Back to the scene of the crime

There are a million memes on Facebook that will tell you that if you fail, you need to brish yourself off, dust yourself down and get back on the horse. Those who have never made a mistake have never made anything, etc, etc. So, armed with the good intentions of the meme makers. I set off for the scene of my greatest humiliation so far in Japan. Yes, you guessed it, the Japanese restaurant at the end of my street where I made so many faux pas on my first visit they have a new word in Japanese, doing a Gareth. Anyway, determined to right the wrongs of my first visit. I decided that I had to do everything the same, but this time correctly. So, despite the lack of rain, I took my brolly and headed to the eatery. Fair play, I got a few strange looks as I locked up my superfluous umbrella but at least this time I wasn’t mocked for not knowing how the contraption worked. I snapped it in no problem at all. Then, I confidently  slipped my shoes off and locked them up. I was two from two.  I was shown to the table and used the bell to summon the server. I ordered the autumn special again, this time confident that I knew exactly what to do when the stove with the bubbling cauldron arrived. I, like the flame beneath my food, was on fire. But meme makers also tell us that pride comes before a fall, that knowing what you need to do is not the same as knowing how to do it. As the broth bubbled away and the egg cooked, I was still faced with the problem of how to get the soup to the bowl without causing me and the nice family next to me third degree burns. I could do this, I told myself. I’ve been here three weeks, chopsticks are just like an extension of my fingers, second nature. This would be a cinch.
Anyway, I’d like to end this entry by wishing the family next to me a speedy recovery. I hear the Yokohama burns unit is very good, so with a bit of luck your skin grafts will be successful and you’ll be right as rain in no time. 

P.S. On a related note, I have been asking my students what their aim for the next few weeks is. I too have a new aim for this trip to Japan, and that is to bring home at least one shirt without Ramen stains on it.