A few delicious things I have eaten, and other stories.

My host mother this time around seems just as intent on feeding me constant deliciousness as the last. I am by no means complaining. I have had whole fish, fried, of which only the spine and parts of the ribs were inedible, and okonomiyaki:

(I.E. this pile of deliciousness. Note: not my picture, source is google images)

I've been fed Curried Tonkatsu (Japanese curry isn't really spic at all, it more resembles Tommy's Chili, though I don't know if East Coasters will get that reference), every kind of Miso Soup ever, salmon filets, tako-yaki (doughy fried balls with octopus meat), horse sushi (raw, and actually very tasty), udon with a whole fish in it, tuna tarre tarre (Japanese style, of course), and a whole lot more. I love this country.
In other news, if you ever get the chance to go to Osaka, check out a club named Joule. they have a discount for foreigners and will give you two free drink tickets. and they play awesome remixes (such at Bon Jovi, whoever the hell did You Spin Me Right Round, Michael Jackson, lots of rap, rock pop, etc.), house, tehno, and more. Oh, it's also populated by massive crowds of attractive Japanese people who dance until they can catch the first train at 5:30 in the morning.
P.S. Osaka is just generally an awesome city. Food, Shopping, Partying and sight seeing is all definitely possible. And you can stay in a capsule hotel.

I like to think this guy is saying "WOOOO PARTY WOOO"
Though really it would be more like ヤアアアアパティーヤアヤアアア

Pictures of Pictures

Well, this week I'm actually starting classes (which, by the way, are all in French. We'll see how that works out), which means that for the past few weeks, everyone in the program has been running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to do all those wonderful touristy things that we probably won't be able to do once we have to do homework (also in French. Grr). What all THAT means, is that I've been to a whole bunch of museums (most of which are free to us, as VWPP [Vassar-Wesleyan Program in Paris] decided to make us all art history students, because we get in free to said museums. Pretty sweet). My favorite so far was probably the Louvre, though we were only in there for a total of 15 minutes before they kicked us out. Because it is my first time in Paris, and therefore at the Louvre, my friends rushed me up to see the Mona Lisa, as it is a necessity for first-timers.


Something to know about this most famous work of art - it's small. Made smaller by the fact that there is a counter around it, making you stand about ten feet away. Rather a pain. In any case, I looked at it, I took a few pictures, I noticed some interesting details about the left and right sides, and then I turned my attention to the painting on the other wall.

It was really pretty, and the railing was only a foot away from it, so I could get much closer, and look at the detailing better. It was also huge. (Apparently size does matter to me?) It grabbed my attention a lot better than the Mona Lisa, even though there were a few guards surrounding it.

We also went to the Musee d'Orsay, which I really enjoyed. They had a Van Gogh exhibit, which was fantastic. You know how everyone says that you can see the brushstrokes in his paintings? It's completely true. It was a bit unreal to me.

(original)
(close-up)

And there was NO fencing around these. This one didn't even have glass - I could have touched it if I wanted to (and if they wouldn't have gotten really angry at me). Of course, I didn't, but STILL! I could have!

The Epitome of France

Today, I'm going to teach you about chocolate.

(And before I begin - yes, this is entirely meant to make you jealous. In case you had any doubts about that.)

We had a degustation de chocolat a few days ago, which is essentially a chocolate tasting, and we also had a bit of history and a talk of the process of making chocolate thrown in. For those of you in my dear hometown of SK and know about the Sweenor's Open House in December, this was essentially that, but more elaborate and expansive, and had more eating involved.

The first thing that happened was that I was late (I'm in France. It happens). We were greeted by the intoxicating smell of chocolate, as well as the warmth that comes from not being outside. Someone who worked there was handing out little cups of homemade hot chocolate. Even better than that, though (yeah, I know, it KEEPS GETTING BETTER) was that there were two platters of little chocolates sitting on the counter for us to munch on before the tour actually started. We had hors d'oeuvres of chocolates before a chocolate tasting. Absolutely phenomenal.

Then the actual tour started. Our guide talked about the cacao bean, and where it came from, and passed around a tray of shaved 100% chocolate to taste. I knew what was coming, but apparently I was one of the few, given the faces. It was really amusing, actually. He then showed us the machines for getting the small shaped bits of yumminess, and how to cover them in chocolate (like at Sweenor's), and how to decorate the tops with nuts or music notes or whatever you fancy. He also showed us how they make the hollow chocolates that they can then fill with liquids, like caramel or some such thing. Then he took us into the storage room, where the chocolates all wait patiently to be nommed, and left us alone with another few platters of chocolates, after telling us what types they were.

All in all, very delicious.

Also on the list of wonderful things that are not necessarily healthy is a crepe with nutella and banana slices (sorry Mom). Ridiculously good. Also also on the list is passion fruit sorbet. Oh mon Dieu.

*see moral of previous post*

ひさしぶりだね！

Hi everybody, it's been a while! For those of you who don't know, I'm spending spring of 2010 in Kyoto in the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies. The city is beautiful and historic, but still crazy and Japanese if you know where to look. I'm studying at a genuine Japanese University... just not with any Japanese students. All my courses, aside from language, are in English. I'm in a Post-War Fiction and Film class, and a survey course on contemporary and historical Japanese religion. It's been an interesting couple of weeks so far, from orientation, and getting to know my classmates through sushi

(I did not in fact eat the Japanese plum and labiate roll)

and drunken Karaoke,

Hold me Jack!

to actually having to remember to be a college student and do my homework.

I live in a rural area five minutes from a shrine dedicated to sake in one direction and a monkey park in the other. My host dad trims his lawn with a flame thrower and I migh start spinning fire with a group called 遊火 pronounced Asobi, the kanji of which literally translate to "play" and "fire." The semester is looking bright. This past sunday, I witnessed the largest Kyudo archery contest in Kyoto, in which massive numbers of archers of all ages and genders try their hand at shooting targets lined up at one end of a temple, fom the other end of the temple.

No seriously, lots of archers.

The temple in question must be about a hundred feet long or more, so it's not an easy task. Tomorrow i'll be going on a field trip to a number of temples and shrines, as the classes I am taking are strongly tied in to Kyoto's history.
Whew! So that's the rundown so far, I'll keep you guys updated as cool stuff comes my way!

A short tale of noms and happiness

Tonight, dinner was a crepe with nutella, and red wine.

Moral of this tale: I love being in Paris.

Finally

Hey everyone!
The ADP blog for Spring 2010 has officially been set up! (Cheers from the adoring masses) Joey Heller, Lindsey Grimes, Lindsey Davis, David Mingolla, Meghan Twible, and I (yeah, we got a big group of wanderers this semester!) are all abroad in our respective countries, doing awesome non-USA things and speaking awesome non-English languages. Oh wait, that last part isn't the greatest.

In any case, you can be sure that this blog will be updated whenever we feel like it, and mostly in English, though I know I will be giving little French lessons along the way. Nothing bad, like teaching the subjunctive, just things like "never ever say this to a little old French lady when she is wearing an orange hat".

Hope you enjoy it!