About
This blog is a conglomeration of thoughts on food, Japanese culture, and web design. These are my top 3 interests and the things I devote my outside time and studies to. Lately, I’ve been learning how to make Japanese food, reviewing kanji, and even still waiting patiently for spring to arrive.
Questions, Comments, Suggestions?
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please send them to me at caitlin@12345caitlinomara.678910com (remove all numbers). I will answer every email but there may be a delay - real life is my first priority.
About Me
I am from Virginia, a state most of my students here think is near the west coast. In college, I had to choose between majoring in Japanese or psychology - Japanese won because I only had to learn honorifics, not stick crying rats with hypodermic needles. I studied abroad in Sapporo now currently live in the Tohoku region of Japan. I teach English, defy the gaijin stereotype, and otherwise work on cultural relations with the locals. I will be moving back to the US in 2009 and have no idea what I’ll do then.
Me, contemplating the koi at Hirosaki
My other hobbies include cooking and baking (or at least, attempting to), video games, and web design. I am currently in love with my Nintendo DS and hope to get a Wii soon. My favorite animals are the llama and the shiba inu.
Other Useless Bits of Knowledge
- Goals: Having a job where my Japanese cultural and language experience would be useful
- Favorite Books & Authors: Hokkaido Highway Blues by Will Ferguson, Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, the Inspector Otani mystery series by James Melville, the Dave Robicheaux mysteries by James Lee Burke
- Favorite Foods: Fried chicken, goma ice cream, grits, hachihai tofu, mashed potatoes, sausage gravy, strawberry pie
- Favorite Movies: Indiana Jones, Mulan, Over the Hedge, Shrek, Star Wars, The Emperor’s New Groove
- Favorite Music: Alicia Keys, Angela Aki, Asian Kung-fu Generation, B-DASH, Barenaked Ladies, Beethoven, Fall Out Boy, Goo Goo Dolls, Mozart, Norah Jones, The Brilliant Green, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
- Favorite Podcasts: A Prairie Home Companion, The Splendid Table, Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
- Favorite Shoes: Adidas Sambas
- Favorite TV shows (past and present): Desperate Housewives, Eureka, Frasier, Monk, Psych, The Big Bang Theory, Venture Bros., X-Files
My Gear
I work off an Apple MacBook (black) running Leopard, which I love. I use a Targus mouse Logicool V320 cordless optical mouse, a 180GB Buffalo external hard drive, and a Wacom Bamboo tablet. I also have a Sony CyberShot DSC-W90 that I use to document my life and a classic iPod Nano to provide the soundtrack to it.
Disclaimer
I do most of the Japanese translations when necessary. My Japanese is not so great so there may be errors. If you spot one, please let me know and I’ll make the correct changes.