団子大家族 - Great Dango Family

Though I do not have much time today and plan to do more picture sorting and blogging tomorrow, I thought I'd write a short post today, primarily on...dango!

My host mother and I made matarashi dango (named after the matarashi festival in Kyoto). We used two kinds of flour and mixed it with water (by hand, making a fun mess). Then we rolled the mixture into small balls that were then put in boiling water. What happened next was extremely entertaining. Small bubbles would rise from the bottom of the pot to the top, turning the dango over by themselves at the bottom of the pot. Next, the spheres would start hopping up a bit or turning on their own. As they began to cook, they slowly starting rising and then falling and then, in a group, moving in a circle. It was like watching jellyfish without the tentacles. Then, once they were done sinking and all stayed floating on the surface, we fished them out.

The sauce was made by heating and mixing water, cornstarch, sugar, and soy sauce - then applied to the dango themselves. It was so delicious and of course matched the traditional Japanese green tea we drank with them. I've had them before from the conbini but these were so much better. As long as I can figure out the flour types, I can definitely make these back home!



Some reasons why I love dango

• There are many different types (but these and yomogi are particularly delicious)
• They are adorable little spheres of mochi like substance, for extra cute-ness
• Pillbugs are called dangomushi or dango bugs
• The emotional anime Clannad with a character who loves dango and a song that also happens to be the ending song to the anime (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvzCmV3_12c)

I also took some dewdrop photos in the garden today since it seems that rainy season has actually started. I loved listening to it last night while studying and this morning when waking up. Thankfully, the times I walked to and from school it had either stopped or died down. Unfortunately, stepping into the backyard for about 10 to 15 minutes led to seven mosquito bites. I had had only two or three until then and it was frustrating (but I was able to gain the satisfaction of smacking one of the perpetrators).

 Anyhow, of course I will be blogging about my adventures in Korea soon but I wanted to type something brief here. I have felt a lot better during and since the trip. I have a sense of competence and capability that I was lacking the two weeks before the trip. My sleep has improvement and my stress decreased. I feel like I can take on whatever is coming. There are things to do, but I know I can do them and, knowing me and my organizational skills and self motivation, I know they will be done.

It was also amazing to realize how much I enjoyed the feeling of coming back to Japan. Seeing the coast while returning, breathing the air, understanding the language, and greeting my host family were fantastic feelings. Though that will be my last time returning to Japan for a while, it will not be my last time.

Happy Solstice, wherever you are! Good night and good day!