Ok, so we have some serious catching up to do. If I had ten pounds for every time I've used the phrase 'catching up' on this blog, I'd have enough money to buy myself an outfit for the party I'm going to this Saturday. Regrettably there's no known source of remuneration for being repetitive online, but I'll probably buy the outfit anyway. That's beside the point though.
So first of all what I want to let you know is that I'm not in Japan any more. But I will continue to post about my trip retroactively, because there is so much to tell you about. I couldn't write about it concurrently because I was busy doing it all. Occasionally it's better to just pack in more doing and sacrifice the running commentary, don't you agree?
The next thing I wanted to share is that as of about two weeks ago, I am officially a journalism student. I've enrolled on a part time course, still doing my day job and trying to fit everything else around it. I'm also waiting on a promise from work that I will be able to go down to four days a week in a month or so. Let's hope they're as good as their word.
The course runs two nights a week, and all day Saturday, which looked manageable on paper, but is in fact turning out to be pretty gruelling. It will only get more intense as exam dates and deadlines for our coursework get closer. It's also quite tough juggling so many sub-sections to the course all at once. No sooner have I got my brain in shorthand gear, and got down to practicing, than we have a features class. I spend a few days wrestling with feature and interview ideas, to find I've neglected shorthand practice. Then we have news writing and both shorthand and features go out the window while I focus on that. It's exhausting, but it feels good to be using my brain in a slightly more academic way again.
So look forward to pithier, more eloquent and newsworthy posts as the course progresses... or maybe not. If a girl can't be vague and tangential on her own blog, then where, pray?
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
We Need To Talk
Monday, 4 May 2009
Special Catch
Kushikino, my home for 2 years from 2005 - 2007, boasts a number of specialities. It's a fishing town where the main catch is tuna, together with some more obscure swimmers, like kibinago - small fish about the size of whitebait, a variety of herring I believe - which boast a distinctive silver stripe and make delectable, melt-in-the mouth sashimi.
Type rest of the post here
Another fishy product that finds its way frequently into local dishes is chirimenjako; not strictly a variety but a generic name for tadpole-sized baby sardines or anchovies simmered in saltwater, then dried in the sun. They often end up as sprinkles over vegetable dishes.
I went back to Kushikino for about two days, staying one night with my friend Miyoko, my former landlady. Miyoko is one of those very enviable women who manage to juggle a bunch of activities without missing a beat - two businesses, a big role in the community, particularly the town's exchange programme with its sister city of Salinas, California. She also makes it look effortless.
I went shopping with her to the fishmongers, and after she had resisted all help in the dinner preparations, our purchases appeared on the table. The glistening kibinago sashimi, and two varieties of tuna, or maguro - lean red fillet, and strips of the prized fatty part or toro. Laid out separately were seasoned sushi rice and sheets of nori for making te-maki (hand-rolled maki sushi) at the table.
Pictured you can see kibinago on the left, and the two types of tuna on the right.
