Back to class, and weird food
Jan. 11th, 2003 03:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melredcapWell, classes have begun again, and I managed to get through Budo class without falling over with a heart attack! *heh* I have to admit I was a little worried about whether or not I'd have trouble, after being lazy all winter break. Surprisingly enough, I didn't end up exhausted, even after Lubica told Bittmann-sensei her feet were cold and he put us through a second round of warm-up exercises to get the blood moving (thaaaaaank you Lubica), so maybe I'm getting fit? Just a little? And I remembered all the moves!
My tutors (Kanako and Naomi) are back from their visits home, too, so I'm back to seeing them every week. They don't exactly tutor me, but we go out once a week, have dinner together, and talk about everything and anything. I get to practice my Japanese, and they get to practice their English; it's a lot of fun, and it does seem to be helping my conversational skills. I also get to go to a lot of GREAT (cheap!) restaurants that I'd never find on my own!
Speaking of which...
We had most of the day together on Wednesday, since it was before classes started. We went to a movie (the second 'Harry Potter', subtitled), had lunch together, and then went bowling (where I proved once again that I SUCK at anything that requires good aim. Heh. Still, I managed a fluke hit that got me the only strike of the game...). Lunch was sushi. Lots of sushi.
Did you know you can get nattou sushi?
For those of you who don't know, nattou is fermented soybeans. My teacher Hendriks-sensei, who loves the stuff, calls it 'beans in snot'. It's gooey, it's sticky, it's slimy, and it smells like someone forgot to clean their fridge out for years. Very few gaijin like it, and an awful lot of Japanese people hate it too. Still, it's one of those things that you have to try... just once... just to be able to say you did. Kind of like how people who visit Australia have to try Vegemite. Plus, I'm one of those people who will try almost any food once, because I was brought up to believe that you can't *know* that something's bad if you haven't tasted it. (This philosophy has led to me finding a lot of yummy things in my life - thanks, Mum!) So, I was presented with a nattou sushi, and I tried it.
There are very few foods that can make me feel ill. As I discovered on Wednesday, nattou is one of them. *heh* It took several gulps of tea and a mouthful of pickled ginger before I could get the taste out of my mouth, and I'm never going to try it again... but I DID try it, and I can definitely say it's a unique experience.
(Hmmmm. Do you ever wonder who was the first person brave - or DUMB - enough to eat these things, before somebody else had proven they were safe? Nattou... hundred-year-old eggs... anything fermented and/or aged to the point where it looks or smells deadly. Yoghurt. Heck, what about beer? Who was the first person to say, "Gee, this grain's been soaking in water for weeks and it's gone all bubbly and bad-smelling... wonder what it tastes like?")
Ahem. Anyway.
One of the other 'unusual' things Japanese people eat is whale. Personally, I really don't like the idea of hunting whales; heck, in Australia you aren't even allowed to go close enough to bother them, let alone kill them! I would much rather watch them, and I'm not too happy with the way Japan hunts them 'for research purposes only' and then they turn up in the supermarket... but like I said, I'll try almost any food once. And there was whale sushi there, too.
Whale is much better tasting than nattou is - well, almost anything would be better than nattou! Whale is actually pretty good... though I don't think I'll be eating that again, either. Once, just to see, was enough.
Well then... another update next week, okay?
My tutors (Kanako and Naomi) are back from their visits home, too, so I'm back to seeing them every week. They don't exactly tutor me, but we go out once a week, have dinner together, and talk about everything and anything. I get to practice my Japanese, and they get to practice their English; it's a lot of fun, and it does seem to be helping my conversational skills. I also get to go to a lot of GREAT (cheap!) restaurants that I'd never find on my own!
Speaking of which...
We had most of the day together on Wednesday, since it was before classes started. We went to a movie (the second 'Harry Potter', subtitled), had lunch together, and then went bowling (where I proved once again that I SUCK at anything that requires good aim. Heh. Still, I managed a fluke hit that got me the only strike of the game...). Lunch was sushi. Lots of sushi.
Did you know you can get nattou sushi?
For those of you who don't know, nattou is fermented soybeans. My teacher Hendriks-sensei, who loves the stuff, calls it 'beans in snot'. It's gooey, it's sticky, it's slimy, and it smells like someone forgot to clean their fridge out for years. Very few gaijin like it, and an awful lot of Japanese people hate it too. Still, it's one of those things that you have to try... just once... just to be able to say you did. Kind of like how people who visit Australia have to try Vegemite. Plus, I'm one of those people who will try almost any food once, because I was brought up to believe that you can't *know* that something's bad if you haven't tasted it. (This philosophy has led to me finding a lot of yummy things in my life - thanks, Mum!) So, I was presented with a nattou sushi, and I tried it.
There are very few foods that can make me feel ill. As I discovered on Wednesday, nattou is one of them. *heh* It took several gulps of tea and a mouthful of pickled ginger before I could get the taste out of my mouth, and I'm never going to try it again... but I DID try it, and I can definitely say it's a unique experience.
(Hmmmm. Do you ever wonder who was the first person brave - or DUMB - enough to eat these things, before somebody else had proven they were safe? Nattou... hundred-year-old eggs... anything fermented and/or aged to the point where it looks or smells deadly. Yoghurt. Heck, what about beer? Who was the first person to say, "Gee, this grain's been soaking in water for weeks and it's gone all bubbly and bad-smelling... wonder what it tastes like?")
Ahem. Anyway.
One of the other 'unusual' things Japanese people eat is whale. Personally, I really don't like the idea of hunting whales; heck, in Australia you aren't even allowed to go close enough to bother them, let alone kill them! I would much rather watch them, and I'm not too happy with the way Japan hunts them 'for research purposes only' and then they turn up in the supermarket... but like I said, I'll try almost any food once. And there was whale sushi there, too.
Whale is much better tasting than nattou is - well, almost anything would be better than nattou! Whale is actually pretty good... though I don't think I'll be eating that again, either. Once, just to see, was enough.
Well then... another update next week, okay?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Heh
Date: 2003-01-11 04:47 am (UTC)I think people were eating a lot worse things back when stuff like nattou and alcohol and whatnot were discovered.. also, don`t forget, the idea of microbes is like really recent compared to how long ago those things were developed. As is refridgeration and whatnot. I can imagine people on limited food supplies and whatnot Way Back Then finding some of their food less than fresh and still eating it, either because they had done it so many times or because it tasted good that way anyway (or caused a favorable reaction like hallucinations and/or drunkenness).
And as for the whales.. well, if you are going to hunt them, might as well use it all.. study it for research, then sell the bits.. and oh yeah, those naughty whales are eating too much fish anyways (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/07/27/MN124954.DTL). Not that I know the validity of their "research" or anything, just saying. I think it could work if they had a bit better management of their fisheries, and even whaling. Species tend to go extinct when hunting is completely unregulated, either from a total ban that results in poaching, or no restrictions at all.
Anyway, blah blah blah, control, restrictions, the end.
And I still want some whalemeat damnit!! The Food God wants cetacean!! Whales for the Food God!
-You Know Who
PS. to everyone else.. "Picket Against Mel" is still seeking members! Its not too late to join!!