Another update! I know it's been a while, sorry. Thank you for those of you who have been keeping up! It's not easy keeping a blog amidst doing other things, so I respect those who are able to do it so diligently!
First, I bought a basil plant! It's twice as tall now, when I repot it, I will take a new picture. I can't tell if it's doing well or if it's dying. On top, it's green now, but the bottom leaves are turning yellow .. .
I made eggplant pasta and it was delicious! I've been trying to eat less meat lately.
My friend Masayo enjoying a refreshing gelato from Vito! The flavors are very unique, although I don't remember what they were!
My matcha mocha (or mocha matcha?) that I got at Vito! It was so good and the tea bowl was beautiful, as well as the design!
Masayo's friend, Tomomi! She's very sweet and I'm practicing my Japanese with her!
My Russian friend, Tonya! She's only 19 and came to Japan to visit her aunt. I met her in my Japanese class.
Yuka and Tonya! We went to a really great, authentic Japanese restaurant.
I don't remember what she was laughing about. Yuka, you're so cute!
Ready to eat!
mixed sashimi over rice! It was so amazing.
This was special sauce for the sashimi.
Tonya liked salmon, so she got salmon sashimi.
Waiting for Yuka.
New friends!
Stuffing our faces at Yuka's house, even though we were already full!
I could never pass up a cup of tea and dessert.
"unagi pai" or eel pie! Actually the eel wasn't very noticeable and it was delicious!
Yuka gave this to me as a present from Taiwan! Isn't he adorable! ^_^
Next meal out was with Mari, my co-worker and student. Sea snails and beef, I think. They were good but I felt so sad pulling the doors off of the dead snails. I like snails :( But they were yummy.
Mari! giving a toast. She will be leaving soon to live in Miyazaki :(
Here it goes!
this was soo good.
Sashimi delight!
This is how the ferment my favorite drink, umeshu! It's made from plums picked straight from the tree then tossed in a liquor-filled bottle.
the chef, and Mari's friend. She has a lot of friends who own restaurants.
On the way to my first baseball game ever!! I never even went to one in America, so it was great having my first game be in Japan! This was a Buddhist temple we passed on our way there. Isn't it gorgeous?
We're the purple team! They wore purple as a special tribute to fans. I think the month that I went (July) was fan appreciation month. Each year, they were a different color.
It was inside a dome, so it was sooo cool! I didn't have to worry about sweating through the game! I think our team's spoiled :P
Let's enjoy some frozen beer foam while we wait. It tasted just like it sounds. Frozen beer foam. But, the beer stayed cooler, longer! It was good in a weird way.
Look at them cheerleaders. I was surprised how modest they were!
Yum, I just had to try a Sasebo Burger! They are famous, although I'm not sure this is authentic or not.
Inside, you can see the yummy egg, giant burger, and there is lettuce and bacon in there somewhere. Maybe even a tomato.
special balloons used during the 7th inning when everyone sets them off!
Here we go! blow them up!
and let them go!
We won! Now the main dude who made most of the hits is going to give a speech. Then, fireworks!
We had a work party celebrating the end of Open House week and one of the first things appearing in front of me is this lovely squid. I felt so sorry for it. I don't think it was still alive, but it did appear to be breathing.
They made the squid into a tempura in its own ink (which is why it's black) It was very good!
And for dessert, I think this was matcha, but it was so much like Jell-O, I couldn't get past that.
We had rice at the end, and it came in this really cool container (I forgot the name, though) and this picture is bad. My camera was full, so this is the only shot I got of it, sorry.
A few weeks ago, I found dragonfruit at my local grocery store! I just had to try it.
So beautiful inside. However, it was strange. It had no flavor whatsoever but the texture was just like a kiwi.
on August 1st, there were fireworks at Ohori Park! I went with my friend, Madoka and we had a great time! Well, that is after we shoved through the crowds. I literally was being knocked into on all sides.
And the fireworks lasted 1 and a half hours so we had time to get a beer and take some photos of each other!
Unfortunately, it was super dark. My friend Madoka is on the right and her friend from Tokyo is on the left!
I thought this one was kind of funny.
And the grand finale!
And last of all, I went to the tea ceremony today and decided to try wearing a yukata, finally! It took me 2 hours to try and put it on, and I still didn't get it right :(
But, at least I tried, I was happy about that!
And that's all for now! Eventually, I will have a blog post with just videos. They take so long to edit and post though, I might have to leave a youtube link or something. I'll figure it out. In the meantime, I hope everyone is doing well and will try and update more regularly! Thanks for reading! Mata ne!
