Accidental drunkeness

The highlight of my day was accidentally getting drunk at an outdoor food stall, while eating ramen and watching the afternoon light fade. The food stalls are set up along one of the many small rivers in Fukuoka. I had walked through the food stall area a little nervous about accepting the shouting men's offers of various kinds of food. There were no picture menus, only small glass cases crammed with what looked like random meat and seafood.

I stopped at the end of the stalls to take a picture and realized that the man at the last stall was saying "ramen." Yes! I know ramen! Fukuoka is known for its ramen and I hadn`t had any yet.

I still hesitated for a bit.

The shouting man watched me watch him. We watched each other for a moment. Finally I realized I was being ridiculous and walked over to him.

"Ramen?" I said.

He gestured to the table which was just a narrow piece of board suspended over a bench surrounded by stools. After placing my order he came back and asked if I wanted something to drink.

"Drink? Beer?" He said.

I nodded yes. I assumed he would bring a regular sized bottle of beer.

My communication skills were really soaring at this point.

He brought back a massive bottle of Asahi and a glass. I had no choice but to drink it.

The ramen was delicious. It was a very simple ramen. The noodles were firm, the broth a bit greasy, though not too greasy. There was a slice of what I assumed was pork floating in the bowl along with some sliced green onions.

As I ate and drank I watched two families eat beside me. I love watching people eat in other countries and trying to imitate what they do so I can fit in. I think I`m perfecting my noodle slurping as a result.

After dinner I continued my walking and mainly "eye shopping" as they call it in Korea. Although things are cheaper in Fukuoka than they were in Kyoto, they still aren`t affordable.

On a side note, I`m sharing my room with a girl who I said hello to at the top of the mountain near Aso San. She`s one of the quiet people in my room. It`s strange how things work. She was in Korea for a month before coming to Japan. I also shared a room in Nagasaki with a woman who I first met in Fukuoka. And Jill, who I spent a day with in Nagasaki, stayed in the same hostel as me in Fukuoka. Kyushu really is a small island.

I`ll have a little time to run around tomorrow morning and then it`s back to Korea and work. More importantly, I`m going back to Ajay!