Date & Time: Tuesday, September 16, 12:30p.m.-2:15p.m.
Participants: Two from US, one each from UK and China :parents of Saint Maur International School
Guides: Two KSGG members
Spot: Soba, Japanese buckwheat noodles restaurant
Language: Simple Japanese and English
The KSGG members taught Japanese conversation to the parents of Saint Maur International School in Japan while enjoying soba, Japanese buckwheat noodles together at a traditional soba restaurant. They’re from the UK, the US, and China, and all live in Japan. Everyone arrived on time in front of the restaurant, and they went up to the second floor. They then began a conversation by introducing themselves and spent two enjoyable hours together.
Although the menu was only in Japanese, the participants were able to choose their dishes by using the photos on the menu. They took their time choosing what to eat. Since it was still as hot as summer at that time of year, the restaurant recommended cold soba, but they chose kake soba, hot soba noodles served in a light broth instead. They pointed at the menu and ordered, saying, “I will have this, I will have that.” One of the participants even asked to change the shrimp tempura topping to chicken, which wasn’t on the menu. All of the participants were able to find a dish that suited their own taste. They learned the words of the ingredients in Japanese.
Everyone was good at using chopsticks. They understood that they could slurp soba noodles, but doing it wasn’t easy. However, the British man, who has lived in Japan for many years, skillfully slurped his soba just like a local.
They had a lively conversation about the food habits in their home countries as well as Japanese cuisine.
It was interesting for the KSGG members to hear the participants’ comments, such as fun trivia about various shops around the restaurant and their connection to celebrities. They also mentioned that how clear Kuwata Keisuke’s Japanese singing style was makes it helpful for Japanese learners. Kuwata Keisuke is a famous Japanese singer. He is said to be a pioneer in singing Japanese in an English-like way, so his singing style might be easier for foreigners to understand.
When it was time to pay, they learned an important phrase in Japanese: “betsu-betsu de onegai shimasu,” which means “separate checks, please.” They carefully took home the Japanese–English vocabulary list. The KSGG members had prepared as a nice souvenir for themselves and their children. Some participants said, “Will you do an event like this again? We had so much fun!” — the KSGG members hope they will join next events again as repeat participants.