I Eat Everyday

     Every day has been over 30 degrees Celsius. During this heat, it is smelly if you are riding trains like me. don't think Japanese people realize that they stink.       Imagine this: you are standing next to a guy whose arm is stretched to hold on to the rail. You get a whiff of his underarm smell, and you must stand next to him until he or you get off because the train is packed. After all, it is rush hour. OR… you finally get a seat next to a guy. That guy is talking to someone that is sitting next to him. Every time he opens his mouth, you get the smell of someone who is not in the habit of brushing his teeth. Again, you must sit next to him because the train is packed. AND…you wish you had a mask to put on.       I don’t think Japanese people realize that they stink or don’t care about personal hygiene. Sounds ironic. Japan is the land of onsens and public bathhouses.       The majority of the time, you w...

     It is mid-June, and it is starting to get hot. We are still rainy season. However, it is hot when it is sunny.      Japan has a lot to see if you are traveling. On top of that, if you like the summer season, I applaud you.       I don't like the summer season. It probably is my least favorite of the seasons. Japanese summer, I would call it, the sweaty season.       If you are like me who sweat easily, the one you sweat through the crack of your butt, you will not like Japanese summer.       So, the sweaty season of the year has started. At this moment, it is tolerable. There will be a nice breeze, like today, once in a while. I feel overall okay when going out (of course with my hat and sunscreen).        Once July starts and rolls over to August, that is when it becomes unbearable. I would sweat just sitting still. I felt that last year when I broke bones in my foot ...

I always wanted to create stuff. I use and create a lot of slides and worksheets. I thought I would share my creation here.  There is a little voice telling me "There are better creators than me." Then there is another voice telling me "Go ahead, you will get better." Before, I might have listened to the first voice, but I am learning to listen to the latter.  Here we go. We cook several times a semester. This is the first one that we made. I have read several recipes and adjusted the ingredients based on my students' allergies.  PS: I forgot to take a photo of our finished product. So, I used a photo from MySpiceTrunk.com.  Korean Pancake  

     I always wanted to own a house of my own. Since returning from my vacation, I have been seeing properties along with my cousins. Up until now, there wasn't any property that I liked. However, yesterday, we saw a property that I liked that everybody liked. Right then, I thought I would go for it.       So, after seeing the property, I applied for the mortgage. After sending my application, there was a feeling and thought that I might have decided on my emotions instead of rational thinking.       Right now, my mind is trying to justify the decision that I made yesterday. Other factors that affect whether I will get the house is getting approval for the loan. We will have to wait and see. 

     There are so many easy fixes that help with traffic jams around the world. Two arguments are happening in my mind. One is that those easy fixes work because everybody is polite and mannered while driving. Good manners happen everywhere and all the time. Maybe Mongolians lack that and cannot be better than they are now. The other argument is Mongolians ignore road safety rules and laws. Rules and regulations are in place to provide everybody with a safe journey from Point A to B. Maybe Mongolians ignore all of them when they are behind the wheel and think it is "survival of the fittest."       Like any problem, it is a combination of everything. One part concerns the lack of mannerisms, another part is the ignorance of the rules and regulations, another part is that everybody feels that everybody else has to give way, another part is that lights change too fast, and another part is maybe the lack of sufficient parking.       One...

     I have noticed that people do things with a half-assed attitude in Mongolia, or rather, people who are building stuff don't have any architectural sense or imagination. Here is what I mean.       I went to a specific store with my parents. Right next to the store, there was a ramp and a staircase (built together). The only purpose that was done was to provide access to people, including a wheelchairs. The ramp and staircase are providing that. However, it was built only using the concrete mixture. There is no architectural sense or beauty. When I saw them, I felt ashamed and sad for everybody. I felt ashamed because even now, at least during my lifetime, people are treating their job out of spite for the Mongolian corrupt government. I felt sad because the project could have brought some gentrification to the area, and the people who executed the project don't have the decency to think a little more than what was required of them.   ...

It has been a few weeks since I posted.  I went home for a couple of weeks. It felt nice and comfortable, but upsetting at the same time.  One of the nicest and necessary things that I have done for myself was getting traditional medicine treatment for my body. This was also my mom's hope when I went home.  In Mongolia, we have a traditional medicine. The doctors feel your veins and arteries and diagnose how your internal organs are performing. It may feel very alien to Western ears, but such medicine exists in Asia.  So, I had my doctor's appointment. The doctor felt my veins and arteries, and said the following. (1) She said I drink too much water, especially cold water. Because of that, my kidneys are working very hard. Moreover, because Japan is very humid and cold, my kidneys are cold. Normally, the kidneys are supposed to feel warm. The symptom, I realized later on, was frequent urination. (2) Because of my excess water consumption, my internal organs had local...