Yay, I'm able to post again! I've tried a few times in the last few days, but for some reason the "New Post" button wasn't working very well. It's actually been a little hectic the last few weeks with all sorts of engagements and obligations. I was asked to write a little blurb in Japanese about my Japanese studies/experience here for the newsletter of the sister city group I came to Japan through five years ago, so I wrote about living in Kyoto, and you might say it's a nice summary of what I've written on this blog. When I get the energy I'll translate it to English, but for the time being that sounds too much like homework. I went to school today, but my brain was still recovering from the traffic jam of a proficiency test I took yesterday. A nice way to cap off a few weeks of friends visiting from out of town, flashcard kanji-memorization, article writing, news of various Los Angeles Kings player acquisition, and the usual daily going-ons of studying abroad over here. I also took some very cool pictures, but am sad to say that I managed to delete them while trying to put them on computer. However, I'm sure I can take plenty of pictures in the future that will do them justice, it's just that I don't have them right now to show you guys.
I may have written this earlier, but it's officially rainy season over here. It's said that 20 years ago it would be humid and rainy for most of June and July without any breaks, but we've actually had more days without rain than with rain. And for some reason, the weather was actually very nice a few days ago. It started raining again last night, and there was about half an hour of intense rain today, with more and bigger thunder than one would have guessed. It's strange carrying an umbrella and wearing a T-shirt and shorts to school. But it's also necessary, just like taking off your shoes when you eat curry.
I've been hooked on curry for a while now. It started from two things: curry bread and the convenient price of curry packets. Curry bread, also known sometimes as a "curry donut", has been my favorite Japanese treat for a few years now. And having it around everywhere here hasn't lessened my desire for it. It comes in the form of a large roll (and occasionally slightly sweetened and flaked like a donut) with curry and small bits of vegetables and meat inside. I usually get it from bakeries (as opposed to convenience stores or supermarkets), and I always go straight for it since it's the purpose of my mission. If for some reason the bakery doesn't have it, I usually ask just to double check, ahaha. You can have them heat it up for you, or eat it cold. It's great either way as far as I'm concerned. I want some already, and I just had curry for dinner! Hmm, maybe I have a problem?
The other source of my curry problem is the low price of curry packets at the grocery store. They're less then a dollar, and all I have to do is pour one over some boiled carrots, potatoes, and onions, let it cook a little more, then put that over steamed rice, and well, that's an easy, cheap, somewhat rounded, and very delicious dinner. So I eat curry at home pretty easily. Then there's also the curry in the dining hall, which isn't the cheapest thing but well-priced anyway, and satisfies my craving. There's also a curry chain across the street from apartment called CoCo Curry, which probably tastes the best, but also costs three times as much (about $6-7), which still isn't expensive considering it's a sitdown place.
So I guess I should probably try to curb my curry consumption, so I don't get sick of it. CoCo Curry has some interesting toppings for it, as well as extreme degrees of spiciness. It's useful for ideas to make at home, though I usually just keeep it simple with something similar to what you read above. Whenever I eat there I just get the regular spiciness (which isn't spicy at all), but they have up to level 10, so one day I'll venture to higher reaches of curry civilization.
Well, I hope this curry bit was as fun to read as it was to write! Maybe I'll do an entire curry post sometime, and eventually become some kind of curry expert? But for now, a long bath sounds like a good idea, I haven't had time for one in a while. I have been showering everyday though, so don't worry about anything on that front.
