(no subject)

[hinikujin]

So for lunch they put a big chunk of mackerel on my plate, and ...... I...ate....it! What has this country done to me? I eat fish without putting up a fight. The other day I was overjoyed by the vegetables that accompanied my lunch. It was green peppers and mushrooms. The ruiner of hundreds of childhood pizzas has now become something I look forward to. Sure I'm eating/living healthier, but at what cost? I've lost a part of myself. I'm even finding myself choosing fish when I go out to eat. Where is the Justin that I once was? Appearantly he doesn't live here anymore. I've become a fish eating, tea drinking, cola avoiding...something or other. When I went to Chiba, I managed to avoid Japanese food (with the exception of a few safe dishes). I started out the same way here. But somewhere along the line, I guess I stopped worrying about the oddities of Japanese cuisine. I don't even miss American food as much as I used to. I still love the occasional Mexican food (which I can now get in Sasebo), but other than that, I'm pretty acclimated to Japanese living and eating. I even eat squid without fuss now. My only remaining holdout is octopus. I've not been able to embrace it, but I think if given the chance, I could conquer even that...the most vile of sea-beasts.

Here's just a short list of some of the foods I've eaten / come to embrace in my time here in Takeo:

Shrimp, Turbin Snail, Eel, Crab, Mackerel, Salmon, Tuna, Tai (Snapper), Squid, Whale, and all varieties of mushrooms, onions, peppers, eggplant, and pretty much any vegetable you can think of. Poor poor stomach. Do you even remember the taste of Gino's Pizza and Michael's bacon and cheese baked potatoes?