09 05 2004

Sun, 09 May 2004

Mold

I spent the day alternating between study and mastication. It was raining for most of the day, so camping out in my apartment with my Japanese language course and snacks was a fun way to while away the hours.

I'm still experimenting with the food at the local supermarket. I've found some staple goods which I'm basically living off - ham, peanut butter, natto, bread, chilli sauce, vegetable juice, yoghurt, miso soup, and the obligatory instant noodles.

The yoghurt's curious - the small tubs come pre-sweetened, but the larger tubs (of the same type of yoghurt, from what I can tell), come with a separate bag of sugar, which you're supposed to mix in. That's okay with me, I'd rather it unsweetened.

There's a wealth of instant noodles to choose from, though sadly, I'm unable to find my much-prized "Mi Goreng". The more expensive noodle packs come with a variety of seasonings, including freeze-dried beef (oniku!) or bacon.

I've taken to picking up "buta kimuchi" (pork kimchee - a korean spicy pickled cabbage dish) in the evenings from the Bento place down the road - it's about $5, which is cheap enough to procrastinate the purchase of a gas stove - but not indefinitely.

I saw some kimuchi sauce at the supaa (supermarket) the other day, and figured hey, this might go well on some rice. Perhaps I can save some money! They had the choice of the whole kimuchi rigmarole (including the pickled cabbage), or just a red kimuchi sauce. I grabbed just the sauce, since I'm a big chilli fan.

Unfortunately after heaping some of the sauce on to some rice that evening, I realised that the central ingredient appeared to be ninniku - garlic. The sauce seems to be a garlic and chilli extract, which alone is pretty revolting! I tried to grin and bear it, but alas. It's back to the Bento place for now.

A mixed blessing in Kumamoto is the weather. I'm glad I won't be freezing my arse off come winter, but I've yet to endure the middle of summer - including the mid June-July period where it rains, and rains, and rains.

Kumamoto's weather can get quite humid, and this has manifested itself to me already, by way of the mold which has sprung up in the bathroom. When I arrived in my apartment it was spotless, but a few short weeks later the once-pristine walls have defiled themselves. When I get a spare moment I'm going to have to venture down to the 100yen store and pick up some cleaning materials.

Well, I'm getting hungry and I want to swing past the internet cafe before picking up some buta kimuchi - so until next time, adieu!

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