accidentally!

I didn't mean to do it. I totally was just going about my business as usual. I was tempted by the offers and so I went for it. I had no idea it would amount to this!

I actually ate the three most famous and important foods from my region... on the same day!!!! Ahhh... I couldn't help but buy the Unagi Seiromushi (Freshwater eel with a sweet sauce, over shredded, fried egg and rice) ... it was so much cheaper than I'd find it in the restaurant. I hadn't planned on that being dinner... but that's how it turned out. And, when I got up to head over to the ramen shop at 10:45am, I didn't realize the coincidence that was taking place. But, it is my local hangout and they invited me to come (along with the other first 999 people who would receive a free bowl of Kurume/Chikugo/Fukuoka- famous Tonkotsu Ramen.) It was pouring rain and I stood on line for two and a half hours to get in for that broth! Foolish, silly and chest- hair-putting-on'ing! Great Ramen, and they gave me a Tatsunoya Ramen Soup spoon as well as coupons for dumplings and extra noodles for next time. And I only went to the yakitori guy, Ochida, because he is a friend of mine and I had some gifts from Thailand for him. While we were talking I nonchalantly ordered mixed sticks of yakitori.... and polished it off. In the span of seven hours (from the time I actually ate the first bite of ramen) I managed to sample Chikugo's best. Rad.

By the way, I was number 345... and I got in at 1:20pm... if you think I am stupid, you should have seen the amount of "baka" mothers who had their toddlers out in the same pouring rain for the same amount of time, standing behind me. And I had proper outdoor rain gear. And those kids get sick and then go to school and infect other kids and eventually... yup, their teachers, like me. Idiot parents. They exist in every country. And there is a huge scare about the Swine Flu over here... well, I reckon it stems from the mothers who force their 3-6 year old's to stand in the rain for 2.5 cold hours... Despite the passion to blame outsiders and foreign countries, the problem has a root in the very culture that blames. Whoa... I didn't mean to get here... but, I did. So there.