The workload is slowing down and I have much more free time to do as I please. As long as I get my work done well and in a timely fashion, my co-workers do not care so much about what I or anyone else does in their free time. Some teachers nap at their desks, and some even do online shopping, having their items shipped to the school. I guess, when you have the time available, everyone seems to understand exactly how the other feels when free time presents itself. As long as you don’t do anything stupid, no one will complain. If you don’t know, a kotatsu is a heated table. It is typically the size of a coffee table. The top comes off so you can drape a blanket over it, then place the top back on. It does slide around if you push it, but the top is really heavy and won’t move so easily. A heater is on the underside of the table. It is covered in some sort of vinyl, so if you happen to accidentally touch it, it won’t burn you. It doesn’t even feel warm. It is an essential winter item when living long term in Japan. The winters are brutal. This is bread wrapped in a sugarcoated cookie. Pan means bread in Japanese, and melon is for the etched pattern on the top of the cookie covering. The bread just tastes like regular bread. The only sweetness comes from the cookie coating. I don’t know why this is so amazing, but I cannot get enough of them. Every day, a baker comes to my school and sells many items from her bakery. Melon pan is one of them. I buy it from her so often, that she no longer asks me what I want, nor does she tell me how much it is. She just knows exactly what I want, and knows that I know what the price is at this point. Students even know I buy the bread. If they see me coming, and one of their friends is going to buy the last melon pan, they will make them not buy it so I can have it. It’s cute. The only down side is that Japanese bread is always made with milk. ALWAYS. So if you are lactose intolerant, in any sense of the word, you cannot consume the bread in Japan. I wouldn’t risk it. Especially since the heavy soy diet increases your symptoms. I know that it might be difficult to not eat any sort of bread at all in Japan (or curry I might add). If you love yourself at all, and you have an allergy to milk, DO NOT eat the bread in Japan.
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AuthorJeny B Archives
August 2021
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