Lunch with Ann

The entrance of the restaurant.

I just got back from having lunch with one of our students and her family. I wasn't sure how well this home visit would go since the student, Ann, is one of the most shy students in our school. Not only is she shy but she also came to us with a rudimentary English level. She is learning certainly, but her progress is slower than some of her peers, I suspect due to her introverted nature, so I wasn't sure if the parents were going to use this home visit as an opportunity to grill us on their child and her progress or not. I couldn't be more wrong. Her parents were incredibly gracious and they admitted that their entire family is shy, so it was no surprise to them that their daughter has a difficult time speaking up at times.

It was called "Humanistic Style Cafe".

They picked us up in what I have dubbed the Ann-mobile, a rather large (for Asia) van, and we went to the restaurant. It was over in the area of town by the hospital, so it was a bit of a drive but if we ever wanted to go there ourselves it would be possible by bike.

Everyone, into the "Ann-Mobile"!

Fen, Ann's Mother and Omura, her father, seemed extremely excited to have us for the afternoon. They kept smiling and trying to ask us questions. Even though the language barrier was a little stronger than with other home visits, we were all still able to communicate effectively and they were pointing out different places and landmarks in the city as we passed them on our way to the restaurant.

The kids were excited by the water out front.

Lily pads and kids

The restaurant was nice by our standards and everything was decked out with Christmas decorations, which made Megan and I happy. Oh yes, I didn't mention it earlier but Megan and I went together. We are a couple, of course. 

This was just inside the entrance to the restaurant:

Looks like some people have been naughty...

 All of the staff were wearing Santa hats and other Christmas accessories with their uniforms.

I told you it was nice. You can see the Christmas tree here too.

Once we got to the restaurant, we were surprised to see that Ann's aunt and cousin were also eating there so they were asked to join us. It became an entire family affair, which I was fine with. The more, the merrier!

We tried to take a photo with everyone forever and this was the best we could manage.
Left to right: Omura (Father), Jessie (little sister), Ann, Fen (Mother), Yuyou (little brother), Aunt, Ariel (cousin), Megan, Moi 

Everything on the menu looked delectable. It was difficult to decide what to get. Megan went with a cheese and milk individual hot pot, which was delicious. I decided not to get the eel over rice or fried pork in ramen noodles (both Japanese dishes) because they were both dishes that I had previously had before. That meant that I knew that I would enjoy them but I decided to branch out and try something more risky. I tried a curry garlic chicken dish. Everyone seemed a bit unsure when I pointed to it, but I was not disappointed at all once I got it. It was a winner.

That mound in the center is a ball of rice with whipped egg over the top.

It had potatoes, legumes, carrots, and fried chicken all around the egg/rice. It came with miso, of course. It was too much food for me so I ate half and took half of it home with me so I can finish this bad boy off at a later date. Mmm it was sooo good.

Sisters being all cute.

Until today I had no idea that Ann had any siblings. It turns out that she has two younger siblings and they're twins. This is her with the sister, Jessie.

We can thank a bathroom sign for giving us these unrealistic body standards. No woman will ever attain this hip shape.....nor would she want to.

Hey, Ann. Want to take a picture with me?

Come onnnnn. It'll be fun.

Look up at Teacher Megan, Ann!

Smile, Ann! (She's doing the stank face, isn't she?)

Finally, a winner. And we have all 3 kids in it too even if Yuyou doesn't care.

And the fusion of the "Ann stank face" with her smile. Ah, Ann.

We have our cute smiling picture.

Ann has the BEST faces. Hands. Down.

It was honestly a wonderful time and it was fantastic to see Ann animated the entire time and so comfortable surrounded by her family. We were welcomed into their family circle and treated to a warm meal on a cool December day.