Grilled Salmon Sushi

Don't ever try to make me choose between any food and sushi. I will choose sushi for sure. Japanese Sushi is the best, although I have to be aware that some rice used in sushi is coated with gelatine to make it shine, the mirin to eliminate the fishy state, and also the sauce -sometimes it contains alcohol. Just ask the waiter if you are unsure.

I myself see mirrin as "tapai", a fermented product from a certain food. But, please rethink.

However, it is my favourite sushi:

It is a grilled salmon. So delicious!
It also comes another variant with cheese on it. I always order both. Psychologically, I would love the cheese one more. But the truth was I had ever been in a confusing state that actually the non-cheese sushi tastes better before I did research to figure out which sushi was more delicious. My brain could not agree that the cheese one was less delicious as my tongue said so. Then, yes, for me the grilled salmon without cheese is the best. However, I will still order both.

Sushi is made in a one-bite size, so you have to eat it as a whole. You can't slice it into half or less. If you do so, you will ruin the tradition of eating sushi!

Every fish has its own taste, hence, there is always ginger on your table to get rid of the taste of the fish you already ate and be ready to taste the next fish. But, I don't like ginger, so I always skip it and eat the next sushi right away.

Anyway, if you never try to eat sushi before and you want to know the taste of sushi, one thing you should know is, it is almost never good for a first-timer. And the only tips to eat sushi on your first experience is to keep eating and think how fresh and healthy it is. I can guarantee this if you eat sushi in Japan, but outside Japan.. well.. just keep eating and imagining good things and you will be OK.

Hamazushi

A Piece of Summer

I have been learning how to make a video. I made a video to create a better memory box. And here is my first video. I took the raw videos during our walk from the uni to the train station and unfortunately I took them not in landscape mode so it was so unsatisfying. But, here is the video anyway.

Words that hurt

There are some positive words that I'm pretty sure were made to make people motivated. And they don't work for me:

Be patient

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS WORDS, HEY YA PEOPLEEEEEEEE??

every time I am trying to achieve something, and it gets hard and I really really really want to quit (but I haven't quit yet), people will tell me, "Sabar, Ver." It makes me want to stop trying and just laying on my bed staring at the ceiling wishing for a miracle.

You can't have everything

DON'T EVER TELL ME THESE WORDS!

Every time I hear this, I feel that you have a doubt on me and I feel offended and I feel like a failure. Let me tell you that I know how the system works: if it is meant for me, it will be mine even though I am just playing with puddle after the rain; and if it is not meant for me, it will never be mine how hard I try. And you don't have a right to tell me that I don't deserve things that I am working on.

I know when to stop.

And one day, if I say "be patient" to you, most of the time, it means that I don't care, unless I know how hard you worked for it. Because if I care, I really want you to get what you want, and by this I mean I am supporting you.

And if one day I say "you can't have everything", it will always mean that I am mocking you. You can marry Keanu Reeves if you want, right?

English Proficiency Test

I was confident enough to use English, especially for my passive activity. The score of my TOEFL ITP was the highest among the staffs in my office, including my boss. I have no difficulty to communicate via e-mail with strangers, with professors.

I recently even realise that my listening ability is increased.

Then, I had to take TOEFL iBT test. I had no idea what it is at first. Well, actually I could choose between TOEFL iBT or IELTS, I never did both, but I chose the cheaper one. From short research through the internet, I found out that these two kinds of English proficiency tests are similar. Different to TOEFL ITP test which only evaluates our ability to listen and read things in English, TOEFL iBT (and IELTS) also examines our speaking and writing ability.

I only had two weeks before the test. I typed in google things like "how to do TOEFL iBT instantly". I even illegally downloaded a scanned book. I did not want to sell it to get money, so, please forgive me. I also downloaded video from youtube to make my ear familiar with the speaking test. I listened to the downloaded video during the trip to the test place.

On the test day,
I was scared of the speaking test, of course. I did not do the reading part well because most of the passages were about boring things. Bzzzz. And I think I did the listening part quite well. And I totally screwed up in the speaking test. And I was very very very content when I wrote two essays.

From best to worst: writing > listening > reading > speaking

I did not expect too much, but I really counted on my writing skill.

Seven days later, when I was about to complain about the rotten shallots I bought from an online shop, there was a new email in my Benachrichtigungen tab: Your TOEFL iBT scores are now available.

Then I checked: 22 25 20 20

What?

The score of my speaking and writing tests are the same!

I could not be more confident about my speaking ability, instead, I feel that I have lost my confidence to write in English. Hence, this post is created. I will write in English. Again.