oi i shi i
to do list:
1. move to japan for the baths and the food (especially the snacks (what we think of as desserts)). and the architecture. and the ocean. hot japanese boy bands. dollar stores. green tea. recycling habits. i took two steaming, lovely, relaxing baths in green water colored by hot springs powder of some sort, my skin is feels like silk, and i'm glowing (not because of the plum wine soda nightcap that sakiko's mom fixed, either...which is delicious). i love japan.
2. buy more deer poop! the stuff is really really tasty, and it's a nara specialty. if you don't know what deer shit looks like, it basically looks like raisinets or peanut m&m's. deer poop has 5 yummy layers of goodness, and sakiko and i couldn't stop eating it. there are pictures that you might even get to see:)
3. buy toe warmers. i wore these things on my toes today that are like those automatic heating pads that they have in the states (fam--remember when i left for china the first time and i couldn't move the left side of my body? it's like one of those things, only adhesive), and my toes weren't cold the whole trip!! they're amazing, funny, and completely wonderful. (was that too descriptive for you, ken?:))
so we went to Nara today, and everything Nara is deer related, not in the edible sense. i think if a city were known for deer in China, that would mean that the city was known for its excellent preparation of dead deer, but in Japan, it means that deer are a protected species! they were so aggressive for crackers, swarming around little sakiko and her little mother. it was so cute because the deer were almost as big as they were! i fed a deer some leaves, and one licked my hand and wouldn't have stopped had i not pulled it away finally. we saw lots of temples, purified ourselves in smoke and water, lit incense, hit bells, took lots of pictures, and ate nara specialties: zhou/congee in tea and these gelatin thingies dipped into some sort of powder. it sounds weird, but it's sooo delicious!!! i had matcha, which is the thick green tea (i almost cried because i love it that much) with a tea sweet shaped like a bell, and i almost wanted to stay in that restaurant. being in japan makes me realize how much i appreciate about china, but it also makes me realize how far china has to mature as a nation.
i can't say enough good things about japan, and it's not just the baths or the food, either. it's the whole culture (whatever that word means) so apparent in everyday life. you see it in the waitresses and in the traffic--people actually care about pedestrians in japan!!! people are just really really nice, polite, and friendly.
my goal is to learn 5 japanese words everyday...i figure i'll have a good vocabulary by the time i leave if i do that, right?:) i'm considering studying japanese seriously just so that i can travel here often!
one more thing: ken, saks and i went into a store today and an entire food section reminded us of you. you'll find out why later...:)
1. move to japan for the baths and the food (especially the snacks (what we think of as desserts)). and the architecture. and the ocean. hot japanese boy bands. dollar stores. green tea. recycling habits. i took two steaming, lovely, relaxing baths in green water colored by hot springs powder of some sort, my skin is feels like silk, and i'm glowing (not because of the plum wine soda nightcap that sakiko's mom fixed, either...which is delicious). i love japan.
2. buy more deer poop! the stuff is really really tasty, and it's a nara specialty. if you don't know what deer shit looks like, it basically looks like raisinets or peanut m&m's. deer poop has 5 yummy layers of goodness, and sakiko and i couldn't stop eating it. there are pictures that you might even get to see:)
3. buy toe warmers. i wore these things on my toes today that are like those automatic heating pads that they have in the states (fam--remember when i left for china the first time and i couldn't move the left side of my body? it's like one of those things, only adhesive), and my toes weren't cold the whole trip!! they're amazing, funny, and completely wonderful. (was that too descriptive for you, ken?:))
so we went to Nara today, and everything Nara is deer related, not in the edible sense. i think if a city were known for deer in China, that would mean that the city was known for its excellent preparation of dead deer, but in Japan, it means that deer are a protected species! they were so aggressive for crackers, swarming around little sakiko and her little mother. it was so cute because the deer were almost as big as they were! i fed a deer some leaves, and one licked my hand and wouldn't have stopped had i not pulled it away finally. we saw lots of temples, purified ourselves in smoke and water, lit incense, hit bells, took lots of pictures, and ate nara specialties: zhou/congee in tea and these gelatin thingies dipped into some sort of powder. it sounds weird, but it's sooo delicious!!! i had matcha, which is the thick green tea (i almost cried because i love it that much) with a tea sweet shaped like a bell, and i almost wanted to stay in that restaurant. being in japan makes me realize how much i appreciate about china, but it also makes me realize how far china has to mature as a nation.
i can't say enough good things about japan, and it's not just the baths or the food, either. it's the whole culture (whatever that word means) so apparent in everyday life. you see it in the waitresses and in the traffic--people actually care about pedestrians in japan!!! people are just really really nice, polite, and friendly.
my goal is to learn 5 japanese words everyday...i figure i'll have a good vocabulary by the time i leave if i do that, right?:) i'm considering studying japanese seriously just so that i can travel here often!
one more thing: ken, saks and i went into a store today and an entire food section reminded us of you. you'll find out why later...:)