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What do you think? Soy sauce ice cream is on shodoshima if you wanna try it. I thought it was incredible.



This was my favorite soy sauce factory on the island. We brought back a really amazing soy sauce we use with raw fish or eggs. You can find it in souvenir shops if you wanna try it.


  

This month has been an amazing month for the future of space exploration and development. As many know, NASA has been the worlds leading organization in space research, development, and exploration for years, but with the private sector of space research, development, and exploration expanding, SpaceX has taken the stage, being the first privately owned and operated Aerospace development company to be recognized and certified by NASA to develop rockets and other vehicles for space flight. NASA and SpaceX have made history together this year with the first manned test launch earlier this summer and then again recently with the first official manned mission launch just 2 weeks back. As I am studying to be a part of this amazing field, it is always an exciting moment, and truthfully very emotional as well, so see the success in what could be the biggest breakthrough in exploration and travel in our lifetime! It really is amazing!

Thanks for reading!

Leigh  

When I first came to Japan I was very nervous. I didn't know much Japanese, and everyone I knew who lived in Japan lived many miles away from where I was going to live. In a sense I was all on my own. But thankfully when I came to Gem School I was greeted by many friendly people. Slowly I started to make very good friends, and I created a new life for myself. I lived here for a year and went on many outings, visited amazing restaurants, and saw some breathtaking sights. My dream was to live and work in Japan, and I never thought I would be able to do that. It's been an amazing experience living and teaching here, and I'll never forget the times I've had in this great country. As much as I love Japan it's time for me to go back to America. I was here for one year, but it feels like it was only a couple of weeks! Time flies when you have fun! To all my new friends and family here, it's been a great 12 months and I can't thank you enough. Saying goodbye feels like a final farewell, so I won't use that word. Instead I'll use something more friendly, as I do plan to return someday. So until then...

See you later!

-Pilias  

When we talk about traditions, we are usually talking about things every member of a culture might do. But many traditions are only shared by a very small group - sometimes just a single family. There are a few traditions my family has about what happens after Thanksgiving.

Every year, Christmas seems to come earlier. When I was a child, Christmas decorations didn't go up until after Thanksgiving. Now, stores start stocking Christmas good in early October. There have even been times I couldn't find Halloween goods in October, because the stores had already put everything away to make room for Christmas.

American Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November, and the day after Thanksgiving is "Black Friday", which is an unofficial holiday, most schools and many non-retail businesses are closed, and which used to be the start of the Christmas shopping season. It's still a day when retailers have major sales and it is always busy, crazy, and messy. Just as Christmas has been creeping earlier in the year, Black Friday has started creeping earlier in the week, so now "Black Friday" sales start Thursday afternoon or even earlier. This year, because of COVID, to avoid having too many shoppers in the store at once, some stores have been announcing "Black Friday All Month".

I've always hated crowds and materialism, and I've resented the creep of commercialized Christmas. So for my family, our tradition is to stay home on Black Friday, not do any shopping, and put up our home Christmas decorations. In my wife's family, it has been their tradition to watch Jurassic Park on Black Friday.


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?


What traditions are specific to your family?

Thanks for reading!
  

This word stands out as it has a lot of letters and could be easy to misspell, but it has its roots in French and food, two things that I think go together very well!

Now unlike a tip, this is actually something for the customer. It is a small gift given with a purchase to a customer, by way of compliment or for good measure.

Most Americans would think that lagniappe is a French word, which it is, but Louisiana French, not standard French (lagniappe is not a headword in the online Trésor de la Langue Française). Lagniappe comes from Spanish la ñapa, la yapa, la llapa with the same meaning. Ñapa, yapa, llapa in turn comes from Quechua yápa “something a little extra, a bonus,” in Irish English “a tilly” (from Irish Gaelic tuilleadh “an additional item or amount”). Yápa a derivative of the verb yapay “to give more.”

An example sentence could be:

During the holidays, New Orleans diners discover a lagniappe (little something extra) at their favorite fine-dining restaurants.

So try this one out in English, and hopefully you will get something extra at your favourite restaurant!  

This year is one for the bugs. As you may have noticed, bugs have been delighting and terrifying me all year. Last Friday was no exception.

I was waiting for a train, at a very small station. There were two sets of benches on either side of the platform. I was settled in one, playing with my phone. An old couple was talking softly on the other side.

I felt something tickle my thigh, and I reached under the bottom of my skirt. In a quick motion, I brushed my leg with my hand. To my horror, a huge black and green orb weaver spider fell to the ground. It had been on my upper leg!
I screamed and jumped off the bench, staring at it in horror. I backed away quickly, suddenly smacking into something tall and hard. I screamed again, thinking it was a person. I whirled around to see it was a column.

Hearing my screams, the old couple came over. "Are you okay?" They asked. I stuttered out that there was a huge spider on my leg. The old man poked it with his cane and pushed it off the platform. "There are a lot of them," said the nice old lady. She gestured towards the corners of the roof. I hadn't missed those ones, I had been sitting away from them (so I thought.)

I was pretty freaked out so I didn't wear a skirt anymore that week. I will think twice before sitting on a bench in November.   

In my talks with some of my students. I have discovered this cool mobile game called "Twisted Wonderland." I'm not much of a game person, but it seemed like it would be fun and because the characters are based off of pre-existing characters in the Disneyverse. I was something of a Disney fanatic when I was younger, so I already have some degree of familiarity. Much to my dismay, I learned that the game is only available in Japanese. There are some unofficial English tutorials available online, but honestly it seems like too much trouble. Also, this is probably a sign that I should be more productive anyways.
  

Thanksgiving in America is a day to give thanks for our blessings, but especially to take time to be with the people we love. This usually is spent having a huge delicious home cooked turkey dinner with them! This has been impossible for me during the last 4 years. So what do I do? I virtually spend the whole night on the phone calling everyone! I have to because it is daytime in America when it is night here! Also, I have worked the last 4 Thanksgivings!!

Therefore, I have added to my "Thankful List"!! I am SO grateful to Skype!! Thank you, Skype!!  

I made it just in time! Fall is my favorite season, but I almost missed all the beautiful leaves on the mountains. Tsurugi mountain (剣山) is just absolutely stunning. The very top of the mountain was unforgettable. The wind hurt my ears and the cheers of people reaching the top were exciting. Everyone was so happy to be there.

In the lodge you could get tea and even some soup. I spoke with the shop keep and he said the milky way can be seen from the top at night. I haven't seen the Milky way (天の川) in almost a decade. I miss you. I'll climb another mountain soon and if I can camp, I hope I can see a sky without light pollution.


  

This week is Thanksgiving. After this season about being happy for what you have, we go into a season about giving to other, family, and community. Of course I'm talking about Christmas season. We mark this change on the Friday after Thanksgiving every year.
Black Friday is the opposite of the holidays is is between. It is about shopping and saving money. For one day, shops in America have massive sales where you can save a lot of money. The catch? It's a race. Everyone is fighting to get the best sales. Many people use it as a day to buy Christmas gifts cheap. As a result many Americans become rude or even violent while shopping on black Friday.

Personally, I don't like black Friday. I have never participated, and likely never will. I do enjoy cyber Saturday. It is similar to black Friday but online. This means there isn't a sense of rush. I often use it as a way to get cheap games.

Would you try black Friday?


(Not my photo)



  

Growing up, my family would spend a few weeks every summer with my great grandparents, whom we called Gumbo and Danda. I have some of the fondest memories of my life at their little farm in central Texas. Some of my favorite memories included arriving there at about midnight and my grandfather being awake to make us kids root beer floats. He would always make sure my grandmother were asleep for that, though! His root beer floats were the best because he made everything from scratch. Fresh churned vanilla ice cream and freshly brewed root beer always taste the best together, either that or he would also make sarsaparilla to go with the ice cream. My Grandmother would always make a batch of pralines for us kids to munch on while we were there as well. She would send us out to play with one so that we got our sugar high's out of the way early in the day. I really do have the best family to make the best memories with! I miss them all so much!

What are some fond memories you have with your grandparents or great-grandparents?

I hope you make great memories moving forward. Don't waste a day. Don't be angry. Always remember that family is important!

Thanks for reading, and as always, have an amazing day!

Leigh
  

Lately I've realized one of the beauties of living in Japan is walking down alleys and witnessing all the bright lights. There's something festive about streets that light up in the night that really appeals to me. One of the best parts is also the feeling of security. I've never felt in danger while walking down these types of streets, so its always a nice little walk for me to venture down these paths.   

[American] Thanksgiving is coming next week on 26 November. It's time for me to start getting some things ready. Every time I go to the store, I know I've forgotten something, so if I start to prepare now, eventually I will have everything. This Thanksgiving will be different for 3 reasons:

1. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we won't have guests or travel to visit relatives, so it will be a smaller gathering than usual.

2. I have metabolic syndrome. My doctor tells me to not eat carbohydrates, so a lot of traditional American Thanksgiving foods, like breads, potatoes, and pie are off the menu. (Idiom: "off the menu" = not an available option.)

3. We moved to Maryland in March, so this is our first Thanksgiving in our new home. Maryland is famous for some local traditional foods, so we want to include some of the foods from our new home.

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The main dish is traditionally turkey and stuffing. Turkey stuffing is typically bread, onion, celery, and broth. This is where we can get creative. Maryland is famous for Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and Old Bay seasoning, and we can put those in the stuffing.

My mother's family is from the northeast USA, and we are actually descendants of the original Mayflower Puritans. Our family has always made different cranberry salads for Thanksgiving.




What are your important family recipes?

Thanks for reading!
  

Sometimes you need a word to explain amount but have it sound a little sophisticated - here is the word you're looking for!

Qantity wise, it basically means a moderate or small amount. Looking at the spelling you can know it comes from Latin, which means “a small, modest amount,” specifically of money, if we may be so crass. Modicum is a noun use of the neuter singular of the adjective modicus “(used for) measuring, moderate, restrained, slight,” a derivative of the noun modus “measured amount or quantity, limit, measure, time, melody.” Modus is a derivative of the verb meditārī “to think about, ponder, meditate."
An example sentence could be:

"Doing something, such as documenting seasonal changes, is a way to restore a modicum of control and a sense of well-being."

Happy studying, even if it's just a modicum of your day!  

My friends and I were up on a mountain, enjoying the view. I was a little scared to be up so high, and was watching where to step. I didn't want to trip and fall off.
On the ground, near some rocks, was a bug. I ignored the people near it and scooped it up. It was a stickbug! We call it that in English, because it resembles a stick. In Japan, it's called a Nanafushi.

I had never seen one before. I started squealing with joy as it crawled over my hands. My friends quickly ran over to look at it. We took a bunch of pictures of my find. I put the bug on a nearby bush. I had a big smile on my face. What a cool bug.   

After getting off of work one night, I was wondering what to cook for dinner. I opened my refrigerator and looked around. I soon realized that I had all of the ingredients to make ssambap. Ssambap is basically a Korean lettuce wrap. It is great because it's very quick and easy to make. It's also a very well-rounded dish as it has greenery, starch, and protein. If you are ever looking for a quick meal that you don't have to feel guilty about, then I definitely recommend trying your hand at this.  

This is the "All-American Breakfast", compliments of a restaurant called Denny's! My brother took my mother there this week back in America, and this is what she tried to eat. She couldn't finish it- and shouldn't!!! It is way too much food and it is not healthy for her! I am not saying it doesn't taste good! I used to LOVE these- still do! But healthy it isn't! Here in Japan, I eat a banana and yogurt. I know, that doesn't sound exciting, but I will live longer!! And when I go back to America to visit, I will probably live "dangerously" and go out to breakfast at Denny's....at least once!! Maybe twice!!  

When I was at University I couldn't always make it home for Thanksgiving. So my friends and I would celebrate "friendsgiving". Friendsgiving is like Thanksgiving but celebrated with friends instead of family. Also, instead of a big home cooked meal, everyone brings one food dish. I took fried chicken when we celebrated. My friends brought pie, salad, cookies, and other things to eat and drink.



(Not my photo)
  

For me, travel means ice cream. When I first landed in Japan with friends 6 years ago I ate a lot of ice cream. A lot of kansai travel we did was in July and August and peak soft-serve country.

For some people, the weather is turning them off to the sweat soft and creamy stuff. Not me. I'll keep on getting it. I will keep this ice cream shop in the shotengai open by myself if I have to.

What do you eat when you travel?   

So, in my last post I mentioned southern cuisine, especially Chicken and Dumpling's. My grandmother made the best Chicken and Dumpling's, and I feel it would be a waste not to share the recipe with the world, so I decided who better to share it with than you all! I'll be listing the ingredients and the process below. It takes about 2 hours to make if you are proficient at it. I hope you enjoy! If you make it, please tell me what you think!

Ingredients

Broth
1 chicken cut into pieces
1 onion
3 large carrots cut into thirds
3 stalks celery cut into thirds
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste
bay leaf or a pinch of poultry seasoning optional

Dumplings
1 3/4 cups flour plus extra for dusting
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Other
4 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

1. Combine chicken, onion, carrots and celery in a large pot. Season to taste.
2. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered 45-60 minutes or until chicken is tender. While broth is simmering, prepare dumplings below.
3. Remove chicken and vegetables from broth. Discard skin and bones and chop remaining chicken, set aside.
4. Gently add dumplings to broth. Simmer 15-20 minutes or until tender.
5. Stir chicken (and vegetables if desired) into broth and cook about 2-3 minutes or until heated through.

Dumplings
1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and shortening with a fork until shortening is mixed in.
2. Add milk a little at a time and mix until combined (you may not need all of it, you want a soft but not sticky dough).
3. Knead a few times on a floured surface until dough is smooth.
4. Generously flour your surface and roll the dough out to 1/8″ thick. Cut dough into 1″ x 2″ strips. Flour generously to avoid sticking.
5. Cook in broth as directed above.

To Thicken Broth
In a small bowl combine 4 tablespoons cornstarch with 4 tablespoons water.
Add to boiling broth a little bit at a time stirring to reach desired consistency.

The carrots and celery can be removed, but my grandmother always chopped them up and served them in the chicken and dumplings. I hope you enjoy this little bit of heaven that I can provide.

I hope you enjoy and, as always, thanks for reading and I hope you have an amazing day!

Leigh