where we're at

we've been making use of the van this week, visiting my hometown for its gorgeous beach and small but excellent saturday farmer's market. everytime i visit, i tell jason how i wish we could live there if it wasn't for the fact that it is my hometown (and thus a little too close to my folks). a decade ago i scoffed at the prospect of living there but i've been away long enough to develop a more appreciative perspective.


i've been thinking a bit about alter ego after reading arc and mav's words on the subject over at port2port. mav's alter ego and mine would undoubtedly be good friends as my high school ambition was to open a cafe in this old brick house (on 5th and ash for all you readers familiar with fernandina) that has since been host to a coffee shop and italian restaurant. of course, my place would have been different (and, ahem, better) and my alter ego is working there now baking vegan sweets and brewing organic coffee, all served on locally made pottery. another alter ego is working at NPR doggedly, interning her way up like her mentor. still another one stuck with her high school sweetheart and is out there making hippie dresses and grilled cheeses at phish shows, sleeping in vans and walking around with hairy legs and dirty barefeet. it is nice to think of all these selves in the world, focusing on a different aspect of the same core.


after fernandina, we headed back to jacksonville via a car ferry and went to jacksonville beach in order to visit the only japanese food shop in town that everyone had been telling us about. we brought home some natto, mochi, konnyakyu, daikon, shiso, and good gohan among other things. the very friendly owner (who left hokkaido for florida over 30 years ago) gave sebastian some pocky and we had a really nice chat. it was so good to hear japanese spoken again, though it wasn't kansai-ben like we are used to. we have yet to meet any japanese people from the kansai area so they always chuckle at our okini (kansai ben for arigatou-we also emphasis the tou so it's a-ree-ga-TOE gozaimasu instead of domo a-REE-ga-to gozaimasu like the shop owner). oy, we need to return to japan soon. where else is this knowledge going to be of use?

i went to observe a class today at my alma mater's english language program. kayla of just like sew came across this blog a while back and, being the wonderful (and super talented) person that she is, suggested that i submit my resume for a part-time esl teaching position this summer. it is really exciting to be able to do the work that i want to do. i like being in the classroom but since our goal is to return to japan in a few years (on a semi-permanent basis hopefully) i also want to gain experience that can be applied in the future. so this is a fantastic step. thanks again kayla!
anyway, some stir-fry for dinner then off to the bookstore in search of blueprint. i'll probably read some more craft as i'm too, um, frugal to ever buy it.
i hope spring has spread a little further now. i hear that the sakura are finally in bloom. happy hanami friends.