wow, 2 weeks since last

Its been far too long since I've added anything to this blog. University has been a killer, lots of homework and presentations to do. A short recap of the last week is required I suppose.

• Met Kudara Sensei, from Cardiff University, in Kyoto. After 2 hours of nomihoudai and a meal of (strange) assorted meats and vegetables, the four stooges (Duncan, Ben, Basim and I) said farewell to the Kudara and his friends and carried on to a intensives session of drinking at Karaoke. After an eventful round of songs the party carried on in the room next door with 20 odd Salarymen who were happy to sing Japanese songs with us foreigners and dance our crazy dances. As a parting gift they presented us with a bottle of wine =)
  
  
  The 4 Stooges + Kudara Sensei
  
  Salaryman can Party! Check out the guy passed out in the back
  
  This guy on the left looks like their boss
• My 1000 yen bike's rear tyre exploded on my way home from Uni. Since I didn't fancy wheeling it the 40 min to Uni I waited as long as possible before doing it. When I finally did go to get it repaired the cost was 3500 and just as I paid I saw a 2nd hand bike for 4000 with brakes that work, 2 new tyres and a bell on it! Stupid of me not to look around for a new bike instead of repairing it. boooo!
  
  
• Had another meeting with Kudara. This time I was alone and had to rely solely on my Japanese skills but I think Kudara wanted some proper conversation so after a while we switched to English. It was good practice though. Once again assorted meats were brought forth accompanied by several beers. Because of Kudara's visits I have eaten the weirdest things, some of which I may order again since they were surprisingly tasty and some I probably wouldn't touch with a 6foot pole. So far the list includes
  

1. Tripe
2. Gizzard
3. Liver
4. Gristle
5. Cartilage
6. Raw chicken liver
7. Raw chicken kidney
8. Raw chicken giblets
9. Tori sashimi - Chicken Sashimi - i.e RAW CHICKEN! with avocado, soy sauce and wasabi.
   
   

I was told that the chickens used for sashimi are raised in a perfectly clean environment, feed the best of grains, slaughtered and delivered to the restaurant on the same day so the meat is at its freshest. Even though I had been told about this I was reluctant to eat it since I've always been told that Raw Chicken is dangerous and will cause you to get really ill. Its been 3 days so far and I feel fine so need to worry.

• Finished a 20 min presentation today about Instant Meals like Ramen noodles, frozen foods and packed lunches. It was all done in Japanese and it went well. Luckily we could read from the script that we wrote. Overall it was 3000 characters which is over 3 times the normal amount I ever had to write in Cardiff.
  
  
• I have also had some dried Kangaroo meat (jerky) thanks to my buddies from Australia. Next time how about snake or crocodile? I've been promised alligator next time I go to Florida =) Should be interesting!