Fall 秋

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It's been almost a month since I've posted anything, how the time flies... Things have been pretty busy, during the week about all I do is go to class and do homework, with small breaks for eating, sleeping (though never enough), checking email, and showering. On the weekends we usually take Friday evening to relax, spend Saturday afternoon studying at a coffee shop, chat with family on Skype, and the rest of the time is studying for me, for Joe studying or working on music. Not too exciting of a routine...
Outside of the usual activities, last month I attended a series of lectures given at the Meiji Art Society meeting at Tokyo University on a Saturday afternoon (in Japanese of course). It was a nice change of pace and a strong reminder of why I'm spending so much time memorizing vocabulary. The lecture I was most interested in addressed ukiyoe (Japanese prints) at the 1910 London International Exhibition, other lectures discussed line in Meiji period Japanese-style painting and a newly discovered painting from WWII. On Halloween we went trick-or-treating with some of Joe's students at the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, one of the few places in Japan where kids can participate in the American tradition of Halloween. It was facinating to see groups of Japanese kids wandering around the military base collecting candy from military families. I had the first week of November off of school (but with plenty of homework), and took the time to see the Treasures of the Imperial Collections special exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum and the Great Port Opening 150th anniversary special exhibition at the Yokohama Art Museum. Joe and I also took a day trip to Hakone, which I'll post more about soon.
The weather has remained pretty warm in Yokohama, with temperatures in the 60s and 70s throughout October. While we're still waiting for fall color, seasonal autumn foods have arrived at the grocery store, including persimmons (above) and nabe (below). Like most grocery stores, ours stocks a variety of nabe (Japanese stew) broths, which we have been methodically trying. We purchased our nabe pot in Kamakura a few weeks back, and have been making the dish once a week. So far we have tried regular, kimchi and creamy tofu sesame flavors, of which regular is my favorite. Veggie nabe is pretty healthy and inexpensive to make; although this recipe includes chicken (an environmental and health hazard) it's easy enough to substitute tofu or wheat gluten. If you aren't aware of the atrocities of eating chicken, click here for a good PBS Frontline video on how farm run-off is killing our waterways and adding to reproductive disorders, cancer, and hormonal problems in children.
Back to studying....
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