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Yesterday, I posted a picture From Hiroko’s Kitchen - it is actually a close up shot of an origami of a crane - we used it to rest our chopsticks on … here’s the story behind that.

Hiroko is somewhat a “new” friend of mine. I have only known her for about a year. She is the mom of one of my son’s best friends in school. They are from Japan and are here in Redlands only for a couple years - for her husband’s job. When this school year ends, they are all going back to Japan … for good. This actually makes my son really sad because he is very good friends with Kazuoki (Hiroko’s son).

I have really been enjoying learning more about Hiroko in the past few months. It has always been challenging to chat with her - our conversations take longer than typical conversations because she speaks very little english. Half the time, she types the japanese word in her little translator gadget and she then translate it to english and shows me the word. We laugh a lot because of this. I know sometimes we don’t understand each other right away but through her translation gadget and hand gestures (some times it seems like we are playing charades) - we manage to communicate and have fun.

She has been teaching me how to make some Japanese dishes and I have been teaching her how to make some Filipino dishes. She has taught me how to make Okawa (Japanese Sticky Rice), Tempura (Shrimp and Vegetable), and Miso Soup - all from scratch. I took my WW pic post when she taught me how to make Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken), Hiyashi Chuka (Japanese Cold Noodle) and Katsudon (a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and condiments). You can see our final dishes below.

Don’t they look yummy. I love how she makes the food so pretty. As they say … you always eat with your eyes first. I wish I took a photo of our first cooking session. Here’s a photo of Hiroko and me in her kitchen.

For more stories behind Wordless Wednesday posts, visit TellMeThursday.com.

Here’s my entry for a super fun contest going on at TellMeThursday.com. Not too many entries - which gives me a good chance of winning. I really can use a new video camera - I love doing videos and although I have a digital video camcorder that works ok - sometimes it acts up - I guess cause of it’s “older” age.