Turning Japanese

Am I really doing the peace sign with a grown woman who is significantly shorter than me? Why yes. In order to survive with my Japanese companions during my mission, I tried to assimilate into the Japanese culture as much as possible. I ate rice and fermented soybeans for breakfast. And I liked it. I covered my mouth when laughing and chewing food. I fastidiously sorted the trash. When I saw a white person I thought, "What are they doing here?" Totally oblivious to the fact that everyone was thinking the same thing about me.
I try to hide it, but I am still trying to be Japanese. I love anything that reminds me of my life there. Lately I've been cooking more Japanese food thanks to a friend's mom's blog. FOODjimoto She's third generation Japanese American so I feel like her recipes are a lot more accessible than recipes by Japanese natives. It's not just Japanese food, there's a lot of Mexican, Italian, and Chinese cuisine in there too. Plus some really beautiful photography. And...cute stories at the end of each post.
I also found a Japanese grocery store nearby, Nijiya Market. I can get my mochi and melon pan fix there, and find ingredients not available most other places. I bought some o-nigiri there, and Will and I had a picnic lunch with them. It's a rice ball with a filling like tuna, and wrapped in seaweed. Guess what Will said. He tried a piece of seaweed without any suggestion by me, and with a surprised look on his face told me he liked it! Yay! I'm getting him ready for a Japanese mission already.
I also made some udon the other night for dinner, and Will tried his best to eat with chopsticks. There were many tears of frustration, but he wouldn't give up.
Elliot was mostly interested in eating his feet. I think I'll make him a seaweed puree. Muwa ha ha ha.