Day 30 Challenge: A Whole Day of New Things

Today on the final day of my "Month of Living Dangerously", I had loads of new experiences-- all of them food related, strangely.

This morning, I felt so lucky to have found these. I almost walked right by them without even noticing! No time to sit down and enjoy a hot pancake breakfast? No problem, just grab some pancake flavored crackers...seriously, these are my new love.

Then later in the afternoon, I did something completely out of character. I made a home-cooked meal and shared it with the soldiers in the barracks... another first. I'm happy to do it again even.

Finally, my crowning glory of the day. First time ever to make homemade tamales in two flavors-- spicy chicken and also olive, chili, and cheese. I found the corn husks at the commissary here, and then chose this easy recipe online. A little time consuming, but worth it! I so miss Mexican food while we're here in Japan. 

How do you get your Mexican food fix wherever you are?

PS, Tune in tomorrow for updates and a round-up of my "Month of Living Dangerously". Did "Happy Van" ex-boyfriend ever write back? Is the neighbor still stubbornly parking in the guest spot? Have I noticed any physical differences since the Oxygen chamber and sweat spa? It will all be revealed.

Day 29 Challenge: Ghosts of Boyfriends Past

Have you ever googled any of your old boyfriends or girlfriends out of curiosity to see how they ended up?

A while back, I was poking around on the Internet and I looked up a boyfriend I had when I was 15 years old. I'm almost 38 now, so we're talking about an adolescent relationship I had 23 years ago.  Well, I did find some information about him, the most interesting being that he accomplished exactly what he wanted at 15 years old-- to become a musician. In fact, he tours around the country now and has a following. I genuinely feel happy about that. 

In the months since that discovery, I've thought about those old days from time to time and remembered some of the funny details. 

On our first date, he took me to a Maternity ward to look at Newborn babies through the glass. Obviously that was back in the times when security was low and anybody could linger around. I remember thinking that was the most creative and original first-date ever. 

He had an old white 1960 Volkswagen Bus, which we named the "Happy Van". We used to drive around in it listening to Depeche Mode.

He had the most unusual family situation. His mother divorced his father and then married his father's brother, but he swore there were no hard feelings anywhere. I remember thinking that his family must have been really progressive or something. Now I realize we WERE living in the deep south. 

After two months of dating, we broke up over the telephone, and right after I had to go to my part-time job at the Space and Rocket Museum. Remember that 80s movie Space Camp? Well, I worked there and had to wear an astronaut uniform to work. That was the last time I talked to him, but I can't say I've harbored any ill feelings towards him over the years. 

I thought about getting in touch with him a few months ago, but didn't out of shyness or awkwardness or something. So my challenge for the day was to contact him and say hello. AND that's what I did. I wrote "Happy Van" in the subject header line and sent him a friendly email.

You want to know a little secret? I don't think I'll mind too much if he doesn't respond. I got such a little burst of energy just from reaching out and doing it.

If you could contact an old friend from your past, who would it be? 

     

Day 28 Challenge: The Martians Have Landed

In my English classes last week, I did a lesson about hobbies. We talked about their favorite pastimes as well as which ones they find challenging or exciting. I also asked them which hobbies they believed to be dangerous. I was expecting them to rattle off a list of extreme sports, but no, the class all agreed that "SUNBATHING" was a very dangerous hobby.

It's definitely not uncommon to see Japanese women here sporting mega Darth Vader sun protective visors. If you live in Japan, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Take a look at this internet article about Japanese aversion to sun and the sun visor phenomenon. 

So, my new experience of the day was to wear one of these Martian "Black Widow" hats as I went about my business...

Drinking morning coffee on the patio

Driving

Eating a hamburger

Shopping

Enjoying the beach

 

On a side note, these Martian visors fly off the store shelves here in Okinawa. A week ago, I saw a huge display of them at a store, but when I went back to buy one yesterday, there were only 3 left. Even my very pretty and fashionable 25 year old Japanese language tutor owns one!

 

Dulce de Leche Heaven

A few years ago when we visited Argentina, we fell in love with dulce de leche. Ever tried it? It's similar to caramel, but it's milky and creamy and wonderful. In fact, there are entire grocery store aisles devoted to it.

In Okinawa, it's a little bit impossible to find, as you can imagine. But I did discover how to make my own. It's super easy, in fact. Take a can of sweetened condensed milk, pour it into a glass pan, and bake it at 425 degrees in a water bath for about an hour and a half.

Since it's been super hot and humid here (perfect weather for lazily eating ice cream), I thought I'd try making Dulce de Leche Ice Cream using the same technique from Challenge 20 .

First, I made the dulce de leche as described above. Then I mixed it with a can of evaporated milk and froze it for several hours, stirring every so often. How easy is that? Again, only two ingredients!

The result?

Amazing...you seriously have to try this!

What's a favorite food or ingredient you discovered in a foreign country?

Day 27 Challenge: Cookie Baking Contest

I entered a cookie baking contest for the first time ever today. My entry was inspired by our recent trip to Hawaii for my husband's 40th birthday-- macadamia shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate.

So, how did it turn out?

Well, I WON ....

SECOND place out of ... TWO entries in that category! 

Okay, I didn't get the satisfaction of first place, or even the satisfaction of second place since who else would've gotten second? BUT my prize was a set of kitchen towels, which is great because kitchen towels have sort of been a point of contention in our household lately. (I washed our good ones with a red sock a while back...)

So, what are your favorite cookies? Would you ever enter a cooking contest?

Day 26 Challenge: Origami Tribute to Michael Jackson

Last month when we went to Hawaii, we saw an origami exhibit in Narita Airport with some of the most intricate and astounding pieces of origami art. 

Can you believe all of that is simply folded paper? It's simply amazing to me that origami has been practiced in Japan since the 1600's. Some origami pieces we saw that day were so tiny that you could only see them through a magnifying glass!

So today, my new challenge was to take an origami class, and it was there that I heard the MJ news. Let me tell you, it was hard to concentrate on paper folding after that shock, but I did manage to whip out a few traditional items-- a crane, box, and tree. (a little crumpled looking, I know)

Later, when I got home and watched all the news (yes, MJ was the only thing on both BBC and CNN International), I decided to try my own hand at origami and felt inspired to create an Origami Michael Jackson...

Okay, so I can't say that I had been a fan of his since well, about 10 grade, but Thriller was a milestone in my life, having been one of the first records we ever bought.

With that, I leave you with my origami King of Pop doing the zombie dance...

Did you ever try to recreate the Thriller zombie dance in your backyard or den? Come on, be honest! 

Day 25 Challenge: Drinking grass

Today I attended my first ever Japanese Tea Ceremony, and it was so enjoyable.

I really admire how the Japanese have managed to preserve this cultural ritual and pass it down the generations.  I also respect how they put so much attention on the details of "how" to do something and get satisfaction from that. I think it must force them to live in the moment and not think about the end result so much. Maybe a good lesson for many of us-- me, especially!

The tea ceremony starts when you put on these wooden sandals (a little better fit than my others from Challenge 23) and walk across a stone path to a water well.

There you wash your hands and face.

From there, you climb through a tiny munchkin door into the Tea Room, which is considered a sacred space.

Once inside, the Tea Master explains the meaning behind the ritual and instructs how to drink the tea properly. 

Turns out that it's a very complicated process involving the direction of the cup, the way you hold it, and how many slurps you can take (31/2 to be exact) You also have to be solemn and whisper to your neighbor a phrase in Japanese which translates, "I'm sorry to be drinking this tea before you."  

In addition, this tea is like no other I've ever had before. It looks a little like green paint, right?

The taste? Like freshly cut grass, I imagine!

I'm smiling, but my knees are killing me! 

Overall, it was so fun and informative. Have you ever been to a traditional Tea Ceremony? If so, how did you sit like that for so long is what I wanna know!