Book Discoveries: The Elegance of the Hedgehog
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Book Discoveries: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Translated from French to English, The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a powerful novel that brings two very extraordinary characters to life. Renee Michel is a concierge at an upper-class Parisian apartment complex. She constantly has to conceal her intelligence from the other tenants in her building for fear they may not appreciate her insights and philosophies – especially if they are coming from one of their apartment employees.

Ramentary: Waka Waka Wakayama
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Ramentary: Waka Waka Wakayama

Hyogo has a ton of great food to offer, from fantastic Awaji onions to some truly succulent beef, but it doesn’t have a specific style of ramen as its own. Sapporo is king of miso, Fukuoka runs the tonkotsu game, and Kyoto boasts a thick, chicken based brew as the local choice. Shops all over Japan have variations on your typical shoyu or shio broths, with noodles varying in thickness, straightness, chewiness, color, and flavor.

Naturally in Tune with Nature

Naturally in Tune with Nature

With the season changing, you may have noticed certain things on your commute to school or had them pointed out to you by your Japanese friends or coworkers. What I’m talking about is Nature – which is pretty hard to miss when you live in a country whose culture respects and celebrates nature with all four seasons. Some of you HS ALTs had the pleasure (or pain) of reading a selected few student essays on “Japanese Strong Points.”

Book Discoveries: The Sirens of Titan
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Book Discoveries: The Sirens of Titan

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., by my own personal standards, is quite possibly the God of creativity and existential thought.….at least as far as putting it to literature goes. Lately, I’ve decided to ‘go back’ and read some of his classics. For those who haven’t yet already read Cat’s Cradle please do, as it will make your head spin in all the right ways. I am definitely one who has added “busy, busy, busy” to my list of appropriate responses of the question, “how are you?”

Callin’ All Politicos: A Tough Pill To Swallow
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Callin’ All Politicos: A Tough Pill To Swallow

On August 30th of last year, Yukio Hatoyama and his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) were swept into power in a landmark election that saw dissatisfied Japanese voters turn out in droves to expel the former ruling Liberal Democrats (LDP) in favor of Hatoyama and his reformist pledges.