Our tummies enjoyed Germany so much that we decided to make some Japanese food, too. Now, if you’re Japanese, I mean no disrespect, but I’m not and know very little about it, so our foods are, maybe, Japanese-esque. We had grilled chicken marinated in teriyaki sauce, steamed broccoli, and noodles. Ramen noodles of the Oriental flavor. (The package said they were Japanese, and it’s the only sort of Japanese noodle I know. The kids have never had them before, so they don’t know if it’s wrong, and it seemed to work.)
A friend who has been to Korea lent us her wooden chopsticks. We had a blast!
Daddy got it right away.
It took the Big Girl a few minutes …
but soon she was going to town, even on the noodles, the hardest part to eat. She decided that they looked “just like Rapunzel’s hair!”
My Little Man never quite got the hang of it. He proudly announced that he only needed one chopstick and then proceeded to stab his chicken and broccoli. When he got to the noodles, he held it out like a sword, wrapped some noodles around it with his other hand, and then slurped them up like Lady and the Tramp ate their spaghetti.
We wouldn’t have won any etiquette contests – and we learned that manners are very important to the Japanese – but we had a blast. We laughed and played our way through dinner. I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a meal more – and both kids are already asking when we can eat Japanese food and use those “sticks” again.
The kids are having fun and learning about other cultures.
Success.
