There are so many things I want to talk about, and I struggle to choose which one to write about. They are all random things that are only slightly related to my life or completely unrelated, but I can't stop them coming into my head...
First and foremost - the disaster in Japan. I still think about it a lot. I still think of all those people who have been bearing the unbearable loss and pain. I particularly feel for these small children who have lost their mums and dads. It's heartbreaking even to imagine what might be going through their mind. I'm only hoping that there would be sufficient love and care for them.
By the way, this word 'love' feels a bit alien to me as a Japanese, even after living in the UK for 23 years. I don't think this word existed in the Japanese language in the first place. We now have a rather artificial word which is equivalent to 'love', and it's overused just like the original in the West.
In the Japanese ancient texts and literature there are hundreds of words expressing the same thing in different mode of feeling and context. Only in nouns there are words like 'affection', 'longing', 'warmth', 'fondness', 'tenderness', 'yearning', 'compassion', and loads more. What I wish these children in Japan would be a mixture of kindness, care, and sympathy.
... I was planning to write about nuclear power here, but I got diverted... I will write about it some other time.
Now food! If you love garlic, you would love this Korean Namul. It's lovely with some beer :)
Ingredients (for 2-3 people):
(for the veg)
300g bean sprouts
200g spinach
2-3 carrots, chopped into fine matchsticks
(for the dressing)
2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon Shoyu (soy sauce)
1 teaspoon of vinegar
a pinch of salt
1 clove of garlic, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
a handful of roasted sesame, lightly ground
Cook all the vegetables in salted boiling water for 1 minutes - no more. Drain, leave to cool, and lightly squeeze out excess liquid. Mix everything for the dressing. Stir the dressing through the vegetables. Enjoy!