdocs (myself included). Much of the same food and drink was supplied, but at this party we were all surprised that we had to introduce ourselves. I decided not to wimp out and attempted to do so in Japanese, so as not to be shown up by the grad students. I believe I managed to say, "Good evening, ladies and gentleman. My name is Eric Miller. I am from America. I am a postdoc in the Tsunemi research lab. I am very pleased to meet you." Granted, Norbert-san coached me a bit a priori, but he also says I nailed it. A baby started crying after I mentioned I was American, but I don't know if he was upset at my pronunciation or my homeland's foreign policy.

At the party I met a couple from Holland who just moved into the International House (not of pancakes) two days ago. Apparently they found my photos of the place via google, and so were able to show their friends and family where they'd be living. (And they came anyway? Hardy folk, those Dutch.)

The parties were both quite fun, and to the sponsors I say arigatoo gozaimashita. Gochisoosama deshita! (Although the science party ended 2 minutes late.)

By the way, all of you tired of waiting for the T should read this, the number four national news story this morning.

Also in the news is Kotooshu, the Bulging Bulgarian. On Wednesday he was visited by the big bosses of ozumo and officially offered promotion to ozeki, or champion, the second-highest level of sumo classes. He humbly accepted. Next stop, yokozuna.

My latest purchase at the Family Mart was that of "neo-soft", some sort of butter substitute. It's described in katakana as ファットスプレッド, or "fat spread". I can only hope it is.