I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS to Young-Hoon who is graduating today! (Thursday 3/25). Even though he said it is not such a big deal, I think it is a pretty big accomplishment and deserves some recognition! Wish I could be there! Hope you have a good time and enjoy your last week in Fukuoka!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was a great day for drinking. Not only was it St. Patrick's Day but it was the last day of my 'White Month', my friend Izumi was in town visiting from Japan, AND it was happy hour at the best little pub I know. So, I called a couple friends to celebrate.

We kicked things off with dinner at my house. I cooked (or attempted to cook) Indian food. I must say that since I have not had much Indian food I'm not exactly sure how it's supposed to taste but I don't think mine was correct. I'm positive my naan didn't come out correctly (you can see it on the plate to the right). But, it wasn't terrible and my sorbet and hummus were a big success.

After dinner we met some of my other classmates at the quiet little pub I like to go to some Wednesdays because they have happy hour and a comparitively good selection of beers (not that i drank any of the good ones yesterday though. I should have but I was sticking to the happy hour beers). We talked, drank, and played a really long game of pool (just trying to get our money's worth!). It was a good time and I'd like to do it more often...but maybe it's best to keep it a once-a-month deal.

I think I've found my calling in life. Baking. I've always loved baking. When I was living back home in Michigan, I would bake brownies or cookies about 2-3 times per week. (of course, that may or may not have been due to a psychological hole I was trying to fill) My mother used to con me into making my own birthday cakes from the time I was old enough to use the oven until I reached high school and I never complained. I actually enjoyed it.

When I moved to Japan, I found myself without an oven and I adapted pretty well. Occasionally I wished for warm gooey, fudgy brownies but I could handle it. Well, I've been become so very...domestic these days. My corridor mates are loving it...not only because they can tease me but because they can sample my food. I cook new recipes (I made an amazing creamy vegitable soup today...healthy AND delicious! I even made my very first bread this past weekend. Until now, my use of ovens has always been for desserts. Never dinner-not even for a baked potato!

I thought that I could just bake a couple loaves every other week or so since I don't eat bread so much...but the first two are gone and I couldn't resist trying out a new recipe tonight. Cuban Bread. This one is even better then the first! I could whip it up and stick it in the oven in less time than it took my laundry to dry, it takes very few ingredients, and it tastes great. Again I added some of my own touches--I really like that musili. Here is a picture of me and my latest creation.

By the way, HERE is a link to the wonderful website from which I've gotten most of my recipes so far. I love it!

Since I've come to Sweden, I have really learned how to be thrifty. In Japan I used to eat out or buy pre-made food about 3-4 times per week. That was when I had a job. Here I have eaten out (in a real, sit down restaurant equivelant to Applebee's or Royal Host) about 4 times in the past 7 months. Occasionally I stop by the deli and grab my favorite Pesto and Mazzarella sandwich but especially since I've moved far away from town, that is a rare case.

The fact that I'm in a great corridor for cooking helps a lot, too. Before moving to this dorm, I cooked for myself but always easy, bad tasting food. Here I'm inspired by my corridor mates who are always making gormet-style food. Sometimes we get together and cook and sometimes we cook for eachother. The other day I made wet burritoes with one of my corridor mates. I also made the salsa and guacamole-all from scratch. All relatively healthy (we altered the recipes a bit). The were amazing and since then, I've been scouring the internet for other easy, healthy recipes.

Yesterday, I made bread for the first time. I don't mean that instant kind where you just add water or where the dough is already made. No, it was completely from scratch Oatmeal Bread. The great thing is that I already had most of the ingredients. I only had to buy the yeast! It was surprisingly easy and I even added some personal touches such as multi-grained musili with raisins, nuts, oats, and dried fruit instead of just oatmeal. And a pinch of cinnimon to top it off. Believe it or not, they came out beautifully my first time around. Who knew it would be so easy?! I'm hooked and am researching my next loaf...banana or wheat? I don't think I'll go back to store bought bread...although it takes a long time to make it from scratch, I don't eat so much bread to start with so two loaves should last me a long time if i can freeze them. Here is a (slightly blurry) picture of my first Oatmeal/Musili Bread.

Actually, In addition to bread, I made some hummus. I really love the stuff but havn't found it anywhere here so I tried to make it myself..It came out ok but with a little to much lemon juice. finally, for dessert, I made some pineapple/peach/banana sorbet. It was super good and easy to make. I think I've found a new addiction...cooking!

Oh yeah, my corridor had a party the other night and here are some pictures from that. It wasn't nearly as exciting as my bread so I won't bother to talk about it...you can look at the pictures and make your own stories.

The days are just flying by here so i didn't realize how long it had been since i put anything on this site. Too much is going on...or so I like to pretend. I'm working hard on my classes-surprising even myself with the amount of effort and time I'm puting in to this semester. Even stranger yet, I find myself looking forward to doig the homework and readings! I guess that must be a sure sign of a boring life.

Not too boring though, i guess, as I just booked my plane tickets for the end of June. I got a round trip flight from Copenhagen to Seoul for $62.02 thanks to frequent flier miles. Not too shabby! I'm going to Seoul to meet up with Jin for about 10 days before heading to Tokyo for my field work.

I've also become a gym-junkie. I noticed something quite worrisome a couple weeks ago. Everytime I went into the grociery store and passed by the candy isle my hand would instincitively reach out and grab a bar of chocolate. Likewise, everytime I passed the beer isle I would grab a beer or two. I realized then that things have gotten out of control and it was time for a 'white month', as the Swedish call it. Basically, a self-imposed ban on beer (and all alcohol when possible) and chocolate (and all sweets if possible). I also stepped up my gym visits. it's been 2 weeks now and I am feeling great! (I must confess though, last night I went to a birthday party and slipped up big time...they had 5 different kinds of cake, chocolate balls, and candy...not to mention beer. And tonight there is my corridor's party...but as of tomorrow I'm back on track.

Actually, yesterday at the party someone told me about a half-marathon in June that I am pretty psyched up about. It is called the Broloppet and it is 21k starting in Denmark and finishing in Sweden. I used to run a lot and have run a half-marathon and a full marathon before but quite some time has passed since then so we'll see what happens. Can't wait till tomorrow to start my 'training'. June is going to be such an exciting month...a half-marathon AND a reunion in Seoul!