Thanks to my speaking partner's connections at a local radio station, I have been invited to join FM Hirakata on their weekly radio program, Suzana's Corner. Today, I met the owner of the radio station and had a wonderful time with him and the radio host, Suzana.
I met Hirai in front of Kintetsu after classes. He's a very nice, gregarious older Japanese man. He took me up to the second floor of Sunplaza to his radio station. He kept mentioning how small the station was, but it's just Japanese modesty to say such things. The station was cozy and well layed out. I was nervous at first, but my Japanese flowed well, and before long we were hitting it off just fine.
He took me into the studio for a bit and then Suzana came and introduced herself. She's a very nice 20-something woman from the Czech Republic. She speaks fluent Japanese and English, and is so very nice and beautiful! We talked about what the show would contain, and then we "changed places," as Hirai-san said, and went to a small restaurant across the street. We went there via the skyway, which I'd never been on. It was cool. The whole way, I was talking to him and Suzana about how long I'd been studying abroad, why I like Japan, etc.
The restaurant was great. They ordered some food, and after some confusion on my part as to what alcohol was appropriate to drink (I don't know much!), we settled on some nice plum wine. It was very sweet and pleasant. Suzana and I continued to discuss the show. She asked me questions about Oklahoma: what was famous there? What special foods are there? I wasn't sure how to reply. I said we have lots of countryside, are famous for oil, we have buffalo, and my town is surrounded by 6 tribes of Native Americans and is named after a tribe, the Ponca. I hope I did my state justice by my words!
Afterwards, Hirai took us to a sushi bar he and Suzana frequent, Yuuna. It was a lovely, quaint sushi bar and reminded me of my first time in Japan going to one of these. It was so nice and comforting, and I got a little nostalgic.
Hirai san ordered a bottle of sake, and Suzana and him took care of the pouring for the most part to be polite to me. I was on my best behavior and had been throughout the night - using desu/masu (polite) Japanese and making sure to avoid any cultural faux pas that I've made in the past. We had great sashimi. The best: toro (expensive, fatty tuna), uni (sea urchin, one of the most expensive sashimi), and some rice and wheat dough dishes called dango that tasted much like whole wheat bread. The sushi was absolutely delicious. Hirai paid for everything.
while there, I also tried...natto...for the first time. It wasn't that delicious. I passed it on to Hirai-san as they made jokes about where the bathroom was, in case I should need it. It really wasn't that bad, but they didn't expect me to like it, so it's okay. The master of the sushi bar was from Okinawa, and I told him I had a friend/friend's mother who was from there, back in the States. Suzana and him discussed the military base in Okinawa that's currently in the news for being moved. They were wonderful people to hang out with, everyone!
From there, we parted ways in front of the radio station. I have 3 meetings with Suzana next month, and I will be featured in 6 episodes of her show, Suzana's Corner! I can't wait. I'm so excited. The show will be featured online, too, so I'll be sure and post a link for you when I get a chance.
Tyler
I met Hirai in front of Kintetsu after classes. He's a very nice, gregarious older Japanese man. He took me up to the second floor of Sunplaza to his radio station. He kept mentioning how small the station was, but it's just Japanese modesty to say such things. The station was cozy and well layed out. I was nervous at first, but my Japanese flowed well, and before long we were hitting it off just fine.
He took me into the studio for a bit and then Suzana came and introduced herself. She's a very nice 20-something woman from the Czech Republic. She speaks fluent Japanese and English, and is so very nice and beautiful! We talked about what the show would contain, and then we "changed places," as Hirai-san said, and went to a small restaurant across the street. We went there via the skyway, which I'd never been on. It was cool. The whole way, I was talking to him and Suzana about how long I'd been studying abroad, why I like Japan, etc.
The restaurant was great. They ordered some food, and after some confusion on my part as to what alcohol was appropriate to drink (I don't know much!), we settled on some nice plum wine. It was very sweet and pleasant. Suzana and I continued to discuss the show. She asked me questions about Oklahoma: what was famous there? What special foods are there? I wasn't sure how to reply. I said we have lots of countryside, are famous for oil, we have buffalo, and my town is surrounded by 6 tribes of Native Americans and is named after a tribe, the Ponca. I hope I did my state justice by my words!
Afterwards, Hirai took us to a sushi bar he and Suzana frequent, Yuuna. It was a lovely, quaint sushi bar and reminded me of my first time in Japan going to one of these. It was so nice and comforting, and I got a little nostalgic.
Hirai san ordered a bottle of sake, and Suzana and him took care of the pouring for the most part to be polite to me. I was on my best behavior and had been throughout the night - using desu/masu (polite) Japanese and making sure to avoid any cultural faux pas that I've made in the past. We had great sashimi. The best: toro (expensive, fatty tuna), uni (sea urchin, one of the most expensive sashimi), and some rice and wheat dough dishes called dango that tasted much like whole wheat bread. The sushi was absolutely delicious. Hirai paid for everything.
while there, I also tried...natto...for the first time. It wasn't that delicious. I passed it on to Hirai-san as they made jokes about where the bathroom was, in case I should need it. It really wasn't that bad, but they didn't expect me to like it, so it's okay. The master of the sushi bar was from Okinawa, and I told him I had a friend/friend's mother who was from there, back in the States. Suzana and him discussed the military base in Okinawa that's currently in the news for being moved. They were wonderful people to hang out with, everyone!
From there, we parted ways in front of the radio station. I have 3 meetings with Suzana next month, and I will be featured in 6 episodes of her show, Suzana's Corner! I can't wait. I'm so excited. The show will be featured online, too, so I'll be sure and post a link for you when I get a chance.
Tyler
6:33 AM |
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