My week as a Sushi Critic

      Back in Japan, all I can remember eating during lunch time is sushi or onigiri (rice balls). Before taking the school bus for long forty minutes, I would buy packaged sushi for lunch and buy a rice ball as my breakfast. Back then, I thought my daily routine of eating sushi was monotonous and most of the days, all I just wanted was grilled cheese.

      But now that I have fulfilled my wishes of eating way too many grilled cheese paninis here at Penn State with creamy tomato soup, all I want now is sushi- authentic, fresh and flavorful sushi. So I sought out for sushi downtown at Maki Yaki. For $6.99 +tax for a spicy tuna roll, I was iffy if sushi here was worth paying that much for.

      As always, I couldn't resist the temptation and courageously ordered it. “One spicy tuna roll please.” In less than ten minutes, my food was served and I already had my chopsticks out with a dish full of soy sauce and wasabi. Hoping that it was good, I took a bite. Mhmhm, not too bad!

      With confidence that I could finally find sushi that was somewhat similar to what I lived with everyday in Japan, next stop was Panda Sushi Express at the HUB. I picked up the boxed California roll with my friends and ordered it with bubble tea. Grabbing soy sauce and chopsticks, I sat down and unpackaged the appetizing roll.

     I was surprised by how good it was. The sushi here, with great diversity are amazing. My friends always mention, “Sushi, even wasabi here will never do justice, right Sal?” No...It's hard to tell the difference. I don't know if I think this just because I was away from Japan for too long. I mean, I would probably see the difference when I go back but for now, it successfully quenches my thirst for sushi, real authentic Japanese sushi.

      This amazes me- Japanese cuisine can be found in America! The fact that Asian culture could be embedded in places like State College, shows how diverse Penn State and eventually America already is and will become.

English 101

     This may be brave of me to state this, especially when I'm announcing this to the public. But here it goes...I think I sound just the same as any other American when I speak English.

      If my friends and probably my classmates as well heard of this, they would either giggle, burst out in laughter or just stare at me in awe as if I made a disturbing statement. But the truth is, I don't hear what they hear. As for me, I can point out grammatical and pronunciation mistakes when other people speak English.

      I started to learn English when I was in fourth grade at an American international school in Singapore. I was forced to engage with my teachers and peers when all I could force out of my mouth was “Hello” and “My name is Sally.” I stayed at an English intensive programs such as ESL (English as a Second Language) when my friends were taking regular English classes with my homeroom teacher, Mrs. Tomerlin. I felt ostracized and at that young age, almost hopeless as I constantly felt as if I was behind and not matching up to the game.

      Now that I'm attending college in the United States, I feel as though I've mastered the language. I'm more than comfortable speaking and writing in it and I think in English. I've reached a point where I mostly dream in English. For the first time, I feel confident.

      When my friends say, “you're such a Korean/Japanese” or “you're such a fob,” I don't mind because it's true- I've never lived in the States and at times I have no idea of some of the slang words that my friends often use. I actually find it funny and gleeful that my friends are so interested in the world that I came from.

      But one issue that concerns me the most is that people tell me that I have an accent and I speak in the manner of English teachers (they say that I speak in a formal manner). Although I constantly attempt in trying to see this minimal difference in the positive light, that I stand out from the crowd, more and more I tend to believe that they are just petty mistakes that I never adjust.

      During a typical conversation, I would just note, “Oh yeah, she is coming as well.” The “as well” is apparently too formal and anachronistic. I would pronounce the word dilemma as “dye-llema” not “dee-llema” and ostensibly that is wrong too. Am I just being too sensitive as it happens to everyone or am I really that distinct from others?

      I can't help to wonder (Carrie's famous line from the show, Sex and the City), would an American person, stereotypically with blonde hair and blue eyes receive as much constructive criticism on their English like me? Would anyone notice my ethnicity if they only heard my voice?

      Hmmm...some ideas worth experimenting.

Asian Food for Thought

     Chicken fingers, curly fries, tuna melt paninis, egg salad sandwiches and buffalo chicken pizzas are what I consume day to day here at Penn State. Surprisingly, my friends and I look forward to meals on campus because after much apprehension of the stereotypical college food, we found Penn State dining halls to be quite pleasant.

     There's so much to choose from- the soups change everyday, ranging from broth soups such as the french onion soup to creamy seafood clam chowder. The menus provide great diversity from Mexican, Italian, American to Chinese cuisines. I must note that I become a little too excited and anticipate for fajita nights.

     On campus dining halls are economical, convenient yet delicious- most of the time. But even Chinese special nights do not quench my thirst for...simply put, Asian food. It's difficult to explain why Asian food differs from any other cuisine. It's just as diverse, appetizing and exotic as other cuisines.

      I may long for it because I grew up enjoying my mom's Kimchi Jjigae (also known as kimchi stew) where spicy Korean pickled vegetables are mixed with bean paste, garlic, seafood, diced tofu to boil with water and be served as mouthwatering stew. It could also be that my friends back in Japan enjoyed Bibimbap, one of most famous Korean dishes as our usual meal when we hung out. Bibimbap, in literal term as the “mixed meal” is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with sautéed and seasoned vegetables, sliced beef, chilli pepper paste and fried egg.

     When I tell my friends of the food that I normally enjoy back at home during breaks such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, they undoubtedly interrogate me with hundreds of questions. Do you not eat Turkey? Do you add hot sauce to everything? Is there ketchup at your house? Do you know what gravy is? Have you ever tried bread stuffings?

      I could easily celebrate American traditions but I choose not to- especially when I'm with my family. I enjoy diverse Americanized and westernized cuisines at school but back at home, I'm inclined to savor in the type of food that I grew up with. That way, I get to have the best of both worlds!

My Passion for Hip Hop

Ever since I was young, I held a strong passion for music and somehow that led me to develop an illusion that I could sing. Truly believing in myself that I was capable of singing notes that are as high as Alicia Key's “If I Ain't Got You,” I would drag my friends to the karaoke machine continuously and blast the room with my raspy but heartfelt voice.

On my iPod, ninety nine percent of the artists that I listen to are popular American artists. They are those who could be found on iTunes top hundred and Billboard's hot hundred. Just to name a few, I prefer listening to hip hop and therefore my all time favorite artists would have to be Eminem, Bruno Mars and Lil Wayne.

When I first heard that Lil Wayne was making his visit at the Bryce Jordan Center, I had to gasp for air. I was so excited! I've been to Mariah Carey and Beyonce's concerts back in Japan but never really had the opportunity to attend my all time favorite idol's concert.

As I gaily discussed Lil Wayne's concert and attempted to come up with a strategy to obtain the tickets with my friends on my dorm floor, they were in shock: “How do you know him? Is he popular in Japan?”

Are you kidding? Is he popular in Japan? He's popular everywhere! Popular American music is prevalent and dominant in music industries all over the world. This may be due to websites such as YouTube and music hosting sites such as Pandora that allows diverse audience to truly appreciate international, foreign and exciting music. I can't imagine my life without popular American rhythm and blues and hip hop- I probably adopted my passion for these genres as my friends were mostly from America.

But my friends have trouble understanding how I came about to these artists and memorizing the lyrics by heart. So I rap for them- I rap one of Lil Wayne's most renowned song, “A Millie.” Although I feel that I'm talented in rapping and singing, my friends laugh.

I may stumble on words and lose track of rhythm- but that doesn't stop me from manifesting my passion for hip hop and lining up for his tickets by camping out at the HUB.