Tag Archives: food

May26

Imperial east: Skytree and Odaiba

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Imperial east: Skytree and Odaiba
Imperial east: Skytree and Odaiba

We invested in recovering for most of the day following our Disney extravaganza. Stephanie foraged for breakfast at the FamilyMart convenience store around the corner, returning with a bag bulging with salmon rice balls and melon pastries. I tapped through maps and metro schedules, charting our course for the time remaining in Tokyo.

I had deliberately decided to revisit my tour of the year before, at the same time of year to minimize surprises, with many of the same destinations at mind. It didn’t try my imagination much to consider places I would willingly wander again, and SkyTree topped the list. A fabulously elongated mall, it attracts most for its city view, but that afternoon we sought its mix of unique treats and quirky shops.

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May13

Meeting together: Kagoshima and Yoron

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Meeting together: Kagoshima and Yoron
Meeting together: Kagoshima and Yoron

“Did you make it back home?” a friend from the Christian retreat asked me.

“Well…”

My secondary school had asked me to teach the week immediately following the holidays — so instead of taking a 15 hour ferry home, I sailed for 20 hours to Yoron Island. Thankfully, my itinerary allowed for one night’s stopover in Kagoshima City, where the international Calvary Church welcomed me warmly as ever.

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Feb23

Emperor’s birthday: island holiday

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Emperor’s birthday: island holiday
Emperor’s birthday: island holiday

originally published January 15, 2023

Japan, it surprised me to learn, gifts its citizens with more national holidays than any other country. Perhaps these enforced rest days present a remedy to the workaholicism? Unlike USA holidays, they do not confine themselves to long weekends but pop up unashamedly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with nothing but paid leave to make up the difference.

Facing one such holiday in the middle of the week (in honor of the Emperor’s birthday), I decided to test the island bus system on a day trip to the opposite shore. Living minutes from Tokunoshima’s major port, I drink in first-class views of the surf on my daily commute, but trundling north soaked me in our magnificent mountains.

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Feb15

Ten cups: island cuisine

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Ten cups: island cuisine
Ten cups: island cuisine

originally published September 21, 2022

Returning to the mini-series covering January to March 2022…

After our Valentine’s Day photo session in Boma, we drove to a bed-and-restaurant overlooking the coast. Dining delights awaited.

A student amused me once by reporting that most people visited Japan for the food. Though I suspect the survey results may have misled by allowing respondents to select multiple answers, I would have to admit that my name would have added to their number. Friends persuaded me to risk another overseas move in part by singing the praises of Japanese food.

This restaurant did not disappoint. “That’s a lot of raw,” one of the other JETs remarked as I gleefully welcomed plates of local sashimi and wild boar carpaccio. Japan’s stringent hygiene standards have indulged my weakness for undercooked things (as my brother calls it): not only sushi, but raw eggs and red meat abound. In Amami I tasted horse sashimi, and at the local grocery store I picked up a prospect that had fascinated me ever since I first heard of it from a friend — chicken sashimi.

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Jul22

Singleness of Heart: Holidays in Western Cape

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Singleness of Heart: Holidays in Western Cape

Three weeks of holiday delivered a treasure trove of fellowship opportunities in June and July.

The weekend after schools closed, I joined a local Christian ministry for hosting a short-term mission, or “outreach” team. Our guests, fifteen young men from Pretoria, made even the typical Peace Corps accommodations look glamorous: They pitched tents on the hillside in front of the Youth Center, with nothing but the spigots on jojos (massive rain water barrels) for showers.

Introducing them to the wonderful world of my local community brought back memories of my early days here, when I was still puzzling out and goggling at the mind-blowing ministry and development work unfolding around every corner.

It felt strange to be a veteran in comparison.

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Feb17

Ever Rejoice in Thy Goodness: First Days of Teaching

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Ever Rejoice in Thy Goodness: First Days of Teaching

School has started, and I’m teaching English and Creative Arts to 140 students! It is an overwhelming task–the first two weeks, I don’t think I would have made it out the door without praying for God’s strength and support.

As I struggled to create a classroom environment of discipline and positive reinforcement, the Lord blessed me with an outpouring and kindness and hospitality from the surrounding community. Their generosity gave me the strength to push through the hard days until my efforts at teaching with a counterpart began to bear fruit.

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Oct2

Conduct Us in Safety: Farewell Party & Freedom Park

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Conduct Us in Safety: Farewell Party & Freedom Park

Peace Corps doesn’t stint in girding trainees for living life in the country with no corrals, no bumpers, no training wheels.

That included showering us with handbooks and booklets, packets and pamphlets: from safety and security, medical, community development, policies and procedures… Every time another stack circulated, grumbling would arise: ‘How are we going to carry all this to site?’ ‘I’m gonna have to hire a truck for my extra baggage.’

If you recall from my triumphant departure post, I had squished the sum of my possessions into two backpacks. I pride myself more than is merited on traveling with as few bags as possible–but this time, it wasn’t to be.

I cracked and bought a duffel bag. It was some consolation that a third piece of luggage would doubtless come in handy if I were to realize my visions of holiday hiking trips. Even better, the suitcase sufficed for piling in everything Pre-Serving Training had loaded us.

Everything? No, the stacks of books weighed little in comparison with the intangible gifts that came full circle in my final week at Bundu.

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Aug25

The Joy and Care of Children: Celebrating Life

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The Joy and Care of Children: Celebrating Life

“This place is burgeoning with life,” a friend marveled last week. “Chicks, kids, children… there are babies everywhere!”

My language classmates and I are particularly gleeful about the goat twins growing up in our schoolyard. My friend Lexi has christened them Maple and Moose.

 

A couple of weekends ago, we celebrated another year of life for one of our trainees with a backyard bonfire! Safety concerns after dark mandated that we burn our sticks during daylight hours, but we made the best of it by introducing the neighborhood kids to an all-important facet of American culture: s’mores.

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Aug2

The Gates of Larger Life: Weekend Away With the Family

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The Gates of Larger Life: Weekend Away With the Family

On my way home from Kwamhlanga, I pondered how to describe my weekend away.  My host mother had invited me there for a sojourn to her mother’s house.  The town wasn’t far, but we would be staying overnight.

What was the occasion, exactly?  “Church.” 

I suspected there was more involved, since she had broached the subject weeks in advance and invested the days preceding in amassing buckets of handmade amakheki (sweet biscuits or ‘fat cakes’).

“What will we be doing?” I ventured, in my elementary Zulu. 

“Praying.”

Despite the apparent logic of these replies, I couldn’t quell the sense that something more awaited me.

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Aug22

Riquisimo

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Riquisimo

What’s it like to eat in Peru? Smile at the menu. Divide the prices by three. Round down. The exchange rate is over 3.20 dollars per sol.

Fresh squeezed fruit juice? $2.50 for a double-sized glass. Chicken avocado sandwich with coffee? Three dollars.

On top of that, the food here is all “organic”–without the label and without the markup. When you shop for fruit, you let the seller know if you’re planning to eat tomorrow instead of the same day. That way they can bring you produce a shade less ripe.

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Aug31

Act II: The Christening of Quatty

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Act II: The Christening of Quatty

DSC_0027What happens when you have long hair, and you sleep in a dorm full of girls? You braid it, of course! — or, rather, the girls do. Then your friend opens her treasure trove of hair ribbons, and she gives the girls a gift they will wear every day for the rest of week, whether it matches their outfits or not. In fact, some of the girls only bring one set of clothes. You notice that, and wonder why.

At least, that’s what Rachel and I did at Camp UNPES.  During the first and only meeting between staff and volunteers, the head man, Roberto, encouraged us to love the children without restraint.  “This isn’t America — you can hug them and pick them up!”  He could have warned us how much love we would receive in return. Read the rest of this entry →

Aug9

Hello Goodbye

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Hello Goodbye

DSC_0263Our first Sunday afternoon in Ecuador reflected the pace of life there — for the missionary family at least.

After our early morning dining and outings, we relaxed with the kids, welcomed the new guests, packed up for camp, and detoured to the beach on the way.  At times like these, Kevin and Beka often can’t confirm our plans until days or even hours beforehand.  Living life with them requires a flexibility and calmness comparable to a weather vane’s: ever pivoting, ever erect.

This particular day, the breezes blew fast but fair. Read the rest of this entry →

Aug2

The Mouths of Babes

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The Mouths of Babes

DSC_0167“Here, you have to pull the head off.”

“I’ll do it!”  Joe pinched my food expertly and twisted the offending body part loose.  The remains, cloudy and moist, jiggled in my palm.

I steeled myself.  “Camera ready, Ezra?”  He nodded, hoisting my equipment into position.  The lens blinked at me.  I produced a smile.  The shutter fired, and I bit down.

Beka had entrusted Rachel, Evie, and me to her sons’ care for the morning.  Read the rest of this entry →

Aug1

Full House

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Full House

Girls at HouseThe boys share a room.  The girls share a room.  The baby sleeps in the shower.  All in all, seven people live in a wooden house built by Kevin himself.  Dusky red-leaved plants line the yard; a frilly tree from Florida sprouts medicinal properties in the back.  A wall painted sky blue encloses this patch of jungle.  About a year ago, the family admitted the need for more space.  Now a two-apartment guest house reclines, across the yard.  Our first night there, its tin roof sheltered us from the downpour outside. The rain pounded as if from a shower nozzle, forcing Rachel and me to shout to each other over the noise. Read the rest of this entry →