I continue to enjoy my time back home, doing San Diego things like going to the beach and the desert. I’ve been having fun roaming U.S. supermarkets, so well stocked with bagels and Pop Tarts and more than 100 varieties of breakfast cereal (Japanese supermarkets are limited to 4-5 varieties if you’re lucky). For some reason the Japanese only care about three kinds of soup, miso, creamed corn and clam chowder, so I’ve been enjoying the increased variety available in U.S. stores. I’ve also been checking out the San Diego beer scene, which has really exploded over the past few years, and riding the San Diego Beer Bus with friends, which is a private bus that ferries you to different drinking establishments (give it a try if you’re coming here for Comicon). At one bar, someone ordered a plate of camembert cheese, and I realized with some embarrassment I didn’t know how to pronounce the word “camembert” as an American would, as I’d only eaten it in Japan and probably had a Japanese-style katakana accent when saying it. I have a similar problem with ordering Indian food, which I learned to love after moving to Japan: I’m sure I speak with a “Japanese” accent when ordering.
Living in Japan will make you unable to pronounce “Camembert.”
