The Gold Collectors

They come by...all the time. Today they came by while I was making pumpkin bread and watching scrubs. I don't have any gold!!!!

Are people back home getting hassled by these people? I swear, it's either the Jehovah's witnesses or the gold people every other week. They're bold, too. They walk in through the garage all the time. 

Taiwanese Food

So today after we went to the bizarre city office in an attempt to find Vikram, we went out to lunch at a Taiwanese restaurant.

First of all, I don't even know what Taiwanese food is. Seriously. I hear the words and I think of Vietnamese food...so yeah.

Anyways, we go to this place that Bret had been mentioning, that we'd actually attempted to go to before but it was closed.

It was not good. The whole menu was pictures of semi appetizing chinese food looking stuff. Taiwan is above the Phillipenes, to the right of China. So...maybe the food is like Chinese food. I am not great at geography, as I have stated in the past, so I looked all that up just now.

So...when you have bad food are you supposed to pretend it's good? I mean...I feel like I should just cut my losses, pay the 6 dollars, and get out of there, but Bret gets all...disgruntled at my complaining. Which I understand, but I still don't want to eat microwaved freezer food. Lunch is an important meal of the day! Usually the only big meal I have.

He had this omellete with some sort of sauce and crab on top and I had...some sort of pre-cut vegetables with chicken in a sauce that tasted like cornstarch and water. Seriously, it was bad. Bret described his crab as tasting like it was dried and re-hydrated, while I think it had just gone bad. It tasted terrible.

But...we have different opinions I guess, and he doesn't like to waste food and all that...

After that we went home, he got ready for work, and I've been sitting around with nothing to do. I decided to write this because I think it was funny. Bret's probably going to read it and be all like, why did you write that...etc etc.

I just don't like eating garbage.

After all of that, I looked up Taiwanese food on google images and it does, in fact, look like Chinese food in a lot of cases. I tried to find things that didn't look like Chinese dishes. Here are some pictures.

To be fair, in the countryside it's rare to find foreign food that's done well. At least in my humble experience. We have an amazing Korean place that does killer bulgogi, but it is pretty expensive so we never go.

Festivus for the Restuvus

Vikram Update

We're going to the pound tomorrow to see if he's there.

Well, it wasn't open during the weekend and when we went today it was just an office building and they we went to some random department where they took his description like he was a missing person. WEIRD. No success yet...

:(

If you're having a bad day, it's good to remember that things could be worse. You could have this dog's life.

Festival Street Food

Worst Day Ever

I was gone for a few days visiting my friend Christa in the nearby city of Marugame this week. When I came home, Bret took me to lunch, waited until we'd been there a few minutes and said, "I have some bad news."

Little Vikram, our precious, albeit at times vicious cat, is missing. He's been gone since before I left and he never stays out this long. As soon as he'd hear our voices in the driveway he'd come running from wherever he was. He doesn't like to be apart from us hardly ever. When he was little he would only go outside if we came too, and as soon as we went back in he'd come with us.

I am so sad.

I hope he comes home. I have had a terrible terrible day. Please don't bring it up if you skype with me, unless you want to watch me blubber and cry.

I hope he comes home soon. I love you, Vikram. Even though your favorite food was my hand. 

Sayanora Season

This time last year we went to a bunch of goodbye parties. This year it's just the one. Pat and Mami, as well as their adorable kids, have made our time in Saijo awesome, and we're sad to see them go. They are moving to Vancouver BC, so we'll see them soon enough! :)

We had a little bonfire last night and Kodera (bottom picture far left) presented Pat with his very own Ipad that everyone chipped in to get him (he loves electronics). He pretty much had the best goodbye parties ever.

Most Afternoons

On many a weekend afternoon, I find myself with nothing to do, waiting for Bret to come home. I've been reading a lot of books, but the last one I finished, I kid you not, literally had an entire passage discussing how sad it is for one to read books in volume and the pain of pitying looks from librarians when you hand back a stack of books after a week. WHATEVER BOOK. I don't need you or your judgement.

Bret told me to study Japanese before he left for work, maybe I'll succumb to that now. 

Autumn and Getting my Nails Done

Teeny tiny works of art good enough for the bottom floor of the Louvre, some would say. My students love them, and they are fun to have. They also last a really long time.

We're Coming Home for Christmas!

Home, sweet home! (I have lost my ability to gauge where commas go...so hopefully that's right)

December 23rd til January 1st! (why? because that's the lowest airfare time frame, that's why! Oh flight websites, the slightest change can cause you to quote the most random prices)

I am really, really, really happy to be going back. Also, tickets to India were twice the price. REALLY happy. I am so excited to see everyone and thrilled that I finally have the time off and the money (not really the money, but oh well) to come home.

It's going to be the epic Christmas of epicness!

Sadly, a few of Bret's close friends will be out of town in this time frame, but that just leaves more time for family and other friends!

Kitchen Adventures

Our friend Caleb works at city hall and every year he makes some food stuffs for Thanksgiving to share with the community. There is a fair and he sets up a stall to talk to people about turkey and pumpkin pie.

This year there will be pumpkin soup, cornbread and two turkeys. People will get samples while they last.

We went to the big kitchen room at the public welfare center in our city. It's an enourmous building that has pretty much everything you need in life. Like the room of requirement in Harry Potter. A couple of days ago we went to go pre-make/test out how things were going to go. I made pumpkin bars from scratch but forgot baking powder at home :(((((((( I thought the eggs would fluff the batter up enough...but alas, I was mistaken. Lessons for next time.