How does it feel to weave a basket in a morning?
It was exhausting! I had to be completely focused, and the teacher helped me with many parts. In the beginning, I felt as frustrated as I did the day before, especially when I suddenly realised that I did not follow the right step, and I had to undo the weave and start all over again. At that moment, I felt, “Phew, luckily, I have just started, otherwise I would definitely break down!” The most challenging part was the first and second rows, which required feet to help keep the rattan cane in place, but it was still difficult to control; so I used clippers and then realised that it took the cane sometime to become fixed and take shape. After that, it was all about repetitive work, similar to knitting, and a bit hypnotising.
If I focused on or repeated something too often, this thing will stick in my mind with a lingering effect. For example, after I made a music video, and as soon as it was released, I would watch it over and over again until I did not want to watch it anymore, which means I am done with it. It is exactly what happened yesterday. I kept on thinking about by how exactly I should sharpen the rattan, and was perplexed by it. Today, weaving the basket was quite repetitive as well. One good thing is that other memories of this afternoon occupied my mind. I was super excited when I saw the sea!
You had the Yellow Rotang Palm and other wild vegetables collected today for lunch. Have any of them left you with a strong impression?
What has really impressed me is the bamboo rice, which is tremendously sticky. The teacher said that in the past this sort of rice was used as glue. Seriously, I could not even wash it off me. What is more, I do not usually have bitter gourd soup, but the Yellow Rotang Palm I had today tasted quite similar to bitter gourd, and it was not too bitter. I guess it was probably because I had a hard time stripping rattan, and eating such veggies made it less bitter and acceptable.
I also tried fireweed today. Neither did I eat it before; nor did I know that it is edible. The teacher told us that the Japanese military aircrafts used to spray the seeds of fireweed, but I was quite sceptical. Do Japanese grow a lot of these vegetables? I have never seen anything like this in Japanese cuisine. When I ate it, I got carried away picturing summoning Japanese Kappa. What does fireweed have anything to do with Kappa? Can you summon a Kappa simply with fireweed? Later on, I realised that the teacher actually meant that the seeds of fireweed were sprayed during the Showa Period, which sounds similar to summoning Kappa in Chinese…
Why are you so interested in harvesting in the intertidal zone?
I really love oceans and often go fishing and swimming in the blue water. Today I saw a huge variety of creatures. For example, stones are topped with amazingly beautiful coral reefs, and the shells of the hermit crabs have been the prettiest and most colourful I have ever seen, since I was a child. I was fond of catching them when I was younger. Upon a closer look at the shells, I found some unknown creatures in them. That was super cool. The moving long-spine sea urchins were amazing as well. Its legs (tubes) extended so long and moved around like an alien. The first giant intertidal reef that we saw was, out of my surprise, full of sea urchins. Each rock pool in that whole area was extremely colourful. Actually, I wanted to stay there staring at them, but the teacher kept on moving along. I was wondering maybe something was underneath. Looking closer, I found nothing, so I gave up.
To me, intertidal zones are very different from oceans. In the oceans, it is easier to find coral reefs and what is inside them from a broader view. In the foreshore, each pool has its own work. I felt like spending a long time trying to find out the creatures in each one of them. The funny thing is that my observation became less accurate in the intertidal zones since I was attracted to each moving living thing.
Do you find anything difficult when harvesting in the intertidal zone?
Today at first, I tried to catch fish like cats with my bare hands, but failed completely. I caught nothing at all. The teacher shared his story of being scratched by rocky reefs before, and this reminded me of my experience of swimming through a hole in the ocean. Thanks to the flotation, my whole back was scratched against the reef. That is why I could totally relate to the teacher. Along the way, it has occurred to me that to experience is to learn. Only when I go and experience, will I understand what to be careful with and fearful for. In fact, the teacher reminded me many times on the shore that urchins shot their spines. The word “shoot” that he used scared me. Does that mean when I come too close to a sea urchin, its spines will whoosh towards me?
On the way back, the teacher mentioned the environmental protection issue. Have you been inspired?
I like one of his points, which is to return a bit of what you get from here. If you catch some fish from here, take away some litter with you. This is a good idea, and something that we all can do as individuals. I will pick up some garbage when I go fishing next time, but if there is too much, I might give up as well…
Were you confused about picking up Maifan stones in order to use them in hot pot?
I have seen people using those stones for grilling, but I did not know that it was Maifan stones. I cannot figure out how they are going to be used for hot pot tomorrow. Do we throw them into the pot and cook food with them? If we filter them and cook food with them, I guess they will give a special flavour. At least, it seems reasonable to me.
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