Day 10: SLURP!

You get to the ramen shop the first time, you sit down, stare blankly at the menu (thankfully Japanese restaurants have no problem with having picture menus), you bumble through pointing at something,(Don't go for the red ramen! You're gunna have a bad time!) and then you hear SLURP!!!

The man next to you is just going to town on his ramen! Unfortunately he may look like this:

Yes it's the same pic as before, so there is still only proof I ate 1 bowl of ramen

Firstly, I feel I should defend my parents, I wasn't raised like an animal (Except for the time I told everyone I was a tiger, 15 was a tough age for me). In Japan slurping isn't just perfectly acceptable, its polite. It also serves a function. Ramen is meant to be served piping hot, but you may notice that scalding hot water and your mouth were not a match made in heaven. Slurping cools it so you can shovel that noodley goodness into your food hole even faster!

That may sound gross (and lord knows I worded it to), but actually as the noodles rest in the soup they continue to cook and if you eat ramen slowly the noodles lose their firmness. Oh, and theres more! In Japanese culture slurping when you eat noodles is a sign you enjoy them. It is the japanese version of NOM NOM NOM. Now lets try an experiment. Look at this picture again, imagine me eating silently, then imagine me going all "SLURPY SLURP SLURP". Which do I seem to enjoy more?

Yes it's exactly the same pic, I'll get a new one for next time

Now just imagine you cooked or bought the ramen for me, wouldn't you want to know I was enjoying it? (I suppose it depends on why you made them for me, if it was the day after I finish my month of ramen I am guessing you would want to punish me). That is generally how the Japanese see it. It takes some getting used to, and you still feel rude for a long time after adopting it. (You also feel like you are trying too hard) But in reality it is only social conditioning that stops you, slurping really is easier, and damn am I lazy, so i love it!

Next time you eat noodles, have a little look around to check your alone and give the slurp a shot. See how the other half live. You may like it! (But don't worry I wont tell anyone, it can be our little secret)

I hit the ramen shop early tonight, 5pm. I was over that side of town buying a Shinkansen (Bullet Train) ticket and I thought why not. 

And if you are wondering I did slurp it all down!

As I said before, Japan loved fried breaded things. They are the home of the tempura after all. So I ordered the カキフライ(ka-ki-fu-ra-i, or Fried oysters). Thats right, got myself a little aphrodisiac before a night in alone studying. I live the party boy lifestyle, its true. I also got the miso ramen, which was delicious and has a very different taste to the meat based ramen (Don't worry though, there was meat in it). I had a dip in ramen enjoyment over the weekend but I'm back now, as long as i keep mixing it up. 

My sporadic stomach ache still comes and goes, but i also have a cold so I'm not sure what to blame. And i haven't weighed myself yet, I'm saving that little surprise till the end of the month but I feel heavier and more lethargic. Yay! Experimenting with my body! 

Oh well, we shall see how is goes from here.