On food

Fruit and vegetables (fruit especially) are hella expensive here, I have since found. For a single apple, the lowest price one usually pays is 105 yen. The most common fruits are bananas and oranges and kiwis; a single grapefruit costs 105 yen at the cheapest, as well. Don't get me started on the ridiculous price of grapes, and I have seen a quarter of a watermelon marked for 2,300 yen.

Cheese, in addition, is also very expensive... when you can find it. They don't sell proper cheese outside of specialty shops: I pay 105 yen every once a week for three squares of a soft, glorified cream cheese to put in omelettes or melt on things. "Cheese desserts" are popular - and also expensive, but it remains a delicacy. On that note, I am also unable to buy yogurt in bulk. The biggest size it comes in is a tub good for maybe three servings, or four individual cups. Highly inconvenient.

Right now, I'm cooking some sort of mystery vegetable for my lunch. It looks like bok choi, but the sign definitely didn't say bok choi - some sort of Chinese vegetable (which bok choi is, I know, but I still have my doubts). Whatever, it looks tasty, and it will sustain me through Thursday, which is the middle of my week and thus, predictably, what feels like my busiest day in terms of classes and timing.

It is still quite difficult to find gluten-free pasta here; Japan is currently in the middle of a torrid affair with French and Italian foods, both of which are heavily glutenous - I can imagine that after several millenia of rice, the Japanese are glad to add an alternative staple to their diets, but it is to my detriment. I managed to find rice penne at Caitlin's hyaku-en store last Sunday, but my carbs are heavily reliant on rice, which I am not actually that fond of. Though I now can use my rice-cooker with confidence, ours is a relationship of ambivalence, at best.

The standard Japanese staple for breakfast is rice, or rice porridge; more recently, it has become toast, or a sandwich. And so, I find myself eating a lot of fruits and yogurt for breakfast; an expensive endeavour if I want variety. As it is, I've consumed more bananas in the past few weeks than I believe I've had all year up to leaving Canada.

Several of my students, women in their fifties and seventies, comment on how skinny I am, and make sure to ask me if I'm eating right and staying healthy, bless them. I'm trying to eat right; it's just expensive. And right now, I've a total of roughly $300 in the bank - I have to hold out until next week Friday, for my first real paycheque.

Until then, I'll keep eating mystery vegetables, discount bananas, and omelettes.