Seara speciala - 31 martie 2012

Cea de a treia intalnire din luna martie a fost programata pe data de 31 martie, datorita faptului ca in aceasta zi am avut un vizitator deosebit, pe domnul Hiroyuki Ando, un domn japonez care locuieste in Germania de aproximativ 12 ani.
 Cu ocazia vizitei acestui oaspete am decis sa organizam o intalnire speciala, in care sa servim cu totii udon, specialitatea culinara a regiunii de origine a dlui Katsutaro Kawai, organizatorul principal al intalnirilor de cultura ale Cercului Prietenii Japoniei.

Intalnirea a inceput ca de obicei, cu prezentarea fiecarui participant, dat fiind faptul ca multi participanti se aflau la noi pentru prima data. Dupa prezentari, dl Ando s-a prezentat pe sine si activitatea pe care o sustine in Germania, unde asemenea dlui Katsutaro Kawai in Romania, este un misionar crestin, avand o mica biserica pentru japonezi in Dusseldorf, unde in prezent locuiesc aproape 6000 de japonezi. 

Am aflat apoi ca dansul are doua fete, una mai mica, de 15 ani si una mai mare de 18 ani, cu mentalitati diferite in ce priveste relatia lor cu Japonia. Dl Ando ne-a prezentat diverse aspecte ale vietii unui Japonez in Germania, lucruri bune, cum ar fi seriozitatea nemtilor, promptitudinea, ordinea, nivelul inalt de civilizatie, insa dl Ando acuza lipsa de maleabilitate a nemtilor, care vor sa faca lucrurile exact asa cum au invatat, fara sa accepte alte variante. De asemenea am aflat care sunt efectele unei lungi sederi in Germania asupra unui japonez, care devine treptat, treptat mai direct, astfel incat atunci cand cineva din Japonia viziteaza pe cineva in Germania, ramane socat de exprimarea directa a gandurior, in conditiile in care japonezii in mod normal incearca sa evite ranirea persoanelor din jur prin raspunsuri negative date indirect, oarecum pe ocolite.

Dupa ce am mai aflat cateva lucruri interesante, a urmat un moment in care publicul a putut sa puna intrebari, care au venit din partea publicului in numar destul de mare.

Partea a doua a intalnirii a fost dedicata udon-ului, taieteii japonezi preparati de catre dl Katsutaro Kawai, impreuna cu cativa voluntari din randul participantilor la intalnirile Cercului Prietenii Japoniei.

 Inainte de servirea propriu-zisa insa, dl Kawai a povestit ce inseamna udon pentru locuitorii regiunii Kagawa, si experientele dansului din timpul copilariei. 

Am aflat de asemenea ca exista o mare densitate de magazine de udon in regiunea Kagawa, aproximativ doua magazine pe fiecare straduta, asa cum a numarat dl Kawai in copilaria sa. Sanuki-udon este cel mai cunoscut fel de udon, preparat la poalele muntelui Sanuki, de unde isi trage numele. Cercul Prietenii Japoniei a servit un astfel de udon, preparat dupa metoda traditionala cunoscuta de catre dl Kawai.

Dupa ce am servit cu totii udon, care a fost din belsug,

 a urmat obisnuitul moment de fotografii si discutii, dupa care fiecare din noi ne-am intors acasa mai bogati cu o experienta interesanta in cadrul Cercului Prietenii Japoniei.

****English Version Bellow:********

The third meeting in March took place on the 31^st, due to the fact that on that day we had a special guest, Mr. Hiroyuki Ando, a Japanese who has been living in Germany for about 12 years. Having this special guest we decided to organize a special meeting and eat udon together, the culinary speciality of Mr. Katsutaro Kawai’s district of origin in Japan.

The meeting started as usual, with the introduction of every participant, especially since there were many participants who came to our meeting for the first time. After the introductions, Mr. Ando introduced himself and the activity that he sustains in Germany, where like Mr. Kawai in Romania, Mr. Ando is a Christian missionary, having a small Japanese church in Dusseldorf, where almost 6000 Japanese currently live.

We also found out that Mr. Ando has two girls, 15 and 18, who have two different opinions about their relationship with Japan. Mr. Ando also presented a few different aspects of the life of Japanese in Germany, with its good parts, since Germans are serious people, prompt, orderly and they have a high level of civilization. However, Germans appear to be too rigid in their thinking and mentality. Furthermore, we found out what living for a long time in Germany draws upon Japanese people, who become too straightforward, given the fact that Japanese people are usually considerate of their interlocutor’s feelings and avoid being direct when there is a disagreement.

After we found out more interesting things, the public had been invited to ask questions, and a lot of questions had been asked indeed.

The second part of the meeting was dedicated to udon, the Japanese noodles prepared by Mr. Katsutaro Kawai, together with a few volunteers, usual participants to our meetings. Before eating udon however, Mr. Kawai told us a few things about what udon means for the people of the Kagawa region and about his own childhood experiences. We found out that there is a great density of udon shops in Kagawa, about two shops on every street, as Mr. Kawai used to count in his childhood. Sanuki-udon is the most renowned kind of udon, prepared around Mount Sanuki, the origin of the name. Japan’s Friends Club served this kind of udon, prepared by the traditional recipe known by Mr. Kawai.

After we all ate udon, which was more than enough for everybody the usual moment of pictures and discussions followed. In the end, we all went home with another interesting experience with Japan’s Friends Club.