Three Firsts

Well, I hope that everything is going well in the States. Most everything here is going well. Besides the hang-ons of my cold which are a scratchy voice and random coughing fits in the middle of the night, I feel great. Today I got to go to the park with Eastin. We stayed there for about an hour, and then came home. He did not go to school today, as he has not been feeling well. He has had gluten in his system for the past week, and is trying to recover. He was doing much better today.
Well, The first "first" that I experienced today was going to the grocery store. In feel it was like a Walgreen's or some small place like that. But it was bigger than Walmart. The fish department was HUGE! There was more tofu than I've ever seen in my life. The seaweed section was also big. Then we saw the lettuce and other things that we think of when we say 'salad section'. It was about 3 feet of produce, and that was it. I still do not understand some of the...organization...of the store. Right beside facial tissues and toilet paper, there was pet food. Not just 'pet food,' but mostly cat food... I have not seen one cat in the three weeks I have been here. I see LOTS of dogs, but not one cat. Nevertheless, there was plenty of cat food at the store. :) Anyway, at the grocery store we bought two things to have for dinner that I have never tried before.
The second "first" of my day was trying something that, if you had asked me a month ago to try, I never would have tried. I had maguro, which is one cut of tuna...raw tuna... For those of you saying "ewwww", it was really good. The thing that surprised me the most, was that it did not taste 'fishy'! It tasted like any cooked piece of meat. I don't think I'll eat much more of it, just because the thought of eating raw fish is still nasty, but the fish itself was alright.
The third "first" of my day was much like the second one. I would definitely not have tried this in America... I had calamari. We took whole little squid, battered it, fried it, and ate it with salsa. As long as I didn't look at it and see one of the little eyeballs before I put it in my mouth, it was really good! I think that was what I ate the most of at dinner. :)
Who would have thought that three weeks in another country would change my diet this much? While I have been here, I have also come to greatly appreciate dried seaweed and tofu. I don't know if I have told you about all the different types of tofu here, but as this post is already long, I will have to do it later...

For now, I pray God's blessings on all of you!!!

Love,
Hannah