The Guest Post: Mom Eats Sushi

Hi, I’m Amanda’s mom. I never thought I would go to Japan. I’ve just never been interested in Japan and I don’t like to travel. Then Amanda and Matt got stationed in Okinawa. Suddenly I have a burning desire to travel to Japan. Here we are. It is beautiful and the people are very, very nice. I’m trying to be nice back and remember not to point. Pointing here is rude. Of course I KNOW not to point at people, which would be rude in Georgia as well. But here you shouldn’t extend the finger to point at anything, not something you want in a store or something you want to eat on a menu or not even which one of these coins in my hand is the one I need to pay you with. Since I don’t know the language this is really, really hard! Anyway, I have Amanda here to rescue me and I smile a lot. Also, I know some words. Konichiwa (hello), arigato (thank you) and kawaii (cute) draw the e sound way out and kind of sing it kahh wah eeeeeeee. I’m all set.

Amanda wants me to eat sushi. Allie insists that we eat sushi because we’re on an island and it can’t get fresher than this, and we’re in Japan so they definitely know how to make it. But I only tried sushi once in Statesboro, Georgia and I didn’t like it. Honestly, when going out to lunch with friends back home and they ask where I want to go I always say I’ll eat anything but sushi. Chinese, Mexican, whatever, as long as it’s not sushi.

Second day here we’re off to the sushi restaurant that Amanda has recommended especially for me. It’s called Delicious Sushi. It’s very small like a lot of cafes here. Just about 5 or 6 tables total. It appears to be a one-man operation. He takes our order and goes to the kitchen area to prepare it. We can kind of see him over the counter across the room. He’s very busy. After a while he seems to be finished and puts on a little robe to bring our tray to the table (I think that’s sweet that he changes clothes with his different roles in the restaurant).

Ta da!

I have a dragon roll. It has shrimp tempura (that means it’s cooked, not raw.) OK this is not bad at all. I love fried shrimp. But I’m in Japan so I have to eat with chop sticks. I think I’m doing really well with my sticks until the waiter/cook/cashier brings me a fork and smiles and bows. I smile and try to communicate that I love my chopsticks I don’t need a fork, but he indicates that I should use the fork along with the chopsticks. Just kind of scoop underneath each bite with the fork to support it on the way to my mouth while still using the chopsticks. This is like training wheels for my chopsticks. A little humiliating but better than dropping sushi on myself.

Next I try some of Allie’s red dragon. It has RAW tuna in it. Usually you can’t get just a tiny bite of sushi to try. It’s already cut into bite-sized portions and if you try to cut it, it falls apart and then you can’t pick it up with your chopsticks. So you have to eat the whole bite even though you’re not at all sure you want to stick that raw tuna in your mouth! Also it’s a really big bite. I did it. I chewed it and swallowed it. Now then. No need to do this ever again. I have now eaten raw sushi. Check.

Now of course I have to try Amanda’s too. I am always a fair mom and treat my girls equally. But oh dear it has broiled eel. Since the eel is just resting on top I can take the eel off and cut a piece to try. Eel is ok. (Fried shrimp is better.)

I like my dragon roll so much I eat ALL OF IT! I give myself extra credit for eating all of it WITH CHOPSTICKS!