shout out to pinocchio

I have to give a shoutout to a local bakery, Pinocchio. A friend introduced me to it and it was one of the best things she could have done. The bread they make in this place... you can tell from the taste, texture, and shape if it that they hand-kneaded it in the back room, like REAL BREAD. You can also tell they cook it fresh because what they have changes based on the time of day, because they only make enough for the day, and this morning my fruit-and-nut mini-loaf with cream cheese in the middle was still slightly warm.

They have sliced loaves, mini cakes (these change with the season and approaching holidays), muffins, and cold cakes (like the birthday and special-occasion kind) in a refrigerator. Everything is always delicious and you can taste the quality. Plus, the loaves are reasonably priced, so I don't feel bad about going once or twice a week to grab something (which I then proceed to devour in one sitting no matter what I promise myself).

But that's not why I'm giving Pinocchio a shoutout today. No, what I want to give them additional credit for is their selection of music. Because damn. The other day I was in there and they were playing "Someone's Waiting For You" from Disney's THE RESCUERS. You know, that song that's playing while the little girl, Penny, is crying on the boat and wishing on stars? That song. I realized what it was and I went, "Oh. My. Dear. God. What is this unexpected childhood nostalgia tomfoolery?!"

And then today I walked in to find them playing "Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence, and well...

Shout out. Pinocchio, seriously. SERIOUSLY. I can't handle how awesome you keep being.

Anyway, if you're ever in Xinjhuang, Taiwan, stop by.

Comments

Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

That's one small confirmation email for Caitlin... one giant leap forward toward Japan. This evening I spoke with a representative from the Tokyo office of my employer company, Interac. The purpose of the phone call was to discuss a confirmed placement they had available for me, should I accept it: Hitachinaka, a city in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan. Hitachinaka is a seaside city located about two to three hours (by train) north-east of Tokyo. As I understand it, I'd be driving between a few schools, namely elementary and jr. high schools, and there should be a few other foreigners in the area for me to learn from and make friends with while I'm settling in, which would be very welcome in a foreign country. Just now I sent an email confirmation to Interac, accepting the placement. My new destination is Hitachinaka, which I cannot yet say three times fast without getting tongue-tied but will have to learn quickly! There are some absolutely gorgeous scenery p...

gojira is hungry

On my first day of teaching, I played a game with some of my classes that is called "Wolf," but I renamed it "Gojira" (Godzilla) to make it a bit more culturally accessible. The game has Gojira (me) "sleeping," while the students call out a question, such as "What's your name?". If I give the key answer ("My name is Gojira!" and not, say, "My name is Pikachu."), I pretend to chase a few lucky students back to their seats. If I catch them, I get a point. If I don't catch them, the students (as a group) get a point. I'm explaining this to you so you understand who "Gojira" is in the context of this update. Gojira is me. And every day, after chasing around kids, Gojira is very hungry. I have two burners in my little "kitchen" area, plus a sink, some shelves, and a cabinet the size of a shoebox. This is my space. Still, it's infinitely more cooking room and appliances than I had in Taiwan. I...

i left my heart in taipei

I'm going to level with everyone reading this, as well as myself: I fucking miss Taipei. I don't miss my boss, but I miss Taipei like whoa . I miss the MRT. I miss the buses. I miss the food, the fashion, the insanity of cars and scooters in the streets. I miss street performers in Ximen and fruit for sale in the markets of Xinzhuang. I miss the adorable cafes of Da'an and the walls of accessories in the shops of Shida Night Market. I miss Coda cafe with its expensive food and walls of used books for sale. I miss the incredible graffiti on the walls of Ximen side streets, the bike trails of Danshui, the shaved ice on hot nights and bowls of noodles in an unknown orange broth in a cramped Thai restaurant in Gongguan. I miss getting hideously lost in Wu-Fen-Pu but being amazed by the fashion there none-the-less. I miss the tea. I miss the endless wifi. I miss the cafe culture, where you could hang around practically anywhere using the cafe's wifi as long as you kept b...

around

Search This Blog