Hello Everyone!!! I have been thinking of some things to post and I really wanted to share how I am learning to survive in Japan. Yes, I may have a little bit of Nihongo under my belt but not nearly enough to understand everything that goes on around me. And so I came up with this!!! Silak's JST (Japan Survival Tips) series This will be basically short posts on practical tips and tricks I've picked up along the way. I will be sharing stuff that I learned and am still doing that makes my life so much easier. This will be anything and everything under the sun from post rescheduling, inquiries, groceries, and many, many more! And, good news to the introverts out there like me that want to minimize their human contact as much as possible, these, are going to help you a lot! (As much as possible I do most of my stuff online and I only call if, and when I really need to.) I will try to make the posts as educational as possible with as many picture illustrations as I

Nothing like comfort food on a rainy day. I made this using parsley instead of basil. And surprisingly, it came out heavenly either way! Ingredients: 250 g linguine or any kind of pasta 1 can tuna in brine 1 small onion chopped 50 g curly parsley 1/2 cup olive oil 2 dashes of McCormick Italian seasoning 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese (powdered or shavings) 1 tsp crushed peanuts (pine nuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds may be substituted) 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) 1 tsp vinegar 6 cloves of garlic Process: 1. Mince the parsley and garlic. 2. Combine all ingredients in a mortar and grind with the pestle in a circular manner. 3. Keep grinding until the consistency is thick and pasty. 4. Taste occasionally to check the saltiness. 5. Boil water for pasta according to package instructions, add salt to the water to make it taste like seawater. 6. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil, add tuna. 7. Add pesto, high heat, then toss the pasta. 8. Remove from heat and

Back when we were kids, there was a time when Japanese animation broke through the Philippine airwaves. For me personally, it started with Sailormoon and for the boys, I think it was Slam Dunk or Ghost Fighter... Well anyway, that was the start. Then bit by bit, Philippine channels were swamped with anime, lots and lots of it. And with the animania going on, so did the fanaticism to anything Japanese. Japanese restaurants have been thriving all the while but gained more attention from kids wanting to try that "sushi" thing they see on one or more shows they are absolutely crazy about at the time. And I was no exception. I became so obsessed with Japanese food that I drove my mom and dad near crazy to have our Sunday dinner in a Japanese restaurant. Those were my first experiences in eating Japanese food. Now, as most people know, Japanese food is known for some of their raw dishes and of course having to eat them with wasabi on the side. (Though I read somewhere that true