Christmas Eve Mission

Christmas Eve began with a mission, a tag team journey to the happiest burger this side of the International Dateline: Smile Burger. It was cold, more so than usual, and the sun was making its way down past the distant shadows in the western part of the city. There was a buzz in the campus air, the unique kind reserved for the beginning of an extended break, with chatter of trips and gatherings, and not of upcoming tests nor reports. But we were different, we had a mission.
We biked through 400 meters of foot traffic, followed the river, broke multiple traffic codes of the Sanjo bus terminal, and got a rainy, up-close view of the shops and umbrella wielding tourists of Gion. Hung a left on a small road, and up a hill we went for a few minutes, the cold refusing to let us slow our pace. We reached the main road at the top of the hill, full of traffic and tourists as always. Smile Burger was just a block away and it was still early, but unfortunately it was also Tuesday. As the metal shutter pulled down in front of the store said, they're closed every Tuesday.
So we compromised. We settled for a far inferior fast food burger that really couldn't be any further from a Smile Burger. But it's Christmas Eve, and that's where the minuses end. The food and the restaurant were warm, and we settled right in for over an hour, into the plastic seats on the second floor above the storefront. As I watched our illegally-parked bicycles (and a dozen more) being rained on outside, I thought about this burger. Yes, it tastes the same here as it does back home, and probably just about everywhere else in the world. It's a nostalgic taste, and I'm all the more impressed with the human digestive system when I think about how many I (we?) had growing up. But when I'm tasting it, I can't help but think that the last one I had was probably at the Staples Center while watching the Kings, and it probably cost $11. The price aside, that made me happy. It could have been a coke, a bag of peanuts, or chocolate-covered popcorn to take me back, but this time it was that distinct, internationally reproducible taste.
We went back up the hill to Smile Burger a few nights later. It was rainier and colder, but that really only made it more delicious.

Push

Last week's break in the school schedule brought a few days of down-beat in a semester that's been very up-beat. With the school lounge, library, and dining commons closed, the McDonald's around every corner was a very capable substitute. With its second and third floors, smoking section, light speed service, and bossa nova in the background, it would seem completely unrelated to its American twin if it weren't for the food. Some people sit for hours, punching into a laptop, flipping through stacks of folders and books, or thumbing away on a smart phone. This atmosphere is subject to change of course, as it's not uncommon to find throngs of high school students doing lots of talking and very little studying. Business professional, studying student, or high school chatterbox, it's pretty clear that quite a few people go there to do something besides eat.
My first November break in five years is followed by the nostalgic short push through the weeks leading up to the holidays. A push through lengthy assignments, cold morning bike rides to school, late night rides home, and everything in between. Beanies, scarves, instant noodles, and slow-cooked broths should do the trick. No sign yet of the first snow of the season, but the temperature will be down to 0 Celsius a few days this week.