Work starts tomorrow already??

I have a fun post coming up of a shady looking side street, hole in the wall, downstairs, hippy/Hawaiian curry buffet that I ventured into the other day. But for now, I desperately need to find a place to live. I can't go into much detail but I need to move. No matter what I do, I am causing my grandma more stress (mostly because she is 91 and doesn't really understand) than joy because I am "home" ( in Japan) but not able to be home with her.I've been looking, visiting, talking to agencies, and the hunt will continue tomorrow after work.

I wish I could say its such a fun adventure, but every day is exhausting. Besides the normal stress of moving to another country outside of a program/study abroad and figuring things out like job, phone, Internet, bank accounts, credit card, transportation, apartment hunting, and generally acceptable customs and behavior, I need lots of prayer for strength and patience at home. I honestly have barely thought about my job starting tomorrow because it is so small on the list of stressful circumstances. On the bright side, I found dress pants that fit (I've been on the hunt for a year with no success!), comfortable black high heel work shoes (the standard in Japan), several work appropriate shirts, and a 100 yen pig coffee mug for work.

It's not all bad and depressing! I feel at rest at church and people have been very kind. I also have experienced the Holy Spirit as Comforter more than before because I'm very uncomfortable. It may sound supernatural and weird to those who don't believe the same thing, but I am constantly praying and can sense being led by the Spirit. It is a good place to be at the end of myself, and seeking God as my refuge.

"Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:23-26

Today's sermon was on Micah 6:8 "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" That includes caring for widows and orphans, loving those who are hard to love and expecting nothing in return, and the humility regarding others more important, which Christ showed by coming in the form of a man, away from comfort and glory. It was the perfect timing to hear that. In comparison with what God has done for me and given to me, what he requires is nothing.

Disclaimer: Tsukiji, NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH

My last adventure with Noah before he left (day of departure). Goal: leave home at 6:30 and go to Tsukiji! [Tsukiji is the larget fish market in the world, located in Tokyo] My family goes pretty much every year to get the freshest fish. We left a little before 7am...early enough.

We browsed, almost got run over, bought seafood, and ate amazing sushi for breakfast.

　Ok, that part was harmless. Here we go...

You may have noticed a trend, I like to try things I've never tried... By now that only leaves some pretty unusual things that take some preparation. I talked to each vendor we purchased from to ask how to best prepare the fish/seafood. I learned this technique from my dear mama :)

 Baigai: Cook them in dashi stock. Pull and twist out of shell, dip in soy sauce. REALLY GOOD.

 Squid: Pull head with tentacles apart from the body, clean inside of body, remove cartilage, cut between eyes and tentacles, discard eyes/top of head. This part wasn't on any squid cleaning tutorial sites, but I never knew why squid for sashimi was white- the skin peels off! Another new discovery- the tentacles have little sharp circles that feel like mini teeth (see close-up photo)

  Namako (sea cucumber): Cut it open, remove insides, wash, slice as desired, add equal amounts of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. This was the grossest thing I have ever prepared. I'm pretty sure it was alive when I first cut it because it came in a bag of water, but the only things that move are the two little end mouth hole type things that look most like buttholes. Please excuse my vulgar comparison... yes I still ate it. I think I may have done it wrong though because it was hard to chew, maybe I made it tense and freeze up?

 Kazunoko on kombu (herring roe on thick seaweed): Soak in water for about 2 hours (to reduce salt), cut and dip in soy sauce.

 Aji (mackerel): I butchered this one (haha get it? Yeah that was lame), I have NO IDEA how to make sashimi out of a whole fish! Noah's plane was going to depart soon so I didn't have time to research so I can't give a summarized tutorial...I'll try again some day. Basically have a sharp knife (fail), cut it somehow so the bones aren't dispersed everywhere (fail), remove skin evenly to leave a nice even shiny blue/silver lining (fail)...so it ended up being small pieces but it was still delicious.

I completely forgot to photograph the maguro (tuna)! It was incredibly fresh and cheap for the quality (as everything else is there since they come straight from the fishermen, but I have no price comparisons for sea snails and sea cucumbers at grocery stores).

I'm trying to finish up bank/phone/apartment errands and reading Japanese books on Japanese business etiquette and the business of the retail world. The degrees of bowing, greetings, where to stand in relation to your superiors, how to move, which type of formal language to use in which situation, all sound excessively nit-picky from the individualistic culture I am more accustomed to, but I am determined to learn it and become Japanese at least while I am here.

I included a quote in my recent research paper about Catholic/Buddhist art in Japan by a Jesuit missionary that echoes Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians:

First the quote: an Italian missionary to Japan from the 1500s, Padre Gnecchi-Soldo Organtino "I am more a Japanese than an Italian, for the Lord by his grace has transformed me into one of that nation."

Paul: "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

I don't want my lack of proper Japanese etiquette, even if excused by my appearance as a foreigner, to be considered rude and get in the way of my witness first as a follower of Christ Jesus. I say "my appearance as a foreigner" because most people wouldn't even guess that I'm asian here...quite different from the assumption that I look so asian I must be Chinese in many circles.

Only a few more days until work begins. Besides apartment hunting and studying, I need to find work pants!

And my God will supply...Amen

The Lord provides! He gave me the visual/retail consultant assistant job today. I start next Monday. It's a consultation company for international retailers who start shops in Japan. It would be interesting to show my Japanese resume because it looks so different with the photo and my red name seal, but since this is public I'll stick to just the photo and my new pink folder that I was going to use to put lots of resumes in for job hunting. This is the standard professional photo format in Japan, no big smiles, always a white background, plain professional clothing...

I sat at a table with 3 people interviewing me, mostly in Japanese and sometimes English because they wanted to hear me switch back and forth. I had a lot in common with the president of the company, and he was intrigued by my unusual interest in similarities in Buddhist and Christian art, and reading Shusaku Endo novels in Japanese. He told me he met Shusaku Endo once at church...what? Less than 1% of Japan is Christian, people aren't culturally churchgoers here. I asked if he goes to church, he said he does, and said I do too. Since there were two other people I didn't get into it further. At first they asked me to come back next week for a second interview, but as I was doing a timed "pop quiz" of translating paragraphs from English->Japanese and Japanese->English in another room, they invited me back to the president's office and offered me the job.

Useful skills: computer (Adobe CS, Microsoft Office), bilingual Japanese/English, visual merchandising experience, training/teaching, translation/editing, comfortably getting around Tokyo... I never thought all those random things would come together in one job. Please read the verse at the end of my last post :)

The pay is minimal, but I had been praying for just enough to cover expenses and break even so that I would continue to rely on God instead of numbers I see in my account. That prayer was answered too.  I calculated an estimated total of bare minimum costs of rent, phone, health insurance, groceries, transportation, taxes, giving, and I will have a few hundred left per month for meeting people for meals, more transportation, (both necessary since people don't really hang out in homes) and anything else that may come up. Let the budgeting begin!

• Philippians 4:19-20 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
• Matthew 6:25, 32-34 (comforting words of Jesus) do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on...your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

But before that: some exciting gifts Noah brought home today

 COD ROE! delicious.

 various Japanese sweets

 Ume (Japanese sour plum) and red shiso leaf inside! Such an exciting flavor mix

And this is just ridiculous (not as bad as Collon biscuits...google it), one of the major chocolate brand names:

By the way, I have 9 subscribers but 1500 views...so feel free to subscribe by email (on the right  side, bottom) so it'll notify you when I post something. It doesn't make a difference to me but it seems convenient for any regular readers.

Interview time

What I do: taking care of my grandma, cooking, cleaning (seriously, imagine being 91 and not really being able to see well or even bend over to clean? It can get pretty bad), job/apartment researching, spending time with Noah and my grandma. Cooked food: Random donburi (rice bowl dish), Strawberry jam bread, Oden (traditional Japanese winter dish)

I had a great time at church and lunch afterwards today. Some ladies invited me last week so we went to a local small restaurant that they have been going to for several months now that has a changing weekly lunch special menu. The ladies were older so it would have been weird to pull out my phone to photograph my food. No pictures, sorry!

The job hunt continues. This is my 10th day here, but I have a tendency to see something and want to fix it immediately (in this case, the problem: living costs and no income). I'm impatient.

I had a brief phone interview mainly to set up an interview tomorrow for a display/visual coordinating consultation business. I've been working on my Japanese resume...it's completely different! I  have to look up so much, just like I did with my English resume ("resume action verbs," format, etc). This is:

A: How I look at home, fortunately the turtle neck is hidden in my hood, but more importantly...

B: how I feel about staring at my screen for so long and being nervous about my first Japanese interview

This has been good motivationto finish my Japanese resume that I started working on last week and an opportunity at least to practice an interview.

Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (the only way we can "walk uprightly" is through Christ's righteousness, not by doing "good things"!)

Psalm 37:3-5 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. (the focus is usually on the middle, "he will give you" but don't forget the big conditional statement that changes those desires right before that)

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

God is my loving Father, and he promises that he will not keep good things from us. Whatever comes of this, whether a job or just practice for future interviews, he has planned my path so the outcome of this will be a good thing no matter what.

This week I'll meet with the youth/young adult pastor from church because we have the exact same mission. I'm looking forward to talking to him to see what I can do with or through the church here.

Ending with my favorite passage:

Ephesians 4:14-20 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Run, Ema, Run

 Let's call this guy motivation. I went running, over an hour... it was about time. I think my usual workout (Insanity, like P90X) would stress out my grandma.

 On that note, a green tea eclair!

Oh how I take reliable internet for granted. I've lost so many emails and posts, you'd think I would figure it out by now! Today I filled out many job applications, worked on my Japanese resume, and finished up sending some transcripts to grad schools. I left my little laptop corner once for dinner, and another time, dressed in my turtleneck (attempted to be hidden under a scarf) to buy milk and some baking stuff. I'm going to bake tomorrow because my grandma was sad that her new oven has never been used.

  Noah and I had a great time in Nagoya visiting sites, shopping, eating, talking, and exploring. I take notes at shrines now because of the topic of research I've been stuck on: how the similarities of Buddhist and Catholic tradition caused misunderstandings several hundred years ago.

  

We've been trying to take my grandma places as often as possible. We went to Odaiba a few days ago and kaiten sushi (rotating sushi plates?) yesterday. Noah and I ate 34 plates combined after full meals and many meal-like snacks that day. That poor restaurant didn't know what they had coming that evening.

I finished Crazy Love, and there were so many good quotes (in italics):

• Frederick Buechner writes, "Intellectually we all know that we will die, but we do not really know it in the sense that the knowledge becomes part of us. We do not really know it in the sense of living as though it were true. On the contrary, we tend to live as though our lives would go on forever."
• Romans 11:35-36 says, "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen."
• Most of us use "I'm waiting for God to reveal His calling on my life" as a means of avoiding actions. Did you hear God calling you to sit in front of the television yesterday? Or to go on your last vacation? Or exercise this morning? Probably not, but you still did it. The point isn't that vacations or exercise is wrong, but that we are quick to rationalize our entertainment and priorities yet are slow to commit to serving God.
• When I am consumed by my problems -- stressed out about my life, my family, and my job -- I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities. 

I didn't plan out every detail of Japan was so that I would trust God as my provider.  That way I won't get the credit because there is nothing I can do that He didn't give me the capability to do.

• God says, "I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols" (Isaiah 42:8)

Church, health insurance, and a fish egg rice ball

We're on a Shinkansen (bullet train) to visit Noah's friend and go to an onsen (hot springs)!

I went to two churches with Noah on Sunday. Everyone thinks we're married. One church was a small Korean church plant with a very warm community and the other one was an international church, half the congregation was Japanese and half was international. I think I will continue to go there, and maybe to another Japanese church too. It was exciting to see people from so many different backgrounds come together to worship God. I met up with some Japanese school friends and we had okonomiyaki and monjayaki.

My grandma is 91 so we've been trying to spend as much time as we can talking with her and taking care of her. It has showed me how impatient I am, and how much I take for granted like health, community, and memory.

some food I made for her...nothing exciting. Praise God for getting my residency and health insurance (so I can work)! I did some bank and phone stuff, seems like the errands never really end, but I guess that's life as a grownup haha. I signed up for a site as an English teacher, and this week I'll apply to a few more. A kind lady from church on Sunday said she had some connections so we'll see. I trust that God will provide whatever is necessary for me.

My Japanese, both casual and formal, is getting much more fluid in less than a week here! My English on the other hand...I don't use it much except when I'm trying to be sneaky talking to my brother. Every time I came back from Japan in the past, especially after long trips, it took a few days to adjust back to English so maybe after 6 months it'll take longer.

I wouldn't put this in the unusual, never been eaten category like the Hong Kong stuff but I know many would so here is my ikura (fish egg) rice ball:

No snakes or pig snouts, just fermented soy beans and settling in to Tokyo

Day 1: cleaning and making space at my grandma's apartment, grocery shopping. Without a phone or Internet, and my grandmother who is getting increasingly negative with age, it really hit me that my joy and satisfaction has to be in the Lord alone. I read Crazy Love by Francis Chan on the plane and haven't stopped thinking about if I love Jesus or if I love his blessings.First evening:

Day 2: filled out paperwork at the civic center but it's Labor Day so I'll go back Monday when the main office is open. I went to a department store to send a gift to my grandma's friend, compared phone services and bought a phone. I'll have unlimited Internet and tethering for my laptop. Since smartphones are standard for everyone here, it's (maybe the only thing besides nattou) cheaper than the states per month. The people I spoke with were very kind, and I got a free phone, discounted monthly bill, waived setup fee, and a free charger (everyone buys it separately, weird...). Praise God for his kindness through these people.

I love this!! (Nattou, or fermented soy beans)

Day 3: I went to find out about museum jobs and an old man gave me a ticket to a special exhibit ending tomorrow so I went there too. I did some grocery shopping (the fridge is a dorm fridge size) at a crazy outdoor market that made me feel like i was back in Hong Kong, and made dinner for my brother Noah, grandma, and me. Noah brought my other suitcase and is going to go explore some churches with me tomorrow. I'm grateful for such sweet siblings.

I feel like an official resident with my phone and suica card (like oyster, clipper octopus, prepaid public transit cards)

Conviction by yogurt

There's a general consensus that airplane food isn't the best. My pale white sausage and floppy omelet looked pretty unappetizing paired with the smacking sounds by the man eating fruit next to me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him go for his yogurt cup. "Man, if cubes of fruit made those sounds I'm not looking forward to this yogurt" ....."slurp..." And it went on, but partway through his yogurt I thought, what's wrong with me? Those sounds are normal in many places, just not where i grew up. I was disgusted at myself for being so picky about how something should be done to please me because of what is normal to me. That was a small, safe way for the Lord to show me how I think and I'm grateful that it was this way instead of through offending someone in the future without realizing why. I pray that God will keep pushing me to see people outside of my cultural glasses, beyond what people do or how they act. I don't want to be so particular in how things should be done. Mannerisms, courtesy, social norms of pushing, hacking, snorting, slurping, being loud, smelling bad...those kinds of cultural differences shouldn't matter. I hope the next 6 months, although short in comparison to 23 years of accumulating preferences, will help open my eyes to see and love people first as God's creation. I see the broad variety of people and culture as a glimpse of the breadth of God's understanding. From Forgotten God by Francis Chan: Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Helper” or “Comforter.” Let me ask you a simple question: Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable? It is those who put their lives at risk and suffer for the gospel (Phil. 1: 29) who will most often experience His being “with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28: 20 NASB). Though this verse is true for all believers (of course God is always with us), if we are never alone or feeling like we need Him, how much do we care or need to know that God is with us?

I don't like to be uncomfortable, that's why I didn't like the sounds while eating, yet I need to be so that I don't become comfortable with my preferences and numb to particularities that will get in the way of relationships with people, and consequently reflect on what kind of God such a culturally narrow-minded person believes in.

Relishing the last day of Hong Kong

All my photos are on facebook now so this post is a little shorter, but facebook can't really replace the long explanations and random commentaries of blogging. The past several days since I arrived Friday night have flown by. I'm a little anxious about the time to come when I will have to completely change my mindset from relaxing, enjoying, learning, more to survival mode of finding a place to live, work, figuring out life in Japan...but I trust in God's promises that he is always by my side and always works things out for good even if we don't understand it.

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:23-26

 A while back I commented on a photo Sander posted of this macaroni and bacon schutel that his mom made saying it looked amazing, and she made it for us for breakfast!

Over lunch I learned the secret to making bright, shiny Chinese vegetables from Sander's mom. His dad is a vegetarian so she's a pro at it. I can't wait to try it out!!

 

 

Peking duck, Crab meat and crab egg on sticky rice, and much more for an early birthday lunch with Sander's family. We all ended up wearing black blazers. Sander's sister said she craved this particular Peking Duck even when she lived in Beijing (where it originates), she couldn't find it as good there.

We were talking about our favorite things to eat, but when his family asked me what "my favorite thing in Hong Kong" was, not knowing we were still talking about food, I said his family (then later answered the right question). I've always loved limited edition anything, usually food, but in this case the company is definitely in the limited edition category. I could probably come back to Hong Kong to visit, see the sites, and eat (maybe not as well as this time because I wouldn't know which local places were good and which might make me sick), but spending time with people can never be repeated and it has been very special. Their family's hospitality, along with the hospitality of other families I have met like when I did a homestay in Italy in high school, have always reminded me of what I should be like.

Shandong Chestnut Tart, chestnut desserts are popular here and so good!

I love the unique macaron flavors. Poppy, Banana Balsamic, Lychee, Oolong Tea.

 I'm going to miss Gong Cha tea: today we got Roselle Tea with Seaweed Jelly and Passion Fruit Green Tea with Ai Yu Jelly

 

 

We had an Indonesian feast for dinner. Sander grew up in Indonesia, and his uncle owns a restaurant in Hong Kong.

My new favorite fruit, too bad you can't get it anywhere I know of and it's a bit expensive!! It's called "pitahya" and has the texture of jelly. The flavor mix is between honeydew melon and kiwi.

 

A surprise chestnut birthday cake at midnight from Sander's family. They are so sweet!

Some funny moments:

1. Maybe we take nice photos and make food look good but this is what we look like to everyone else haha, photo by Sander's sister:

2. I've been learning Cantonese from Sander so I wrote it all down, hopefully I won't forget!

3. I tried on another hat. It made me look like the mushroom from Super Mario. Sander's comment,  "I'll chop it off and sauté it." Thank you...

4. "So you won't have instagram in Japan?" "No, I won't have internet on my phone because you have to sign a two year contract to get it there." "Oh but you can do it at home right?" "Yeah, I guess it would be like latergram instead of instagram..." "Hahaa, latergram" -----5 minutes later----- "OOOH instant-gram, and then do it later, like later-gram" (hiding his face in shame...so late)

NOTE:

I won't have regular internet for a while, I'm not sure until when. I'll be able to check my email though and probably do shorter posts. Next time I write I'll be in Japan!

More flavors of Hong Kong

Once I get the list of things we have done and eaten, I'll upload an album on facebook with everything. This is just a preview (Day 1 and Day 2 from the last post barely cover anything!) but here are the past two days. Day 3: Big Buddha, The Peak, first time foods: snake, thousand year old egg, mangosteen, rambutan, and more

Starting the day off right with the best Hong Kong Egg Tart, then a local bakery chestnut bun.

 

We went on a cable car to see Big Buddha. They made a new "crystal" one with a glass bottom so you can see below for the whole ride. Then up the stairs...

 

 

The view from the cable car at sunset: 

The line for the tram to go up to The Peak was crazy. People are so aggressive, and it doesn't really help to be small! Whether from TST (last post) or from above, Hong Kong really does have the best skyline in the world. I haven't travelled that much, but lots of people who have think it's the best and I can't imagine any better.

Wonton noodles, then congee with thousand year old egg and fish. The egg yolk has the aftertaste of brie cheese, which I love (as a member of the cheese club in college), but it was unexpected!

 

Snake soup. It looked kind of like eel, but more lean. The soup had shiitake and orange peel in it, surprisingly refreshing.

Mango, coconut, aloe vera drink to wash it all down.

Day 4: Temple, Nunnery, Mong Kok, first time foods: red wax apple, creamy shark fin soup with fish belly, squab, more various animal parts, turtle shell jelly, and more

Red bean bun! I'm obsessed with fluffy bread here. The local, non-chain bakeries are better than the chain ones so far. Those have more interesting, limited edition type flavors, but the local ones that probably wouldn't pass any health safety tests in the states taste better. Same with the food! The fancy places are delicious, but some of the best food is from all the tiny alleyway places that look like kitchens with buckets of dirty dishes, raw ingredients, bugs, and who knows what else in plain view. I'm grateful that I somehow have a strong stomach and I don't get food poisoning, even when I've shared food with friends who got food poisoning from the food we had eaten.

The temple and nunnery: I love how you can see the high rise buildings right behind the traditional buildings. I heard Beijing is the same but even more all over. I want to see it!

The Buddhas and bodhisattvas were much more interesting than ever before because I finally know what I'm looking at and understand a lot of the symbolism because of the Buddhist imagery in Japanese Christianity paper I was working on for months. It makes sense how because of the limitations in language, the similarities in symbolism, figures, and worship made (Catholic) Christianity and Buddhism look so similar to the Japanese when it was introduced hundreds of years ago. [I finished the paper so ask me more if you're interested.]

This is how you pose when there's someone right behind you that you need to block to get a photo, pretty good right? You can barely see her behind me through my left side and left arm.

 

 

Clams, Hong Kong style sweet and sour beef (not even close to Panda Express sweet and sour haha), and garlic green vegetables followed. Then the turtle shell jelly, supposed to be good for your skin? Before you say "ew that's gross," think about where gelatin comes from!

 

This coconut was probably one of my favorite things, besides the octopus tentacle skewer and chow fun. It was so sweet and refreshing! Then my least favorite, animal insides (tripe, intestine, gizzard, liver, I don't remember what else)... It's so rare for me to not like something that I think I just haven't had it prepared in a way that I would like it more, but the more I keep trying it the more I think maybe it's possible that I really just don't like it.

 

at Mong Kok 

Same with the rice, I LOVE sticky rice but the bigger pink sausage/ham bits inside weren't my favorite.

I didn't try this one, just took a photo. I have had pig's ear before with my brother in the states (not at an asian place!) but the snout didn't look too appetizing.

For dinner: We got squab (baby pigeon), scallop with noodles, shark fin soup, and vegetables with garlic. Sander, who has had whole squab many times before: "So you know how to eat this right?" Me: "No, the head's still on it! I have a hard time pulling off the head when it comes on shrimp!" Those protruding shrimp eyeballs creep me out. Lucky me, the poor bird had no visible eyeballs left, but Sander still kindly ripped off the head for me.

I see plastic gloves, a whole bird, a wet wipe, a bowl of hot lemon water, a box of tissue...I can guess how this is supposed to go. There's no chance of eating lady-like recently, from pulling off octopus tentacles on a skewer with your teeth to nibbling off meat from a detached squab wing.

  shark fin soup with fish belly

Some inbetween: waiting for the MTR (subway), shopping at one of the 30+ malls, learning how to wear one of these knit hats from fashionista Sander.

 

 Mango with Jasmine Tea Jelly. SO GOOD.

I'm wearing Sander out trying to learn Cantonese and messing up attempting to use it all day long. The similarities with Japanese kanji help, but the 12 tones still drive me crazy. As I've been looking at  people around me, I keep asking about the culture, values, and etiquette of people here. It's different than what I know and interesting to find out more about materialism, that's the same as the states and Japan but looks different here, family life, manners, etc.

I can't believe tomorrow is already my last full day! The taste of garlic and who knows what else lingers as I get ready for bed, but I'm excited for a new day and new flavors tomorrow.

Barely a taste of Hong Kong

Just like the title says, this is barely a taste of Hong Kong from what I've eaten and seen in the past two days. I won't count how many things I've eaten because the number would sound ridiculous...but there will be evidence at the end of the week on a facebook album when I post everything. Here are some highlights, just a fraction of things going on: First night, right off the 15 hour plane ride:

 7/11 individually packaged nigiri sushi

Day 1: (first full day)

 Portuguese Egg Tart

 Jackfruit, delicious. the smell is a little strong though.

 Chow fun with dried scallop

 unbelievable Hong Kong skyline, then the "Symphony of Lights" show

Day 2, second food stop on the way to church:

 Lotus bean pastry baked sweet potatoes and egg, cart on the side of the road

BEST CHOW FUN. no, these sticky fly traps covered in flies right by me did not ruin my appetite.

 Street food number...? How about we don't count how many: Ox tongue, pork knuckle, octopus with mustard and sweet sauce.

 Octopus with sweet sauce, my favorite so far.

I can honestly say, I have never disliked something so much until now: The pig intestine filled with fat couldn't be masked by mustard and sauce... stinky tofu in comparison was 10x better. I have no idea what that smell was. It's one of Sander's favorite things but I couldn't eat more than one.

Needless to say, I've been experiencing and seeing lots of Hong Kong so far and starting to get an input overload already! I'm learning Cantonese words from Sander and recognizing a lot of Chinese characters to understand menu, ingredients, locations, etc for things that aren't in English. Who knew Japanese school would come in handy in Hong Kong?

There will be more thorough updating at the end of the week!

It brought so much joy to me to see a woman sing a worship song in Mandarin at church this morning. There were subtitles on the screen so I knew we were thinking and worshipping the same thing. Praise God for His hope and love that transcends any cultural differences and language. It was an exciting reminder of how the church should look, and what heaven will be like with people from every nation.

The crowds are everywhere in this city but  compared to crowds in Tokyo, not much different. It's been a while though so I'm remembering what it feels like to get pushed and have to push other people to walk. Sander has been a great tour guide. Saturday we went to 14 different places, today I didn't count, but TONS! There are so many malls in Hong Kong. The market bargaining was funny, from $360 (HK dollars) down to $100 (still too much so we said no) for a bracelet. Tomorrow is a more traditional Hong Kong day, less modern sites. Maybe less crowds?? We'll see!

To Hong Kong

Before: Finished my grad school apps and packed in 2 days.

Here is my stuff for the next 6 month, pretty good right? My sweet brother is bringing the bigger suitcase with him next week when he meets me in Japan.

It was very sad to say goodbye to these people who came to see me off (plus my mom, not pictured here) who are so dear to me, that I won't see for a while. Goodbyes are painful but I will focus on the time ahead.

During: -Current read: Forgotten God by Francis Chan. So far it has been excellent and perfectly applicable especially to the next 6 months -14.5 hour direct flight...wow. But after going on a total of 7 hours of sleep combined in the past three days

After: Sander and his friend Anthony came to pick me up, we dropped off my stuff and I got to experience Friday night out in Hong Kong. Loving it so far! On the train from the airport:

Doctor's verdict: stomach flu

I got some anti-nausea pills. I'm done with my saltine crackers and okayu (rice porridge) diet, moving on to yogurt, jello, afghani flatbread, double fiber english muffins and nutella... I know this is a shameful diet for a self-proclaimed foodie.

Some symptoms persist but I can finally type, write, read without feeling too sick so I'm making progress on emails, applications, packing list and finishing up things to do before I leave. I narrowed down my grad school applications to 5 in the country, 2 out of the country! (7 still sounds like a lot but it's a huge improvement) I tend to get overzealous and burn out so I still have to remember to take it easy since I'm not really better yet.

I thought of saying praise the Lord for healing, but praise Him either way! I'm very grateful for slowly getting better though :)

Bump in the road

I've been sick since Monday night. It seems like this fever/headache/nausea/etc (I'll leave it at that for the squeamish) is spreading around a lot of people I know. It's definitely not what I had expected since I was just writing about "oh man, I have so much to do in 10 days." I wish I could have spent time with friends or doing applications instead of sleeping and eating crackers for 3 days. This is taking things even more out of my hands than before. "Be still and know that I am God" came to mind but when I looked up the rest of the verse, it makes more sense.

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10

THAT is what's important. But He is so kind, and continues: "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." He is by our side, and that is our comfort and peace.

Only 10 more days!

I've gotten several requests to keep a blog about my trip to Japan, so here it is! I'll continue to update while I'm there so you can subscribe by email (see "follow" on the right) to know when I've written. It's hard to believe I only have 10 days left until departure.

My excessive planning and perfectionist tendencies are being tested...a reminder that I'm not in control (praise the Lord I'm not). Grad school applications, papers, fees, packing, meeting with people, job hunting, citizenship/visa/residency details, living situation in Japan can feel overwhelming. It's my responsibility to be diligent in what I have to do, but I trust that:

1. God will accomplish what he plans for me:

• The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9
• But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand. Psalm 31:14-15
• Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:23-26

1.  He will give me the grace for every situation that comes up:

• But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
• You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3