Coming out of my shell
March 30, 2006
In my three and a half years in Japan, I’ve been out to restaurants for dinner with friends an uncountable number of times. On the other hand, I’ve been to maybe 5 or 6 people’s houses for dinner. In Japan it’s not common to entertain guests at home as most homes are too small for more than a small or casual dinner. Even so, having people over for dinner does happen, just not very much for me.
A few weeks ago, the lady and I were invited over for dinner to her coworker’s house. Along with this being a rare event, this was also one of the few times I’ve been invited to anything involving the lady’s friends. It’s weird but we’ve generally kept each other out of our social lives. I agreed mostly because I was curious how it would go and because this friend had come to Hawaii for our wedding.
The friend and her husband don’t really speak English. I bet they understand more than they let on but I was ready for a night of me being quiet and just nodding and smiling. I figured I’ll behave so that the lady would have a good time. For this one occasion I was wrong (a true rarity). I actually ended up having a great time, possibly a better time than the lady.
For one thing dinner was awesome – the lady’s friend must’ve spent awhile preparing so much food. I also got to have okonomiyaki at someone’s house for the first time ever and it was good. The beer never stopped flowing and it seemed for one night and one night alone my Japanese ability blossomed and I was able to understand and be understood most of the time.
The lady’s friend’s husband (I really have to start using names) was a crazy fellow who opened up and let loose conversation. In stereotypical Osaka-style, he displayed a flair for exaggeration and colorful antics. People in Osaka are just ��?�?�ゃ interesting. It was great because he filled every silent moment. No need for me to go scrounging around for topics to kill awkward moments – he did it for us! We stayed a bit later than we had planned but I’m glad I went.
Now I feel obligated to return the favor and for once I actually DO want to return the favor. And I think we’ll try to start a new trend of not just spending time with each other. We’re moving into a new apartment in a fortnight and this time we have room! I am hereby inviting all of you to future social gatherings here. No parties, shindigs, keggers, or beerblasts, but there’s room for nabe, okonomiyaki, yakiniku, tea & coffee, darts, and Mario Party parties.
