KT

I am teaching the students at my school the alphabet.
I take the cards K and T our of the pile and switch between K and T. Slowly the students start to understand why they keep saying K .... T ... K... T... K..T..K..T.KTKTKTKT. The students think it's about the funniest thing in the world when they make the association. Katie=KT.
Sometimes it just feels good to have people chant your name.... even if they don't know they're doing it.

Teeth

This is more of a post about weird American culture than anything else. American's are obsessed with their teeth. I've been to Brasil, Finland, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Scotland, (pretty amazing life!). No-where else has the same obsession with teeth as Americans. We straighten, and whiten our teeth to the point where they do look quite unnatural. I have had many students ask me if my teeth are real, or if I painted them. It seemed like such an odd question, but compared to most foreigners, I have really uniform teeth. 

I am not immune to this cultural brain-washing about the aesthetic of teeth. I catch myself thinking, they would be really pretty if they just had better teeth. I brush my teeth after drinking coffee or eating curry. I take a lot of preventative measures to make sure my teeth are pearly white. 

Do our teeth look this weird to foreigners?

Japanese teeth range from a bit more character to how on earth do they chew? I'm not sure what their tooth aesthetics are. Prior to the Meiji period it was customary for Japanese people, especially upperclass married women, to dye their teeth black in a practice called Ohaguro. Now it is only seen in paintings and period costumes.

Mapo Tofu

Japanese people eat a lot of Chinese food!
So many foods that we have come to know and love as Japanese food are considered to have chinese origins. Ramen,  sukiyaki, and mapo tofu all have chinese origins, but have a place in many Japanese restaurants.
The Japanese put a really nice twist on chinese food, it's nothing like american chinese food. It's really delicious.
Mapo tofu, which is a fairly common dish here, is a chinese derived dish. It is delicious! It's spicy, savory, and really fills you up.
For anyone who doesn't like tofu, or is afraid of it, give this dish a shot. It's very flavorful, the tofu acts as an excellent base for the sauces.

Here is the recipe I use (it's really easy!)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp. finely chopped ginger
1 block of cubed firm tofu

1tbsp. Sesame oil
150 g. Ground pork
1 tbsp. Chili bean paste (Doubanjiang)
1 tbsp. Sweet bean paste (Tianmanjiang)
1 tbsp. Sake
6 oz. Chicken broth
1 tbsp. Soy sauce
Starch/water mixture-enough to thicken the sauce (I use tapioca starch here, but just use what ever starch you're used to)
Green onion.

Here is a video that explains the procedure, the method and recipe is really good. The things I change are: I don't bother specially draining the tofu, it's a waste of time on this dish. I use more chili paste, the video is a very mild version. I use don't use powdered chicken stock, I use either broth, or just water.

Prep:
Chop the garlic and ginger.
Remove the tofu from the packaging, cut into large cubes. (Let the water drain as you start to cook the other ingredients)

Cooking:
Oil a pan using sesame oil. Add the pork, ginger, and garlic. Cook until the pork fat becomes clear. Push the meat to one side of the pan, and put the chili bean paste and sweet bean paste on the other side.Let the sauces cook a bit, but do not let the sauces burn! Mix the pork into the sauces while adding the sake. Once the meat and sauce have been mixed add the chicken broth and soy sauce. Let the mixture come to a boil, then gently add the tofu. Stir the mixture to cover the tofu in the liquid. Reduce the heat and add your starches until the mixture is at the right consistency. Stir in the green onion.

Serve with rice and enjoy!