Mom Was Right

Dear Ones:

I’ve realised my mom was right. I have been blogging too much, working too much, exploring too much, thinking too much, exercising too much and plain pushing myself to exhaustion. When she first said it, of course I disagreed with her. “You don’t understand, I’m FINE,” I said. And we all know what that “fine” means. But a simple comment by Yuka today on how I’d mistakingly written “orange” in place of “apple” in a previous post,  finally touched the right nerve.

Believe me, I’ve had the best of intentions. I’ve blogged everyday because I enjoy doing it but also because I believe it will one day, some way or another, make me a real writer. For the past two years, I have not stopped. Even now, on holiday! I am walking, thinking, over-thinking, exploring, photographing, blogging, and freelancing. Then I write a post about holiday blues. I am so silly.

I don’t want to be like this anymore.

So, I have made a choice. The great Bahai leader, Abdu’l-Baha says:

“One cannot obtain the full force of the sunlight when it is cast on a flat mirror, but once the sun shineth upon a concave mirror, or on a lens that is convex, all its heat will be concentrated on a single point, and that one point will burn the hottest. Thus is it necessary to focus one’s thinking on a single point so that it will become an effective force.”

In short, I am finally going to take that overdue holiday. I am going to enjoy my upcoming travels to their fullest and I am going to live in the moment. This means photographing less, blogging less, hopefully thinking less and overall, chilling the F out. I guess my only concern is losing followers but I know that my health comes first and that this way, contrary to my previous thinking, I can become a better writer. Something to do with quality over quantity, I guess.

In the words of Anne Lamott:  “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you”.

Again, thank you for being there.

10 Epic Music Videos Filmed In Japan

Interested in Japan? Sick of seeing it through the eyes of a food loving, flower loving, baby loving almost 24 year old? Then these are the videos for you! All very different and all shot in JAPAN!

1. The Killers – Read My Mind

2. Clean Bandit – Rather Be ft. Jess Glynne 

3. HONNE & Izzy Bizu – Someone That Loves You

4. OK Go – I Won’t Let You Down

5. You Say Party – Underside 

6.Pharrell Williams – Happy (Tokyo Version)

7. Sub Focus – Turn It Around 

8. The Black Eyed Peas – Just Can’t Get Enough

9. DJ Fresh ft. RaVaughn – The Feeling 

10. will.i.am – #thatPOWER ft. Justin Bieber 

Meet The Totoro Maker

After retirement, Mr Fukushima moved to the countryside from the city and dedicated his life to making Totoro. And all I can say is, his Totoro hobby-house is SURREAL. Because he has put in so much work and it is all so noticeable. Everything is lovingly handmade and utterly magical. Entering his home is no different to entering a fairytale. I told him I want to get married there. He said, dozo (go ahead).

In addition to carving Totoro, Mr Fukushima is a master soba (Japanese buckwheat noodle) chef (having installed a 40m well in his home just for making soba), painter, vintage collector and Jazz musician of all sorts.

I Need Your Help

Yesterday I had an idea. One that both frightens me and makes me excited. I thought, why don’t I compile a picture book of my time here? Wouldn’t that be the very best way of closing a chapter? No pun intended. Okay, pun totally intended. What do you think? With anecdotes and recipes and maybe one or two poems (because I hear poems don’t really sell). Not that money is a focus for me whatsoever. I swear to God, all I want to do is create. I have dreamt of publishing a book ever since I was a little widdle head-scarf wearing school girl. Won’t you please help? Any ideas, any contacts, any advice, anything at all because I really don’t know one thing about doing this. Will you buy it? Is it a good idea? What do you want to see in it? Who should I contact? How do I do this?

Eagerly awaiting your comments and messages,
Anisa

 

An Unexpected Friend Part Two

Remember my friend Yasu? Last night, her and I went to our pottery sensei’s house to shape our creations. This is the final part before our pottery gets cooked in an oven. For dinner, Naho sensei served us the most delicious Japanese curry with chicken, carrot, eggplant, potato, onion and radish in the most loveliest handmade bowls (after dinner we had Japanese matcha). I especially LOVED her boat-shaped bowl. I thought it incredibly charming. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. A simple compliment on it in my broken broken horrible Japanese and it was mine. An unexpected friend, numero dos. This morning I served home-made muesli in it for myself. This afternoon, I will visit Naho sensei with a bag of oats. I am going to teach her how to make the same muesli for own.

Life Is Tough But So Are You

So I received the best gift ever. Like, I love it so much, I can’t stop thinking about. Handmade with local Japanese mountain Sakura (cherry blossom)! Wow wow wow! Friendships like these don’t come easy. This is why I travel. I love you my Israeli brother. @kodamaliving SO much talent! This, (not just the material thing but also the thought behind it) makes all of the trouble, all of the worries, the homesickness, the weight gain, the mosquito bites, the prejudice, the unfamiliarity, ALL worth it.

Experimenting In Ze Kitchen

Most of the time I don’t follow a recipe. Instead, I experiment and end up pleasantly surprised (most of the time). Below are some of my recent creations. From top to bottom: gluten, refined-sugar and dairy-free walnut and mandarin cake which I made using the juice of two mandarins and which ended up tasting not a smidgen mandariney but still yum according to my mom (that rhymed). Wholemeal turmeric, sundried-tomato and parsley muffins, and today’s lunch: a green salad of broccoli, snap-peas and asparagus, all young and all blanched in hot water for 4 seconds then tossed with raw pumpkin seeds and pistachio nuts before being dressed in lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.
Oishi katta (it was delicious).  They were delicious.

One Big and Delicious Whole

Everything I am
everything I’ve said
and done and will say
and will do
derives from something
that you’ve said
or did or do.
I am not a single grain
nor darling, are you.
What we are are
crumbs
of one big and delicious
universal
(but here’s hoping, French)
roll.