You can never go home again
SPRING HAS ARRIVED!!! I never knew that I could ever enjoy Spring so much. Living in Florida undermines the whole emergence from winter thing. I just woke up today and realized A) I was not shivering in my bed B) My car did not have frost on it C) The trees that have been brown for 4 months suddenly turned green OVERNIGHT and D) Little buds of flowers popped up EVERYWHERE! Actually, this week the sakura are supposed to bloom. Japan is going cherry blossom crazy and I'm right there with them. I've got my camera at the ready. I jumped the gun a bit and took the above photos when I ran home and snapped some of the daffodils and White plum trees that have started to bloom down by the river.
The past two weekends have been a bit unexpected to say the least. For Saint Patricks Day J came down to visit sunny Kakegawa. We basically trolled around town with Ozzie Jen, went to Kakegawa castle and ate sushi and shopped around. That evening was a birthday party for the Semba girls which involved alcohol, mammoth ice cream sundaes, and karaoke. A *surprisingly* good combination. Japanese karaoke is a kick.... I can't get over it. Actually, I can't even get *into* it unless I'm at least 5 sheets to the wind. To tell the truth, I don't actually remember how I got home. I vaguely remember singing "Hey Ya!" at the top of my lungs.... A quality evening indeed.
This weekend however proved, well.... simultaneously awesome and dreadful. A dichotomy I'm quickly learning is par for the course in this country. Now first thing first is the concept of Outback steakhouse. To most Americans it's just another steakhouse, but when it was brought up around my dear friend Ozzie Jen (er... "Aussie" Jen, but if I spell it that way then I don't say it correctly. Apparently it is *not* said with an ss sound. I have one word for you Australians... Learn your bloody PHONICS mates!!) she just about had a cow. The whole concept of this mysterious bloomin' onion and fosters beer being marketed (unbeknownst to Australians) has her laughing her ass off. A quick internet search revealed there was actually an Outback in Nagoya. So off we went on Saturday for the first Steak I have had in well over 8 months! Jen almost didn't want to go because she thought it was going to be really cheesy and would be rippng off and bastardizing her whole culture (we like to say Stereotypes, dear). So after hours of protests we finally get her through the door only to have her point at the wall and exclaim "Geez Louise! We have that same picture in my home!"
So. Not so far from the truth after all. Go outback :)
She proceeded to roll around in ecstasy while munching her sirloin, and bitching about how lame it was. But for the record... and this is for all of Jen's family back home (whom she expressly forbid me to tell for fear of being ostracized)..... SHE TOTALLY LOVED IT.
Mwahahahahahaha.
Well, our dear hero had a 12 ounce steak, grilled veggies, baked potato, salad with RANCH dressing, and 2 Heinakens. Anyone who has been to Japan knows how exceedingly rare that meal would be (and how COSTLY!! triple the price from america, boo!). It was also the first time I have eaten a normal American sized meal in this country. Woot!
So where is the dreadful part you say?
Well, after 8 months of living off fish, rice, and veggies... all the fat from an American meal sent my body into shock. About 2 hours after the meal all 3 of us girls started to feel a bit.... off. By the time we got off the train we were DYING. I felt like my insides were collapsing. Something tells me that American food is not all that it's cracked up to be. I'm gonna have a hard time adjusting back to the states. Hrm.
Looks like it's back to Japanese food for me and my battered body. You know, the typical curry rice meals based on popular anime series (see below! I even got a free trading card! Wah!!), and udon. Also featured is my bitchin new Astro Boy T-shirt. Go ahead. Be envious.
