Japanese Food In My Hometown

If I ever moved to Japan, I know I would definitely struggle with the food! As they love everything got to do with fish flavour, I honestly wouldn’t really know what I could eat if I ever went there!

So anyway, in my hometown a new Japanese restaurant has opened up. Apparently it has rave reviews, and being the only Japanese restaurant (that I know of) in the area, I wanted to try it out and see what it offered!

Of course they had sushi, but they had other dishes like ramen and teriyaki, so I thought one of those may do me! I met my long time friend and we headed there for lunch, and I must say the chicken teriyaki was lovely!

Haha I did notice that throughout our meal I did hear 1 or 2 Chinese songs being played in it! The opposite would absolutely NEVER happen in a Chinese restaurant in China!

They gave us chopsticks and although I’m now good at using the Chinese style ones, the Japanese chopsticks are a little more difficult!

The Japanese style ones are shorter and taper to a fine point , so it’s harder to pick up the food, whereas Chinese ones are thicker and they have a blunt tip. They are also longer. The Korean chopsticks are the same as the Japanese, but I think (but not sure) they usually use chopsticks that are made of silver… so obviously even harder to use!

So I was a little slower than usual eating my food! But it was delicious and I would definitely come back again!

While we were there, two Japanese girls came in to eat and then a single man came in, most likely on his work break. So it really does cater for the every kind of person. In my hometown, most Chinese restaurants cater only for takeaways or as a posh restaurant, but I feel this Japanese place can be for people wanting a casual lunch or even dining out with friends.

I think another reason why this place is successful is because it’s the only Japanese restaurant around; we have plenty of Chinese/ Indian places, but I must say my small town is lacking in places to try more international food. I suppose the older generation are just used to eating the same stuff over and over again, so trying new food might be a bit daunting for them!

This definitely applies to my Dad… he doesn’t even like spaghetti!

But I hope the next time I come back there will be many more restaurants offering more ‘exotic’ dishes!

But anyway, it was a nice experience trying out some Japanese food…. my first time trying sushi ( and forever hating it) was a different story!

再见

爱玲

A Trip To The Capital; Dublin

Even though my hometown is about (1.5 hour by bus) to Dublin, you would think that I would go up and visit more often, but surprisingly I rarely go! Since I’ve arrived home, I’ve had to go up twice for work reasons, but it definitely wasn’t for a visit! I did what I needed to do, then got the bus back.

I’ve never really thought much about living in Dublin while I was living in Ireland. I just never thought of it like that. Since living in China and living in such a big city as Chengdu, I’ve become used to large cities. Before leaving Ireland, I always thought Dublin was a big city. I’ve never had anything to compare it with, so I naively thought it was big.

My perception now is quite different!

But my two times having to go up, I’ve realised that I wouldn’t mind living there; it’s compact, walkable, not too busy, a lot of places to eat, and it just seems like a nice city to live in.

But… of course there are downsides; it’s a ridiculously expensive city, and rent is very very high… too high for me to afford! So I don’t think I would be able to live there unfortunately!

I think the last time I was in Dublin was a few years ago, and this time I noticed that there are so many more little cafes open! The ones with tables and chairs outside. There are loads now in the city! I do like this, but Dublin isn’t exactly like some city in Spain or France… the weather isn’t ideal for sitting outside. But yeah, there are loads more of these places about!

I was also surprised by how many foreigners there were! Groups of Italians, groups of Spanish, Chinese…. it was crazy! I suppose that I’m so used to seeing mostly Chinese people in Chengdu, that it’s strange to see people of other nationalities! I’m sure many are studying English here.

Another thing I’ve noticed is how small the city actually is! Having to walk from one place to another, I was surprised about how much distance I covered while looking at google maps. In Chengdu, I wouldn’t get very far (distance wise) by walking. So I suppose this showed me how small it is!

So Dublin has changed a little since the last time I’ve been here, plus my perception of it has changed, for the better I think!

再见

爱玲

Enjoying Time With Family

I’ve been back in Ireland for just over a week and so far it’s been a mix of peace and quiet…. then all hell breaks loose once the nephews are over, but it’s great to see them and play with them! I can now play more with my nephew, who is 6 years old; having me race him up and down our garden, doing tumbles, playing frisbee and of course hide and seek! I can now have more of a grown up conversation with him compared to the last time I was over.

My youngest nephew is now around 2.5 years old, and although he’s still not speaking, he knows exactly what I’m saying to him! At the moment he’s slow at talking, but he’s trying to make out words; banana is ‘ana’ for example.  So he’s trying at least!

With my fiancé in Mexico, it’s nice to be with the family and be like ‘old times’.  Although I miss him, I’m enjoying my time with the family.

Being back in my own bed means I’ve been having really good night sleeps. In Chengdu I never feel rested after a night’s sleep; maybe it’s our rock hard bed, but here I sleep really well. I forgot how super comfy my bed is!

And the weather has actually been better than Mexico for once! I hear it’s raining, thundery and sometimes cold where my fiancé is, but yesterday the weather in Ireland was fantastic! So so far it’s not too bad! Anyway I don’t mind if it’s not too good; I’m not visiting just for the weather.

So so far I’m having a lovely time. I’ve been so used to having just my fiancé as company, so it’s nice to be able to talk with the family and interact with them. I suppose I just got so used to having only my fiancé about in China, so when I came back here, I realised how much I missed having others company.

I’ll enjoy it while it lasts!

再见

爱玲

Animals In Our Neighbourhood

With plenty of people, comes plenty of animals! Here are a list of animals which we regularly see when we go for a walk in our neighbourhood!

Beag

Beag was the sweetest wee dog we have met here! We think he was a Corgi/Pug mix, and he was so friendly! We would regularly see him outside our building and of course he would follow us up to our apartment, where we would give him some ham.  Ha I know we shouldn’t have but just look at him! Unfortunately we don’t see him anymore, so we think the owner moved, but he is definitely our favourite!

Cat-Dog

The first time we saw this big fellow, we didn’t know if it was a dog or a cat!! He was quite far away, and all we just see was this big mass of fur! His ears are shaped like a cats, and he sort of has a cat like face, so we just ended up calling him Cat-Dog. We always see this guy slowly wandering about the neighbourhood, either sniffing at things or just lying about.

Smelly Cat

This poor cat! It lives outside our building, and we usually find it lying among the trees or beside where it sleeps. I don’t think it’s ever been washed, but some people give it food and it even has a scratching post beside it’s bed! Poor thing, I’m sure all it wants is to be cuddled.

Beags Nemesis

We generally see this dog everyday in our community. We call it Beags Nemesis because one day we saw this dog being chased by Beag and another dog. So I don’t think he is very popular with the local dogs! When Beag was here, he always kept away from this one. Every time we see it, it always looks as if it’s looking for something or someone. He’s also quite skittish so maybe he’s not very used to people.

Blacky/ Charcoal

This dog is quite new to the neighbourhood! He seems quite cute though, and we usually see him in the same area. I don’t think he explores as much as Cat-Dog. When I saw him first I called him Blacky, but my fiancé likes Charcoal.

The Beast

Source; google images

The Beast is an absolute monster of a dog. His owners can hardly take him out for walks he is that strong. We presume he is an Alaskan Malamute, and he’s so hairy! We don’t see him that often so we didn’t have a possibility to take a photo of him.

The Patrol Dog

Behind our building there is a small open area where people do early morning tai chi, grandparents take their grandchildren to play or to play ping-pong (or rather play on the ping pong table). Here we have found this cute dog usually sitting with it’s owner in the square. He always looks like he’s patrolling the area, so we named him The Patrol Dog. There used to be another dog called this; his owner was a security man for our community, and he would always be sitting near the entrance to our community. But one day he just disappeared! Maybe the owner left, or maybe the dog passed away.

Arsehole

Source; google images

Unfortunately we couldn’t get a photo of an arsehole here; they are constantly with their owners, and I don’t want to just go up and take a photo of their dog… but basically arseholes are poodle dogs. I just don’t like poodles. I understand why many, if not most people have them here; they are loyal, small and never ever stray from their owners. But to me I feel like they have nothing going on inside their heads!

One time we were eating food in our school canteen and in front of us were a family with their poodle pup. All of a sudden we hear a terrible crying/squealing sound which rang through the whole canteen. It sounded like someone was in pain. We look up and the dog was on the seat, squealing it’s heart out,  while the owners were walking away…. it couldn’t jump off the chair. Jesus the noise of it, it was like it was dying! The chair wasn’t even high!! So the owners had to come and lift it off and cradle it. It was so helpless that it literally was in shock that it’s parents were abandoning it! So that cemented my dislike for these dogs.

Thong Dog

Thong dog is a recent arrival here! It’s owner works in a shop that sells drinks, and I spoke to her one day while I ordered. Her English is good so we found out that the dog is hers, it’s name (I forget it now) and why it has that ridiculous thing on the dogs bottom. Apparently it’s so the male dogs can’t get their way with her! The owner must not want any wee puppies running about! The dog seems quite friendly and it allowed us to pet it!

So these are some of the animals which we see in and around where we live! It definitely makes us want a pet of our own sometimes though!

再见

爱玲

Why are you always looking at me?

The longer I have lived in China, I’ve noticed that less and less Chinese people stare at me here. When I first arrived, everyone on the subway would gawk at me, some might even take photos! Now however, with the influx of more foreigners, this (thankfully) is disappearing!

But not completely!

So yesterday, myself and my fiancé decided to go to Walmart to pick up some things for home. We were looking at some flasks and I turn and see a worker down the bottom of the aisle looking at me. So anyway, I continue browsing.

I look around and he’s still there. Staring.

So I say to my fiancé “That worker over there keeps looking at me, we’ll go to the next aisle and see if he follows”.

We go to the next aisle and low and behold he appears!

I’m getting a bit annoyed at this stage. So back I go to the flask section, waiting to see the worker.

What a surprise, he appears again….but this time at the other end of the aisle.

That’s it, I decide to walk over to him. At this point he’s looking at me while talking to another lady, but I don’t care. I go up to him and ask him in Chinese “Why are you always looking at me?”… He replies he’s not. Haha the face of him when he realised this foreigner was coming over to him!

I think he was shocked that I actually confronted him. But it worked! I didn’t see him lurking around again!  haha well maybe he was but did it with a bit more stealth this time! When someone is standing right in the middle of the aisle gawking at you, it’s not very conspicuous!

For me, it drives me mad when people do this. I just want to go and browse… and not have someone staring at me thinking I’m going to steal something. I hate that feeling. I’m not going to take anything. Just leave me alone and let me shop.

Did he think I was going to steal something? Was he just curious at what I was looking at? Was he just looking at me?? Do I even look like a thief????

Usually this sort of thing doesn’t really bother me, but when someone is constantly staring at me and making me feel like I’m doing something wrong, then that needs to stop. If he thought I was stealing, then keep an eye on me through the security cameras. Just don’t make it obvious!

That’s why I never go to markets here; every time I pick up something I feel as if the worker is thinking “Oh… oh she’s going to steal that!!!” Haha plus they would most likely rip me off with their hiked up price.

So anyway, that was my shopping experience in Walmart. Usually there’s no problem, but maybe yesterday I looked more a thief than other days!

Check out my other (not so nice) Walmart (yes, the same Walmart) experience here: Skipping The Queue = One Angry Irish Girl

再见

爱玲

The Unorganised Chinese Company

I swear to god, some Chinese companies/ institutions can be so so so unorganised!!

And I’m definitely not the only person to point this out.

Especially when it comes to visas; they need to be on the ball with this. We are trying to sort out visas at the moment and I tell you, they certainly don’t rush…but they make you have a nervous breakdown!

Having gathered some things for our visas, we were pretty confident that we had everything… everything seemed to be going smoothly and with no problem. Then they say ‘Oh you need to get this notarised.’

What?? Why the hell did you not say this to us from the start??? And typical; the one thing that needs to be done early because it needs to be sent to Beijing…. it’s this that they fail to mention to us!

It’s just so annoying when they could have told us this a week ago. We leave China in about 15 days. God knows what will happen if this document doesn’t arrive back in time.

From the get-go we have been making sure to get all the things we needed to get done done. It’s just frustrating that people don’t seem to care/notice about these important issues, and it will inevitably be myself and my fiancé who will suffer for their negligence.

What’s more, we have to do all this ourselves. No one from their side will come and help us. We have to get this document, that document, do this, do that. I thought we would be getting a bit of help from them… but apparently not.

So myself and my fiancé are a bit annoyed at the whole thing now. I swear…. if they tell us we need to do/get another thing then I’m going to go mad!

I hope everything will sort itself out…. I don’t want any more grey hairs!

再见

爱玲

I Don’t Like Changes

I’m a person that really doesn’t like changes…. if there’s nothing wrong, then there’s no need to change it.

But then…. that’s the problem. You’re stuck in the same rut for years on end…..too comfortable to move, change and adapt.

At the moment we’re in the middle of changing our lifestyle and way of life here. As nothing is 100%, I won’t say much more about it until it’s definitely happening. But yeah…. this past week has been tough on the ‘change or not to change??’ dilemma.

I like to think that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes it’s very hard to think of it like that! But I suppose it’s my way of comforting myself!

Some people itch for change, but me…. no no no!

Haha maybe this is why I’ve been stuck in Chengdu for the past 4 years!

再见

爱玲