Something Smells Fishy Friday, January 30, 2009 By Peyton Harrison - Advertising Foreign Language Club braved the strange world of sushi on Thursday, January 15. The club left the school at 3:45pm for the Kato Japanese Cuisine and Sushi Bar in Kansas City. Sponsor/French Teacher Mrs. Jones said students had a bonus stop this trip at Zona Rosa.  "We always try to add some cultural factors to the trip. Even though [Zona Rosa] is a shopping district, it's very similar to the downtown of my hometown in Belgium. It is similar to shopping in European cities so we're going to compare that a little bit," explained Mrs. Jones. Were Kato employees ready to serve a bus full of kids? "I usually go ahead and talk to them a month prior and I go in and eat and meet the manager. Now I have enough contact with them over the years that they know us," said Mrs. Jones. Senior Allison Murphy described Kato as "a cute little Japanese restaurant that has good sushi and good service." Twenty eight students attended the trip, along with History Teacher Mrs. Harrold and Language Teacher Mrs. Harper. Mrs. Jones explained, "We average between 30 and 40 people each trip. This trip is one of the smallest, given the fact it's sushi." So how did the students react to the food, you may wonder? Freshman Chelsea Gerber said, "I liked it; it was very yummy. I liked the California rolls, but I didn't like the raw fish with rice under in it." Allison said she didn't have a least favorite when it comes to sushi. Her favorite food was the miso soup and eel. "Anyone who has never had sushi before needs to try wasabi. It's delicious!," added Allison. The meal started with drinks and edamame (baby soybeans). Next came salad and miso soup. Then came the sushi sampler. Among the sampler was sushi rolls, raw fish and rice, and plain raw fish. They were arranged ornately. One piece even resembled a flower. The food was eaten with chopsticks. For the less skilled, they provided "training wheel" chopsticks that were rubber-banded together and very easy to use. After the main course, a few people enjoyed ice cream. It wasn't the normal ice cream you buy from Wal-Mart or order at Dairy Queen. This ice cream was about the size of a golf ball, with an outer rice covering. The flavors to choose from were green tea, red bean, and mango...not flavors you see everyday, but they did also have chocolate and strawberry. Once done eating, the students bundled up and went to Zona Rosa. Everyone split off into small groups and did their own thing. Many got Starbucks coffee, an FLC tradition. They met back at the bus at 7:45pm. There was one last stop before home...McDonalds! For the few that weren't too fond of the sushi, their appetites were taken care of. The bus arrived at the high school around 9:40pm. Foreign Language Club members went home with full tummies and a broadened cuisine vocabulary.

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