Ok, I won't be trying this stuff.
I think I'll pass on the "Moisture Dessert" as well.
Here's yet another Coca-Cola new-edition. ho-hum.
When will they come out with cheese coca cola?
Black Black gum. Taste the black!
Unfortunately, I can't find any tofu slit dogs to go on these.
We got our passports back from the Vietnamese Embassy in Tokyo today and I now have a big fat visa for Vietnam. It looks really cool. I wanted to take a picture of it and post it here for everyone to see, but I was afraid that might be illegal.
Jason recommended I just draw a picture of it.
Good idea, brother!
This is my visa. Actual colors vary slightly.
I rode in one of these last week!
Not even tiny Elvis would say this car is huge!
*though the car is indeed quite small, this picture is not actual size*
That's how Kelly's students said my name.
"Debitto, Debitto. Boyfriend-o?"
It was really cute. We played a little game where they got into groups and I asked them questions about me and they had to guess which one was true. Here's an example:
While Kelly held up this picture, I asked
"True or False. Colonel Sanders is my Grandfather."
It was a lot of fun, but the best part was how whenever we would tell them the right answer, the ones who got it right would celebrate like they had just won the Olympics, while the others would gasp, "Ohhhhh!!!" and then go off talking excitedly Japanese.
Oh, and after Kelly's boss introduced me ("Kelly-no boyfriend-o" or something like that) to the staffroom full of teachers, they all clapped as Kelly and I both walked away blushing a little.
Sunday Kelly and I went to the tomb of the founder of Sendai, Date Masamune.
It was SO green! It reminded me a lot of Kentucky, except for the architecture....and everyone but us was Japanese, and everything was written in squiggles. Otherwise, JUST like Kentucky.
It was a bit of a climb, but I stopped and took lots of pictures on the way up as an excuse to catch my breath. Here are the results:
Date Masamune was buried inside this building. The Americans burned it down in World War 2, but it was rebuilt in the 1979.
An old guide was nice enough to take our picture for us.
Seoul's subway is huge, but it's actually quite easy to navigate.
All of the 10 lines are color-coded, and each stop name is clearly labelled.
They even have small subway maps that they give away to help you find your way around.
Here's a picture of one to show how incredibly easy it all is.
Saturday, Kelly and I traveled to the border between North and South Korea to the Demilitarized Zone. It was a really eerie place. On the south side were armed military personnel for the South Korean Army and for the United Nations. On the other side, not far out of sight, were armed guards for the North Korean army, staring at us through binoculars.
While I ran crying the first time I saw an armed guard, Kelly got up in his grill and flexed back.
Later, an American guard got fresh with her, and she put him in his place the old fashioned way.
Note to self: Don't mess with Kelly.
Some food and drink found in Korea was familiar.
Other dishes were things I'd never seen before, but they were still quite good.
And other foods... I had heard of, but were just completely gross.
Kelly and I went to South Korea this past weekend and I had never felt more rich in my life...
until i paid 12,000 won for dinner. Obviously, this stuff isn't worth much.
Look what I found! Glasgow's favorite board game---Japanese style.
The amazing thing about finding Settlers of Catan (here named simply Catan) is that it was easier to find here than it is to find at home. Though I've played this game at least 50 times, I had never once before seen it in a store.
Never heard of it? Try Amazon.com.
Now if I could only find the translation for "I'll trade you two sheep for that ore."
or "Don't trade with Matt Garrett. He's already hoarding wheat." Neither one is in my dictionary.
This guy said he bought it in Tokyo at a used American clothing shop.
This guy said he stole it from his younger brother.
So... I can't read.
And to make things worse, most of the streets here don't have names, so even if I could read, there'd be no names on the maps to figure out where I was.
Luciky, there are lots and lots of street signs with helpful arrows to guide me along in my adventures. Here are just a few examples.
This one clearly says, "Turn around and go back the way you came."
This next one says, "Turn around and go back the way you came again."
I found myself walking in a loop between these two signs for about an hour when I finally spotted this one telling me to turn left. To my surprise, it took me straight home!
Item #2: The Craft-Matic Adjustable Toilet
This is a picture taken from a public restroom, so this can't be the fulfillment of all our dreams of having the TV-remote right there with us on the throne.
Since I wasn't brave enough to sit down and give it a test-drive, I can only assume it's for reclining, warming the seat a bit, and then maybe a help button.
Your guess is as good as mine.
Item #3: "Japanese Style"
At the end of the public restroom where you might expect to find a handicapped stall, I found one labelled "Japanese Style."
First of all, if it really were Japanese style, wouldn't they all be that way?
Secondly, apparently the Japanese style is to lie down on your stomach for #1 and to lie down on your back for #2. very strange.
(note: image is not rotated or flipped. it really looks like a urinal installed into the floor.)
