Today we first went to the "regular" mall, meaning the non-Asian one. We went to the post office, I sent a package and bought some postcards while Arlene sent two letters. There was nothing to do or buy in the mall and we wanted to find pig hearts so we took a bus to the Chinese marketplace to see if they had them for sale. They didn't, so we took a bus to China Town and wandered around until we saw a meat shop.

We bought two hearts for $2.20 and went home. It had been raining off and on all day, but as we were down the street from Arlene's house we heard a loud thunderclap so we hurried home. We cooked the hearts according to the directions in the previous post, it tasted like stew meat only it didn't fall apart as easily as stew meat. We put it in the fridge and we'll make something that includes it tomorrow. I think it's the type of food that needs a sauce or something else to eat it with.

Then I tried natto and rice, it didn't taste good or bad.

Arlene's mom came home and she gave me some rice and materials for miso soup so I can make them when I get back to America. She showed me how she makes miso (letting soybeans sit in a giant bucket for a while, then mixing it with already-finished miso if it's not quite done) because it's a lot cheaper than buying it in the store. She gave me a package of pre-done miso and miso she's made and she showed me how she makes the soup. She also showed me how to read the package information of how much bonito (seasoning) flakes to put in the soup and how much miso and water to put in, et cetera.

Arlene's mom explained their family religion (Buddhism) to me and explained where she works. She works in a government-funded grocery store where the food prices are really low, and the idea is that drug addicts will buy food instead of drugs with their money. There are apartments for drug addicts who are quitting around the store and there is also a nurse's office and a needle exchange somewhere nearby too so they can use clean needles instead of reusing dirty ones and passing on diseases. Arlene said she thinks one of the previous managers of the store stepped on a dirty needle and contracted some form of HIV from it.