hungry in kyoto

thursday, 3 july 2008
14h55

I don't remember ever feeling in such a pissy mood for not having eaten. It must be the accumulation of things: not eating, twisting my ankle a couple of days ago and not being able to walk properly, the heat and humidity, not having someone to vent with, having such a stubborn host. For the past couple of days, I've been in Kansai prefecture, in the Osaka-Nara-Kyoto area. My friend K and his family have been just amazing to me. Two days ago, when I got off the metro, right before getting to K's house, I tripped and twisted my ankle. K's mom was extremely attentive, got me one of those icy hot patches, an ointment, and a gauze, and they made sure I was alright.

I was super tired and wanted to take a shower. K's mom had already prepared a hot bath and K showed me where my towel and other shower stuff were. Can I just say that I just love the whole private experience thing in Japan, from the toilets with various buttons to the hot baths to the incredible water pressure I've experienced in every shower I've taken in this country. Of course, this bath was no exception.

I got out and made sure that everything was spotless, as I found it. I emptied the tub, rinsed off the soap, and put shampoo, towel, and everything back in place. I rejoined K's family in the living room, and the mom gave me another icy hot patch, even though I was wearing the one I had put on 10 mins before showering... but she insisted I wore the new one. K asked,

Does your foot have fever?

and I had absolutely no idea what he meant. He tried to explain, and I thought he wanted to know if the ankle was swollen, but he didn't know what swollen meant, so I showed him. But then he asked me again if my foot had fever and my only response was, I'm afraid that we don't say that in English. If somebody has a better idea, please let me know.

A few minutes later he led me to his room, where I was going to sleep, and suddenly we heard K's mom yelling at him --- and cracking up uncontrollably at the same time, although not a crazy laugh but a very japanese one instead, if you know what i mean. Amidst giggles, she kept babbling something to K and then, unexpectedly, K started laughing too. Then he finally said to me,

- You abandoned the water!!

- Huh?!

- Why did you abandon the water? My parents were going to use it to take shower!

I didn't know what to say. My natural answer would've been, That's digusting, but I think that would've been a bit too rude. Plus, at this point, I was more shocked than anything else. This made me think, however, that perhaps in the Americas we're a little bit too obsessed with our own notion of hygiene or cleanliness. I mean, I would always think, no matter what, that what my Franco-Belgian host brothers did -- using the same water to take a bath, one after another after another (since there were 3 of them), after not having taken one in more than a week -- is beyond nasty... and the brown water left in the tub was the best witness of this. But, hey, at least it's environmentally friendly in so many ways, from the water saved to the energy not wasted in heating that much water!

Anyway, I digress. As I said, K has been extremely attentive... but, like most Japs, he can also be so squared-minded and... set in his own ways. People must sit a certain way in the train and not cross their legs, otherwise "they are stupid." There's also a correct way to dress, talk, and eat. Even I "will follow" his advice on what to see in Kyoto because, whatever my guidebook says, even if he hasn't even read it, he knows better.

I'm now at this noodle place taking a break and recharging batteries. I just finished my noodles and, unsurprisingly, I'm still hungry. Time to go for a snack. Who said Oreo McFlurry?