Memoirs of a Gaijin

How time has flown...

2010-03-25T11:31:00.001+09:00

Hello!

I'm glad you found my little blog. :)

Since my last post, I've been back in Canada for a year and a half. While I was very happy to be back, I miss travelling very much! I plan to travel in the future, both short term and long term, and I will definitely blog when I do it! I'll post a link when I do start a new blog, so keep checking back!

In the meantime, feel free to browse old posts and photos! If you have any questions or are going to Japan and want to know more about somewhere I went or anything in general, please get in touch with me! I'd be happy to chat with you!

Until my next travelling adventure....

Kyoto with Jo-Anna

2008-09-02T23:36:00.001+09:00

Edited - pictures added!! More posts to come soon...I promise. Darn school takes too much time.

In February, my good friend Jo-Anna booked a flight to come visit me. I was sort of disappointed, because she wasn't comin until August, and that didn't help my lonliness at the time. But time flew, and lo and behold, yesterday, she arrived.

Since I had to finish working, I gave her explicit and detailed directions with colors, maps, and pictures - and we met up at Tsuruhashi. I was super excited to see her and looking forward to spending the week together; she was super happy to be in Japan and see again too. We dropped off her stuff at the dorm, and went for supper to a little place by my house - Akoya. I haven't been yet, so it was to be an adventure. It turned out to be a great one! It's quite small; there was the chef and one patron. The patron spoke some English, and the four of us had the grandest time.

They thought we were pretty awesome (cuz we're foreigners) and kept saying how pretty and good looking we were...but not in a creepy way, more in an amazed way. We laughed and talked and ordered some food. I asked for their recommendation, which was fish and octopus. It came sashimi-style...I didn't realize Jo-Anna doesn't like sushi and has never tried sashimi. But she tried it (kudos for being brave) and liked it! We took some pictures, and then pulled out our money to pay. We misread the bill, and as we were pulling out more money, they both gave all the money back and said it was on the house. I tried to pay them and shove some money in their hands, but they wouldn't take it (bill amounted to just over $30). They just said to come back sometime soon, so we're going to stop by again this week. They also said they had noticed me before (I walk by twice a day).

Today, we visited Kyoto. We wandered a bit and bought some beautiful pottery from a nice couple - took some pictures with them and chatted for a few minutes.

The man who made our beautiful pottery

This week is the Gion festival, so stands are starting to appear in Kyoto - we spent quite a while looking at the infinite and intricite pottery. When we realized we couldn't look at pottery forever, we headed up to Kiyomizu Temple.

Just before going inside, we met Gaku. He is a computer programmer who has been working in Japan for 10 years. He asked if he could join us, which was fine with us. We went into the temple area and looked at all the buildings and the three story pagoda. We also got inside one of the buildings that is normally closed - it is open today for Sen Nichi day; if you make a wish on this day inside the temple, it is as if you came for sen (1000) days! Gaku also showed us the Kiyo Mizu of the temple (kiyo = pure, mizu = water) - which I hadn't known about!

The water was really good, especially since it was so warm out, and we were quite thirsty! Then we visited some of the smaller shrines...there was one shrine especially for love. It is said that if you successfully walk from one Love Rock to the other, with your eyes closed, you will find love soon. I had to try, and I made it! So I shall find love one day soon...

After we left Kiyomizudera, we were getting pretty tired and I was pretty hungry. We walked back down to Shijo Street, and searched for food.... which took a while to find. Jo-Anna was tired and her back was sore. I was hungry. Really hungry. We were at each other's throats a bit.... and we were both a bit annoyed by Gaku. He was really nice, but we wanted to talk to each other, and didn't want to be rude to him. So we had to try and include him, which was awkward sometimes...and he was a pretty clingy walker (you know those people...whenever you turn around they are right. there.). But we did finally find food, yummy food. We relaxed in the AC and ate, and felt much better and less grumpy after.

Finally - dinner! Jo-Anna & Gaku

We did a bit more shopping and exploring, then decided to head home. We were both a bit annoyed by Gaku, but felt bad because he was really nice, and really helpful. He was asking about our plans for the week, and I sort of vaguely told him, but as soon as I sensed he might ask to join in, I changed the subject. I figured that was nicer than having to tell him "No".... On the train ride, we sort of talked to each other a bit more and (unintentionally) ignored him a bit. But he seemed really happy to have met us and gave us his email address, and got promises that we would email (and we will).

On the way home, we stopped at the supermarket and picked up some snacks, and had a party and girl talk in my room. It's been great to catch up with Jo, and we've had lots of giggles and good talks already - and it's only Day 1 of the week!

Izu, Izu, Izu (Part III)

2008-09-01T15:41:00.000+09:00

After I awoke from the dead, we tidied up and packed up to leave our adorable little Ryokan. Off in search of breakfast.... what did we find? MOS Burger! Mos Burger is sort of like a Japanese version of Burger King or Arby's or Wendy's - and the burgers have buns! Most 'hamburgers' in Japan come without buns. Don't ask me why. After a lovely chili chicken burger, salad, some fries, and an apple pie pocket (yes, I know - super healthy!), we jumped on the bus for Irozaki. Irozaki is a beautiful coastal area that is just barely touristy, but has some gorgeous scenery.

We took a half hour cruise along the coastline...the air was hot and sticky, so being out over the ocean felt nice (still hot and sticky, though). We passed by several rocks that were island-ed in the ocean, but with fishermen on them! Fully clothed, with gear. We figured that either they could walk out at low tide, or someone had dropped them off. But it was still funny to see them sitting on a rocky island with no means of getting off.

We passed by a larger rocky island that was inhabited by monkeys!! People who had bought monkey food before departing threw the snacks out to the monkeys, who scurried around to reach it. Most of the people throwing the snacks were terrible at it - ridiculously so. And not just the kids - several adults threw snacks into rock crevices or didn't even make it to the island (which was 10 feet away). But it was neat to see the monkeys.

When we got back from the cruise, we did a little perusing of the small shops. Most of the shops were inhabited by Obasans (older women) who were delighted to see us and thrilled when we came in to look around. One lady offered us some water; Irozaki water is supposed to be especially good. Given how hot it was, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

While waiting for our bus, we spent some time in one last sparse little shop. The Obasan was delightful! She was wandering around, talking at people out the window, giving directions and instructions to random people, and repeatedly making sure we knew where to go for the bus. She was very friendly and Rumi and I got a picture with her. After we bussed back to Shimoda, we jumped on another bus - this time for the aquarium. But not just any aquarium, no no, a floating one!

There was a small ice cream stand outside the aquarium, and (of course) we got some ice cream! Feeling adventurous, we tried some new flavors... Alex had something random (we don't know what it was) and I had Brown Algae. Surprisingly good, not sure how to describe the taste, though.

We watched the huge turtles in the pool outside before venturing in...we hit up the Sea Lion show right away, followed by the Dolphin performance. It was so much fun! We sat in the first row, and could see both the underwater portion and the above water portion very well. It was both cute and amazing! The Sea Lions did some fabulous tricks, including some kisses and waving, flips, spins, and dives. We also got a 'gun show'....he lifted his flippers and gave them a little kiss, just to how how proud he was of all his muscle and abilities... The dolphin show was equally amazing! I couln't get over how beautiful the dophins were. A couple times they slowly sailed across the glass right in front of us, and I couldn't tear my eyes away. More impressive (super high!) jumps and tricks later, they waved goodbye and the shows were done.

We explored the rest of the aquarium, saw some penguins and sea anemone and a GIANT crab; small sharks and more dolphins. Then we had lunch in the restaurant. Guess what we had? Seafood! I'm not sure if it was a strange or appropriate thing to eat in an aquarium, but it was delicious! Soo yummy.

When we got back to Shimoda, we did a little more shopping and then jumped on the train for Atami...it was already almost 8 o'clock. Rumiko and I were planning on hitting up Moonlight Beach before we started our night adventure back home. We said goodbye the the guys, and decided to check the schedule.

Enter Ridiculous Adventure #2. Yes, there were two in one weekend. You wouldn't think a 2 day trip would have so many adventures and blog posts, would you? Neither did we.

Izu, Izu, Izu (Part II)

2008-08-25T20:18:00.000+09:00

Having finally arrived at Atami, we briefly celebrated and snapped a photo or two. Then we ran like madwomen (again) down to Atami Sun Beach to meet Alex and Keith. The beach was pretty busy, but when we finally found them, we ran as fast as we could. I was waving my arms and yelling, and Rumiko was running and yelling, "Where, where, I don't see them!!".

Sometimes I wish I had someone snapping random photos of me...that would have been a good one. Rumiko and I running across the hot sand; bags bouncing on our backs, dresses fluttering and coming up to almost inappropriate heights, Rumi yelling, me violently pointing...

Once we got to them, we said the fastest hello ever, and ran straight into the water. The four of us hung out in the water for a while, swam, played with a beach ball, and got audio dame'd for retrieving the beach ball from the no-swimming area. (Story goes like this... Keith threw the ball to Rumi. Rumi missed (don't know if that was a lack of catch or throw). Nice girl gave the ball to Rumi. Rumi wasn't paying attention. Ball swims faster than Rumi. Alex rescues the ball, cutting his finger in the process. Audio dame. End of story.) Finally, stick thin and starving, we went for a late lunch. Some yummy seafood and the discovery of 'Wiener Coffee' (still aren't quite sure what it is) later, we jumped on the train for Shimoda.

The train ride was long, but we enjoyed each other's company and Rumi and I retold our adventures. When we got to Shimoda, we picked up some ice cream (yes, I know, we eat that a lot) and went to find our Ryokan (inn). It was an adorable little home-run inn. It had a natural-spring-fed onsen bathing room with taps and a bucket (hello, shower). There was a western-style toilet and a Japanese-style toilet, a common sink area, and our rooms. Our rooms were adorable! Mine & Rumiko's had a low table, a gorgeous mirror cabinet with small drawers, towels, ryokan yukatta, and a small TV for 100Yen / hour.

Once we got settled, we set out for (guess what?) food. There was surprisingly few places to be found, but we found an Izakaya-style restaurant. We had to wait a half an hour, but we used that to explore the little shops in the area and lining the street. Dinner was delicious, albeit a bit slow...we had sashimi and pizza and meat and vegetables of all kinds. It was late when we left, and since our Ryokan had an 11pm curfew, we stopped at the Family Mart for some snacks for later. When we got back, we hung out for a bit, then decided to try the natural onsen. Natural = Hot. We drained some of the water and added cold, but it was still scalding hot. I got my feet in. Alex got half of one leg in. Keith got some of his legs in. Rumi got in up to her waist (very slowly), but I don't know how she did it! I kept pouring cold water on and around her...hehe. We finally gave up on experiencing this particular onsen, but it was definitely interesting.

Natural fed onsen - HOT HOT HOT!!

We hung out for a while longer, eating our snacks and talking. However, having not slept the night before (at all), I was pretty exhausted. At first, I felt fine, but then I'm pretty sure I just fell over and looked like death until Rumi pulled me to bed. I slept like the dead. When I woke up in the morning, I felt incredibly strange. It was like I had been dead and just popped back into the world and was suddenly aware again. We were up just afer 8:30, and ready to head out by 9am, out into Day 2...

Izu, Izu, Izu (Part I)

2008-08-25T16:38:00.001+09:00

Sorry - I posted this yesterday but forgot to change the date, so it went back into the archives....but here it is! Parts 2 and 3 to follow.... I'm also sorry it's jumping around a bit; this happened back on the weekend of August 1st - I'll get back to mine & Jo-Anna's adventures after the Izu adventures...

In the short seven months that I've been in Japan, I have had many adventures. All good, some slightly sketchy (Mt. Fuji . . . a little nerve wracking). But this weekend, I had one that can beat all previous adventues down with a stick...

Warning: It's a long one. A really long one.

Izu Peninsula is about 100km southwest of Tokyo. It's got beaches and onsens and coastlines and views of Mount Fuji... 'twas here that we planned to meet. Myself, Rumiko, Alex, and Keith planned one last hurrah (for me & Keith, anyways) - to Izu.

This time, intead of night-bussing it, Rumi & I decided it would be more efficient to use the Seishun 18 Kippu (Seasonal 18 Ticket). Never again. Never, ever again. Actually - the ticket was great; unlimited rides on JR trains for a few days for a reasonable price. Our problem was when we were travelling.... through the night. Most trains in Japan sleep from around 12:00 to 5:30am. We were fortunate to find a night route to get us to Izu. We planned to arrive at 3:35am and explore a bit, before the guys met us from Tokyo at a more reasonable morning hour. The plan was great, and timed to a tee, with no room for error. We figured that was alright.

I took the train from Osaka to Omihachiman, where Rumi joined me. We were excited and talkative and planning the weekend from the pages of information that Rumi had gathered. We chatted and giggled and tapped our toes, until as the doors swooshed shut on the train, Rumi said, "Is this Maibara?" Oh yes, we missed our stop. Not good. So we got off at Sakata (the next stop) and ran like madwomen (literally) to the other platform, hoping to catch the next train back to our transfer...which...was...in 15 minutes. Normally, this would be fine. But in our case, it meant we would probably miss our next transfer, onto the last train of the evening. Not good - why? If this happened, we would be spending the night in a station. But, not to worry -

I've gotten a lot better at not worrying about things while I've been in Japan. So we decided that since there was really nothing we could do except catch the next train, we (briefly) explored the station we were at, and waited. It was in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by fields. Fortunately, there were some statues willing to pose for pictures. We caught the next train, and transfered from Maibara.

We did indeed-ee miss our next transfer at Ogaki. So we (again) ran like madwomen to catch the last train to Nagoya. We figured we would get as far as we could. Which was Nagoya. When we arrived in Nagoya (at 12:30), we inconvenienced the ticket clerk to help us figure out the next possible trains, until we noticed that they were waiting for us to leave...so they could close the station. Close the station. So much for spending all night inside the station...we'll be spending all night outside the station.

Welcome to Nagoya. We left the station, and decided that what we really needed was nourishment and liquids. We were a bit in shock that we were actually stuck in Nagoya until early the next morning. We picked up some sandwiches and bottled tea, and planted ourselves on some bus stop chairs. We called Keith (who turned out to be the lifesaver of the weekend), who google'd and hyperdia'd us a plan for the morning. We would leave Nagoya at 5:30am, and hopefully get to Izu by 10:20am. Good plan.

Next plan. Sleep. It is important to note that we did not plan on staying in Nagoya, had no maps or information, and also that hotels, ryokans, inns, etc, have curfews and closing times, in Japan. So we really were going to be outside all night.

Now - before you worry, let me assure you that we were in a populated place, staying together, and staying on main roads. And I put on my mean face whenever we passed anyone the least bit suspicious. We interrogated a couple street punks, got an old lady's purse back, roughed up some mafia members, and had quite a reputation - so we were safe. Just kidding. But we were being safe.

In the spirit of safeness, we decided to try and sleep in a clean, lit, public place. Beside the bus stop was a hotel (closed) with a nice parkade area. It fit the bill, so we wandered inside the shallow entrance. We found a bench! A nice, cushioned bench! Rumiko exclaimed, "We're so lucky!", and I agreed, "I know!!" . . .

before we realized that two lucky people would not be stuck in a strange city sleeping outside all night. So we laughed at ourselves, and set up our lucky bench. I also found a smaller bench around the corner, so we made sort of an L shaped bed, against the wall, with our heads together. We wrapped the straps of our bags and purses around our arms, and laid down to try and catch a few Z's.

I have to admit - despite being in a fairly safe area, it was creepy. Once or twice I lifted my head to look around. Then Rumiko said, "Steph...". I lifted my head to see a Dirty and Wrinkled Old Man (DWOM) standing half behind a column, watching us. I promptly sat up, and gave him my most challenging glare. He looked again, and then wandered away. We were completely freaked out, and decided that this was not a good plan. We decided to relocate to the 24hour McD's across the street. When we got to the corner, the DWOM was there too, so we stayed there so he couldn't follow us. He went towards the McD's, so we went the other way - back towards the station.

At the station, there were quite a few people sprawled out on and around the entrance, sleeping. There was also lights and a station security guard. We decided to make the station entrance our alternately napping place for the night. There were also a couple guys a few meters down from us with BMX bikes. They had a little area set up with some snacks and sweaters lying around, and were BMX'ing and sitting around (henceforth called the Bike Boys).

We spent a couple hours talking, giggling, and telling stories about previous adventures, relationships, and experiences. We also tried to work up the courage to ask the cute Bike Boys if we could take a video of them, and then (it's all about starting with the baby step) if they would teach us some bike tricks. Two caucasian men walked by (45 ish), and said, "where ya going...?" before suggesting that we join them in their hotel room. Fortunately, they didn't stop walking while they talked, and I think the looks on our face of disgust and horror kept them from stopping. It was a strange moment, for me. And not pleasant.

We also encountered another Very Strange Man (VSM). The VSM was another little old guy, but dressed in a business suit. He was hanging around an area several meters in front of us. He alternately sat down, walked in circles, and yelled random things. Then he proceeded to pull out some paper towels and wipe his feet and then wander around with those, throwing them in the air. He was indeed very strange. Finally, despite the VSM and the hard pavement, Rumiko fell asleep. I rested and relaxed a bit, but didn't fall asleep - instead, I kept a watchful eye out for DWOM or any other potentially threatening beings. Oh, and I smile-flirted with the Bike Boys. They were showing off for us. It was funny.

When the station doors opened at 4:50, we relocated to another nearby wall for a few more minutes. When we sat down, Rumiko promptly fell back into a deep sleep. I was even more awake than before, so I watched the light grow and the (normal) people start arriving for the day. Presently, another caucasian man walked by. I am generally friendly to caucasian people in Japan, because I know how out of place I felt while I was here. Well, this guy was Russian. He didn't really speak English. But he said hello and kind of asked where I was from. Unfortunately, he was on Rumi's side and speaking to me. When she woke up to the conversation, he was kind of leaning over her towards me ... I think she had a momentary heart attack as she scrambled to sit up. He was nice, but a little strange....he kept saying, "You speak? You speak?" To which Rumiko replied, "Yes, I speak. See, I am speaking right now. I am always speaking." Then she said goodbye to him, but he didn't catch the hint. He mimiced a motorbike, told us where he was from (sort of) and that he didn't speak English (we noticed) and then finally caught the hint. We decided that we had had enough of Nagoya, and went inside the station.

Ready to hit up a new and fun day, we fixed our makeup in the bathroom and caught our train. The only sketchy part of our schedule was that we had two minutes to make one of our transfers. Turned out, it didn't matter.

Partway between Nagoya and Toyohashi, the train was delayed. We didn't quite understand the loudspeaker message, so we asked a couple sitting beside us. They told us that the train would go to Toyohashi, but then would turn around and head back to Nagoya. Why? Rain. "?????" We didn't quite understand how the rain was stopping the train, but figured there must be flooding ... it was raining pretty hard.

We discovered this when we got to Hammamatsu. Trains weren't moving, so we went exploring. We played in the rain for a second, but only a second - I couldn't believe how much it was raining!

We saw the famous Hammamatsu tower, and took a picture in the rain. We missed one train (didn't see it on the board on time), before finally catching another train. After a few more stops and a very quick four-minute-flat-exploration of Shizuoka station (on the way), we finally, finally made it to Atami! We were thrilled, to say the least.

We snapped some photos, jumped into our bathing suits, and took off for the beach to meet Alex and Keith...

Home again!

2008-08-24T15:08:00.002+09:00

I apologize for taking soo long to update my blog!

I made it home safely and have been running around like crazy for a week, now - errands, visits, people, stuff. I am moving back down to Vancouver next weekend to continue school...

It's good to be home, but a little strange. Things catch me off guard and surprise me; things that are different here from Japan. I started driving on the left side of the road (just for 100 m, I promise). I look for a tray to put my money in at stores, instead of handing it to the person. I am surprised when the cost of more because of taxes (yuck, taxes). I forget to tip (oops). I can understand all the conversation around me - almost to the point of annoyance (hehe). I miss Japan - a lot, actually. But I will live vicariously through Alex's Blog until May, when he comes back to Canada. But I do wish I was still there!

I have several blog posts written and promise I'll post them soon! I just have to add photos - I am having trouble with my laptop, but plan to buy a new one tomorrow (hopefully)!

I promise that tomorrow night I will start posting the Izu adventure....one of the larger and more sketchy adventures I had in Japan. Look for it tomorrow... :)

Quick hello...

2008-08-13T19:46:00.001+09:00

A quick hello from Mie prefecture! We've had a great (but busy) couple of days... lots of photos to upload and blogging to do - but it will have to wait! Right now we're hanging out in an internet cafe at Ugata station in Mie Prefecture. We've hit the beach, stayed at a beautiful Ryokan (Japanese Inn), biked quite a ways, saw a gorgeous shrine, and found an adorable little hotel to stay in.... tomorrow we're hoping for a cliffside cruise, Spanish-themed rollercoaster park, and another beach.

Time has flown since my friend got here, but we've done a lot. Tomorrow night we'll head home (to the dorm). Friday will be packing and tying up loose ends day, meet a few friends for one last lunch (tear!!). Then Saturday, it's onto the plane and back to Canada...

'Sayonara'

2008-08-08T09:49:00.010+09:00

I haven't blogged about my last weekend (in Izu) yet, but I promise it's coming! It was an adventure and sixteen halves. Coming soon... but until then -

Yesterday I gave my final presentation and attended my sayonara (good-bye) dinner. My presentation was 15 minutes, and in Japanese. Yep, Japanese. Surprisingly, I wasn't too nervous. I've sort of stopped getting nervous about presentations because I have a reasonable amount of confidence in myself and my ability to present, and being nervous doesn't help. Just like worrying.

So the presentation went well - but it was half the time it should have been. Oops. It was 7, instead of 15 minutes. But then it ended up taking 25 because it sparked a discussion on the unit of Watt-Hour; an efficiency measurement. So...that was amusing. I explained it, and then they all discussed it and I sat and sort of giggled. It was pretty funny - some people got it, some people didn't, some people just thought it was useless. After my presentation, our manager presented me with a certificate of Internship Completion, and everyone clapped.

After my presentation, I went to sell popcorn. Presentations and popcorn? Why, you ask? Our company has quite a few labs and offices and industrial space in this area, and every year they put on a community festival - I suspect to gain the goodwill of the community and be involved (good ideas, obviously). So I put on my fancy shirt and sold popcorn. I had to teach them how. The method was to pop the popcorn (without oil) then sprinkle it with salt, and wonder why it tasted bland... so I introduced them to the importance of oil, as well as putting the salt in with the oil. Voila - yummy popcorn! Unfortunately, my popcorn time was cut short by my sayonara dinner.

We had sushi and random goodies and some laughs. The two other female members of the team and I had the grandest time, taking silly pictures and laughing and talking. And guess what. I was talking mostly in Japanese. Yay! At the end, after we cleaned off the tables, Takemori-San presented me with a picture (from Mt. Takamiyama) with notes and messages from anyone. I didn't mean to. But I cried. Just a little. I hope no one noticed. But they probably did. Then I whipped out my notes and thanked them all for everything and said I would miss them and Japan. Someone suggested karaoke, so we headed off to karaoke!

On the way, I asked people what their note said (I don't read Japanese / Kanjii). Some were simple, thank you's and good luck's. But others made me smile and cry at the same time. One of the girls said she wrote this..."Stephanie, every time see me, smile. So beautiful! Makes my heart feel warm and happy. I will miss you." Other people told me to come back, and that they had good memories with me. It was touching, to say the least, and made me want to leave even less. (Imagine that...if I could stay longer here, I would. In January I couldn't have imagined wanting to stay.)

We got to karaoke and had a wonderful time! English and Japanese songs...and I even sang one in Japanese (sort of) - they were impressed and thought it was great. It was 2.5 hours of fun and great memories, but it was still a little sad. I kept thinking about how I would probably never get to do this with these people again. I also wished I had gotten to know some of them better. There were also two university students that have just finished a three week internship, and I wish I could hang out with them more! They were a lot of fun, and pretty cute. Especially one of them - and he totally has a crush on me. Hehe. Anyways...it was a great evening, a little bittersweet, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything!

Now I am at work, on my last day...cleaning up, organizing, etc. I'm going to leave some Canadian pins and magnets with everyone and tell them not to forget me, and email me if they will be in Canada. I'm going to miss it here. A lot.

Forgotten (but not forgotten!) - USJ Adventures

2008-08-06T13:33:00.000+09:00

This is a little out of place; I was too excited about my Oita trip and forgot to post this on the tail end of the Okinawa trip!

When we got back from Okinawa on Monday morning, we headed straight to USJ (Universal Studios Japan). Due to an inside joke, I was especially excited to see the Waterworld show.

Me, Keith, Alex, and Thomas met up with Rumiko and her friend Nobu after lunch. We enjoyed the rides and some yummy food. Unfortunately, we arrived too late in the day to see Waterworld. I was crushed. Partially because I love the show, and partially because I needed to go see it to prove a point. Hehe. But we did lots of other fun rides. Rumi and I had some random dance parties to the live music shows... dancing around like wildwomen and (trying) to swingdance in public isn't a very Japanese thing to do. But, we're not Japanese! (Well, okay, Rumiko is. But she's Japanese-Canadian and is pretty culturally Canadian.) The drummer of the one band found us quite amusing, and we had a lot of fun. I should mention, though, that jumping and dancing around in 40 degree weather and ridiculous humidity is exhausting and makes you very warm. But we were already pretty warm.

After Keith, Thomas, and Alex left for Tokyo, me, Rumi, and Nobu watched the Peter Pan production. It was very well done! There was a large stage and beautiful costumes, and Peter and Wendy flew around the sky in harnesses and on wires. It was a great production, and fun to watch. We were hoping to hit up a few more rides afterwards, but the park was closing, so we took some pictures instead.

I got home late, but it was a great end to an already-fun weekend.

More Photos...

Old Friends (Oita Part III)

2008-08-05T12:56:00.004+09:00

No, not people. Hymns.

On Sunday, I woke up on my couch bed (ridiculously comfortable, but I believe I mentioned that). After some breakfast, I went with the Tsujitas to Church. Their Church is small, consisting of their family, Debbie's brother's family, another small family, and Joseph. I think there's a few more people who come, but they weren't there when I was. There were 10 of us sitting in the community center room; a few of the kids were in another room.

I've been to Church in Osaka twice. The first time, I was too homesick to do anything but try not to cry. The second time I felt out of place and out of touch. Everyone I met (both times) was very friendly and kind to me; going out of their way to talk to me and introduce me to more people. But I didn't enjoy either time or get much out of it (except feeling uncomfortable), so I didn't go. And - I have been travelling a lot and am often out of town anyways. So it's been a while since I was at Church.

We spent two hours in the Church room (a rented community center room), in a circle of chairs. I enjoyed every second, and twice found myself wishing it wouldn't end.
We started by singing from a thin book of songs that Debbie had put together. There were old songs and newer songs and Christmas songs. We sang some hymns and a chorus and some other songs. When it ended, I looked at the clock and couldn't believe it had been 45 minutes. I mentioned in my last Oita post that we spent a lot of time singing old hymns the evening before, and I loved it. There's something about the hymns that I didn't realize I remembered, and the tones and the melodies, and the words that have so much meaning that draws me in and captures me. It's a feeling and a desire to sing and listen that newer music never gives me. I wanted us to keep singing forever, but, alas, we sat down and did the Bible Study.

We talked about qualities of God, and I found myself not only listening intently but - learning! Joseph made a point that was obvious and that I was aware of, but the way he explained it hit me in a whole new way. Definitely got me thinking. Again, I looked at the clock and couldn't realize it was already noon - the end. After, I spent a few minutes being happy and friendly (by choice) and talking to Joseph (who is in Japan doing his Masters (I think?) from Ghana). As we left, I found myself wishing I could come back next Sunday. Thoughts were crawling around my head, I was humming hymns and old songs, and I was perfectly content.

It got me to thinking about why I've had such an aversion to Church lately, when I enjoyed it so much on that Sunday morning. I haven't quite figured out why. But I do keep wishing I could go back to Oita for Church. Perhaps it's the atmosphere and the way people view it, or why they go, or how they act when they're there.

After Church we had some lunch, and I relaxed at the Tsujitas until it was time to leave. I watched some of iRobot with Akira and Misa (really liked it... hadn't seen it yet. It was quite different than I was expecting); and wrote some HTML for Debbie to use on her blog (hello, Grade 8 Computer Class - wow, that was a long time ago).

I was quite sad to leave Oita; the weekend went too fast but was full of good things. And there's always more adventures waiting.... but if I come back to Japan, I will definitely be going to Oita again! :-)

Bluegrass in Japan (Oita Part II)

2008-08-01T16:25:00.000+09:00

*Sorry the pictures are so small...I'm not sure why they're like that! I'll try to fix it, but for now, just click on them to get a bigger version!*

I woke up around 7am on Saturday, had a shower, and lounged on the couch and read cookbooks. I'm not kidding when I say she has shelves and shelves of cookbooks...desserts, chocolate, herbs, pizza, soup, vegetables...yummy.

We had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, tea, and fruit. After a wonderful lazy morning, we left at 1:30pm for the annual Bluegrass Festival that they attend. We stopped at the convience store for some lunches, and took a long drive up, out of Oita and into the mountains.

Sidenote:
Convenience stores in Japan are so much more convenient than those in Canada! At a 'Convi' in Japan, you can get socks, a shirt, toothbrush, drinks, snacks, food, healthy food! Sushi, bananas, pasta, rice, salads. Believe it or not, you could eat quite healthy on a regular basis, just buying at the Convi!

We setup some tarps (in Japan, you don't sit on the grass on blankets, but on tarps) and ate our lunch. The weather was playing games and raining off and on, so we huddled under a cover for a bit while they setup, and for the first few performers. After it finished spitting rain, it got quite hot. One of the bands, that Debbie and Katsunori knew from the year before, had only been able to bring two members. Somehow (I'm not really sure how...they were talking and we were nodding and suddenly - ), we were going to sing with them. Katsunori was playing guitar, and Debbie, Misa and I were singing. We held a little practice session and got ourselves in order to sing Amazing Grace, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, and Power In The Blood.

After our practice, we enjoyed the music until it was our turn to go up. The festival was situated in a grassy field, with a tent set up selling drinks and food, and the small grassy stage on the other side. It was very relaxing to lay on the grass and listen to music, alternately napping and clapping to the beat. Pretty soon, it was our turn...

Taka-San introduced the band, and explained that they were short members and had recruited us - he introduced us as 'The Sweet Poison Chicks'. We got a good laugh, then he changed it to the 'Sweet Potion Chicks'. He also mentioned that I was from Osaka, and had convinced me to say the few words I know that Osaka-ians say....which the audience also found very amusing and got a good laugh from. We sang our songs - in the middle of Power In The Blood, Taka-San said, "Dance, Stephanie, dance!", because I had been dancing while we practiced. So...I did a little jig. Felt kind of silly, but it was super fun!

The festival ended at 10pm, but we hung out until midnight. We grouped under the small shelter, and played and sang... I think there was one of every string instrument! 3 acoustic guitars, a mandolin, a banjo, a bass, a dobro...we sang funny songs (mostly English), and old hymns. It's been a while since I listened to or sang hymns.

There was something about the silence of the night, excepting our voices and the music from the instruments. The breeze, the calm - it was peaceful. I could have sat and sang hymns, listening to the music, forever. I realized how much I love hymns, and how long it has been since I've sang them!

Finally (Akira, Misa, and myself were falling asleep), we wrapped it up at midnight. Got home, crashed immediately...exhausted, but perfectly happy.

Back to T Minus...

2008-07-31T21:35:00.002+09:00

Today, I pulled my big green suitcase and my big blue backpack out of the storage cabinets they have been living in for six and a half months. Unzipping them to open them up took me back to January, when I was packing and repacking my suitcase in Kelowna, then repacking a few more time to fit as much as I could before leaving Abbotsford for the airport. The few days between Christmas and leaving for Japan seem as if they were several years ago, not barely several months ago.

If you have read some of my earliest posts from Japan, you probably know that in January and February, I wasn't enjoying my adventures here. I was trying(really hard); and I did have some fun trips and experiences. I was tryig really hard to love it here, but it was difficult, lonely, and frustrating. In all honesty, I just wanted to go home. I considered giving up and going home - but I don't give up, so I didn't. If you had told me in January that I would write the following paragraph before I left, I honestly wouldn't have believed you.

I don't want to leave Japan. Life here still isn't easy, it can be lonely, and it can definitely be frustrating. But I don't want to go. I have managed to build a life. I have things to do, places to go, and people to see. I haven't been to Fukoka or Sapporo; I haven't finished watching Gantz with James; I haven't gotten to hang out with Nobu; I haven't learned to surf; I haven't travelled enough with my coop friends; I haven't had time to really finish my projects at work; I haven't had time to learn enough Japanese; I haven't had time to be the me that I finally found here.

Do I miss Canada? Infinitely. I miss my Dad and my Mom and my brother and my sister - I can't wait to give and get hugs from all of them, and to sit and have a face-to-face conversation, instead of a typed one. I miss my friends in Kelowna - we never have enough time to spend together. I miss my university friends...it's been 16 months, and I am incredibly excited to see them again - and all ready for more adventures. I miss my Elk Valley friends, and job, and life. I miss licorice, driving, and being able to read labels and signs. But despite all the things and people I miss in Canada - (Are you ready for this?) - if I could stay longer in Japan, I would. I almost can't believe I am saying that, when I think back to how I felt when I first got here. But I will miss Japan immensely.

Hours, days, and months pass. And suddenly, it's time to leave. I am torn between my excitement to be back home in Canada, and sadness at leaving Japan. It's actually quite a confusing mindset. I sort of feel a little lost. I am leaving my life in Japan, and going back to Canada. But my Kelowna life is now temporary (as I don't live there anymore), and my Vancouver life is non-existent as I traded it for a Sparwoodian one. So I almost feel like once I leave Japan, I will have no where to belong. (Who would have thought I would ever feel like I belong in Japan?!) Come September, I will move back to Vancouver and start into a new life - and I can't wait for that (this year at school will be awesome, I can already tell.) But for two weeks between Japan and Vancouver, I will get some R&R in Kelowna (which will always truly be 'home', but in a different sort of way), and I will be floating; between here and there.

I suppose this post is a little early, as I still have two weeks left. But the days fly by, and soon, I will be getting on a plane bound for Canada. And I'm feeling a little confused about it.

Tropical Island Paradise (Part II)

2008-07-29T22:33:00.000+09:00

I woke up feeling marvellous. While I enjoyed the great outdoors in Miyajima, I have to admit that a real bed beats all. We discovered a marvellous little restaurant that had great meals (& steak) for super reasonable price. We boarded the ferry... it was paradise already. As we moved out of the harbor, I couldn't get over the deep, dark blue of the ocean, and the pale blue shades of the sky. The shades and hues of blue that I could see were infinite and indescribable. Gorgeous.

We arrived on Zanami island, and found our way to renting 50cc mopeds, then took off to explore the island! I cannot do the beauty of the scenery, or the feeling of freedom justice in words, but I'll try to describe it a bit!

The sun was hot - super sweaty hot. We put sunscreen on every couple hours, but it just melted off right away. Even the breeze was warm. The mountain roads wound back and forth, on cliff edges and through trees. From the edges, we could see ocean, sky, and small islands for miles and miles. The blues and greens were unlike anything man-made, and beyond what a photograph can capture. Riding on the little moped, with the hot sun on my skin and the wind in my hair, surrounded by the most incredible beauty, I felt freedom like I've never felt; joy like I would burst; and as content as I could ever imagine feeling.

Alex and I were moving faster, so we eventually split up into two groups. We made our way up the mountain, on the windy roads. The roads were not that steep, but on our little mopeds, all we could do was open 'em wide and...... chug along slowly. But that gave us lots of time to enjoy the scenery. We came around one bend and saw the most beautiful panoramic view - I hit my brakes, and called to Alex to stop for pictures. I decided to turn my bike around, so I leaned over and turned the front wheel, hit the gas and...drove right into the drainage chute beside the road. Alex found it amusing. I thought of my Dad - and realized that I really should listen to him more often. I could just picture him shaking his head at me and laughing and saying, "Stephanie Ellen, you do everything too fast!" Hehe. He's right. But I wasn't hurt and quickly dragged my bike out to take some pictures. I'll stop trying to describe our tropical paradise, and let the pictures speak for themselves...

After our short two hours was up, Alex and I returned the mopeds, and headed for the beach. We chose a part of the beach that had few people, and wasn't very sandy - instead, it was covered in coral and shell bits! They were all broken and rounded from rolling around in the ocean for so long. We spent the rest of our Zamami time laying in the water, collecting pretty shells, and being washed back and forth with the waves. We had no cares, no problems...just shells, ocean swells, and freedom. I've blogged about some happy places and moments of joy before...but none of them came close to the contentedness I felt on Zamami.

All too soon, we had to head for the ferry - Alex and I made it with only a minute to spare. We met up with Keith and Thomas again, and spent the ferry ride relaxing, napping, and talking on the top deck of the ferry. The ferry ride was much too short, except that we were starving (skipped lunch), and craving steak and ice cream. After a shower and some supper, we explored Kokusaidori a bit more, then headed back to the hostel. We hung out, played some guitar, and had a jolly old time.

Thomas and Keith fell asleep, but Alex and I decided to have an adventure at 1am. We grabbed the guitar, and snuck out of the hostel....sort of quietly, and with some laughter. We spent the next 5 super fun hours hanging out - infinite awesome memories, and a general good time. After a (sort of quiet) sneaking back in, and a few hours of sleep, we were up and to the airport...back to Osaka! But that wasn't the end of the weekend's adventures.

Oh yes - I forgot the ATM saga. I forgot to get money from the ATM before we left Osaka....and I could not find an ATM in Okinawa that would give me money! It was very strange - the Family Mart ATMs wouln't service my card (even though I know I've used my card at Family Mart's before) - and neither would other ATMs! Fortunately for me, Alex had brought extra money, and lent me money for the weekend. Basically, by the end of the weekend, he practically owned me and my empty wallet. Once back in Osaka, I was finally able to find at ATM that worked, and repayed my debt. Extra thanks to Alex....the weekend would have been much less fun if he hadn't rescued me!

Summer Vacation (Oita Part I)

2008-07-28T16:45:00.008+09:00

I spent this weekend in Oita, Kyushuu; one of Japan's main islands, just south of the main-est island. I was fortunate to be invited by Debbie (canadasue's Aunt) to visit for a weekend. Debbie lives in Oita with her husband, Katsunori, and two kids - Akira and Misa.

Debbie has been in Japan for 22 years. She came as an English teacher, left briefly, came back, and has been living in Oita since. I have (especially after spending the weekend with her & her family) a lot of respect for all of them. In the short seven months that I have spent in Japan, I have faced many difficulties and started (barely) to understand the cultural differences here. When you hear 'cultural differences', you think of religion and food and traditions - but it's not only those things; it's a world of difference. The way of thinking, which pervades every aspect of life, is incredibly different, and often beyond my comprehension. I think that for Debbie and her husband to have built a marriage and raised two children while straddling two countries, cultures, and upbringings says a lot about their personal strength and character. Their children, too, have to contend with two different cultures. Misa, their 18 year old daughter, has been attending highschool in Canada for the past 3 years. Considering the difficulties I've had, at 20 years old, I cannot imagine what it was like for her to suddenly be immersed in a different culture at 15 years old.

Debbie was a pleasure to talk to, and we had some wonderful conversations about life, people, culture, understanding, cooking, baking, experiences.... many things. I enjoyed hearing a bit about what she has experienced, and learned a lot from her perspectives. It was interesting to hear that living in a different culture can still be shocking and difficult - even after 20 years.

. . .

I left work on Thursday and went straight to Kobe Rokko Terminal, to board my ferry. As I had booked the lowest (read: cheapest) fare - to sleep on tatami mats, instead of in a hotel-like room, I full expected to spend the overnight trip sitting in the tatami mat area, amidst people talking and kids crying, trying to get comfortable enough to sleep, but mostly just staring out the window. I was very wrong. The ferry was beautiful!

I shared a room with up to 16 other women (but there were only 7 or so). I had a mat and blanket and pillow to myself - and that was just my sleeping room! The ferry was beautiful with observation desks, a souveneir shop, restaurant, bathrooms, showers, and - an onsen! Actually, it was called a 'Scenic Bathroom'...the onsen window looked out into the ocean. When I got on the ferry, after finding my room (which thrilled me to no end), I was super excited to explore the rest of the ferry. The only downside to it was that there was no one to pull around to explore every nook and cranny. I found myself being super excited, but not having anyone to share it with. (Sidenote: It reminded me that I am single. Being single can be lonely; not just being alone at the time, but knowing that there is no other person, in general. But I only allowed myself to ponder my single-ness and alone-ness for a moment.) I watched the ferry pull away from the dock from the observation deck, perused the ridiculously expensive souveneir shop, and went to check out the bathrooms. As soon as I saw the Scenic Bathroom, I ran right back down a deck to get my shower things, and promptly had a lovely shower, and sat in the onsen looking out the window (into the pitch black, because the sun had set. But it was still wonderful.) :) I ate the supper that I brought (due to canadasue warning me about ferry prices), and walked around the upper deck for quite a while. I did circles around the deck, up the stairs, and down, listened to my music, and watched the clouds and the stars. I almost wished I didn't have a lovely bed to go to, so I could have an excuse to stay outside all night and walk, listen, and watch. It was so relaxing and comforting. But - I didn't want to be too tired to enjoy my time in Oita, so I soon crawled onto my mat and slept. I woke up just before we docked, with enough time to pack up my things and eat my breakfast on the observation dock (beautiful sunny skies, and fresh sea air!). I caught the shuttle bus to Oita station, and found my way to the bus I needed. (Quite proud of myself, for that one. It was a little confusing to find the right bus and where it stopped.) I took the bus to Daigaku Byouin, and called Debbie, who came to pick me up.

When I got to Debbie's, she had to finish packing up her baking, so I relaxed on the couch and read cookbooks. I think I've mentioned it before, but I love to cook and bake (I can't wait to have my own kitchen again!!)....and Debbie has shelves and shelves of cookbooks. It was marvellous.

I read several of them straight through, and found myself wishing for some ingredients and a fully-equipped kitchen. I went with Debbie and Misa to drop off her baking at JAGG house - a beautiful handmade good store. The shop was full of furniture and goods - country style. I wish I had taken a picture! All things handmade, and some not - artwork, furniture, decorations, kitchen things.... it was marvellous to explore! It was sort of like an indoor farmer's market store.

After JAGG house, we stopped at Starbucks, and then had some lunch at home. We had leftover curry (delicious) - I love curry. After lunch, Debbie and Misa and I visited Oita Art Museum.

As Art Museums do, it had all of confusing, strange, mesmerizing, and beautiful art. There were two parts - the regular display, as well as a special European display. I took one picture, but got dame'd and asked not to take anymore. There were a few particularly beautiful pieces, especially in the European display. There was one of a shepherd and his sheep, with moonlight coming over a hill in the distance - it looked so real; as though there was actually a light situated behind the picture, casting a dim glow over the sheep. There was also one of a woman in a gorgeous dress - I wish we still wore dresses like that! We also noticed that in most of the pictures, everyone looked quite unhappy - we determined it must be because of the corsets, which probably didn't let them breathe.

While I have travelled quite a bit in Japan, and been on several 'vacations', this was truly a vacation weekend. I spent quite a bit of time on Friday sitting on the couch reading cookbooks, napping, and chatting. Surprisingly, I wasn't bored at all! It was just lovely to relax. Besides the relaxation, it was nice to be in a house again - with family pictures, knick knacks, arguing siblings, and people milling about. It was wonderful to be around family again - even if it wasn't mine.

Debbie, Misa, Akira and I had dinner at Joyful, with their friend Teddy-O (I'm sure that's NOT how you spell her name, but that's how it sounded to me. :) ). We had a delicious dinner with a drink bar - and I drank a lot of tea. I love tea. The restaurant (Joyfull) was sort of a Denny's-style (except Japanese). I was impressed at how Debbie and her kids converse in both English and Japanese (I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; they grew up in Japan and she's lived there 20 years), but they spoke in Japanese and English, often switching several times in a conversation.

They also have a dog, named Ginny. A huge dog; who isn't very friendly to strangers. Debbie was very careful to make sure Ginny didn't get too close to me, and if she growled, she was put outside. But by the end of the weekend, Ginny was lying near my feet without so much as a glare, and I would like to think we were sort of friends. Or at least indifferent acquaintences.

Friday was exactly how a true summer vacation should be - a few activities in air conditioned buildings, good food, relaxing on a couch, some reading, napping, music, and conversation. It reminded me of the good ol' days - summer vacation. Before jobs and summer responsibilities.

Tropical Paradise (Okinawa Part I)

2008-07-28T15:52:00.007+09:00

I love planes. You could put me on a plane and just fly me in a circle and I would be thrilled. But - put a tropical island on the other end of that flight...and you get my weekend vacation.

I slept in - it was marvellous. I rarely sleep in, really. Then I met Keith and Alex at Osaka Station for some ice cream, before heading to Kansai Airport. We got some more icecream (mmm Black Sesame), met up with Thomas, and boarded the plane... Keith, Alex and I were in one row, and Thomas was a bit further up in the plane. The 2 hour flight passed quickly...at one point, the left window was completely dark, and the right window seemed perfectly light. I turned my head left-and-right-and-left-and-right until my neck started to hurt. Thomas captured a beautiful picture of the approaching night...

Then there the spoon episode. Alex decided to see if flicking me with a spoon would hurt. It did. A lot. Imprint-of-a-spoon-on-my-arm-a-lot. This was followed by me trying to flick him back and inflict an equal amount of pain, and him flicking himself with the same intent. Needless to say, this entertained us for a portion of the flight. But I did have an imprint of a spoon on my arm.

We arrived in Naha, Okinawa at around 9pm. The bus we thought we were going to take didn't exist, so we took a taxi. Keith had made reservations at the City Front Harumi Hostel, so we checked in and found our rooms. Ojisan (as we came to call him; meaning Grandpa or a respectful title for an older man) was very friendly and helpful in getting us settled and oriented in Naha.

The guys shared a room, and I (being a female and all) was in a different room. My room was shared with an older lady and a younger Down's Syndrome lady. They were very friendly and I had a short conversation with them before meeting the guys to go find some dinner. This proved more difficult than we thought, as most places were closed. But we wandered the busy highway a bit and found a family-style restaurant for some good eats. By that time, it was late, and we hit the bunkbeds for some sleep.

The next morning, I woke up feeling wonderful. I did enjoy my night at Miyajima, but I have to admit that sleeping in a real bed does top the great outdoors. The older lady in my room gave me some pretty little flowers, which I promptly put in my hair - they made me feel very tropical. We picked up some breakfast at the convenience store, and waited for our bus. A taxi driver offered to drive us up to our destination, for 1000Yen each. The bus was going to be about 900Yen each, so we took him up on his offer. And I'm so glad we did...

He was hilarious. He talked (loudly and animatedly) in broken English, for the majority of the ride. He told us about his family, and his 104 year old Mother and 108 year old Father (apparently the oldest couple in Japan), his large family, and his capabilities. He informed us that he had 8 licenses (later it was 9), and could build houses, drive cranes, scuba drive, drive motorbikes.... an all-around handy guy to know. When we asked him questions, he often paused and then went off on a tangent about something completely unrelated. My questions, he just ignored (I think he just didn't hear me...). We spent most of the trip giggling and keeping him talking - to our great amusement. When we disembarked the taxi, I asked him for a picture - he was definitely a character to remember!

When we got to our destination (a bit early), we explored a bit. We saw a sign for a steakhouse, and went 'a wandering to see if we could find it (which we couldn't).

Our destination? Snorkelling! We dressed in wetsuits and flippers and snorkelling gear, and crammed into a mini-minivan (not a Canadian sized mini-van), for a hot drive to the beach. When I say hot, I do not mean warm. I mean hot, hot, HOT! Sweat-dripping-down-your-face hot. We got stuck in traffic for a bit, and I had a short nap - that was all I could do; I couldn't move, and I was much too hot. But we finally arrived! It was a fun adventure, following our guide around the reef and the cave. We were even given some fish food and got to feed them!

After our snorkelling adventure, we decided that it was essential to find the steakhouse. It turned out to be a Movie House Steakhouse! The exterior and interior were decorated with movie posters of all genres. It was great fun to wander and look at the posters, and the steak was delicious!

In finding the steak house, we had found a small resort area, and explored it after lunch. Feeling extra tropical, I added to my hair bouquet some larger (okay, huge) flowers that I had found.

We wandered up the highway, trying to find a nice beach. We didn't find a beach, but we did find ice cream!

It was hot (did I mention that?), so we finally went back to the sort-of beach near the steakhouse. We tiptoed our way our towards the water, through the warm puddles, sharp shells, and broken coral. Getting to the water was difficult enough. Swimming in it proved even harder.

The water wasn't very shallow, but it was filled with all kinds of sea anemones and cucumbers and other mysterious sea creatures. We tiptoed and floated our way to slightly deeper water, and decided (for safety reasons) not to try and go further. I laid out like a starfish and floated...the blue sky and the clouds, the warm salty water...it was definitely a tropical paradise. Until I tried to stop floating, and stepped on a sea anemone. Ouch. But my foot didn't go numb and my head didn't explode, so I figured I would survive. After quite a while, we realized that the tide was coming in...right towards our shoes. So we started heading back - Thomas got back first, and discovered that Keith's hiking boots were floating, and my sandal had lost it's hubby. That made for an interesting trip back to the sand - tip toeing and jumping up when I stepped on sharp points. But we made it. I ventured to a beach house and purchased a new set of flipflops, and we headed for the bus top. A taxi stopped again and offered us the same deal. Unfortunately, this driver was not near as entertaining as the last one, and we mostly kept the conversation to ourselves.

After a cool shower to rid ourselves of the sweat, sand, and salt of the day, hung out for a few minutes in the hostel's common room. Alex played the guitar a bit (as he did anytime we were around the common room), and we enjoyed the AC for a bit. I borrowed a needle from Ojisan to remove the leftover sea anemone from my still-painful foot. The piece left in me was actually quite large and painful to get out, and brought a lot of blood with it! Ojisan's wife (Obasan) gave me a bit of cleaner and a bandaid to fix it up, and we took off for another evening of adventure...to Kokusaidori - Naha's international street.

We explored the shops, had some Okinawan-style Udon, and found a guitar shop (which entertained Alex for quite a while). Alex and I shared some dragonfruit and passionfruit - neither of which I had ever eaten (yummy!). There may have been some ice cream in there too...hehe.

Temples & Shrines all over Japan are often guarded by Shishi - lionlike protectors that are said to have magical powers to ward off evil. They guard in pairs; one female, one male; one open-mouthed, one closed; one symbolizing the beginning of time, the other the end. We also found them all over Okinawa - and they are a popular tourist souvenir. Every souvenir shop has them in all kinds of colors and styles, some funny, some scary. My favorite shop was filled with these - in every shape, size, and color - but they were handmade. (The other shops were mass manufactured.) The man who made them was selling them, and was midway through painting one when we were there. I bought two gorgeous statues - quite large, actually - for only $40! I was thrilled (still am) with my purchase... a reasonable price, authentically culturally Japanese, and not made in China!

When the street and shops started to close down, we visited a Canadian-run place for some snacks and a drink. We also tried Okinawa's snake wine.

It tasted surprisingly good, but it was still a little strange to drink... after some laughs and relaxation, we headed back to the hostel for the night.

More Pictures...
A Friend's Flckr Pictures...

Part Two coming soon...

Fuji Adventures (Part II - The Definitely UNplanned Part)

2008-07-22T21:49:00.011+09:00

Eric and Robert were still up the mountain, probably on their way down. We were all ready to head back to Kawaguchiko Station and home - hot, exhausted, but feeling rather proud of ourselves.

"Still at the top. Haven't seen Robert." - text message from Eric.

Uh-oh. Eric and Robert were not together. Eric was at the top, okay. Robert was not. That's okay, we'll just wait....

We couldn't get ahold of Robert. At 1pm, we still hadn't gotten in touch with him - Rumiko and I spoke to the local police, and gave them his description and explained the situation. We were worried, but not too worried - we just figured he was on his way down slowly.

At 3pm, it was time for our bus to leave, but we weren't going to leave Robert and Eric up the mountain by themselves. So most of the students left, but Rumiko, Qijin, Alex, and me stayed. We were able to get in touch with Eric again, and asked him to come down the mountain - hopefully meeting up with Robert on the way. When Eric showed up at 6pm, without Robert, we realized we needed to do something. Robert was not on his way down, he doesn't have tons of outdoor experience soon, and it would be getting dark soon. The police station was closed; no one answered the phone, either.

I am (by nature) a worrier. I was quite proud of myself throughout the day for keeping my worrying to a minimum. Worrying doesn't help, and the chances that something was seriously wrong were small. But by now, we were all a little worried -and rightfully so. We decided that before we did anything drastic, we should call Jenny (our coop coordinator) in Canada, and let her know what was going on, and get her opinion on what to do. I was nominated to call (how did that happen?!). I'll be honest - I was getting really worried about Robert; add to that calling Jenny at 2am to tell her that we lost someone on Mount Fuji....my stomach was doing sommersaults, and I was worrying, nervous, and a little scared.

It was 2am on Saturday morning in Canada - I left a voicemail message on Jenny's blackberry and Yuko's (other coordinator) cellphone. Then we got Jenny's home number and I called it - she answered the phone. Her first question was, "Are you alright??" - I assured her I was, but that we had a small problem. She suggested that we make sure he hadn't left the mountain and was back in his dorm, and that I call Takemori-San to see what he would suggest (as he would be more aware of who might be able to help find him). While Alex tried to get ahold of someone at the dorm, I called Takemori-San. He was also concerned, and said he would make some phone calls to see what he could do. He called me back soon after and said that the local police would be looking for Robert.

Two hikers walked by(who looked like they spoke English), coming down from the mountain, so I asked if they had seen Robert. To my surprise - and great relief - they said they might have. I yelled for Alex, and he and Qijin got directions to where they may have seen him, and took off back up the mountain. 3 people to worry about. It was getting dark, and shortly after Alex and Qijin left, it started raining. We got a phone call from Alex saying that they wouldn't let them go further up the mountain without flashlights and raingear. It was about 7:30pm, dark, and raining. But we needed to find Robert, and soon. Rumiko and Eric took flashlights and jackets, and went to meet Alex and Qijin. I stayed at the bottom, 3 cellphones in hand, hoping and praying that everyone would make it back.

I was standing under a small shelter, in the dark and pouring rain. To be honest, I was pretty worried and scared - 5 of my friends were up the mountain, it was dark and pouring rain, there was nothing I could do but wait, and I felt somewhat in charge and responsible for the situation.

Just as Alex and Qijin were getting their stuff from Rumi and Eric, they got a call that someone had found Robert. Alex and Qijin headed up the mountain (again) to meet Robert and his rescuer partway up. 'Breathing a sigh of relief' would be an understatement; but I was still a little nervous, hoping that everyone would make it back safely. Finally, Rumi & Eric emerged from the darkness, and started to figure out how we could get home (definitely missed our bus). At about 9pm, Alex, Qijin, and Robert also emerged from the darkness.

I haven't been so excited to see three people in a long time. Robert was okay - wet, sunburnt, hungry, and tired - but okay. We were all relieved and happy to climb on the last bus back to Kawaguchiko Station. Unfortunately, the night wasn't over yet - but most of the stress was. We realized that we couldn't get home that night - the trains would stop running when we were halfway there. So instead, we spent the night at an inn near the station.

It was extra trouble and stress, because we wouldn't be at work on Monday morning. But we all got in touch with our supervisors to let them know, and I decided that I was going to enjoy the night in the Inn. Might as well, there's nothing else we can do! Japanese hotels & inns have a sort of Yukatta - pajamas, if you will. I convinced Rumi to wear them too, and we ventured to the 7-11 in them. :)

Again - note how funny I look in a Japanese getup

We also met a random friend named Dustin. He was wandering around the train station, looking a little lost, while we were trying to figure out if we could get home. He kept getting closer, so finally I said, "Hi! You look lost!" Turns out he was, and he was happy to meet some English speaking people.

He was also stuck there for the night (planning to climb Fuji with friends, but missed his bus up to the mountain) - so I invited him to tag along with us. He got a room, the three guys got a tatami mat room, and Rumi and I got a room. We went to the 7-11 for some food (nothing else was open), and had a mini celebration party before we finally went to bed (at 1am).

(Random friend Dustin on the left...)

At 5am, bright and early, I woke up and jumped out of bed and - couldn't move. My legs were in so much pain. Scratch that. All of me was in so much pain. The dreaded after-hiking pain. I shuffled my way to the bathroom, fell into the shower, and attempted to wash the dirt, sunscreen, and pain away. The first two went. The latter didn't. We caught the first train at 5:20am, and split up part way. Alex and Robert went North; Rumiko and I and Eric headed south. After a convoluted combination of trains and Shinkansen, I got home at noon. Takemori-San (kindly) told me I could wait until the afternoon to come into work, so I had some lunch and then went into work.

And that is the end of the Fuji saga. A great hike, beautiful sunrise, long desert, volcano full of stress, late nights, fun Inn, much pain, $450 extra, and a half a day at work later...we survived, and we're all safe - which is what counts. But - it was quite the adventure!

Fuji Adventures (Part I - The Planned Part)

2008-07-22T21:11:00.011+09:00

Mount Fuji is the highest point in Japan. (Incidentally, I have also been to the lowest 'mountain' in Japan - Tempozan. It's a grand total of 4 meters high, and considered Japan's lowest mountain.) Mount Fuji is a dormant volcano - it last erupted in November 1707. It's 3776 m (12388.45 feet) above sea level. There are many climbs you can do, the longest taking over 20 hours. We decided to do a shorter one (limited time, large group with various fitness levels) - and took a bus to the 5th Station. But I'm getting ahead of myself... let's start from the beginning...

I jumped on the bus at Namba, and dozed until Rumiko got on in Kyoto. We had a lovely trip, with intermittant sleeping and ice cream at 2am. Doesn't get much better than that! We met up with Matt at Shinjuku, when we finally arrived in Tokyo. Getting off the bus I was almost chilly, but it soon warmed up to that nice Japan summer... sticky and sweaty and hot hot hot! The three of us explored Shinjuku and Shibuya. Rumi and I were on a mission - we wanted to bring a cake up Mount Fuji. It was Alex's birthday the week before, and we decided to have a surprise-on-top-of-Mt-Fuji-party for him. We found a nice caramel cake that wouldn't squish too easily in my backpack.

We headed back to Shinjuku for 3pm to meet the rest of the coop students, and caught our bus to Kawaguchiko Station. Even the bus ride up was fun....a little napping, and a little snacking, and some giggles. Alex had brought a big bag of banana chips, nuts, and dried plums. (I've learned that you can always count on Alex to have some kind of awesome food, or find some. I think like hanging around with this guy!) I haven't seen banana chips since I got here, so I was pretty psyched to try some (so was Rumiko) ...."Banana Chips?!?"

At Kawaguchiko Station, we had some lunch (Horse meat, anyone? Actually tasted pretty good!) and caught another bus up to Kawaguchiko 5th Station at 2305 meters. We started climbing by 9:30pm...

The first part of the climb was great - we split up into two groups, one a bit faster, and headed up the mountain. Since it was evening, the hot sun was gone, and we were moving pretty quickly. We stopped to chat and snack and have a break. Partway up, somewhere after the 6th station, we caught upto the people. It was a little crowded, but not too bad - we moved our way through and still kept up a good pace. But after one of the many 7th stations, the people multiplied. By this time, we had split up a bit further; Alex and Keith and I were ahead of our original group of 7 or so. Alex booted it on ahead from there, and Keith and I hiked together for a bit. We took four steps or so, then waited, stuck in the crowd, for a few minutes. 4 more steps. Wait. 5 steps! Wait. 4 steps..... we were able to go around the crowds a bit, and get ahead, but it was still slow going. Alex got bored and waited for us, then the three of us kept moving. Slowly. Keith got lost in the crowd somewhere, and Alex and I finally decided we had had enough. It was after 3:30am, and we wanted to make it to the top for the sunrise. So, we got serious. We dodged and weaved and pushed and shoved (only a little) and fought our way up and around the masses. And we made it!

We got to the top just after 4am, stopped at the bathroom then booked it for a peak on the mountain, to watch the sunrise. Just as it started, a body fell on us from behind, and Keith rolled beside us to watch, too. There are no words to describe how incredible it was to watch the sunrise, so I'll just let it speak for itself.

We waited for the rest of the group to catch up. The top of the mountain was freezing cold, and everyone was pretty exhausted.

Rumi and I quickly organized the impromptu birthday party for Alex, everyone had a bite of cake, and we decided to go down. Everyone was there except 3 students; one was waiting for us partway down, and the other two had been left together, moving at a slower pace.

You know those movies where people are walking through the desert, without food, water, or hope. Their limbs are limp, their feet drag...their faces are dirty and their eyes are glazed over.

That was us. The 'trail' (if you can call it that) down has no vegetation, no shade, no grass, no life. It is endless switchbacks of red dirt and rock, in 40 degree heat. I felt like the living dead, and probably looked it, judging by how some of the other people looked. We were tired, hot, hungry, and the switchbacks just kept on coming....

We finally made it down around 10am, and gained a bit more energy - having completed the climb, and conquered Mount Fuji. It had been about 7 hours up, and 4 hours down. We had met up with the one coop student on the way down, and were just waiting for the other two to make it down. We tried calling them, but cell service was pretty off-and-on...so we sat in some shade (still ridiculously hot, though), rested our legs, and waited. Little did we know, our day was just beginning...

More Pictures...

Quick Update...

2008-07-18T13:49:00.002+09:00

I'm sorry for taking so long to put up an update... I've had a little bit of a stressful week. :)

I climbed Mount Fuji last weekend...it was a great trip, with a beautiful sunrise, but an adventure at the end. One of the coop students got lost on the mountain, and finding him included calling Canada, my supervisor, the police, and climbing partway back up the mountain. We ended up missing our rides home, and stayed the night at an Inn. Everything wokred out alright, though...we found him and he wasn't hurt. I did get to work on Monday, albeit a little bit late.

Today I am flying down to Okinawa for the weekend. It should be an awesome weekend!

When I get back, I will post the Mt. Fuji story with some pictures, and some new Okinawa stories and pictures!

To Do List

2008-07-11T07:19:00.004+09:00

Here today, gone tomorrow!

Time is flying by - and there's still lots to do! I definitely had some lull time in March and April, but things have picked up (to say the least).

Here's what I'm up to...

July 11-13: Tokyo; Climbing Mt. Fuji
July 18-21: Okinawa
July 25-27: Oita (hopefully...still working out the details!)
August 1-3: Izu Peninsula
August 7th: Final Presentation (in Japanese...ahh!) at work, & Jo-Anna comes!
August 8th: Last day of work
August 8-10: Mt. Fuji (again) with Jo-Anna, and Tokyo Sightseeing
August 11-15: Kansai sightseeing & adventures with Jo-Anna
August 16th: Flying home to Kelowna!

This leaves me approximately.... no empty weekends, a lot to do, and not much time until I go home! However - there's lots of time for adventures between now and then...

Bravery & Cheese

2008-07-07T23:22:00.003+09:00

On Friday, I was on my way home when I spotted a tall, Caucasian, super curly red-headed kid. He asked someone a question in super broken Japanese, and hopped on my train just as the doors closed. He was standing right beside me, so as a part of my resolution to be more outgoing, I smiled and said, "English?!" He looked really flustered, and said..."yeah..." We talked for a few minutes. Every time I looked at him or smiled at him, he answered, but got really flustered. I think he just got out of highschool, because he said that he had just finished a Socials exam before he came to Japan. He told me that he had just come to Japan to 'check it out'. I asked if he was alone, and he said he was. In all honesty, I was a little shocked! I said, "You just came to Japan - by yourself - to check it out?!?!" He said, "Uh...yeah." Me: "Wow! That's insane. I don't think I could be that brave!"

Oh, the irony? I realized, just after I said that, that I came to Japan - by myself - to live here. By myself. But I was still so shocked that he would do that - and my initial reaction was shock at his bravery.

On a cheesier note...(hehe)

My boss invited me to join him for dinner this evening; he was meeting an old friend at the company and the friend's assistant. We met them in a beautiful little area around Osaka Station that I had never seen! The wall in the courtyard was stone and flowing water. The walk and patio was all cobblestone - it seemed like it should be out of old Europe, or something.

We had a lovely dinner of cheese fondue, salad, and a few other things. I had a glass of wine, and dessert was some delicious yoghurt with fruit cubes on top. I practiced my Japanese a bit, but still spent quite a bit of dinner just listening to them.

It was a nice evening, and delicious!

On another note...I am currently obsessed with raisins. They're soo yummy!

My Canada Day 2008

2008-07-05T21:52:00.004+09:00

I've realized how proud I am to be Canadian; to be from this country that I have never appreciated like I should. This Canada Day, I was fortunate to be able to celebrate with many people who appreciate Canada, and some of the people that make our country so awesome.

I was invited to a Canada Day dinner, put on by the Kansai Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Takemori-San and I were invited as guests of Peter MacArthur, Senior Trade Commissioner to Japan. I assumed that the invitation was a standard, "So-and-so invites you to such-and-such...", so I was a bit surprised (but delighted) when Mr. MacArthur not only met us at the door, but spent the majority of his evening engaging us in conversation, inviting us to enjoy the delicious meal, and introducting us to various people.

The dinner itself (and dessert, for that matter!) was delicious. Amazing food, both in taste and presentation. There was a wide variety of salads - pasta salads, lettuce salads, fruit salads, seafood salads. Infinite meat and seafood dishes - prawns, roast beef, chicken. Potatoes, roasted vegetables, buns, bread. Dessert was pies and cheesecake and fruit salad and miniature fruity brownies. There was red wine, white wine, and the most delicious Ice Wine. I'm not sure I've had Ice Wine before - or if I have, it wasn't that great because I don't remember! But this Ice Wine was wonderful.

The evening began with introductory comments by the MC's; Carlos Ramirez (Kansai Governor Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan) and Yumiko Nagoshi (Assistant Manager, International Division, Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry). Remarks followed by Mr. Joseph Caron (Canadian Ambassador to Japan), Mr. Ryuichiro Yamazaki (Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Osaka Office), and Mr. Iwao Takai (President, The Canada Japan Society of the Kansai) - followed by a toast by Ms. Patricia Bader-Johnston (President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan). The majority of the speeches were made in both Japanese and English (with the speakers translating themselves), but Mr. Takai began his speech with Canada Day congratulations in French! His few words in French elicted smiles and laughs from everyone, and I was impressed both by his small bit of French, and my ability to understand it! (I studied French for 6 years, but haven't used it for 3!)

Myself, Mr. MacArthur, & Takemori-San

I hadn't realized that Canadians were so active in Japan or specifically in the Kansai region! I learned that there are just over 2000 Canadians living in the Kansai region - I never would have guessed that there were so many. There is much business and interaction between the Kansai region and Canada, and there are great relationship and plans in place to build on it. (I also learned that unfortunately, due to fuel costs, Air Canada will be cancelling it's Vancouver-Osaka route.)

Near the end of the evening, there were several draw prizes up to be won. To my surprise, as I was being introduced to Ambassador Caron, my name was called! I won some 100% Organic Maple Syrup. Let me tell you - I will never buy any other form of syrup again. I was planning on giving it to Takemori-San, as he had mentioned earlier how happy his wife would be if he won some - but he won some as well! After the majority of the prizes, there was one left - a BBQ set; complete with a BBQ, gas, lawn chairs, torches, cup coolers, a big blue and white cooler, and some other things. I said to Takemori-San, "Wouldn't it be cool if you won it?" And he just laughed. Guess what. Yep, he won it. The look on his face was priceless.

I was fortunate enough to meet many important and influential people that evening - all of whom were very kind, friendly, and interesting! Aside from Mr. MacArthur, to whom I was privileged to spend a large part of the evening talking to, I also met (among others): Ambassador Caron, Ms. Bader-Johnston, and Mr. Allan Edwards (Consul and Senior Trade Commissioner). Mr. Edwards was a delight to talk to - he was very animated and excited; extremely charismatic! He was from Cranbrook (I worked near Cranbrook last year) and has visited Kelowna; so we found a few points in common. I found myself wishing I had gotten more time to speak with him - I'm sure he has many interesting stories and would be an infinite source of knowledge of many things. He did poke fun at the Kelowna Rockets, but as I left, he called it a tie between the Kooteney Ice and the Rockets. Ambassador Caron was friendly as well, and interested in the coop program and strengthening ties between Canada and Kansai businesses, such as Osaka Gas. He was a pleasure to talk to, although I missed a bit of the conversation in picking up my Maple Syrup prize!

Myself, Takemori-San, and Ambassador Caron

Ms. Bader-Johnston was also wonderful to talk to - we discussed school, Engineering, and the coop program. Her niece is in Chemical Engineering and just started working; between these topics and Japan, we had a lovely conversation. She was quick to tell me that if I ever needed a place to stay in Tokyo, I should let her know! I would have loved to have a chance to speak with her more, as well, and I hope to meet her again one day! Amidst playing host, Mr. MacArthur was also very interesting to talk to, and a big supporter of the coop program. It was neat to hear his perspective and to find him so supportive of the program; I also learned that they are very interested in expanding and increasing the program and it's scope - which I think is great! He also won a prize - the grand price: an iPod Touch! However, he was deep in conversation when they called his name, and it took a few moments of several people yelling his name across the room to get him to claim his prize. He told me afterwards that he thought he had won some CDs, before realizing what it was! He was a wonderful host, and I was glad to meet him, as well as appreciative of the introductions and conversation.

Myself, Mr. Edwards, & Takemori-San

The night was a lot of fun, and it was encouraging to see the connections between Kansai and Japan, and become more aware of how important they are to each other, and how many people are supporting and building on that! It was a pleasure to meet so many people; both Canadians and Japanese. It also encouraged me to find out more about Canada and the role we play in world economics, and the role other countries play in our economy! They say that the more you learn, the less you know - - I can't agree more!

Canada Day 2008 was a success - and a great memory. :)

Sanctuary (of the Body & Mind)

2008-07-02T15:40:00.000+09:00

Among other things, Dictionary.com defines sanctuary as 'A sacred place' and 'A place of refuge or asylum'. I've come to realize that what I love and appreciate about (most of) the Japanese temples and shrines is the sanctuary they provide. The atmosphere in a temple or in front of a shrine is one of serenity and reverence. Voices are low and soft, if at all. Steps are quiet, slow, and smooth. I find that even my turbulent thoughts quiet and slow in deference to the holy place I stand in.

I realized that I feel closer to God and more spiritual in these holy places than I often do in a Church at home. North American sanctuaries (typically the main room of a Church where the service is held, among other events) are usually bustling with activity - before, during, and after services. Pre-service, people are lively and talkative, catching up with friends, running after children, squeezing into seats. Throughout the service, the auditorium is almost silent, but there are always whispers and shuffling of feet. People nodding off, making to-do lists on paper or in their heads. At the end of the service, perhaps after a moment or two of silence or prayer, activity inevitably picks up again. Voices chase away the silence, feet rushing to get out or around dispel the calm.

Fellowship is important, people are busy, and children cannot always be controlled. But having experienced being in a holy place that is respected not only as 'a sacred place', but also as 'a place of refuge or asylum' - from life, worries, activity, the whirlwind of events and thoughts that make up our day ... I realize what we are missing.

With the constant stimulation that our North American society and culture provide, we lack a place to go in silence. Often, not even church - a holy place of refuge to interact with God - provides a place of serenity and calm.

Not all temples and shrines uphold the atmosphere I described - some are popular tourist destinations and are full of people and voices. But I think these are few, in comparison to the majority. The temple I visited in Nara, for example - just visiting and sitting for a while left me with a peace and calm that I find difficult to experience in daily life, surrounded by the bustle of society.

Would it even be possible to have a room or a place set aside in a North American church; for silent, reverent prayer and meditation? I'm not even sure we (as a whole society) understand the concept enough to uphold the room as such. I also believe that we are so over-stimulated that it takes anyone time and practice to get their thoughts to slow enough to sit in silence and listen for God; without wondering where the kids are, what's for supper, or whether the file is on the right desk. Placing your body in a holy sanctuary and being able to attend with your mind is two different things, the latter being much more difficult.

I'm sure there are churches, temples, and shrines in North America that do have places and rooms like this, but I've never been aware of them. Having experienced such a place in Japan, I will be on the lookout for times and places to experience the same silent reverence, even once I'm back in Canada.

I Am Canadian!

2008-07-01T07:30:00.000+09:00

Happy Canada Day! I've always appreciated Canada Day for the holiday and the chance to hang out with friends, watch some fireworks, and have some fun! This year, I really appreciate Canada Day as a celebration of Canada - because, let's be honest...I miss it! Being in Japan, I've come to appreciate Canada and Canadian ways and things a lot more. I'll never view Canada Day the same way - I wish I was back home to celebrate, but instead I'll celebrate here (I've been invited to a Canada Day Dinner put on by the Kansai Chamber of Commerce). Here's just a few things I miss!

25 Things I Miss About Canada:

1. Family & Friends
2. Whole wheat flour
3. Shoes that fit
4. Being able to read packages in the grocery store
5. Seeing Canadian flags
6. Tubs of ice cream
7. Chewy / Gummy candies
8. Cars driving on the right side of the road
9. My bike (dorm bikes...not so cool)
10. Living in a house
11. My big Disneyland mug
12. Oatmeal packages larger than a postit note (okay slight exaggeration - but only slight)
13. Flying across the water on our boat
14. Wakeboarding
15. Freshwater lakes
16. Low humidity
17. Access to (an English) library
18. Magazine subscription capabilities
19. Windows XP in English
20. Coffee shops with wireless internet and comfy chairs
21. My kitchen tools/utensils/pots/pans/etc
22. The ability to get home at any time of night via bus (in Vancouver, at least)
23. My car & driving.
24. Green space in the city.
25. A normal oven.

I'm sure I could come up with many more things...but I'd like to hear some of your favorite things about Canada! Especially if you've travelled to another country...when you returned to Canada, what did you appreciate more than ever!?

PS - This is for my American readers, too! Is there anything you appreciate about Canada?

Rainy Beach Day

2008-06-30T15:02:00.005+09:00

Saturday morning I met Keith and Alex at Osaka Station; Matt joined us a few minutes later. While at DisneySea last weekend, a random decision was made (within a matter of moments) to visit the beach this weekend. So we did.

I was hoping we could visit Suma - a famous beach near Kobe, in Hyogo prefecture. I looked it up online, and discovered that it 'opens' on July 1st. In Canada, beaches don't really close (do they? I've never encountered a 'closed beach'); so I was a little confused. I asked a few questions of my coworkers, and came to the conclusion that 'closed' probably just meant that the food stands and shops in the area weren't open. But, unwilling to take the chance and not get to swim, we opted to visit Wakayama - the beach I went to previously. The train ride was quite long, but the four of us passed the time quickly with deep discussions about war, world affairs, and current issues. (No, I'm not kidding. We actually did.)

When we finally got to the beach (after I missed the stop and we had to go back one), I again felt so far from the city (probably because we were) and free of all troubles. Or at least most of them. It was overcast and rainy, and a bit chilly - but that certainly didn't stop us from swimming and hanging out in the water for quite a while. We were the only people in the water without surf boards and wetsuits. Needless to say, we got a few strange looks and the occasional side glance. We took a break for a beer and chatted to a woman for a while. She wanted to know where we were from, etc. She suggested a place to get food and seemed to want to take us there, but we were heading back into the water. In the water, Alex formed a brief friendship with a surfer 'dude'... he was watching us and creeping closer to our group. Alex waved, and the guy threw up a 'hang ten'. He was older than most of the surfers and had long hair and a long thin moustache. We laughed about it, then continued our conversation - with the occasional awkward laugh when he seemed to move closer.

After our second swim, we stopped for a snack before jumping on the train back to Osaka. Getting off in Namba, we met up with Rumiko - a new coop student from UVic. I was excited to meet her - although I enjoy all of my friends and spending time with them, the majority of them are male ... I definitely wouldn't trade any of my guy friends, but it's always nice to have another girl to hang out with!

We wandered around Namba for a bit in the light rain, and had some dinner - Okonomiyaki of course, for the benefit of the new coops. Then we spent the night out - Club Pure style. Two words to describe the night: fun & ridiculous. Next post!

Footwear Status: Critical

2008-06-26T10:55:00.013+09:00

I've written before about how Japanese shoes don't fit me. Extra large is a centimeter too small for my feet. I'm generalizing a little bit, because I did buy a pair of running shoes when I got here, and they fit me well. But in most shoes - to wear on a daily basis, or high heels, Japanese shoes don't fit me. And my feet aren't that big, by North American standards. I'm a women's 8.5. Not small, but not way large, either.

Why am I talking about shoes again? With 51 days left in Japan, I am in the initial stages of a footwear crisis . I (generally wear my black and pink skate shoes. They still function relatively fine - if the ground is dry. However, due to the four large holes in the bottom, if the ground is at all wet, my shoes become foot soak tubs. It's like walking with my feet submerged in small swimming pools. For business occasions, I generally wear my low black heels or my black flats. The faithful heels are completely decimated. All that remains of the end of the heel is the inner metal post. Not all that stable, and definitely not good for the floor I'm walking on. No problem - just wear the black flats, right? Unfortunately, my favorite black flats have been reduced to sewage. Well, not really. But they got wet (due to rain) and didn't dry properly (my fault - I put them in my shoe locker when I should have left them out in the open). So now they smell like rotting pond scum.

Fortunately, I do still have some low sandal heels (not really business appropriate, but would work in a pinch), a pair of sandals, a pair of flipflops, and hiking shoes. I don't think the situation will reach the crisis stage in the 51 days, but it is most certainly in the commencement stages.

Kampai!!

2008-06-26T10:25:00.008+09:00

Edit: Just to clarify - this isn't a drinking game. I rarely (if ever) play drinking games. I presented it as a game because it seems to me that there are rules that everyone unknowingly follows. In reality, the way people act comes out of respect for each other and is in keeping with the social atmosphere. Eating and drinking is a huge part of the social culture in Japan; there are always people who take things too far, but in general, the drinking is just a social activity, and kept to a reasonable limit. It's not used as an excuse to drink excessively or act inappropriately. Please read with this in mind. :)

It's like a contest. Or a game - with elements of quickdraw and musical chairs.

The Rules...
Round 1 - If a beer glass should be emptied - even ever so slightly - a player must immediately reach for the closest beer bottle to refill it. Once a hand has picked up a beer bottle, the remainder of the players ought to quickly grab for one - as there are not quite enough to go around.

Round 2 - Upon filling the glasses of everyone around them to the brim, players may set down their beer bottle, and - accompanied by 'Sumasen', 'Arigato', and bowing - may lift and tilt their own glass to be filled.

Round 3 - Short break. Conversation continues.

Round 4 - Someone takes a sip. Repeat from Round 1.

Ending the game - The Game can only be ended when the collective group leaves the establishment. At no time during or after dinner, while seated in the restaurant, should players cease to participate.

You think I'm exaggerating. But I'm not. Last night was a goodbye party for our team manager, who received a promotion and will be working out of a different office. I spent the first few minutes of dinner just watching the Game. It made me laugh. Often, when the glass was still full to a centimeter (a centimeter!) from the top, someone would pour to refill it. Then the person who's cup was filled quickly picked up the beer bottle to return the favor. And then everyone else jumped in - rushing to make sure everyone's glass was full to the brim. It was quite amusing to watch, and difficult to describe so as to give you a sense of the urgency with which it was carried out.

After dinner, 7 of us continued the party at a karaoke bar the next station over. We sang, drank, and laughed our way to 12:30. At 12:30, we finally wrapped it up to head home. Having missed the last trains, we taxied home - I shared a cab with Takemori-San and Matsushita-San. I can't even imagine how much the evening must have cost. Dinner was high-class, and everyone (17 people) had at least 3 drinks plus infinite amounts of beer. I'm sure you could fill a bathtub with the empty beer bottles. The karoake bar included several more drinks and snacks, for 7 people. Our taxi meter was at $55 when they dropped me off - with two more people to drop off. A second taxi took home the rest of the group. Eating and drinking with coworkers is a huge part of culture in Japan - but I'm still amazed at how much they so often invest in it.

So - I had a great night, lots of fun, 5 1/2 hours of sleep...hehe. But it was fun to hang out with my coworkers outside of the office.

The Magic of Disney

2008-06-24T20:59:00.012+09:00

A friend of mine from my 2nd year of university is also working in Japan - and he's started a blog! Check it out, and maybe leave some encouragement for him to keep it up. Life is busy and sometimes it's hard to blog, but I think (at least for me), that a blog will be a good keeper of memories from all the adventures!

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On Friday night, I climbed aboard the night bus for another adventure in Tokyo - but this time, a magic one - a trip to the wonderful world of Disney Sea!

The park opened at 9am, and you can probably guess that I was planning on being in line before 9. I met up with Matt and we took the Disney train to meet Alex and Robert just outside the gate; we got our tickets, and stood in line waiting. Matt is a coop student who has been working in Kyoto for 9 or 10 months. Alex and Robert just got to Japan a couple weeks ago - Alex was in my second year class. We hung out and chatted about Japan while we waited - and I made a plan, so we would be ready to take DisneySea by storm. There were few opinions as to what to do first, but Alex suggested we head to Mystery Island - so I picked our route.

When they finally opened the gates, we shuffled our way with the crowd into the big open courtyard. At the center of the courtyard was a huge spinning globe, surrounded by statues of Disney characters. I was so excited, even just in the courtyard! (I'm sure you were, too, after the sneak peak at the courtyard in the last post!) The street and the buildings already gave the day a magical feel. The sky was threatening to rain, but it was still quite warm out. There were lots of people, but it wasn't overly crowded.

Me, excited to be there?! Naw...

As I tend to do when excited, I was off and running - map in hand, chattering non-stop. I dragged the guys to a ride, which we discovered was closed. Matt had mentioned he might want some breakfast, so I verbally bounced back and forth between rides and food possibilities - all the while speed walking around. If you know me at all, you can probably picture it ... me, in my super excited state, dragging my guy friends back and forth and around in circles. But, I was having tons of fun already, and they didn't seem too tortured by my insanity.

The first magical experience of the day was meeting the characters of Pinocchio! Jimmny Cricket and Geppetto were, of course very popular. So I went for a picture with the Cat. Which turned out to be a good choice! He was a very gentlemanly cat; took my arm in his, and posed for a picture before kissing my hand and giving me a little bow. I like the Cat.

The first ride we did was 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Then we visited the Port of Discovery to get a FastPass for the Storm ride. We stopped by the Mermaid Lagoon and visited King Triton's Palace for some lunch. Lunch was very successful. My Sea-themed sandwich was soo delicious! And - I got a birthday present! Hehe...well, sort of. Alex's lunch came with a bright yellow soft Disney lunchbag - which he gave to me! (Again - if you know me, you'll know how thrilled I was about this.) While we waited for Keith, I led the guys into line. They were mostly talking and just following me... I'm not sure how excited they were when they saw we were in line for the Blowfish Balloon Race! But I was. :) Actually, the ride was surprisingly fun.

We also went to a short production by Ariel and her friends. It was very well done! Ariel floated up out of an old treasure chest on the sea, and swam around the auditorium, singing. She was attached at the waist by cables, but they were attached in such a way that she could spin and dip and dive and do circles as she 'swam'. All kinds and sorts of other sea creatures came to dance with her - starfish, jellyfish...all people in beautiful costumes, dancing in the air and around the stage. After some joyful singing, Ariel had an encounter with Ursula - also incredibly displayed! A huge mask of Ursula's face appeared in the air, and the auditorium was surrounded by long waving tentacles. It's impossible to describe! I tried to take pictures...but I got the 'X'.* At first I thought it was because my flash was on...but, alas, I just wasn't supposed to take pictures. So I got the X a second time.

*When Japanese people don't want you to do something, or are cancelling something, or deleting something, saying no, or...anything negative - they'll put their arms up in front of them in a big X. I got the 'X' several times throughout the day, for taking pictures when I wasn't supposed to. At least 6 times. Oops. :)

We wandered around the park, and did several rides including: StormRider, Raging Spirits, Tower of Terror, Sinbad's Adventure, Caravan Carousel.

After Sinbad's Adventure, we also saw some Aladdin characters! The monkey, Aladdin, and Jasmine were surrounded by people, but Jafar had a bit lesser a crowd, so me and Keith attempted a picture with him. Well, I have to say - Jafar moved way up on my list of favorite Disney characters. Not only did he kiss my hand as well, with a little bow, but - he did it again for a picture, and he actually gently pushed Keith to the side and stood in front of him to get a picture with just me! Hehe. He was quite charming (although he was rude to Keith). But charming to me!

We also got to meet Indiana Jones. I love the Indiana Jones movies. I love Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones movies. I did not love the Indiana Jones character. I'll admit I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him - good looking? That's the understatement of the year. So I was excited to get a picture with him. He was running around the bridge, posing with children and shouting in a big, deep, fake voice, "HI! I'M INDIANA JONES!" When I finally got to him for a picture, I said, "Hi, Indiana Jones!" And he said, "HI! I'M INDIANA JONES!". So I said, "Do you speak Japanese, Indy?" (Thinking...you should really speak Japanese. We are in Japan.) He replied, "WELL, YES, ACTUALLY, I SPEAK 25 LANGUAGES!" Me - "Well could I get a picture with your multilingual self?" Between yelling that he was "INDIANA JONES!", the fact that he was too self absorbed to actually notice me, and the super dark fake-looking tan... his 'kekko ii' (hot) status was quickly crushed by other factors. Disappointing, to say the least. Especially since he was so darn good looking!

We got a FastPass for Indiana Jones, but it wasn't valid until later in the evening. So we spent a while waiting in line for other big rides... we waited for just over an hour and a half for the Tower of Terror. Time passed quickly, though. With 6 people, conversation was constant. Alex updated me as to the status of our classmates, and we reminisced about Mech2 and I got some useful info about my third year. We talked about profs, elective courses, and speculated how many people in our class would be married by the end of our degree.

(As a side note, I cannot believe how many people I know are getting married and having babies! Apparently I've hit that magic age where everyone starts getting married. If life had gone as it was planned (planned at the time, that is), I would be engaged now, and probably married within a year and a half. As it stands...I'm perfectly happy (well, most of the time at least) living the single life, and right now have no desire to be in a serious relationship, let alone getting married and having kids! Wow - how times, thoughts, and desires change. Hehe - I'm a 21 year old single woman living and working halfway across the world, learning, growing, meeting new people, and having tons of adventures! Love it.)

The Tower of Terror was fun - I love the adrenaline and the way my stomach crunches up when we dropped from the top of the tower. I love heights for those reasons - the adrenaline and the twisting stomach. Awesome feeling. We stopped for periodic snacks - I had some yummy Sea Salt ice cream, and a greasy, oily chicken leg. Mmm but it was so good! I dripped grease on my shirt which will probably never come out, but it was so worth it.

Mmm...

We also had to wait in line for the Journey To The Center of the Earth...it was near the end of the day, and we were all getting tired, I think. I was. I was still super excited to be in DisneySea, but my feet were telling me that they had had enough walking for a while. We were probably in line for an hour and a half, but it seemed longer. Although - the second half flew by once the conversation picked up. Come to think of it, my energy did too. I'm always amazed at how a good conversation makes the time fly by. The Journey To the Center of the Earth was a fun ride - very well done, but too short as always.

As the day wrapped up, we went to the BraviSEAmo show.It was lightly raining, we picked up some Strawberry Popcorn (yum), and watched the show. Aside from Mickey coming out with Japanese excitement and greetings at the beginning, there were no words; it was just set to music. It was mesmerizing and I found myself completely absorbed by the lights and the sparking water. The show was a depiction of the love story between the "Spirit of Water" and the "Spirit of Fire". The fireworks after the show were cancelled due to the wind, which was disappointing...but I was still too enthralled with BraviSEAmo to mind too much. After hitting up the Indiana Jones ride (which fortunately was much better than it's character), we headed out of the park.

We sat for a bit in the big entrance courtyard while Matt got his stuff from a locker...I didn't want to leave. The air was filled with magic as only Disney air could be...the night was cool and fresh, and as the lit-up globe spun in front of me, I enjoyed the peaceful and magical moment - noting to myself that I was in Japan. Which still amazes me, sometimes.

We took the 45 minute train ride back to Tokyo, and went to Izikaya for some long-awaited dinner and drinks. It was the perfect ending to the day! I may have been a little bit grumpy by that point (okay, I was grumpy), but once we got some food and some kiwi sours, I was good to go! Alex and I led the drinking train, quickly leaving everyone else behind. The food was good, the drinks were good. It was good.

The next morning, we did a little bit of shopping around Shibuya. We had some lunch at an Italian place, and then some delicious gelato! Individual gelatos were ridiculously expensive, so 4 or 5 of us bought a half a liter of it. The packed it all up for us, sealed, dry ice, and all. We promptly walked to the table, undid it all, and ate it. I caught them watching us a bit - I'm sure we provided a source of amusement or at least --. It wasn't really a Japanese thing to do. The Japanese would never A) open a half a liter of gelato in the shop, B) sit down and finish off a whole half a liter in one sitting, from the container, with spoons. But, we're not Japanese. And it was sooo delicious. Due to the downpour of rain, we called it a day after lunch, and went our seperate ways home.

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend... good conversation and friends, delicious food and yummy treats, fast falls and quick drops, and a little bit of Magic.

More Pictures...

Beach Baby

2008-06-20T16:27:00.012+09:00

Sidenote: It's hot. It's raining outside. But it's hot and sticky. Humid. How humid? This morning, when I left my dorm room and stepped into the hall from my lightly AC'd room - my glasses fogged up. I couldn't see. No, I'm not exaggerating. Imagine stepping out of your bedroom to go to the bathroom and having your glasses fog up. Insanity.

I've learned that I am a beach and water type of girl. I need it. I crave it. Especially here - the beaches are so beautiful and the ocean so tempting that when I see it from the train, I am pretty sure I might die of city suffocation if I don't get on a beach reasonably soon. The other day, I went to the beach.

I have a new friend in Osaka - James. I met James on a train, on the way home from work. He's teaching English in Japan and has been here for a year and nine months or so - living in several places in Japan. He's 6'3" and from the Texas ghetto. So we got to talking, and had a beer. And he introduced me to this incredible deep fried cheese things . . . which I am currently craving. Anyways, James and I went to the beach. (Sidenote: He surfs, and promised that he would teach me how! How awesome is that?! I've always wanted to try surfing.) I was so excited to be at the beach...when we climbed up the stairs from the parking lot and could see the beach, I couldn't help it - I took off running, right into the water. It was incredible.

The beach was wide and long, backed by a concrete and rock wall, with mountains behind it and to the side. The sand was clean and light, warm on my feet, but not too hot. There was nothing obstructing the ocean view. The water just swept back and forth up the beach, then travelled straight into the horizon, forever - neverending. (Just like Saskatchewan). The water was super salty (as oceans often are) and warm. Once we went swimming, I just floated...I spread my arms and legs like a starfish, and floated. The sun was hot on my face, I could taste salt on my lips, and I felt as light as a feather. It was heaven in the water.

We had a lot of fun at the beach - built a sandcastle, met a guy 45 year old guy named Danno (turns out that he lives close to me and goes to my gym), and got a little bit sunburnt.

Later in the afternoon, after some sand art, James went and hid in the shade, and I went back swimming and floating. The thought of leaving the beautiful beach, the warm water, the hot sun, and the soft sand to return to the crowded, noisy, polluted city almost made me want to just start swimming out into the neverending waves. But instead, I enjoyed the moment and floated... just floated.

It was a marvellous trip to the beach, and I plan on going again soon - and learning how to surf!

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However, pre-2nd-beach-trip, I am going to Tokyo Disney Sea! I leave today after work, take the 10 hour night bus ride (It's a good thing I love bus trips), and will be spending the weekend in Tokyo! Besides being a beach girl, I am a rollercoaster-and-scary-ride-girl; through and through. I'm ridiculously excited. Here's a peek... I'll let you know how it went on Monday! :)

PS - Thanks to Suzanne for the 'Beach Baby' title! :)

People Power

2008-06-19T21:53:00.005+09:00

I went to the bank yesterday. I started walking toward the unattended counter, and was intercepted by Welcome Man. He fetched me a lady to help me, and while I was waiting for her to get information, I observed:

Someone walks into the bank to an "Irrasshaimase!" from Security Man and Welcome Man. They use the ATM. They walk back to the sliding glass door to leave, to the tune of a loud "Arigato Gozaimashita!" ("Thank you very much!") - from both the Security Man and Welcome Man. Rinse, Lather, Repeat. Congratulations. You've met some of the Useless People in Japan (okay, Security Man may be a neccessity).

Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against these people themselves... but the amount of Useless People in Japan is incredible! And no, it's not just me who thinks so. I suppose they're getting their exercise, at least - because with every interaction they have and then some, they bow. Some examples...

Welcome Man
To welcome you and make sure you don't trip on the way to the counter.
Lobby Ladies / Elevator Girls
To push the button to call the elevator for you, just in case your finger is too tired. (They bow an average of 2500 times / day.)
Crossing Guards
To whistle at the truck to stop as it comes out of the industrial driveway; just in case it was thinking of running you over at 0.01 MPH - and then to wave you across the crosswalk, just in case you were scared of the truck. Also to whistle at you and hold out their baton to stop you, just in case you were thinking of walking into the truck that they will then wave onto the road.
Traffic Light Crossing Guards
The same thing as above. Except with a working traffic light above their head.
(More at Quirky Japan.)

Most people who are not living in Japan assume that everyone in Japan works extremely hard, and that Japan is extremely productive. Armed with observations, conversations, and some hard facts, I digress. (Check out this article and especially this article.) However, I used to think so too. The few Japanese students I knew spent incredible amounts of time and effort studying. Some of the world's newest and most advanced technology comes from Japan. Must be a hard-working and productive country, right? It has it's hardworking and productive people and industries, of course. But culturally (in general), it's not so much the effort as the appearance that matters.

Work - Few people in my office leave when the workday ends at 5:40. Most of them stay until at least 7, some until 9 or 10. Every night. Why? Because no one wants to be the first to leave. When leaving the office for the day, a polite employee says, "Shitsurei Shimasu" to their coworkers, who respond with "Otsukare sama desu". Roughly meaning, "I am sorry to leave before you." and "It's okay - you did your job well." Appearance-wise, more time = more work done. Not always true...(one word: napping).

School - Highschool students who want to get into college / university do work very hard; the entrance exams are difficult. But once you get into a 'good' college? You're home free. Get a degree of some kind, with some (almost any) grades, and you'll have no problem finding a good job with a good company. (I could hardly believe it when Satomi explained this to me.)

None of this is to say that Japan doesn't have hard working and intelligent people. It does, and I work with some incredibly smart and hard working people who accomplish a lot. It's just interesting to notice the Useless People (who you would not find in nearly equal numbers in North America), and the cultural expectations and opinions when it comes to work.

Serenity & Sanctuary

2008-06-15T19:25:00.014+09:00

Today could not have been improved upon in any way. It was a perfect day of solitude in a place of serenity and sanctuary. I realize that sometimes I blog a little wordy/dramatically, but it really was.

I decided to do some exploring on my own, instead of spending the day at home in my dorm room. I read about a walking trail from Ikoma Station to Ishikiri Station. I took a train to Ikoma station, and started on my way. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any maps or specific directions online, so I decided to wing it. Which turned out to be...pretty...wingy. I had no idea where I was going. But with the help (again) of some very nice people, lots of pointing and incomprehensible Japanese, I managed to find my way to the walking trail. I'm not sure I went the right way, because it turned out to be more of a hike....with my pretty new shirt, purse, and sandals, I wasn't dressed for hiking. But the trail was nice and it was so beautiful, I went anyways.

On the (fun) cable car on the way up the mountain...turns out there's also a kids amusement park at the top!
This is my fancy new 'Japanese Shirt' that I spoke of...

I met a few people on the trail, but not many. We exchanged nods and 'Konnichi-wa's, and occasionally I asked to make sure I was still heading towards Ishikiri. They all thought it was just delightful that I was walking by myself, in my sandals. One guy asked if I was alone, another woman wasn't sure I should continue in my sandals. Everyone was very friendly, albeit giggling and smiling a lot when they saw me, and watching me until I was out of sight.

The trail was in large part big stone steps and staircases, interluded by rocky paths and dirt trail. There was a light and cool breeze, and overhead the path was shaded by brush and trees of all kinds. The birds chirped and sang, and from time to time I could hear water in the distance. It was so beautiful and serene; I sat, from time to time, just to take it all in and imprint it in my memory. I walked slowly, partially due to my footwear (or lack thereof), but mostly because I wished I could walk forever. About halfway through, I came to a shrine - perfectly situated in the trees. Made of stone and faded wood, it didn't look at all out of place. I washed my hands in the fountain and stepped inside to look around. There were several statues and buildings, but most of the buildings were closed. One was open - so I stepped up to the door and peeked around the corner. It was beautifully decorated, and there was a lady sitting inside at a desk. I quickly stepped away from the door and back down the steps, but then decided to go inside and look around. I always find myself hesitant to enter such a holy and revered place - lest I do something to embarass myself or offend other visitors. But everyone is very forgiving and friendly, and I knew I would regret it if I didn't go inside.

As I expected, she just smiled at me as I looked around . . . I never tire of the ornate gold carvings and beautiful flowing paintings. Just before I reached the door to leave, the woman offered me some tea. I accepted and she laid out a cushion, then poured me some tea and ran into the back - coming back with a packaged cookie. The gesture was so kindhearted and genuine, it made me feel as welcome as if I was an honored guest and friend. We chatted a bit - with some difficulty as my Japanese is somewhat lacking - about where I was from, what I was doing in Japan, and her trip to Canada some years ago. As I had finished my tea and we had finished talking, I heard several people coming and decided to leave so they could pray and worship. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart, conveying my gratitude as best I could - because it really did mean a lot to me that she had taken the time to talk to me and give me tea and a cookie.

The rest of the trail was downhill - every couple hundred feet were statues, often with incense or flowers or candles in front of them. I found a waterfall to the side of the path and sat for a few minutes - all I could hear were the birds and the water; all I could see was greens and natural browns, and the wet rock wall.

The trail turned into a paved road, with neat little houses on both sides. As I was walking, I heard a clackety-clack noise, and saw a big water wheel to my right. Set up under a covered area was a smaller water wheel with big wooden hammers that made the noise I had heard. Beside it was the larger water wheel - still functioning, but looking as though it had seen generations come and go more than once or twice. There was a little information board with old pieces of similar equipment, and pictures and captions (none of which I could read).

There was a map of the area, once the road got closer to town. I almost headed to the train station, but I noticed pictures for another temple off to the side. Of course - I had to go see it. I wasn't disappointed - again, it was beautiful and as tranquil as any place I've been. There were some more small ones that I visited as well - one had over 700 small statues in glass cases. Every temple and shrine was neat and well cared for, with small offerings and prayer requests on and around it.

When I was satisfied that I hadn't missed anything, I continued into town, and explored a short shopping street. I had a delicious (and well-deserved) lunch before I headed back to the train station.

I spend a lot of my time alone - but the solitude of being in the green forest, just with the birds, the running water, and the timeworn statues...it was different. A sanctuary of solitude that released all but peace and joy from my heart and soul.

More Pictures...

Fancy Dinner & Successful (albeit hilarious) Shopping

2008-06-14T19:03:00.005+09:00

Have I mentioned I love eating out for work, here?

Yesterday I went to Kyoto Industrial University with Takemori-San to take a look at a potential project for Osaka Gas. The professor and his sidekick students have been developing the projection of images onto mist...which is relevant to Osaka Gas because, well, they developed, produce, and sell the mist sauna. So we went to have a look.

Considering the fact that I caught and understood about 1% of the conversation, I don't really know - but it seemed a little underdeveloped to me. The image was projected onto the far wall of the mist sauna - and you could see bits of it in the mist. I was sort of expecting something like they have on Bones - the 3D reconstruction system.

I decided yesterday that I didn't care if I was a giant, I was going to wear my high heels, darn it!! So I did. And yes, I am already 5'8", and yes, that put me up to almost 6'. And yes, I was rather tall. It just so happened - too - that there was an unusually short woman on the train beside me. Her forehead was at my bellybutton. I'm not exaggerating. However - I discovered that after not wearing heels for 5 months, wearing them for a 14 hour day is a bad plan. Suffice to say my feet were very angry with me by the end of the day.

After seeing the demonstration of the mist pictures, we went out to dinner - as we usually do when there are meetings in the afternoon. We went Italian.

Oh my goodness. First of all - this place was fancy, which was kinda fun. Second of all, everyone (being the professor, another Osaka Gas guy, and Takemori-San) decided to order the 'course'...so of course I did, too. The course consisted of an appetizer, a pasta or risotto, a main dish, and a drink. The dishes all had fancy names with Italian bits, and all sounded divine. I chose seasonal vegetables for my appetizer, a Porcini mushroom sauce pasta dish, roasted lamb, and tea. I was right - it was divine. It came out in little bits on large white plates, and both looked and tasted incredible. Since I didn't understand most of the conversation anyways, I focussed on my food, and I savored every - little - bit. Heavenly.

And of course, because we're in Japan, we had alcoholic beverages. I generally have beer...well, everyone generally starts with beer...but I decided to have a Shirley Temple instead. As far as Japanese drinking customs go (as my Mother can attest), once your glass is almost empty, you get another one. We all moved onto our second drinks, and I ordered a Screwdriver. Mostly because I know what it is, and I didn't know what a lot of the other ones were. Well - apparently, this was hilarious. They alll 'eugghh??!?!'d and started laughing and chattering in Japanese. Of course, I have no idea why this is funny. A couple minutes later, it came up again, with another round of laughing. I don't like to be laughed at. Usually. And to be honest, it was bugging me. So I asked - "Why is it so funny that I ordered a screwdriver?" Takemori-San said, "It is famous to be a strong drink." Uh...okay. I told them I was an Engineer and Engineers could handle their beer and liquor. I also told them that some people thought women couldn't drink - but I think they are wrong. When I got the drink, they all watched out of the corners of their eyes - I suppose to see if I was going to spit out this very strong drink or make a face when I realized just how strong it was. I didn't. It was good. My third drink was a Red Eye. I asked for a recommendation, and no one knew what any of the drinks were, but the Professor was having a Red Eye - tomato juice and beer. My first instincts were a) eww and b) what a waste of beer! But I had to try it. It was surprisingly good.

Wow, that turned into a long paragraph. Anyways. Guess how much the meal cost? I'm going to guess $244 (4 x $40 course, 3 drink x 4 people x $7). Note that nobody blinked and the other Osaka Gas guy grabbed the cheque. Have I mentioned I love attending work-related dinners?

Today - I tried really really hard to be Japanese. I decided that I was going to buy a Japanese shirt. One very popular style of shirt is adorable on the Japanese women, but I can't picture it on me. Well, I can, but it makes me giggle. But I decided that I was going to get one. So I went to the mall.

First I had to find a shirt that I could stomach the thought of wearing more than once. Secondly, I decided that if I was going to do this, it wasn't going to be white, it had to be patterned or colored. Because the patterns look like something from several decades ago in Canada. But they're very popular here. So I tried on several shirts from several stores. But each time I got into the changeroom and put it on, straightened up and looked in the mirror, a strange thing happened. I laughed. I laughed so hard that I had to cover my mouth so they wouldn't wonder what was wrong with me - and at the end of the shopping trip, my abs hurt. Don't get me wrong - the style looks adorable and great on the Japanese women. But it just doesn't suit me, and seeing it on me.... was a little hilarious. But - I was successful! I found a shirt that fit my criteria that actually looked decent on me, and I would be willing to wear. I'll post a picture when I get one.

And that was yesterday and today. The End.

Evil Monkeys & Utter Darkness (Miyajima Part III)

2008-06-12T19:40:00.009+09:00

Although the hottest part of the day had passed, it was still sunny and warm. Warm enough for sweat to collect on my face and my body; the hair that had slipped out of my ponytail clung to the back of my neck. But we started walking. It was 2.5 kilometers to the top; 500m up from sea level, and we expected a view of the world. As we started walking and my legs started complaining, I thought, "I had better be able to see the whole darn world!"

I'm not sure when we started talking, but it was pretty soon. Hot, sweaty, and exhausted, what came out of our mouths in conversation soon turned into a nonesensical fantasy world. We discussed the possibilities of the monkeys giving us high-fives at the top, and cheering us on for the last little bit. Alternately, we desperately hoped they would not be waiting to throw rocks at us and steal my hat. However - should they decide to be violent and angry, perhaps Mr. Determind (one of the Daisho-in Temple's gods is said to be fiercely determind to destroy evil) would rescue us. But we realized he would most likely only be encouraging as opposed to physically helping. Cannibal monkeys, huge owls, an encouraging Mr. Determind, friendly deer and angry deer, and a rhodeo with the deer and the monkeys. Exhaustion and heat will do strange things to a conversation.

We passed a few people in small groups coming down off the mountain, but we were pretty sure that we were the only ones on the trail going up. Somewhere around 1.2km in, we met the evil monkeys! (I'm serious.) They were so adorable! They had no tails, but some had red faces, and there were several baby monkeys! We stopped hiking and crouched and crept to get the best pictures we could. I got to within a couple feet of one. However, keeping in mind their potential evil intentions, and the fact that they had their children with them, we didn't want to get too close. The intelligence in this caution was confirmed when Keith stepped towards one and it screamed, stood up on it's two legs, and lifted a (small) tree branch into the air. We quickly moved on.

Between the fantasy world and complaining about everything we could think of, we were almost at the top. The trail was a conglomerate of rocky path, and stone and wooden steps of varying heights. When we finally reached the top, all I wanted was water. At the top are the Priests residence and some more small shrines - and refreshments. Unfortunately, it was all closed for the day. Desperately wanting water, I saw a small cooler....and - yes! Water! It wasn't locked, there was just a small box to put your money in, and some coins left in case you needed change. I love Japan.

We did indeed have a beautiful view, but discovered we weren't quite at the top. In fear of not being able to move if we sat down for more than 2 minutes, we took a short break and kept climbing. Up and around a rocky trail, in and around some very large rocks. The view was amazing, and we stopped for some pictures.

Me as Mr. Determind. Me as Me.

But nothing on the way up compared to the view from the very top. There was a slight warm breeze, and it was completely silent. There was a snack and refreshment building (closed), but we climbed onto the roof (via the stairs to the roof) and took a look around. From the topmost point on the island, we could see the ocean for miles, dotted with small islands, and big cutouts where the mainland was. It was like looking at an endless hazy grey blue puzzle, with spotted pieces and the occasional oddly shaped dark piece fading into the horizon. After the roof, we climbed up onto a large rock and just sat.

Looking N, S, W, E (cw from top left)

You know how people often say 'Find a happy place' or 'Go to your happy place'? I think a happy place should be silent, freeing, beautiful, and refreshing. This was it. The breeze blew away my exhaustion, my stress, my moodiness, my homesickness, and my lonliness. And I just sat, in the fading sunshine, feeling the breeze, and looking at the ocean, as far as I could see. There's no possible way to do justice to how I felt with words, but the closest I can come is to explain it as utter peace and contentment; a whole 'nother world - free of all the trivial disappointments, negative emotions, and daily worries that generally occupy our minds.

Namaste.

When it started to get chilly, we realized that we should start climbing down before it got dark. I don't think the trail was meant to be climbed at night, because it wasn't lit up at all. Well, it got dark quicker than we thought it would. Between the sleeping sun, the smoggy sky, and the tree and bush cover over most of the trail...we did the last kilometer in complete darkness. When I say complete darkness, I mean that we couldn't see 2 feet in front of us, and when we did make out the shapes of kilometer marking signs, we had to get 10 cm away to read it.

Now normally, walking in the dark doesn't bother me. This trail, though, presented several new factors: evil monkeys, rhodeo deer. The very real and frightening possibility of a pair (or several) of eyes peering at us through the bush. The uneven steps and stairs, rocks, sticks, trees... put it all together and what have you got? A very dangerous and somewhat frightening kilometer. We kept seeing things move and were waiting to step on a monkey or something - conversation may have turned to interesting possible ways of not making it down. And how we would survive the night if we didn't. I laughed almost the whole way down, mostly at how ridiculous we were to have climbed up and then waited so long to come down. Secondly at how often we kept tripping and falling, despite the fact that we actually could have injured ourselves pretty good. Thirdly, at how much farther we had to go and how much my legs were quaking and quivering in exhaustion and pain. In retrospect (hindsight's 20/20 and all that), we should have left to go down sooner.

But we made it. This presented us with another problem. Dinner. It was only 8:30pm. We discovered that small tourist islands generally shut down - completely - after most of the tourists go home. Not good for us. We walked around the dormant shopping street - shuttered up and lights all off. The food was gone...all gone. We finally managed to find a restaurant that was open (and quite busy) and had some supper. Food is soo good when you're starving and exhausted.

All in all, it was a grand adventure. A little scary, a little fun, and with a beautiful view. What more could an adventure ask for?

Statues, Spoons, and Low Tide (Miyajima Part III)

2008-06-11T21:49:00.011+09:00

The mandala had me mesmerized for quite a while, as did the many gorgeous statues and decorations.

1000 Fudo Images - The Immovable King

I could have wandered the temple area forever...the detail on the statues, the innumerable prayer requests hanging beside the idols. The different temple buildings are spotless and neat, and have a peaceful and quiet air about them.

One of my favorite places in the Daisho-in Temple was the 500 Rakan Statues. The statues are of Shaka Nyorai's disciples and all have unique facial expressions. I could have looked at them forever. Some seemed so happy - full of joy and bursting at the seams to tell the world their secrets. Others seemed as though they just sat quiet, content in contemplation - enjoying a simple existence. Still others looked frustrated - as though they couldn't understand the world's need to cling to such futile things.

We finally left the temple - I admit that I didn't want to go, but we moved onto slightly (but only slightly) more modern things, such as...

The
world's
largest
rice serving
spoon!
(5 meters long)

By time we finished marvelling at the serving spoon big enough to be Gulliver's soup spoon, the tide was out and we could walk right out and up to the Otorii! It was beautiful from the shore, in high tide - but in low tide, it was just HUGE! Again, I caught myself wondering how they built it, and pondering the reverence with which it was treated. Today it is more of a tourist attraction, but for some it still holds religious significance and value.

Note - Blogger won't let me upload these photos for some reason...but I'll keep trying!

After visiting the gate, we talked ourselves into doing The Hike. We were both exhausted - both from an overnight bus ride and a day of walking. It was hot out. We didn't want to do the hike. But we knew that if we didn't, we would regret it the next day.

The Hike is 2.5 kilometers to the highest point on the island. You can take a ropeway either up or down (or both). We planned to hike one way and ropeway the other... Unfortunately, by time we made our way there, the ropeway was closed for the evening. We decided that we still should do it. And that's when the real adventures began... but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about it! :)

Other Miyajima Posts...
More Pictures...

Miyajima - Part II

2008-06-10T22:09:00.010+09:00

Feeding the penguins was definitely a highlight of the weekend, but the rest of the aquarium was a bit of a disappointment. Most of the aquarium spaces had little or no vegetation or scenery for the animals. It made me sad to think of the animals spending so much time in so 'nothing' of a space. We did see some interesting things, though! Moray eels...I think I would just have a heart attack on the spot if I met one of these in the deep dark depths of the ocean. Some interesting other eels who seem to enjoy each other's company, and some sea horses!

After the aquarium, we wandered back towards town and found some lunch. Miyajima is well known for it's oysters, and my oyster rice was delicious! Keith let me try one of his deep fried oysters, which was also to die for!

Every temple and shrine posesses a unique history and story, and I love finding out the details and history behind the cultural and religious traditions. I often stop and close my eyes as I picture how it might have been, hundreds of years ago...or when it was originally built. Even to me, Buddhist though I am not, each temple holds it's own signifigance and requires respect. The Daisho-in Temple we visited in Miyajima is one of my favorite temples so far. It was diverse and beautiful. It has been a holy place of the Shignon Sect of Buddhism since before the 12th century.

The Niomon Gate houses two guardian king statues who ward off evil and are determind to preserve Buddhist philosophy on earth. I can't help but think of the artists who carved them - what a privilege it must have been to create something so beautiful and fierce to guard something so precious. Inside the gate was a long staircase seperated by six hundred volumes of Dai-hannyakyo Scriptures. Touching these Sutras is said to bring you good luck. We walked up the stairs slowly, rolling each sutra as we passed.

Inside a small building was a beautiful sand mandola. It was made my Tibetian Buddhist monks, and it's incredible! Every color and shape you see is created by a different color of loose sand. I can't imagine the patience and planning that it must have taken - but it was mesmerizing to look at.

The ornate decorations, fabrics, and carvings throughout the temple have such vivid detail, even being centuries old. I meant to finish showing pictures and explaining the temple in this post, but I've run out of time, so more tomorrow!

Miyajima - The Island Where People & Gods Live Together

2008-06-09T21:58:00.011+09:00

I had two maps, and I still could not find the bus station. I had lots of time (two hours...what can I say; better early than late!) but I was still anxious to find the station so I didn't have to worry about it. Fortunately, I have not yet found a person in Japan who isn't willing to help. So - with the help of two kind gentlemen, one a taxi-stand manager who left his stand to take me into the depths of the multi-station building, I found myself in the empty bus station. I wandered the area a bit - taking in the beautiful city views.

It was getting late - my bus didn't leave until 11:50pm - and I was a little tired, so I sat in the terminal and listened to music while I waited for the bus to arrive. It struck me as an upscale bus station; it was clean and quiet. I was surprisingly content to sit in the dark, stillness, and quiet...it was rather relaxing.

I fell asleep almost right away, and slept through until we reached Hiroshima station at 6:10am. Keith's bus didn't arrive for a couple hours, so once I found my way around the station, I sat beside the river, read, and ate the breakfast I brought. I inevitably got to thinking.

"I am in Hiroshima, Japan. I am living and working in Osaka, Japan. I am travelling Japan, on my own money, time, and by my own planning and coordination. Wow."

It was a strange feeling to have no where to go, and nothing to do - but wait. Relaxing, freeing, but strange. Keith's bus didn't end up arriving until 9:30am. We had some breakfast / brunch at a bakery, and jumped on the train for Miyajima-guchi Station.

We only had to wait a few minutes for the ferry to take us across to Miyajima. It was closer than I'd though - we could see the island and even the famous Otorii.

Miyajima is one of the Three Views of Japan, and is famous for the Otorii - a large wooden gate to a shrine or in some cases, a temple.

The island was once considered holy, and commoners could not set foot on the island. But they could still visit Itsukushima Shrine - after passing through the purifying torii by boat, they could visit the shrine as it was built on stilts over the water.

I made friends with one of the temple guards - just for protection's sake...

We visited the small aquarium, and got to feed penguins! The dead fish we fed them were kind of gross, but it was still fun, and the penguins were cute.

I could not possible convey all the adventures and moments and feelings and fun that the weekend provided, but I'll do my best to share it with the pictures and as much as I can describe. You'll have to be patient, though...there's a lot to tell! More tomorrow...

Multiple Identities

2008-06-06T13:55:00.006+09:00

"Dissociative Identity Disorder, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a condition in which a single person displays multiple distinct identities or personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment." - Wikipedia

Note - This post is not meant to downplay the seriousness of actual DID, its more an observation on how a person's environment affects the way they act and present themselves.

I often wonder what my coworkers think of me.

A while ago, at dinner, we were discussing bloodtypes. I've mentioned it before, but the Japanese traditionally believe that your bloodtype determines your personality. They asked me my bloodtype, and Morita-San said that he thought my bloodtype would mean that I was very serious. (No one actually knew offhand what any of the bloodtypes do mean.) It got me to thinking.

Upon thinking (terribly strenuous activity) - I came up with my own impression of my Japanese self. I think I probably come across as very serious, quiet, and somewhat shy. I don't generally talk a lot, and I don't think I smile a lot. Either because I'm feeling a bit lonely or homesick, or because I am focussing on the conversations or goings-on in an attempt to understand and participate.

Previously - I would like to think (although I don't know how accurate this is - you tell me!) that generally, I am a fun person - albeit somewhat serious when it comes down to it, I'd like to think I'm up for a good round of fun. I think I usually smile a lot, and I know I get very enthusiastic and excited about things. I talk a lot. I pretty much don't shut up, sometimes.

Further pondering had me marvelling at the effects a different environment creates - how much it can change our characteristics and personalities. Language, too, plays a big role in this. I am different here, due to the environment and language barrier. But I also think it would be difficult to really get to know my coworkers for who they are, when it is difficult to communicate. Intonations, jokes, mood, opinions - it's all distorted when communication is limited.

"...a single person displays multiple distinct identities or personalities, each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment."

Canada Stephanie and Japan Stephanie both feel that they are somewhat representative of how a person's personality changes as they interact with vastly different environments.

Just for fun...

Japanese Blood Type Personality Chart...

Type A
Best Traits: Earnest, creative, sensible, calm.
Worst Traits: Fastidious, overearnest.
Type B
Best Traits: Wild, a doer, cheerful.
Worst Traits: Selfish, irresponsible, arrogant.
Type AB
Best Traits: Cool, controlled, rational.
Worst Traits: Critical, indecisive.
Type O
Best Traits: Agreeable, sociable, an optimist.
Worst Traits: Vain, careless, ruthless.

Victory Dance

2008-06-05T13:27:00.005+09:00

Proud Moment:

I just successfully navigated the internet in Japanese - this includes a bus site, Google, and Google Maps. Japanese words, and Japanese characters.

Congratulations to me.

PS - This may seem small, but its big to me, cuz I even used KANJI. That's right. Kanji.

Travel Plans and Being Content

2008-06-05T12:01:00.003+09:00

Today is Thursday (yay)! It was hot and sunny on the way to work this morning. However, as I look out my office window, all I see is rain drops. And I can hear it pouring from inside. I'm debating my lunch time walk.

Pros: If I don't go for a lunchtime walk, I go officially and completely insane between the end of lunch and the end of the day.

Cons: My shoes aren't exactly water proof...as a matter of fact, they are getting worn and the bottoms act more as a sponge to feed water into my shoes.

So we'll see.

Tomorrow is Friday (double yay)! And I am going on an adventure. I will be visiting Hiroshima & Miyajima...I board my Night Bus at 11:50pm, Friday night. I arrive at Hiroshima Station at 6:25am on Saturday morning. Keith won't arrive until around 8am, so I'll have some time to explore. Or find breakfast. But at 6:30am, I'm not sure what will be open!

We plan to go right to Miyajima and spend Saturday there, then visit Hiroshima on Sunday on the way home. I am also night bussing home...Monday will be a long day at work.

We'll take a ferry from Hiroshima to Miyajima. I'm excited for that - I love bodies of water and I love especially the ocean and I love ferries....so could it be more perfect!? There's lots to do on Miyajima...monkeys, deer, shrines, temples, hikes, rice serving spoons, and... Maple Leafs! (Miyajima is known for maple leafs.)

I'm not sure how I feel about visiting Hiroshima. It's something I want to do before I leave Japan, but I have mixed feelings about how I will react to the stories and monuments and knowledge of the sadness and death that took place right where I will be standing. I tend to have one of two reactions to these sort of things - either I experience it all in a somewhat detached fashion, distancing myself from the reality of it; or I get very quiet and contemplative in a sad sort of way, while I try to process what I am feeling. I think that allowing yourself to feel sad (sad's not the right word, but I don't know what is) is part of appreciating what happened there, so I'm going to try not to shut myself down to deal with it.

The past week has been a little difficult for me, I'm not sure why (hence the lack of blogging - sorry), but I did have an epiphany.

Long-term speaking, this lifestyle doesn't suit me. But that's okay. I don't need to try to love it or thrive in it. I do need to learn to be content with it. So I am trying not to be bothered by my inability to flourish in the quiet and simple life I'm leading, and started trying just to be content with it, and enjoy it for what it is. Which is pretty fricken cool - I mean, I'm living by myself in Japan. That's pretty awesome.

PS - While linking to the word 'epiphany' for anyone who doesn't know what it is, I discovered that it has two meanings.
1)"the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something
"
2)"a Christian holiday on January 6 celebrating the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus"

Betcha didn't know that, now, didja?! (I sure didn't.)

2008-06-05T11:42:00.002+09:00

Today is Thursday (yay)! It was hot and sunny on the way to work this morning. However, as I look out my office window, all I see is rain drops. And I can hear it pouring from inside. I'm debating my lunch time walk.

Pros: If I don't go for a lunchtime walk, I go officially and completely insane between the end of lunch and the end of the day.

Cons: My shoes aren't exactly water proof...as a matter of fact, they are getting worn and the bottoms act more as a sponge to feed water into my shoes.

So we'll see.

Tomorrow is Friday (double yay)! And I am going on an adventure. I will be visiting Hiroshima & Miyajima...I board my Night Bus at 11:50pm, Friday night. I arrive at Hiroshima Station at 6:25am on Saturday morning. Keith won't arrive until around 8am, so I'll have some time to explore. Or find breakfast. But at 6:30am, I'm not sure what will be open!

We plan to go right to Miyajima and spend Saturday there, then visit Hiroshima on Sunday on the way home. I am also night bussing home...Monday will be a long day at work.

We'll take a ferry from Hiroshima to Miyajima. I'm excited for that - I love bodies of water and I love especially the ocean and I love ferries....so could it be more perfect!? There's lots to do on Miyajima...monkeys, deer, shrines, temples, hikes, rice serving spoons, and... Maple Leafs! (Miyajima is known for maple leafs.)

I'm not sure how I feel about visiting Hiroshima. It's something I want to do before I leave Japan, but I have mixed feelings about how I will react to the stories and monuments and knowledge of the sadness and death that took place right where I will be standing. I tend to have one of two reactions to these sort of things - either I experience it all in a somewhat detached fashion, distancing myself from the reality of it; or I get very quiet and contemplative in a sad sort of way, while I try to process what I am feeling. I think that allowing yourself to feel sad (sad's not the right word, but I don't know what is) is part of appreciating what happened there, so I'm going to try not to shut myself down to deal with it.

The past week has been a little difficult for me, I'm not sure why (hence the lack of blogging - sorry), but I did have an epiphany.

Long-term speaking, this lifestyle doesn't suit me. But that's okay. I don't need to try to love it or enjoy every day of it to the fullest or thrive in it. but I do need to learn to be content with it. So I've stopped trying to be thrive in the quiet and simple life I'm leading, and started trying just to be content with it, and enjoy it for what it is. Which is pretty fricken cool - I mean, I'm living by myself in Japan. That's pretty awesome.

Avoiding Vortexes & Travel Plans

2008-05-30T10:09:00.002+09:00

As I often do, I found an interesting and applicable concept through my internet wanderings. I call them wanderings because there are certain places I also go to, on the internet, to read and learn. Every place generally has several links to other places, some of which I visit. And then each of those places has several links to even further places. Before I know it, I am far far away from where I started, but in an interesting place where I am still learning. Today, my wanderings placed me here, reading: "Stress is a myth".

The article in and of itself was interesting, and gave me some things to think about and try to apply to my own thoughts when I am 'stressed'. However - the most applicable idea came from the comments, near the bottom of the page. A commentator, Jennifer, offers up the idea of HALT. It's simple - 'don't try to process emotional pain when you are too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.'

I've blogged a couple times about the rollercoaster of emotions and feelings I've experienced throughout my Japanese adventure, so far. Some of them are moments of pure joy, while others drag me down into the dark depths of my own thoughts and endless circle of negative thoughts and feelings. The thing about tripping into a vortex of negative and emotional darkness is that it keeps sucking you, and pulling you further in - making it harder to get out. Hopefully, I keep in mind that HALT concept, and when I start tripping, 'halt' and realize that I am probably a) hungry, b) angry, c) lonely, or d) tired, or I suppose - d) all of the above; and am not emotionally fit to try to process what I am feeling. Perhaps that will lessen the extent to which I travel into those dark vortexes.

-------- On another note.... --------

I was supposed to go hiking tomorrow, and was looking forward to it - but it's supposed to rain, so it was cancelled. :( June is Japan's rainy season...I've been told that it rains (pretty much steadily) for about 3 weeks or so. I've always liked rain, but we'll see how I feel in a few weeks!

Instead, I may try to track down a temple I've heard about in Kyoto or Nara (I can't remember which). If I do, I'll take some pictures to post! :)

Next weekend I plan to go to Hiroshima & Miyajima with a couple other coop students. I think it will be in interesting weekend. Miyajima is a beautiful island with beaches and jungles and beautiful temples. Hiroshima needs no explanation. We are hoping to camp on Miyajima for the night...I'm looking forward to getting away from the big city again for a bit!

Infinite Hello Kitty

2008-05-28T17:21:00.005+09:00

Some interesting Hello Kitty-ness...

---

Hello Kitty for Men (more)

"Young men these days grew up with character goods," said a spokesman. "That generation feels no embarrassment about wearing Hello Kitty."

Guess what Dad, Mark, & all my guy friends are getting for Christmas!?

---

On the other hand, maybe it's not so manly...

Punished by Hello Kitty
The armband is large, bright pink and has a Hello Kitty motif with two hearts embroidered on it.

From today, officers who are late, park in the wrong place or commit other minor transgressions will have to wear it for several days.

The armband is designed to shame the wearer, police officials said.

---
But at least children like it (or her)...

Hello Kitty Cabs

Tokyo-based taxi firm Kanachu has commissioned 10 cars complete with Hello Kitty seats, blankets and umbrellas. ... "We hope mothers use our service when small children cry because they have to go to hospital or kindergarten," Mr Habu said.

(See first Hello Kitty post.)

Conspicuous

2008-05-27T23:16:00.005+09:00

People notice me. They can't help it.

Most of the time, they just notice. Their eyes linger for a second - to notice the differences between me and the people that surround us. But usually, that's it.

Occasionally, I feel someone staring. When I lift my eyes, theirs quickly divert. Until mine lower again. Then I feel the stare again.

Sometimes, it's just curiosity. I don't mind.

Sometimes, it makes me feel like a micro-organism under a high-powered lens. So I stare back, until they stop.

Sometimes, I watch them out of the corner of my eyes; wondering what they are thinking and noticing. My clothes, my hair, my skin, the shape of my face, my height, my shoes. All the things that scream: "I don't belong here."

Party of one, please.

2008-05-25T18:49:00.014+09:00

I woke up, and decided that it should be an extraordinary day of pleasure. Why? It's my birthday! And birthdays should always be fun.

In the spirit of pleasure, I laid in bed until I got tired of laying in bed, and wanted some breakfast. And may I say - breakfast was delicious. I had two chocolate swirled crepes, filled with fresh fruit. One fruit was on a bed of smooth and creamy tofu, the other a crunchy bed of sweet Frosted Flakes. I enjoyed breakfast along with a beautiful card and encouraging letter from my Grandma Wilson. I used my birthday money to buy some books I've been wanting...they'll be waiting for me when I get home (I can't wait!)

Fresh Fruit-Filled Chocolate-Swirled Crepes

After breakfast, I relaxed for a couple hours and chatted with family and friends - via MSN and Skype. At 11 o'clock, I headed out for a birthday swim. After my swim, I relaxed in the steam room, had a long shower, and spent 20 wonderful minutes in the massage chair.

I had lunch at a cute little cafe and opened my presents from my Mom & Dad, and Gran & Grandpa. I got a book that I am now dying to read, my favorite scent - in lotion and body wash, new socks (There's absolutely nothing better than new socks. If I could I would never wear socks twice.), and a cute shirt - along with Happy Birthday cards and wishes.

Presents, Birthday Sandwiches and a Milkshake

I sat in the stone square, in the shade beside the fountain and started my book. After a chapter and a chocolate birthday cake snack, I biked back to the dormitory.

Birthday Cake & A Good Book - Nothing could be better!

I'm watching a Nancy Drew movie - just for old times sake. I loved Nancy Drew, growing up - and read all the books I could get my hands on. Supper is in the oven, and may I say - it looks like it will be delicious!

Baked Eggplant & Beans

My birthday was extraordinary, despite the solitude. I connected with lots of family and friends, ate delicious food, and got wonderful presents. I am 21 years old, and I am living on my own in Japan. I have many people who support me in everything I do, and encourage me at every turn. Sometimes, life is tough. But it's also extraordinary.

PS - I was right. Supper was amazingly delicious. Wish I could offer you a taste test on the blog! :)

*Click on any of the photos for a (very much) larger version

Chatterbox - Mind. Won't. Stop.

2008-05-24T07:06:00.004+09:00

I'm sure you've been in a situation where someone (or several someones) just won't shut up. Welcome to my life.

I know I generally write about the lack of interaction and communication I get, but today - I'd like to admit that there is someone in my life who chatters incessantly. She won't shut up, won't go away, won't even tone it down to a whisper. Just full-steam-ahead chattering, ranting, raving, and imagining.

I like to talk (that's no secret), and there is an extreme deficiency in my talking in Japan, when compared to my talking in Canada (that whole...other language thing). So, apparently, I have decided to make up for it. Yes, I'm admitting it - I talk to myself. Sometimes outloud, sometimes in my head. It's the 'in my head' stuff that gets me.

What do I talk about, to myself, in my head - you ask? Generally nonesense. For your entertainment purposes, some conversation snapshots are listed below (yes, actual conversations I have had with myself). Nonesense includes...arguing whether or not to do something; talking myself into or out of moods; theoretical conversations in situations such as: new relationships, old relationships, job interviews, meeting the Queen, hanging out at home, school, as a lawyer in a court case, as a student meeting a mentor, in the Amazon, as a wife, as a mother, in class, at the beach, with random people, as an animal; mentally writing: novels, self help books, biographies (as myself or someone else); what I would say if people asked me what I talk to myself; designing and inventing machines or random devices - just to name a few.

Honestly...it's annoying. Sometimes I wish I could turn my mind off, and stop it from thinking or talking. I haven't yet succeeded. If you have any ideas, let me know!

Actual conversations I have had with myself (don't laugh. okay, do. I would.):

*2 inch me hanging out in a flower with an aphid...
"Life is hard, my friend. Really hard."
"Hey - life is hard for us aphids too, you know."
"Really? How is it hard for you?"
...(conversations about the difficulty of life ensue)

*swimming; wondering what I would say if people asked what I talked to myself about...
"What do you talk to yourself about?"
"Everything...but nonesense mostly."
"Well what would you tell someone who asked?"
"Hmm...maybe I could tell them I pretended I was a whale."
"The big blue whale slowly floated through the water, wondering where it should go."
"Hm...where should I go. Oh - Plankton!"

*after work, trying to convince myself to go to the gym...
"No. Yes. No. Yes. I don't want to. I don't care. You have to. Well, you don't. But you're going go! No. You'll feel better. Don't care. Do it. No. Yes."

*my life, narrated (I do this more often than you would think.)...
"She weaved slowly through the people moving down the walkway, feeling mellow and quiet. She wondered how long it would take her to get to the gym, and when she would be home again. She glanced ahead of her, noting the funny old men who often sat by the veranda and waved as she went by."

*swimming
"It's my life, It's now or never, I ain't gonna live forever, I just want to live while I'm alive, It's my life, My heart is like an open highway, Like Frankie said
I did it my way, I just wanna live while I'm alive, It's my life!"

I'd put more, but I don't want you to think I'm too crazy - its too late, isn't it? Anyways. The point of this post is...my mind talks to me incessantly, and I can't make it shut up! Sigh. And I wonder why people think I'm a little crazy.

A Year In Review

2008-05-24T06:44:00.004+09:00

Well, if I wasn't an adult before, I am now. When exactly does the transformation take place? And I'm not certain I ever asked to be in charge of my entire life...well - maybe I did when I was 13 or 14. But I was young and stupid - what can I say. Being in charge of your own life is hard, and I'd like to change my mind now. Dr. Dressup, apples and cheese, please.

A lot changed for me over the past year, and I changed a lot. Thinking back over the year, it went fast - really fast.

Some of it makes me laugh - like random adventures in the Elk Valley, Courtney & I's adventures in Sparlem (HA! That was one for the books), an afternoon with Michelle (one for the photo album...or not), Hynda's birthday (I'm more outgoing than I thought), love confessed in the back of a taxi (what does one say to that?!), EVCC Christmas Parties, last night out in Fernie (hehe, good times) - and infinite more.

Some of it embarasses me a bit, even now - to think of the silly things I said or did, amidst trying to navigate my way through new or difficult situations. Or just being ridiculous, because everyone needs to do that sometimes. But most of the embarassing moments also make me laugh - and I know that the majority of them, no one else would consider embarassing...just a product of the moment. And so I laugh.

Some of it makes me sad, and a bit wistful for days gone by. I said goodbye to some good things, some good memories, and some good people - more than once. Some days, I wish I could go back to any number of times and live there again, in that moment - just for a minute. One of my favorite songs is 'Starts With Goodbye', by Carrie Underwood:

"I guess it's gonna have to hurt,
I guess I'm gonna have to cry,
And let go of some things I've loved,
To get to the other side,
I guess it's gonna break me down,
Like falling when you try to fly,
It's sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life,
Starts with goodbye."

I learned a lot this year about letting go and moving on. It's hard, even when you know its the right thing to do, and even when you don't want to. Fortunately, few of the things I've let go of haven't actually left my life, they've just changed roles - something I am extremely grateful for. Or some of them - like my life in Canada - aren't gone, just sleeping. :)

Some of the year was hurtful; things I or other people did, said, or experienced. But from those moments, I grew stronger and I learned more about myself, life, and how to live.

All the memories and experiences I accumulated over the year - happy, funny, embarassing, sad, difficult, hurtful - now, every single one of them makes me smile, at least a little bit, if not a lot. I've decided to live with no regrets - some decisions I made were good, others bad - but all of them got me to where I am now. I don't regret any of them. And I see that I've changed; a year's worth of change. Must be older and wiser, eh?

I won't try to list the names of all the people I am grateful to for their support and the roles they've played in my life - especially with regards to my time in Japan. But I appreciate it beyond what words can say.

Dr. Dressup, apples and cheese was good. But I suppose, despite the difficulties it sometimes presents, this grown up thing isn't so bad. In fact, I might even be enjoying it. :) This last year has been a rollercoaster of adventures...

Let's see what this year throws at me! Happy Birthday to me...

Hello Kitty

2008-05-20T12:58:00.008+09:00

The other day, I was doing my random internet reading, and I found out that Hello Kitty was named the Japan Tourism Ambassador!

So I thought - since I am in Japan and all - I should find out a bit more about Hello Kitty. I'll admit it - I'm not one for characters or brand names. Hello Kitty, Strawberry Shortcake, Disney...I have never been the person who buys one of everything with a cute little character or name on it. This means I know nothing, about any of them.

Speaking of knowing nothing...my coworkers often ask me if I know this character or that character, from Japanese anime and comics. Comics are big here. They're everywhere. At any given moment on the train, I'm sure I could find at least 15 people in my car reading a big comic book. Anyways - the point is: I know none of them. Apparently the coop student before me knew all of them, so I'm falling a little short in that arena. Oh well.

I won't be going out and buying a Hello Kitty purse, sandals, headband, pillowcase, umbrella, socks, notebook, binder, or tea mug. (but if you want to, you can find all manor of Hello Kitty items here, or some rather strange Hello Kitty products here (guns just don't seem to fit the Hello Kitty image).

But I am slightly more educated in the Hello Kitty area, now. You can be too! Unless you stop reading right....now!

Hello Kitty is 34 years old and was born on November 1st, 1974 in Tokyo, Japan - to the Sanrio Company. She wasn't registered until 1976 (2 whole wasted years).

At the age of 25 years old, she got her first and only boyfriend - Dear Daniel. She has lots of friends and family - for her 30th birthday, her father (George White) gave her a pet cat named Charmmy Kitty, and Dear Daniel gave her a pet hamster named Sugar.

This isn't Hello Kitty's first serious job - when she was 19 years old, she became the US Children's Ambassador for UNICEF. She's had quite the star life - she's been a fashion statement (for the likes of Mariah Carey, Steven Tyler, Heidi Klum, Miley Cyrus, and Paris Hilton - just to name a few); she has her own guitar; she has an album by Lisa Loeb; adult underwear; online MMORPG game; several TV series; and infinite brand name items (50,000 products in 60 countries).

Currently, Hello Kitty is living with her family in London.

Now that you know all you ever wanted to know about Hello Kitty - and infinitely more....go share your knowledge with the world!

Me vs My Life

2008-05-18T11:11:00.004+09:00

I was talking to a friend who also recently moved quite far from home and the life he was used to. I moved across the world and he moved across the country. But we're in similar situations, I think. Mine may be a bit more drastic (what with the language and culture change), but both of us are left in a strange place, knowing few people, and finding ourselves condemned to spend a lot of time alone.

I asked him how he dealt with spending so much time alone...he listed off things he finds to fill his time, ending with:

"I don't mind being alone - it's simple, quiet, easy to manage."

I must admit, I'm a little jealous - but him saying that did help me explain to myself why I have had some difficulty adjusting to life here and spending so much time alone.

Kyle says: its quiet, simple, easy to manage
Steph says: that's good.
Steph says: i think don't do well with quiet, simple, and easy to manage.
Steph says: i need busy, crazy, and somewhat stressful.
Kyle says: well, YOUR NOT
Steph says: lol
Kyle says: and YOU ARE

He says he understands me better than I give him credit for. He's probably right. But I figure that his two phrases in response to my two phrases is a pretty good summary.

My life here is quiet and calm and simple - I am not. Hence why we have trouble working together. But we're adjusting, and learning from each other! :)

Naked Party In The Locker Room

2008-05-17T20:43:00.002+09:00

I grabbed my shower basket (you’re not cool in Japan unless you have a shower basket), and my towel and stepped up to place them in the glass cubbies outside the showers. An energetic, wrinkled little 4 foot-something lady bounced up to me - if you had been there, you would have heard something like this.

Her: Pooru? Pooru ni ikimasu ka? (Pool? Are you going to the pool?)
Me: (caught slightly offguard) Uh….yes – pooru!
Her: Oyagu? Pooru – oyagu? (Swim? Pool – swim?)
Me: Hai – oyagimasu. (Yes, I will swim.)
Her: Nan-fun? Dore kurai? San-juu pun?(How long – how many? 30 minutes?)
Me: Uh…hai – san…san-juu kai. (motioning back and forth with my finger) ichi..ni…san…san-juu made. (Yes – 30 times…1, 2, 3, until 30.)

She was quite excited and laughing and bobbing and bouncing, stepping side to side and back and forth. I should probably mention that we were both standing there, completely naked, (that means no towels, either), having this energetic conversation.

Her: Sugoi, na! Na! (Great, isn’t it?!)
Me: (smiling awkwardly, trying to make sure I am a) understanding her correctly, and b) forming understandable Japanese answers)Her: Aruku? Arukimasu? (Walk, will you walk?)
Me: (slightly confused) Uh…ie – oyagimasu (making swimming motions with my arms) (Uh...no - swim.)
Her: Ah – hai, hai! Oyagu! (copying swimming motions with her arms) Crawru, crawru?
Me: Hai! Crawl! Hai! (Ha. Mission accomplished – communication successful.)
At this point, two other women came out of the shower area – there are now four of us standing around, completely naked. How often do you see 2, let alone 4, women – in Canada – standing around, completely naked, having a conversation? Never – at least, I haven’t.

Her: Hayai, na! Hayai…
Lady2: Supeedo!
Her: Eh?! Hayai?
Lady2: Hayai niwa eigra wa ‘supeedo’ (‘hayai’ in English is speed)
Me: Hai! Supeedo…wakaru! (Yes – speed, I undersand)

I should also mention that I had left my glasses in my locker – and those of you who know me know that I am practically blind without them. So just when I thought the conversation was finished, the bobbin’ ‘n’ bouncin’ lady would start talking again…but I couldn’t really see her, so without knowing where she was directing her words, I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or the other ladies.

Lady2: Doko kara kimashita ka? (Where are you from?)
Me: (proud of myself for understanding) Canada – Canada kara desu.
Awkward naked silence.
Me: Arigato…sumimasen… (ducking out of the alcove to the scale)
I weighed myself, then went back to get my bathing suit before going into the showers.
Her: (still bobbing and bouncing) Takai, na! Na! (Tall, isn’t she, isn’t she!)
Me: (awkward smile and laugh) Hai…hai. (Yes…yes.)

All three of the ladies are now giggling.

Her: Na! Na! (I don’t really know how to translate this….’I see, I see’ is the closest I can think of. Or maybe ‘wow, wow!’).

Awkward silence, amidst giggling and bobbin’ ‘n’ bouncin’.

Me: Sumimasen…yoroshiku onegaishimasu…arigato! (heading for the showers)
Her: Hai, hai….(somethin, somethin’) – gambatte!! Na, na! (Yes, yes…good luck!)

Smiling and still giggling a bit to myself, I hit the shower. She was pretty funny, and seemed to find me quite a marvel.

After a quick shower, I had to go back through the alcove to head out to the pool. She was still there, as were the other two ladies. I smiled and tried to be polite with my ‘sumimasen’s and ‘yoroshiku onegaishimasu’s…and she wished me good luck again, with a couple of ‘Na, na!’s thrown in for good measure.

She was quite friendly, and I was proud of having had an entire conversation (sort of) in Japanese – I do hope I see her again – we will both be excited to see each other and will probably exchange smiles, giggles, ‘gambatte’s, and ‘sumimasen’s in our lack of clothing. I’ve determined that being naked with other women lends itself to bonding rather quickly – despite the language barrier and short interactions. Perhaps that’s why it still seems to be so popular here.

Japanese Candy

2008-05-16T16:06:00.004+09:00

Imagine a world without licorice... I know. How would we survive? What would we eat? Okay...slightly overexaggerated. Canada has lots of candy to replace licorice, should it ever become extinct. However, I have made a startling discovery.

They don't know what licorice is. None of my Japanese friends or coworkers know what licorice is! I noticed a lack of gummy and chewy candies here (hence my requests for Swedish Berries shortly after arriving)...but I didn't realize that soft candy doesn't really exist here. (Notice I said "doesn't really", not just "doesn't" - thanks to the miracles of importation and the internet, you can get anything anywhere from anywhere, now... and I have seen soft candy once, at a small candy stand.) But the idea of soft candy doesn't seem to register to my coworkers - one of them told me that they call 'soft candy' a 'caramel'. I assured her that a caramel was different than a soft candy.

Mom brought me (lots :) ) of licorice, so I brought it into work - prompting much explanation and questions about it and Canadian candy in general. I'm sure Japan has more soft candies that I don't know about...but my coworkers seem to also be uneducated as to Japanese soft candy...so I can only assume it's not very popular here.

Perhaps I should start a chain of candy stores in Japan...swedish berries, fuzzy peaches, sour cherries, gummy worms, gummy bears, licorice...

What's your favorite soft candy?

Moms Visit - Part III

2008-05-15T22:26:00.004+09:00

Tuesday - On Tuesday we got up (again) at the crack of dawn (for me, that meant 7:00, for Mom, that meant 5:30ish) and took off for Kyoto. Kyoto is the previous capital of Japan, and the old architecture has been quite well preserved / copied for tourism's sake. Mom and I visited Nijo Castle - a beautiful castle with amazing artwork.

We were required to take off our shoes to walk the old wooden floors through the castle. The original artwork on the doors and walls was breathtaking - unfortunately, cameras weren't allowed. The shogun who built the castle wanted to be quite sure of his safety - and incorporated two over-the-top safety features (the castle was already surrounded by large stone walls and a moat). The castle is famous for it's 'nightingale floors' - floorboards designed to creak, creating a sound like a nightingale. With the special floor, no one could sneak into a room or around the castle without someone knowing. The shogun also had hidden rooms for his bodyguards, marked by large red tassels. We saw the red tassels in several places.

Above - Nijo Jo and it's garden in the background...

After Nijo-Jo, we walked in the hot weather to Imperial Palace Park. We were quite hungry, so we stopped for a Japanese lunch of udon (thick white noodles) and fried rice. After lunch, we discovered that you can only access the Imperial Palace if you request a special permit...so much for that idea! But it was a nice walk through the park, and we had a good lunch there.

We subway'd a ways and walked some more, up to Kyomizu Temple. Since we were pretty tired and it was late in the afternoon, we decided not to go into the temple, and to do some souvenir shopping instead. (Warning: I may rant and ramble in the next paragraph...)

We visited a short but delightful shopping street with all kinds of delightful things...notebooks, art, dishes, incense, dolls, clothing, shoes, umbrellas. I was trying to decide souvenirs I wanted to purchase now to send home with Mom - less stuff for me to bring home in August! I don't remember when it happened - or even how it happened. But near the end of our trip, while I was finally making a decision, we noticed a tag or a label that proudly read, "MADE IN CHINA". Disappointed, we promptly decided that we could not purchase a souvenir from Japan that was made in China. However - this proved more difficult than we thought. Once we started checking, almost everything was made in China! I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was slightly surprised, and disappointed. The shopping street looked so...quaint and realistic. But Kyoto is a tourist district, and let's be honest - it's much cheaper to buy in bulk from China than make it! I was frustrated that I couldn't even buy a true Japanese souvenir. In the end, Mom bought a couple notebooks, and we had some ice cream. Last time I was in Kyoto, I found a beautiful little dolly, and the lady told me she was an antique. She's been on my mind since I first saw her, and I decided that instead of buying several 'Made In China' souvenirs, I would rather have one authentic souvenir. We found the place again, and I bought her. She is handmade with antique fabric - even her face was painted by hand. Purchasing a beautiful and authentic souvenir of my time here took away a bit of my frustration and disappointment in all the China souvenirs.

We left Kyoto with our (few) souvenirs, and went home, with big plans for Wednesday morning.

Wednesday - We got up Wednesday, at the crack of dawn one more time, and had another delicious breakfast. Mom finished packing her (and some of my) stuff up, and we went to the onsen for an early morning soak. We left with plenty of time to get to the airport...

Once we got there, we found out that her flight departure had been delayed by - not 1, not 2, but 4 hours! Didn't need the extra time to get there, after all... So we had a nice lunch, checked her baggage, and then did some airport browsing. We found many of the similar souvenirs we had found before...some seemed more authentic, but you never know. We shopped, then sat, then shopped some more...we explored across the plaza, and into the airport hotel. Sitting in the sunshine on some coin-operated massage chairs, I had a short nap, and Mom had a massage.

We did a little more shopping, and then said our goodbyes. I waited until Mom went through the first security check, and then headed back to the train station. It's difficult to describe what I was thinking and how I felt when I hugged her goodbye.

I felt very small, very alone, and very vulnerable, and somewhat hopeless. I made it this far, by myself - I knew I would survive the rest of my adventure here. But I suppose I had gotten used to spending most of my time alone, and having Mom there for 5 days - someone to talk to, listen to, hug, laugh with, walk with, eat with...I suppose I knew that being alone now would be that much harder than it was a week ago. Part of me wanted to book a flight home for the next day, part of me wanted to go home and curl up and cry myself to sleep, and part of me wanted to not think or feel at all. I chose the latter most one - pulled out a book, and buried my face in it on the train; so no one would ask if I was alright...because I wasn't.

It's been a week since Mom left, now. I've slipped back into my routine, but I still miss having her here. I miss Canada (I never realized how proud I am to be Canadian, but I am!), my family and friends, and the busy and active life that I am used to having. Mom and I talked some about my life here vs my life in Canada, and some of her thoughts, combined with some of my own thinking has helped me understand why I don't feel like myself, and why I am somewhat over-emotional and so up-and-down. It's encouraging to understand some of why I've had a difficult time, but it's still hard to get through those difficult times.

In 86 days, my friend Jo-Anna will come visit for a week, and then I will be home. I'm excited, but I suppose a little nervous. I wonder how much I really have changed, how much the life I had has changed without me, and how everything will fit together in the fall. But - no matter - that's not for 93 days...

Until then, more Japanese adventures to come...

Moms Visit - Part II

2008-05-14T22:21:00.004+09:00

I realized I forgot a VERY important part of the Sunday-day!

When we got back to the dorm, we went to the onsen! I received tickets for the onsen several weeks ago, but didn't want to venture there by myself. So - I brought Mom! The entrance to the mens and ladies rooms are covered by red and blue curtains, respectively. Doorway curtains here are split in the middle, cover the top two thirds of the door, and have fancy writing on them. Inside the pretty curtain is a locker room and a powder room. The locker room has lockers (you didn't know that, didja?), and the powder room has a couple sinks and several counters with blow dryers. A sliding glass door lets you into the shower area. The picture below is from my dorm, but the onsen showers are the same.

This particular onsen had several pools, a sauna, and a steam room. There was a cold pool and 1 hot pool in the shower area. Outside were several more pools...walking outside was like walking into a tropical spa - it was beautiful!

The center pool was made of rock...rock steps, rock sides, rock floor. The water was warm and steaming slightly. On the left side of the pool was a vertical rock wall, with a thin stream of water falling from the top, down across the rock seat, and into the pool. Scattered about the pool were large rocks to rest on or lean against. To the left of the main pool was a horizontal stone area, with taps across the back wall. The taps let hot water flow across the rock platform - laying down on the platform was the perfect spot to rest or cool off, and the hot water ensured you didn't get too cold! Beside the entrance was another pool, with a natural chemical to soften your skin. The pool edge was slightly off the ground, and tiled. To the left of the entrance were the massage pools - two identical pools. Each one consisted of three stalls, with two sets of metal tubes between them - similar to those used as handrails on pool ladders. Leaning against the back wall of the pool awarded you a wonderful and very strong jet massage.

After a long day of being on our feet, the onsen was a perfect way to relax and hopefully prevent some of the ache in our muscles...so they would be all ready for the next 3 days of adventure!

Monday - Monday morning, Mom woke up at about 5:30, and I was up around 7. We had another delightful fruit and pastry breakfast, and walked to the train. We met my boss and his wife at Kintetsu Nara Station. They took us around Nara park and to a couple popular temples and shrines.

Nara Park is famous for the deer - there are over 1000 of them in the park. Deer are considered sacred, and are well respected by park visitors. If you're brave, you can buy a packet of rice cookies to feed them - but they can get pretty aggressive if they know you have food! After a couple hours of sightseeing, Takemori-San & his wife took us for a very fancy Japanese-style lunch, which was delicious! Next we visited a shrine and a flower garden...'Wisteria' was in bloom, and it was gorgeous!

Takemori-San invited us to have tea at his house, afterwards. The house was quaint and the entrance was surrounded by pretty flowers. The inside of the house was quite small, but beautifully decorated with quilted items! Yoko (Takemori-San's wife) taught herself to quilt and has made some incredible things. She made us tea and coffee and we all chatted - she also gave me & Mom little gifts. I got some delicious green tea, and Mom got a small decorative set. It happened that the day was 'Boys Day', a day to celebrate and bless your sons. The set that Yoko gave Mom was one that a mother would typically set up on the holiday to bless her sons.

We went from Nara straight to Namba to meet my coworkers for a Japanese-style dinner. That was quite the adventure! Everyone was very polite to Mom, and Hisazumi-San brought us both very pretty hankerchiefs. (Sidenote: Bonus to Mom visiting...I get lots of presents, too!) Yamaguchi-San ordered drinks non-stop for Mom, and by the end of the meal she had 5 in front of her. I had to laugh, because usually it's me they do that to! Traditional Japanese dinners come in several small courses, and it was a lot of food...but it was delicious! I was trying to see it from Mom's perspective, since I'm used to being in similar dinner situations. I realized that there is the occasional question or slightly difficult conversation, but for the most part, they talk in Japanese and I (we) watch and try to listen. After dinner, we headed home and watched part of 'Notting Hill'...but Mom was falling asleep, I was tired, and my computer was slow, so we didn't finish it.

It was a very busy day, but full of exercise and good food!

Moms Visit - Part I

2008-05-12T22:04:00.006+09:00

Okay - so I'm finally posting the Mommy Visit! I'm sorry it took so long to get up...to be honest, I had a sort of blue weekend. It's hard to be lonely, and then when you're not lonely for 5 days, being lonely afterwards sucks that much more!

It was great to have Mom come and visit me. We had a lot of fun - I had someone to talk to, laugh with, show stuff to, hang out with, and someone beside me. She was very encouraging about my adventures here, and a lot of what she said made sense and helped me sort through the difficulties I'm having. It was really hard to let her go at the airport, but we counted - and in (now) 97 days, I will be back in Canada! :)

Here's a brief summary of her trip and our adventures...

Friday - Met her at the airport. Her flight was slightly late (4:15 instead of 3:45), so when people finally started coming out from behind the mysterious 'Arrivals' door, I was psyched! I wasn't going to cry when I saw her, but (you guessed it), I did. But just for a minute. And I got the best hug in the entire world. We headed home (long trip, heavy bags), and made some eggs for dinner. She was pretty tired (it's a long long airplane ride), and we went to bed around 10...to be all ready for Saturday!

Saturday - Mom woke up really bright and early, and I woke up bright and early. We had some yummy pastries and fruit for breakfast, and set off to visit Expo '70 Park & the Japanese Garden. It was a hot day. And by hot, I mean 30 degrees at 24% humidity - in APRIL. This summer might kill me. Anyways - we picked up some lunch at the supermarket (once I found it - I don't get lost often, but I'll admit I was a little turned around). We watched a kids dance show and had a snack, the continued on our way. At the park, we walked around and took in the flowers and the foliage (both in the park and the garden), stopping for traditional Japanese tea.

After stopping at Namba for a crepe (yummy) and some photobooth photos (fun!), We got off a station early on the way home (at Yamamoto), and got Okonomiyaki & Yakisoba for dinner. THAT was an adventure.

'Why?' you ask? Well. The stand is inhabited by 6 or 7 (good looking) Japanese guys - early 20 somethings. I don't speak Japanese. After staring at the menu (they're all watching the strange white women out of the corner of their eyes), I realized I couldn't read anything on it. So, I picked the second best method. I pointed. Then they asked me a question in Japanese, to which I responded that I didn't understand. They pointed, and I nodded. Mission accomplished. We did waste some ginger when they showed us a handful to ask if we wanted it (we didn't). Being eager tourists, we leaned in to watch the front-most good-looking guy make our dinner. The other good-looking guys thought that was pretty funny. All-in-all, it was a slightly embarassing, giggle-causing, fun dinner stop.

As it turned out, going to bed at 10 became a habit (as did bright & early), but it had been a full and very hot day, so once we got home, we were pretty tired.

Sunday - Sunday was (fortunately) a little cooler than Saturday, but still incredibly warm! We visited Osaka Jo (Osaka Castle) and Osaka Ko (Osaka Bay). The Bay area was quite a bit cooler due to the breeze coming off the water. After a Giant Wheel ride, some lunch, and a crepe for dessert, we headed home again after a (very) full day. (Note - We figured we walked for at least 6 hours every day.)

Above - Osaka Castle's Beverage Service...

Above - On the Giant Wheel! (Taking pictures of one's self never turns out well. And that one is pretttyy terrible. Mom looks great, though! Now how does that happen. Me too!!)

Since this post is getting long and I'm getting tired, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for the rest! This was the first half of the trip...although, I was trying not to think in terms of time, because then I realized it would end, and that just sucked. Thinking that it would end brought up a whole bunch of negative thoughts and sadness and lonliness, so I just pretended that she could stay forever. I wish she could have!

Mom - feel free to comment if I missed anything!! :)

All The Fuss (Added To)

2008-05-09T08:46:00.003+09:00

(Addition at the end - I finished the book. First part from the morning, second part the evening.)

I am reading Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code. Considering all the controversy that surrounded it when it became popular, I thought I should see what all the fuss was about - and I have! The story draws you in, as most mysteries do (especially to me). The book does have a large amount of historically accurate and historically controversial information weaved into the fictional plot and the information it presents to go along with the plot. It reads as a true story - and it would be easier if it were written as one! I will have to do a lot of other reading and research to figure out what is based on fact and what is included as fiction. It is intriguing, though, and I am thoroughly enjoying the book.

I apologize for not blogging this week - hopefully I'll get some updates up this weekend. Mom left on Wednesday...it was really hard to see her go, but we had a great time while she was here. I'll put up some pictures, etc soon.

-------------------------

Edited to Add:
I feel as though I've been handed the answer to the greatest secret in the history of this world. I feel emotionally and mentally strained. All because of a novel - a work of fiction. I don't know if it is that some fact along with controversial 'fact' is so artfully and completely woven in with the fiction. Or if it is the incomprehensible impact that would be made, were the story true. A good book pulls you into the story; intertwines your life and your story with that of the characters. Dan Brown certainly did an incredible job of creating a world and a story that envelopes the reader. I can see what the fuss was all about. Several times I had to force myself to close the book for just a minute and breathe in and out - to avoid exploding with suspense and excitement; my heart racing at the possibility of danger and the taste of an answer to the riddle. When I read a book, I become a part of that world; I am there, and I see, feel, touch, and taste the story surrounding me. Some books are better at drawing the reader in than others. The Da Vinci Code is one of them, and I can understand how so many people took the book as truth and fact. If you haven't read it yet, I would recommend it as an excellent novel. But be careful...you may find yourself running from the French police, sweating at gunpoint, and solving mysterious riddles (I believe have found 83 of the 92 anagrams to 'planets'. But the remaining 9 elude me. Grr.).

PS - Sorry - I know this isn't a book review blog, but I got so caught up in the story that I skipped the gym (read while walking home instead), and haven't eaten supper yet (9:30pm now). So the book is what my evening consisted of; therefore, blogged.

International Arrival

2008-05-02T19:04:00.003+09:00

I met my Mom at the airport this afternoon....it is so good to see her!

The trip out to the airport was interesting because last time I made the trip (when I arrived in Japan), it was dark and 3am and I was just trying to keep my eyes open and keep up with my boss. Kansai Airport is on a (sinking) man-made island - from the train, going across the bridge to the airport, all you can see to the left and right is ocean...rippling, endless shiny ocean. It was beautiful.

While I was waiting for her flight to arrive, my mind took a bit of a trip through a wide range of emotions and thoughts. I remembered how much I like travelling, airports, planes, and hotels. I realized (again) - I am living in Japan. I am across the world from Canada, living in Japan. Wow. Some days, I have to remind myself of that - and how incredible it is! At the same time, I felt homesick. I was excited to see my Mom, and excited to show her around Japan. I was excited to be going home in a couple months, and thought about how it would feel to leave Japan and get on that plane to go home. I think I will miss Japan, when I go. But it will be good to be home again.

When she finally came out the arrival door, I ran to meet her and got a big hug. I told myself I wouldn't cry, but - I did. Just for a second.

We made the long trip back to my dorm, heavy bags and all. It reminded me of my trip back to the dormitory - how strange it all was, how exhausted I was. And look how far I've come; how long I've been here; and how much I've changed.

Now we're back at the dormitory (3am Canada time, 7pm Japan time), and after a nap, we're going out for dinner!

Creeper Alert

2008-04-30T23:53:00.004+09:00

I got off work early and was excited to have some extra time to swim at the gym, without being home too late. I was standing in the bright sunshine and the warm breeze, waiting for the shuttle bus. A little white hatchbacked car pulled over to the curb, just in front of me. After the traffic passed by, a man got out, came around the back of the car, and approached me. He was probably in his early 30's, and was wearing glasses and a button-up collared burgendy shirt. At first, I thought he was going to tell me that the buses weren't running on the regular schedule - because it's Golden Week. But our conversation went something like this:

Him: Nihongo hanashimasu? (Do you speak Japanese?)
Me: Chotto (A little bit)
Him: Doko made ikimasu ka? (Where are you heading?)
Me: Ajikawaguchi (A train station)

He motioned towards the car, and said, "Drive? I drive you?"
My parents always told me never to accept a ride with a stranger, and I figured now was a good time to recall that advice; so I politely told him "Daijobi desu ka...basu kimasu." (It's okay, a bus is coming.)

Him: Doko...go? Live?
Me: Yao sundemasu. ('I live in Yao.' Which I don't, really.)
Him: No, no, I drive.
Me: Daijobi desu...arigato gozaimashita! (It's okay...thank you!)

All well and good, until now.

Him: Ahh. Boyfriend? Have?
Me: No...no boyfriend.
Him: Me, I be your boyfriend.
Me: (awkward laugh) No, no..daijobi desu ka. I don't want a boyfriend.
Him: Yes, yes, I be boyfriend.
Me: No, no...really. Daijobi desu. Don't want boyfriend.
Him: Where from?
Me: Canada kara desu.
Him: Oohh. Itsu...ano...how long, Japan?
Me: Hachi-gatsu made...ichi-gatsu made hachi-gatsu (Until August - January to August)
Him: I drive...I take you...(motioning towards car)

At this point, I was thinking/feeling a couple things.
1) What is wrong with you - what makes you think I would actually accept your offer to be my boyfriend?
2) When is someone else going to come outside...I'm not scared of him, and we're right beside a busy road, but I would be more comfortable if someone else was here.
3) Go away.

Me: No, no, thank you.

He finally headed back towards his car, with some more motioning to indicate he was still willing to drive me - but I just waved...and he drove off.

It creeped me out, to say the least...and made me uncomfortable. If he hadn't left, I would have excused myself and headed back into the lockable office building. Fortunately, he finally took a hint.

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In other news...
I went for a walk today, at lunch. It was warm and sunny, and the fish were jumping again. My Mom is coming on Friday. I visited a beautiful castle yesterday. (I'll blog about it soon, I promise.) I felt light, like I could fly; or at least come flying out of the water for a moment like the silver fish. It was one of those moments where you know that everything will work out, despite how low you feel in dark moments. I walk along a beautiful rock wall, beside a wide river feeding into the ocean, with a bridge across the horizon. It always makes me feel better to walk along the wall, beside the water...I've found a happy place at work.

Awajishima (Awaji Island)

2008-04-28T22:28:00.004+09:00

I didn't want to go, and I wasn't going to go. But what else was I going to do? Have a quiet weekend to myself? Like I don't get enough of those!

Saturday, 6:30am - Bright and early (too early) morning....

I met up with Satomi & Mai in the hallway, and once we woke up Myu (who slept in), we left the dormitory. I am a planning person. When I go on a trip, I have maps and itineraries and directions... but this trip was a complete unknown to me. I didn't know where we were going, who we were meeting, when or where we were meeting them, what we would eat - nothing! Not knowing any of this, I didn't have to worry about being late or getting lost or getting hungry or forgetting something; I just followed Satomi & Mai.

We met up with four other people at Osaka Station - and Myu came a bit later. From Osaka Station, we started driving (in 2 vehicles). I didn't realize until we started going that I haven't been in a vehicle for 4 months! We drove for quite a while, amidst random kind-of-awkward conversations. They were very friendly towards me and eager to ask questions, and spoke pretty good English if they realized I didn't understand what they were saying in Japanese (although, I have to say - my comprehension is improving!).

We drove through Kobe and Himeji, and then crossed Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge - the world's longest suspension bridge at 1991 meters. Looking out the window, all I could see for miles and miles was the ocean - it was beautiful! I love the city, but being outdoors and near the water, especially the infinite ocean was incredible!

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge

We stopped for lunch once we got on Awajishima - it was delicious, but disconcerting. We had the season special - a certain kind of fish. It all looked great and delicious...but when I picked up my chopsticks to try some of the fish, I realized it was still a whole fish - face, lips, gills, eyeballs and all! That threw me off a bit... but the fish was delicious. Until the part where I was searching for some more fish meat off the bones and found the eyeball...in trying to move it to the side, I punctured it and it squirted fish-eyeball-juice all over the rest of the fish! I am not a squeamish food person. And I will generally try anything once. But just recalling the juice squirting from the eyeball, and into my food makes my stomach turn over! After I made a face and tried to remove the eyeball, Daigon picked it up, asked if I wanted it (um...no), and ATE IT! Ew. Ew, ew, ew! That is the first food thing here that has actually made my stomach feel wierd.

Lunch - notice the big lips and eyeball. Yummy...?

After lunch, we headed to our campsite - Mongolian hut style! We hauled everything in, and after a brief trip to the onsen (hot spring) for a shower, we cooked up a wonderful barbeque.

It was delicious! Canadian barbeques generally consist of hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, and potato salad. Japanese barbeques consist of raw chicken, beef, and other random animal parts, along with potatoes, eggplant, mushrooms, onions, cabbage...all bbq'd over the flame. And then yakisoba to finish it all off! So yummy!

Japanese barbeque...

Marshmellows for dessert and then...another adventure! Octopus. Stretched over a wooden frame and dried...warm it up over the fire, and have a leg! Strange...but yummy.

Octopus, anyone?

We hung out in our hut for a while, laughing and talking and playing random drinking games (like Ping-Pong-Pang); we were all exhausted, though and eventually went to bed.

Camping...in a Mongolian Hut!

Quiet weekend to myself? Who needs it!

More Pictures...

Life Plans, or Lack Thereof

2008-04-25T23:21:00.004+09:00

Today was a great encouragement to me...

Note: As I wrote this post, more and more thoughts came to my head, so I apologize if it's jumbled and hard to follow. And I think it ended up more personal than I intended.

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A little background...
I used to have a plan - a life plan. I knew when I would graduate, where I would probably live, what kind of job I would have, who I was going to marry and when, how many kids I would have, and the shape my life would take for...well, the rest of it. For various reasons, the plan changed. The plan changed to 'no plan'.

Engineering, and specifically Mechanical Engineering, is a very diverse field. There are infinite opportunities for the up-and-coming Engineer, in all capacities, industries, and places. My parents have always told me that I can go wherever and do whatever I want - and I appreciate that, and I believe it (most of the time). But that presents a problem. Assuming I can shoot for the stars and any opportunity I want, I have to pick which star to shoot at.

I've recently discovered that I am interested in a lot more things than I thought - outside of Engineering. At first, I considered switching career paths (after my degree) to something completely different. But I've realized I do like Engineering, and the other things I am interested in can be integrated into my Engineering career (Engineering being so diverse and all). But the problem remains - what will I do, in 2 years, when I graduate, and have the whole world ahead of me.

The No-Plan Plan allows freedom - complete freedom. Freedom to do what I want, when I want, how I want - I get to choose, and I get to screw up, and I get to learn from it. I'm in charge of my life. What I do affects me - when I screw up, it affects me.
(Note - I know it affects the people around me, and my family, too; but for the most part, the major decisions I make in the No-Plan Plan only have a major influence on me.)

But - What if I choose the wrong opportunity? What if I miss out on the best opportunity? What if I turn down a job offer that I should have taken? What if I don't apply for a job that I should have? What if I accept a job I shouldn't have?

So - I've been putting pressure on myself to decide what I want to do with my life; what I want to be when I grow up. And I want to have a plan - so I don't miss out on getting to where I'm going.

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Today...
Today I had a great conversation that provided great personal encouragement to me - in that I don't have to have my career picked out now.

I got a chance to talk to Avrom Salsberg; BC's Trade Representative to Japan. (He and the Osaka Gas Tokyo Office General Manager came for a tour of our lab and to see the projects we're working on). I was fortunate enough to have a couple minutes to ask him some questions, and I asked him about his career, and how he got to where he is now - was it what he planned on, or did it just evolve into what it is? He told me that he didn't plan on it, at all - it just kind of happened. One job led to the next, and that to the next - all opportunities. He kept doors open, and this is where he ended up. He took a degree and ended up doing something else completely different - but he mentioned that he still appreciates the fact that he has the degree, because it provides a background and some knowledge for understanding certain aspects of other things.

I guess I found the conversation encouraging because it assured me that I don't have to have my career picked out now. And if I pick a job after I graduate, and then move on from that to something else - that's okay. Who knows where I'll end up? And that's okay too. And if that place happens to be outside of Engineering, that's also okay.

I also found our conversation encouraging because it made me feel capable and intelligent again. My projects can be frustrating because I find them difficult to understand, sometimes, and while my supervisors are very good and patient at explaining things to me, the language barrier still makes it difficult to understand. Coupled with a lack of conversation in general, I haven't felt all that smart or capable lately. In my conversation with Mr. Salsberg (short as it was), I was able to discuss ideas, express opinions, and exchange thoughts. I feel reassured that I am a capable person, with some form of intelligence, who has something to offer to the world in general. It reassured me that I am still capable of communicating properly. I know what you're thinking - all that, out of a short and not so deep conversation? Yep. :)

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Anyone who knows me knows that I need a plan. I am a planning person. I plan. It's what I do. To be honest, not having a plan scares me. It scares me because I don't know what will happen, and I don't know what I might be missing out on, because I'm not ready for it.

But do you ever just feel like you need to flounder a bit? To figure out where you are, before you can tell anyone else how to find you - how to get there? To learn how to tread water, before you decide which way to move? (Even if you know which way you want to go). I guess that's how I'm feeling.

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I'm not sure what this post turned into, but it is what it is. And it's late (or early), and I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I am going on an impromptu camping trip...I was invited, but I found out about an hour ago (it's 11pm) that we're leaving tomorrow morning at 7am, and all I was told was that it's for one night and I need a blanket. Sigh. Language barriers make for adventures and surprises. Oh welll...I'm off for an adventure - tell you about it when I get back!

So long...farewell....giggle

2008-04-23T21:53:00.003+09:00

My initial method of dealing with the unknown Japanese phrases offered to me at the end of the work day was to mumble something like this: "---esss". Japanese verbs, conjugated in the positive present (and polite) form all end in an 's' sound, and besides - that was all I could understand of what they were saying! When I passed someone in the hallway at the end of the workday, or on the way out to the shuttle bus, I received a nod and this mysterious phrase. I figured that as long as I nodded and "--esss"d back to them, I wouldn't come off as rude.

Fortunately, about the same time I switched to a more populated office, I finally learned what it was and meant. "Otsu kare sama desu" - meaning, "You have done your work well." or "Thank you for your work." Said quickly and without pronounciation, the person on the receiving end (me) hears, "sama dess". But - now I can say it myself, properly! This poses another problem, however.

The majority of the people in my office work later than me - so at the end of the day I say, "Otsu kare sama desu" as I leave my desk. They respond (politely) with a: "saammaa desss". These sounds (I can hardly call them words) come all at the same time, in low monotones. Every day - every single day - I say my politeness, and when the politeness is returned, I have to quickly turn the corner, lest I - heaven forbid - giggle. Or laugh outright. I'm not sure why it's so funny to me, but I have to stiffle the giggle that bubbles up, and quickly run away to laugh about it to myself in the hallway. It's difficult to describe properly, but I assure you - it's funny. If you're really nice to me, perhaps I'll do an impression for you.

Another interesting thing I noticed is the tone I take. I am not a quiet person, I am rarely a shy person, and I am not usually a reserved person when I speak. However - when I say "Otsu kare sama desu", I sound like a mouse.I speak softly, gently, and very quietly. I'm not sure why - it's a strange sensation to hear myself speaking like that, especially to the extent I do. Self-analysis required!

T minus 8 days until Mom comes to visit! I am so excited - for so many things! I think it will be a wonderful 5 days, but it will be really really hard to see her go. I did tell her, though, to bring two suitcases - so perhaps I can squeeze myself into one and get back to Canada! :)

I was asked to write a short article about my coop work experiences for the Coop Connections newsletter, by the end of the month. I realized today that I haven't even thought about it. Shoot.

2008-04-23T09:40:00.005+09:00

3 posts in one day. Overkill? Maybe. But really - the other two were my last night, and this one is my 'the next day'. So there's not 3 in one day, you're just in the wrong timezone.

It's 9:40am. I started working at 9:00am. Will this day ever end!?!? Oh wait, it's only been 40 minutes.

I am frustrated, pissed off, want to go home, and want to throw or smash something. I have been working with Solidworks for 3 days. I say I have been working, because it hasn't. It has some major issues (that apparently weren't solved by purchasing a new computer for me to use), and I don't understand why. Help has been slow in coming, so I'm just dealing with it. I need one of those squeezy stress balls. Or a baseball bat. Or Friday 5:41pm. Blogging my insane frustration is slightly helping, but I know that when I stop blogging on work time, Solidworks will be right there, waiting to welcome me with a memory error and the loss of my carefully calculated changes.

Misery loves company (and believe me, I am currently miserable) - what's your 'worst-day-at-work' (or school) story? Do share...comment!

Kyoto Sightseeing

2008-04-22T21:48:00.006+09:00

Sunday morning, bright and early (kind of) at 10am, we headed off to Kyoto. The 45 minute train ride went by quickly in good company, and we chatted up religion, beliefs, reading, books, etc. We had some lunch (yummy!) and then explored Eastern Kyoto. You can find all my photos here.

We visited Yasaka Shrine (the same one I went to last week, when I dressed up as a Geisha/Maiko with Satomi and Mai). We wandered through and past Yasaka, and into a beautiful Sakura (Cherry Tree) area - and it still had some beautiful blossoms! We spent a few minutes there snapping photos of all kinds before moving on.

We visited several temples and shrines with some beautiful history and architecture. I find it all fascinating - I suppose partially because it's new to me, and partially because there is so much about the history, traditions, and culture that I don't understand. The prayers to the ancestors, the washing in the fountains, the shrines, incense, coins...it's all outside of my world.

At Ryozen Kwannon - a memorial to the soldiers who died in World War II, there is a 24m statue, and Japan's largest stone footprint of Buddha. When you pay the fee to enter the memorial area, you are given incense to place in a large pot. Ceremonies are performed four times each day in memory of the two million Japanese who died in the war. There are several shrines, including those to the gods of wind and thunder. Beside the massive statue are the footprints - that people throw coins onto for good luck. Inside the statue is another series of shrines - 12 for the signs, and some other Buddhas.

We wandered to Kiyomizu Temple, but didn't stay long - we were running out of time. The streets on the way there were filled with shops and such - infinite things to look at! We decided to leave Kiyomizu for another day (so we could properly visit and explore it), and made our way back down into Kyoto. We met up with Eric & JP for a nabe dinner, and then train'd back home. It was a great day - the weather was beautiful. Although - we got just a hint of the Japanese summer in the afternoon, and it was HOT! And from what I'm told...that's nothing. The summer should be a fun adventure. There's so much more I could write and describe, but I could probably describe forever! Check out the pictures (once again - here), and come visit me if you really want to see! Hehe.

PS - We also saw this little guy - adorable!

Mmmm Pizza!

2008-04-22T21:23:00.004+09:00

Saturday morning, I met several coop students for another 'Going Away' party. Some students are gone, but there were a few who couldn't make it to the first dinner - and why not have another? We met at Namba for lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant - certified by an Italian organization to have authentic Italian pizza. It - was - amazing. I rarely eat cheese here (and I thought cheese was expensive in Canada! More later...), so the cheese on the pizza was like heaven - and the pizza overall was like heaven x 10. It was very well priced, too - I will definitely be going back there!

After pizza, we split up to do some errands and shopping. Keith and I went on a mission to get his phone charged, and find shoes. I discovered, once and for all, that I will not find shoes that fit me, here. The Japanese 'LL' size is the equivalent of 24.5 centimeters. My feet fit a 25.5. I did find one small rack of shoes labelled 'Model Size' that were 25, $250, and not attractive. I have officially given up on finding shoes.

We all met up again for dinner - Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba, and then went for some Perfect Parfait dessert...so yummy. I headed home after that. Keith, Thomas, and I planned to go to Kyoto the next day...

Rainy Days

2008-04-17T09:26:00.003+09:00

While checking out The Happiness Project for my Wednesday Tips, I came across this Bembo's Zoo site.

This morning is pouring rain (kind of like in the movies, when you know they're faking it because it very rarely actually rains that hard). I love rain, but it generally puts me in a pretty mellow mood...it's almost 10am, and I haven't spoken a word, today. No particular reason, I just have no reason to speak.

Anyways...this site brought a smile to my face and brightened the rainy morning just a bit - I thought it might make you smile, too!

Random Facts & Bookworm-ness

2008-04-16T20:06:00.004+09:00

Today is: 5 Random Japan Facts Day...

1.) Taxi doors open by themselves when the driver pushes a button. That's right - you don't have to open or close the door, you just hop in and out. Super efficient.

2.) Bloodtype supposedly tells what your character is like - so everyone knows theirs. My friends at work were shocked that I didn't remember mine. (Find out your personality here. I'm O...judge the accuracy for yourself.)

3.) When someone sneezes, nothing happens or is said. I'm used to Britt saying 'Bless You' every time someone sneezes...so the silence after the sneeze always strikes me as odd. (Miss you, Britt!!)

4.) During political campaigns, the candidate will stand outside a train station with a van with a loudspeaker and promote themselves and their platform; and, people walk around the streets wearing matching outfits, carrying signs, and chanting something or other for their candidate. I think they'd probably get arrested in Canada for public harrassment, disturbance, or something.

5.) Drinking in public is perfectly legal, and beer can be found in any vending machine or convenience store that you see (tall cans = $300). Come on, Canada. Get in touch with the times, already.

I finished A Study In Scarlet today. I thoroughly enjoyed Sir Arthur's writing style - two stories in one. First the mystery is presented, and Sherlock Holmes solves it. Then he told the story of the culprit, and how the mysterious murder came about. At the end (and I breathed a sigh of relief at this), Sherlock Holmes explains how he solved the mystery. If there had been no explanation, I know I would have thought for hours to figure out how he did it. Turns out - his methods are quite usual, and his clues quite obvious - for someone who has trained themselves to be as observant and thorough as him. Next on the list - The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Followup: (to this)
Imagining is a lot harder than you would think! I tried to imagine on the walk to the train station, this morning. I kept getting distracted by the things and people around me. So I closed my eyes. Dangerous. I opened my eyes. I ended up 'imagining' that I was about 1.5 inches high and was hangin' out on a flower having a conversation about how complicated life is, with an aphid (who was about 0.5 inches big). I also found myself having the conversation outloud - yes, both characters. I stopped, for a minute, but decided I was determind not to be "clapped into jail by [my] consciousness". I tried imagining on the train on the way to work, but was too distracted. I tried again to imagine on my lunch time walk, and this time found myself a fish in the sea who leapt out of the water with all my might, and then found a large metal structure and gathered the other fishes for a day of olympics. This adventure included me doing cartwheels on the path beside the road...which earned me some strange looks. And I have no doubt that as you read this you may wonder if I may have started to lose any sense that I had...but! as I said, I was determind to not be constrained by my worry of other people's opinion. Having said that, I think I will try to imagine a bit more often.

However, I did realize while reading my book on the way home, that I do have a good imagination when reading. When I read a book, I get lost in the world it portrays. I can see around me, in detail - the colors, the textures, the faces, the furniture, the emotion on the character's faces. It's all in my head as I read. So I'm not too worried about losing my imagination.

Where Does The Wonder Go?

2008-04-15T21:13:00.004+09:00

I finished Alice In Wonderland this morning...she's quite a peculiar girl. She has an incredible imagination (as I suppose most children do), but she's also very argumentative and impertinent. Granted, the creatures she's interacting with are also very argumentative and I can emphathize with her occasional frustration, but nonetheless, she's an interesting little girl. Her adventures in Wonderland made me wonder what happens to our imagination as we get older. As children, we can have hours of fun with a couple friends and a front lawn, on a playground, or in a sandpit - even without trucks and buckets. But as we get older, it seems to me that adults need constant stimulation or entertainment, and there is certainly a lack of 'play'.

In his essay Self-Reliance, Emerson writes,

What pretty oracles nature yields us on this text, in the face and behaviour of children, babes, and even brutes! That divided and rebel mind, that distrust of a sentiment because our arithmetic has computed the strength and means opposed to our purpose, these have not....But the man is, as it were, clapped into jail by his consciousness. As soon as he has once acted or spoken with eclat, he is a committed person, watched by the sympathy or the hatred of hundreds, whose affections must now enter into his account.

Children play and act freely, without regard for consequences or the opinions of others. As we get older, we allow the opinions of others to rule our actions - to a point that is detrimental, I think. We learn 'proper' behavior - what is appropriate or not, what is regarded as strange or wierd; and we live our lives by these rules.

I decided to cruise the net for some more thoughts, and came upon this article. The author provides this possible explanation: (I encourage you to read the whole article - it's both interesting and thought provoking)

Still, we might ask, why do children explore the far and fantastic possible words instead of the close-by sensible ones? The difference between adults and children is that for most adults, most of the time, imagination is constrained by probability and practicality. When we adults use our everyday theories to create possible worlds, we restrict ourselves to the worlds that are likely and the worlds that are useful. When we adults create a possible world, we are usually considering whether we should move in there and figuring out how we can drag all our furniture with us.

But for human children, those practical requirements are suspended, just as the jungle laws of tooth and claw are suspended for young wolves. Children are as free to consider the very low-probability world of Narnia as the much higher-probability world of next Wednesday's meeting—as free to explore unlikely Middle-earth as the much more predictable park next door.

What would it take to break free of the constraints of the practical and think in the realms of the possible, despite a lack of practicality; or even the impossible - what can it hurt? Thoughts? Comments?

Goal for Wednesday: Spend the train ride to work just imagining...all things possible and impossible.

PS - Having finished Alice In Wonderland, I started into A Study In Scarlet on the way home. Please excuse me if my tone and style of blogging changes as I read through different books...I have a tendancy to pick up and adapt to the writing style I am immersed in as I experience it.

Hopin' & Wishin'

2008-04-14T21:57:00.004+09:00

Today was a bad work day - not for any big reasons, it just was. I was incredibly frustrated and couldn't wait for it to be over. Even the sunshine peeking through the clouds didn't help my mood. Fortunately, it all disappeared when I jumped back into Alice In Wonderland, and followed her on her adventures...and my mood picked up, even once I climbed back out of the rabbit hole for the day.

Yesterday I promised to talk a bit about the temple I visited in Kyoto. We went to Yasaka Temple - one of Kyoto's main temples. The front gate was guarded by two Shishi - protectors of the gods. There was a small marketplace inside the gate and up the paths into the main temple area - jewelry, snacks, food, knick-knacks. The main area had a big pavilion, and the main shrine. At each shrine, there is a big thick cord with a sort-of bell at the top. It is customary to throw some coins in the space behind the cord, bow twice, clap twice, make a wish/request, and then bow again.

We looked around and went to a couple of the smaller shrine - one of the shrines is quite famous for beauty, and Japanese women come to make their wish to be beautiful.

For 200Yen ($2.00), you could get your fortune. Either your 'love fortune' or your 'normal fortune'. Being 3 single girls, we opted for the 'love fortune'. You pick a wooden box, and shake it until a stick slides out the end. The number on the stick corresponds to your fortune; when you give your Y200, you get it. After reading it, you can tie it onto the string grid by a shrine, or keep it.

We walked around and saw some other shrines - art, health, friendship, love. I asked Satomi about the general view of Japanese people towards their religion. Visiting shrines and making wishes is customary, but there are very few Japanese people who follow traditional religious or Buddhist ways.

After the temple, we wandered around the marketplace and down Kyoto's main street. We stopped for an amazing dessert - with brown sugar sauce and jello, matcha ice cream, parfait cake, and whipped cream...so yummy (PS - Mom, we're going to have one when we visit Kyoto!!!). After some more wandering, we headed home - and we all slept on the 30 minute trip back...

Geisha For A Day

2008-04-13T19:46:00.006+09:00

Today I visited Kyoto with Satomi & Mai to dress up as Geisha!

We arrived early, and started the long process of being Geisha-ized. Actually, we dressed up as Maiko - Geisha in training. The difference (for us) was the price and the way we dressed. We changed out of our clothes and into the Kimono underwear - a thin, light pink housecoat-style garment. We went upstairs to choose our kimonoes. They were beautiful! I chose a beautiful red kimono with gold and colored drawing. Then we got painted white! The white went all over our faces, around our necks and the tops of our chests, and down our backs, with an unpainted w-shape. We had red lips painted on, and black and pink coloring around our eyes. After the makeup, we moved to the hair room and got our hair. Most of our hair was put into a net, and a big heavy wig was tied onto our heads. Our hair was combed into the wig to make it look natural - but it looked a bit strange on me, since the wig was black and my hair is not! We needed help getting dressed, and it involved a lot of layers, sashes and ribbons - and it was quite heavy! We got a few minutes to take photos in a room with some props, in the front entryway, and then we got to venture out into the street and take a photo in front of a shrine gate. Walking down the street, men looked at me funny, and older women commented on how great it was that I was dressed up as a geisha! It was a lot of fun! Pretty neat, huh?

It's a common belief that Geisha are prostitutes, but that's not true. True Geisha do not provide sexual favors to their customers, but are traditional entertainers, using music, dance, and art. There is a branch of Geishas that are prostitutes - true Geisha wear their obi (the large bundle of fabric) in the back, and require assistance and at least an hour to dress. Oiran (geisha-style prostitutes) wore their obi in the front, so it could easily be taken off and on.

There are still Geisha in Japan, and they live in geisha houses called okiya. To be a full fledged Geisha, women go through much training. The first stage of training is called 'shikomi'. Young girls work as maids in the okiya - intentionally difficult to make or break the girls. The girls also attend school - once they can pass a final dance exam, they are promoted to the 'minarai' stage. No more housekeeping - they get training and are allowed to participate in ceremonies in minor rolls. After this stage (approximately a month), they become maiko (generally teenaged girls). They learn the rest of what they need to know by shadowing their onee-san (older sister). This stage lasts from 6 months to 5 years, and charge full price for their time, until they retire.

After our Geisha experience, we had some lunch and did some sightseeing in the area. We visited a temple and the market street. Since this post is getting long, I'll talk about the temple next time!

A few more photos... Geisha Day

A Watery Grave

2008-04-12T23:38:00.006+09:00

Friday morning I spent working with coworkers on the Chemical Heat Pump. We were checking lines and pressures and fixing leaks, and we finally had it ready to run. We started running tests. It was a mix of interesting and boring - waiting around, but I am finally starting to understand the system and how it works, and the thermodynamics behind it.

We left for lunch at noon, and stopped by the office to check email, etc, before heading back to the lab. I was trying to print something when cell phones started ringing, and a couple people ran out of the room. I thought they just didn't want to be late to start again after lunch, but when I was walking up the stairs, I noticed that the ceiling was dripping and there was a puddle...never a good thing!

When I got up to our floor, I stopped short of walking right into a big puddle! The water source to our project wasn't attached properly, and flooded the entire floor! So I spent the afternoon pushing water around to the drain, and mopping up. There was several inches of water over a very large floor section, and around quite a bit of electrical equipment. Fortunately, I don't think anything was ruined. It was quite the surprise, though! Now the project is delayed for a couple weeks while all the safety reports and precautions, etc are taken care of. Oh well!! :)

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There is a new member to our team and one is leaving, so yesterday my 'team' went for dinner after work! It was a lot of to hang out with everyone. I believe I provide a lot of entertainment at such dinners, for a couple reasons. 1) I try to speak Japanese, which in and of itself must be pretty amusing; 2) I ask, "Kore wa nan desu ka?" (What is this?) a lot, which is generally followed by a discussion and my coworkers trying to explain something Japanese to me in English; 3) I have interesting reactions to some of the food...

I don't put wasabi (the green stuff) in my soya sauce when I have sushi - it's pretty strong tasting, and I'm not a big fan. BUT! At dinner yesterday, there was wasabi in the rice, hiding under the sashimi! When I ate it, it was super strong, and it shocked me a bit. They laughed at that. The other things we ate were all delicious, save one - but I kept that under wraps. One of the dishes served was two small, whole fish (heads and eyes included). It looked...interesting...and still had all the bones in it. Some people didn't eat the head - I ate one, but not the other. The fish were cooked long enough that the bones were pretty soft and edible, but I didn't like them - so I picked a bit. Overall - dinner was delicious!

I convinced everyone to go for an hour of karaoke, after dinner - and I asked/insisted in Japanese. I think they only said that they'd come because they felt sorry for me - the poor white English girl trying to speak Japanese; we'd better just go. :) Half kidding! It was a lot of fun!! We sang about half English and half Japanese - most Japanese people know some of the more popular English songs. I sang to Karen Carpenter with one of the girls, and to Simon & Garfunkle's 'Let It Be' with my boss! Did I mention I have a pretty sweet boss? Between dinner and karaoke, it was a great evening.

It's late and I'm tired, so I'm jumping into bed! Tomorrow I'm going with some girls from the dorm to Kyoto to dress up as Geisha! I'll hopefully post some pictures and some Geisha info tomorrow.....

Nap Time

2008-04-11T18:11:00.004+09:00

The curtain slowly falls, your world becomes dark, and you slip into a land of peace and quiet...

Until you wake up with a jolt and realize you were almost sleeping on the stranger's shoulder next to you. Yes folks, you are on the train. How embarassing!

Often, I see people use the lean-and-jolt nap method on the train, and I'll admit I've done it myself (completely unintentionally!) But today (as someone lean-and-jolted onto me) I wondered what a persons reaction would be. So, I've decided to start a train experiment, and the next time I find myself falling asleep on the train, I'm going to let myself fall asleep on the person next to me's shoulder. Unless I know them. I figure - if there's any time to do such an experiment, it's across the world and in a different country! We'll see what happens...

Rain, Plant Life, & Shoes!

2008-04-10T08:53:00.009+09:00

Note: I wrote this a couple days ago, and thought I had posted it - but evidently I hit the wrong button and only saved it. Sorry! Cherry blossom picture to make up for it...

Shoes, shoes, shoes...
I love heels. I love shoes, in general, but I have discovered I especially love heels. At Yao station, near my dormitory, there is a Shoe Outlet store. It always has a sale on, and has some awesome & amazing shoes for around $20. Unfortunately, I am a giant. Well, not really. Their LL shoes generally are a little too large for me, though. How depressing is that?! It's frustrating, because I often see shoes that I really like, during my Osaka travels (which is often, because Japan is all about the footwear & footclothing), but they rarely fit. I've almost stopped trying them on, now. Sigh. Wish I could find a pair of heels here that would fit me.

My rainy adventure...
Yesterday I biked to the gym after work to swim. I've been in Japan for a couple months now, and you would think I would have learned - but I didn't bring an umbrella. When I came out of the gym, the first thing I saw was wet - everywhere. I though, "Oh - it's been raining!" Then I stepped off the sidewalk and out from under the cover.... it was pouring rain.

20 minute bike ride + pouring rain - umbrella = absolutely soaking wet

My dorm manager laughed a little when I came in, and I told him that it was pouring rain and I hadn't brought an umbrella! Oh well...it was fun?

Plant Life
I stopped by the dollar store (when I don't want to go to the gym, I stop at the dollar store first to procrastinate). They had plants! I'm a fan of little cute plants and of pseudo-bamboo plants, so I bought 3. I figured it would be nice to have a little more life and color in my room! Meet my plants. I haven't named them yet, but I will.

Speaking of plant life...I bought a daikon last weekend - daikon are of the same family of radishes, and are usually about the size of 2 large carrots combined. However. This one was HUGE! I couldn't believe how big it was, so I took a picture.

And on another random note - I dropped a glass tube at work today and broke it. Good job, me. Fortunately, my boss just wanted to know that I was alright, and said we'd order another one.

Blogs & Rabbit Trails

2008-04-09T12:52:00.004+09:00

This week, I discovered the world of Blogs. I know - I've been part of it for several months now. However, I never realized the large number and variety of blogs there are! If you're interested in something or want to know more about it, there's 101,000 blogs about it. Technology, biology, psychology, humor, cartoons, comics, beauty, fashion, religion, fitness, diet, health, weight loss...you name it, it exists. Even if you can't name it, it probably exists.

The only problem with the infinite amount of blogs that my computer provides me access to is time. I could spend hours reading them. And each blog has a 'blogroll' which leads to more blogs. I've listed a couple of my favorite blogs below, for your perusal (haha - Jeff word). But beware. If you're not careful, they may take over your life.

I wrote this post because it was on my mind, but I realized that my blog is titled 'Memoirs of a Gaijin', and the majority of my posts should probably have something to do with me and my life in Japan. So I apologize for the many rabbit trails I have taken my blog to, and will make an effort to talk more about Japan & my life here. Content suggestions, requests, comments, advice, etc. is more than welcome! Just leave me a comment on this post....(oh, and I promise to reply to comments now, too!)

Back to work; another day another dollar - and all that stuff!

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*WARNING*
Clicking on any of the links below may lead to massive amounts of your life and/or time being spent reading and surfing blogs. The author of this blog post does not take any responibility for any adverse affects this newfound addiction may have on your life.

Indexed - Life Explained in terms of Venn Diagrams
Interesting - Random interesting articles on just about everything
Cocktail Party Physics - For the Engineer in me. Explanations of physics and related things.
Cranky Fitness - Fitness from a not-so-optimistic view (great entertainment & good tips in one!)
Happiness Project - One woman's goal to find happiness (by trying all means)
Zen Habits - Tips and thoughts for living a simple and content life

Work, work, work...

2008-04-08T08:41:00.004+09:00

I guess it's time for a little update on the Engineering side...

Yesterday I got to play with 800℃ ovens, and expansion graphite! :-D One of my projects is a Chemical Heat Pump - a device that takes waste heat from something else (like an engine) and uses it to produce more useful heat (hot water, etc). The expansion graphite, when mixed with a couple other things, promotes heat transfer inside the system. My boss and I expanded the graphite, and then sent it off to another company to do the washing and mixing.

We put just a couple teaspoons-full of the graphite into ceramic bowls (about the size of a small-medium mixing bowl). The graphite just looked like you took out your pencil lead and crushed it. Then we put the bowls into the 800℃ oven for about 10 minutes. When we took it out, the graphite was overflowing from the bowl! It was incredibly light, though...half a cubic foot of it, or so, weighed only about 25g.

Aside from playing with ridiculously hot ovens, I am also analyzing data that was recorded during a test run of the chemical heat pump. Pressure, temperatures, flow rates...all to figure out how much energy we can get out of the system, and how to maximize it!

My other project is the Top Runner Grill - a fish grill that we are analyzing and trying to maximize efficiency for. It's kind of on hold right now...but I think we're doing a demonstration of the new combi-cooking system in a couple weeks.

There is a product available that cooks food using only superheated steam. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to heat up and be ready to operate, so Osaka Gas is developing a combi-cooking grill. A combination of natural gas burners, and steam. Cooking with steam has great health benefits - When the steam enters the cooking chamber, and comes into contact with the cold food, it condenses onto the outside of the food. The food gains the heat that the steam had, which is what heats and cooks it. But when the steam condenses, it pulls out extra fat, grease, and salt. Then as it drips off the food into the tray below, it takes that with it. However, the steam doesn't pull out (and may even lock in) Vitamin C, and the coenzyme Q10, among other things. I've seen some pretty neat results from tests comparing the grill method, the steam method, and the combination method.

Speaking of work, it's starting now...but there's a little update as to what I do all day, every day!

Another White Dash...Away, Away

2008-04-06T18:34:00.006+09:00

I didn't go swimming at all, last week - for various reasons; none of which make any sense now. Swimming laps works as therapy for me. I often find my head full, confused, and muddled with infinite thoughts.

When I swim, sometimes I keep thinking - and I sort out my thoughts and my problems. I swim until everything is swept up, organized, and I can move through it all without tripping or catching the corner of something. Sometimes, I don't think. I just swim. As I focus on the rhythm of my strokes and watch the pale blue tiles sashay under my body and into the past, all the confusion leaves my head and flows with the water, and away with the tiles. I swim until my head is empty, and my body feels light enough to float out of the pool.

When I don't go swimming, it's usually because I am too tired, or overwhelmed, or don't feel like putting in the effort to get there. But when I do, especially when I don't want to, I leave relaxed and upbeat. All my problems just go away.

Catch up!

2008-04-06T13:38:00.002+09:00

I apologize for not blogging again, sooner! I keep meaning to, but then I get caught up in something or other and forget.

Last week I switched offices - upstairs with the rest of my research 'team'. I am in an office area with several other people that I kind of know. They don't talk much (everyone works pretty hard), but it's nice just to be in the company of other people.

On Friday I attended the yearly meeting of all the researchers - it was long and pretty boring, because I didn't understand much of it. I think it would have been pretty interesting if I had understood it. :-P When we were leaving, there were a bunch of guys loading recycling out of the building and onto a truck. When I walked by, I smiled at one, and one of them said, "Stephanie!". It was strange to have a random person know my name...

This weekend has been pretty productive. Yesterday I spent the morning biking and doing errands. The weather is beautiful - sunny and warm. The roadway/walkway from my dorm down towards Yamamoto & Yao stations and the grocery store is along a river and lined with cherry trees. The walkway is very busy, and biking is slow and has to be careful!

I spent the afternoon browsing heavin in Osaka! I found ABC Craft - a 4 floor craft store! I spent a couple hours and could have spent several hours and hundreds of dollars there...fortunately, I restrained myself. Today, I slept in and was super productive cleaning my room - completely! Swept, organized, and all. I'm planning on going to the gym this evening, and then it's into another week...

Motivation Musings

2008-04-03T08:43:00.003+09:00

The past couple days I've been pondering where a person's motivation comes from - because some days, I definitely lack it. I came to the conclusion that it comes from the people around us, and inside ourselves. Simple enough... we are motivated by the people we love, the people we want to impress, the people we want to show up. We do things to better their lives or change their opinion of us. But where does self motivation come from? What motivates us to do things for ourselves? Some days, I wake up ready to go, hit up the day, be the best me that I can be, etc, etc. Other days, I just don't care. I suppose that self-motivation comes from a sense of pride in who we are and what we can accomplish, or have accomplished. But how do you find that, on the days when you just don't want to get out of your nice, warm bed? I had more thoughts on this, but they got muddled in my head. Oh, I've also determined that sleep has a lot to do with motivation.

rabbit trail---> Speaking of sleep, did you know that regularly getting less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours of sleep can cause you to gain weight? Interesting, hey? Random fact of the day. <---end of rabbit trail

I think that a large part of the reason I often don't feel motivated to do certain things, here, is because there aren't people I know in my day-to-day face-to-face life. I have great connections and communication with home (which plays a huge role in my motivation, I think) - but as far as face-to-face interaction, on a daily basis, it's pretty limited. So that leaves a lot up to self-motivation. I've never needed to motivate myself before, I am usually just motivated.

Well I'm off to work...feeling half motivated, today. :) We'll see what I can accomplish! I think this post was a little strange and ramble-y, but I'll post it anyways. Sometimes rambling is good?

Motivation?

2008-04-02T08:56:00.003+09:00

My dorm has been taken over!! Last week was graduation for Japanese Universities, which means this week, everyone starts their new jobs! My company has several new staff members, fresh out of school. Which means my dormitory does, too! I rarely saw anyone, before. Now, when I go to the lobby, there's usually a couple guys standing around. Dinner, in the cafeteria hall, most of the tables have guys at them! It's wierd to see it so 'busy'.

Well, this was going to be a longer post, but I got distracted and now work is starting. So I'll edit and finish it later! I didn't even get to the motivation part.

Photos

2008-03-31T22:31:00.003+09:00

More pictures, as promised!

Kobe
Osaka Jo

Picnic photos aren't working...I'll keep trying to get it to and then put them up! :)

March 30th

2008-03-30T21:33:00.007+09:00

I know, I know. That's about the most creative title in the history of blogging.

Yesterday = Bad Day. Today = Better Day. Stupid Elevator.

I get a visitor! My Mommy is coming to visit me, in May! Someone to talk to, giggle with, and a real hug! I haven't had any actual human contact in 2.5 months. No hugs, nothing. Not really even handshakes, because they bow, here! I never thought about it in Canada, but I've noticed it, here. Strange. Anyways - I'm excited for her to visit! It will be nice to see someone familiar again, especially my Mom, and I think, scratch that, know! we'll have a lot of fun!! :) :) Nothing makes an elevator move up faster than good news!

This morning I got up to meet my coworkers to enjoy the famous Cherry Blossoms & a BBQ. I briefly considered crawling back into my nice, warm, comfortable bed, because the sky was the color of a rat, and looked upset. But I figured that until I heard that we weren't going, I'd go! And we did go.

We picked up some food at the supermarket (random meat, seafood, snacks, drinks), and met the rest of the group in the Expo '70 Commemorative Park. There's a (massive) 'art' statue in the front...

We had a BBQ, Japanese style (grill in the middle of the table). The food was a mix of random meat and vegetables, just thrown on the grill, dipped in BBQ sauce, and eaten. It was delicious.

However, when I say random, I do mean random. I tried chicken heart, liver, and stomach. Yep, that's what I said. They thought my reaction was pretty funny, because I thought it was pretty strange. But I tried it - it tasted fine, but had a funny texture. Especially the liver. Oh, and I could see the aorta - the AORTA - coming out of the heart. That threw me.

After the BBQ, we snapped some group shots in the pouring rain, and some of us visited the Japanese garden anyways. The cherry blossoms were beautiful, the tulips were starting to bloom, and the landscape in the garden was amazing. I am definitely going back (hopefully not in the pouring rain!). Pre-Garden-walking, we watched a Bunraku (traditional Japanese puppetry) show. And participated. At least, I did. They wanted a volunteer, and the other members of my group volunteered Yamashita-San (much to his giggling and dismay). I thought it was funny - but he grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him!! Normally, I wouldn't care. But all I could think was, "Oh my goodness. I neither speak or understand Japanese. What was he thinking?!" With some translating help from him, I managed to say my line into the microphone. I think we were supposed to be acting, but I don't really know. Everyone clapped, they asked (of course), where I was from and how I liked Japan. It was funny.

Partway through the walk, we stopped for traditional Japanese tea! (Suzanne, I'm glad you warned me!) The tea was dark green, foamy, and really bitter, especially the last sip! Fortunately, I like green tea and I like it plain and strong - so it wasn't too bad for me. We also had a sweet treat that was made from beans - so yummy!

I know I always say it, but it was a lot of fun to socialize again. I may come back to Canada socially inept, since my social events here are so few and far between. But, I will be good at crocheting (yes, still obsessed. can't stop. must crochet, more, more, more.)

On another note - fortunately: I will get some more social time, kind of. unfortunately: I will lose my privacy & therefore freedom to internet surf during work hours (I know, I shouldn't be doing it in the first place.) My office room is being used for something else, so Takemori-San and I are moving upstairs to where everyone else.

That's it for today, folks. Except I finally got some pictures up...links below! More to come tomorrow.

Osaka Bay PS - This day was infinite fun with balloon creatures!!
Sumo
Coop Goodbye Dinner
Kobe - Coming Soon!
Osaka Jo (Castle) - Coming Soon!
Cherry Blossom Picnic/Expo 70 Park - Coming Soon!

Winner vs Loser

2008-03-28T08:33:00.005+09:00

I found a new mothod for getting myself to the gym... when I've planned on going, but don't feel like it, a fierce battle rages in my head between 'Go' and 'Don't'. However, I've discovered that 'Go' doesn't have to win. 'Go' just has to argue long enough. As long as 'Don't' hasn't won, I won't not keep going towards the gym. Since no decicion has been made, I can't reduce my options by heading towards home. So if 'Go' argues long enough, I find myself on the Xtrainer, 'Don't' still angrily shouting at 'Go' to let me go home. They can argue through my whole workout session, at the end of which, 'Go' finally says, "Alright - I guess you don't have to do your workout." (And that's said with a snicker of glee and a clever smile.) 'Go' gave in, but what victory was there for 'Don't'??

The weather here has been beautiful - although today's a little cloudy. Sunday, I am attending an annual Japanese traditional event - social drinking under the cherry blossoms. Large gardens of cherry blossoms are booked solid for people to sit in groups and socialize and drink and enjoy the beauty of the blossoms. I'm excited to spend some time with people, and I think it will be fun! I'll let you know how it goes...

I don't know what to call this one :)

2008-03-25T21:57:00.004+09:00

Today was beautiful and sunny again! I got to sleep in because I was meeting my boss at Kyoto Station for a meeting at Kyoto University about one of my projects. The meeting was attended by a few professors (from Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo Universities) and by a couple industry professionals. There was also a Russian researcher (the main reason for the meeting). He and my boss gave presentations. Since the common language was English, it was all in English! It was great to know exactly what was going on, for once!

After the meeting (which was really interesting), some of us went out for lunch. Again - since the Russian researcher came - all in English! We went to a high-class Kyoto hotel for a delicious steak meal. I felt good in my new jacket (love it so much!), and decided that whatever career I end up in, it MUST include high-class lunches with clients! The food, the atmosphere, and the company was a lot of fun and made for a great lunch.

I got the rest of the day off (yay!), and stopped at Osaka Station on my way home for some random shopping and wandering in the sunshine. Once I got back to the dormitory, I took an hour-and-a-half bike ride for some exercise. I'm not sure if my butt hurt from the long ride, or the super uncomfortable seat - but it was probably both! I felt good after, though. Had some supper, and now I'm watching a movie and crocheting! (Found a great site to watch movies for free, online)

My crocheting is bordering on obsession. Gotta do it gotta finish more more more. If I seem to disappear or cut off all communication, look for the geyser of doilies and granny squares coming out of Osaka. Actually, I'm using thread, so they take a long time and there's not that many.

Kobe

2008-03-24T12:50:00.003+09:00

Sunday morning, Keith, Thomas, Gary, Terry and I met up for a visit to Kobe - in Hyogo prefecture, beside Osaka prefecture. The main purpose of the trip was to experience Kobe beef. Kobe beef is worldwide famous, and priced accordingly! We stopped to chat with Roland and Chris who were enjoying some ice cream after their own Kobe beef experience.
Keith forgot his bag, so he went back to get it, and I wandered into the closest clothing store to avoid the crepe stand (I cannot turn down crepes -they're just so good). I wasn't planning on shopping, because all the clothes here either aren't my style, don't fit me, or are too expensive! However - I found a cute spring jacket and shirt for a great price, so I bought them - my first clothes from Japan. Terry and I shopped for a bit before we found our way back to the other guys. We continued on to one of the many Kobe beef restaurants. Prices ranged from $80 to $120 for a set meal (beef, a few random veggies, miso soup, rice, and miniature green salad). Terry and I shared a meal, as did Keith, Thomas, and Gary. The beef was good, and we made the most of the experience with pictures and videos and exaggerated taste testing. I don't think I eat enough beef to know if it was amazing beef, but it was definitely delicous! All 3 bites that I got. :)
After Kobe beef, we wandered around the area, and stopped to watch a performance. There were several kids dance groups performing down in an amusement park. Some of the kids were really little, but amazing! There was one little girl - my new hero - who was incredible. She had so much spirit and energy - I would give anything to be able to dance like her, and she was probably 8 years old! We watched for an hour and a half and took lots of pictures.
Once we finally dragged ourselves away, we walked around the port and took pictures with all the attractions and statues. We had a lot of fun posing around the structures and taking interesting pictures.
We stopped for ice cream and at the '95 earthquake memorial. A section of the sea wall that was destroyed is preserved, along with photos and facts and displays. We were in a pretty serious mood after visiting it, and it was raining, so we decided to call it a day. Everyone but me was taking the Shinkansen home, so I took off for home at the station.
I had a quiet evening, did some laundry and did a little crocheting. Made some resolutions for the week, and climbed into bed! It was a great weekend, and an awesome pick-me-up from my elevator trip the week before!

Osaka Jo

2008-03-23T21:41:00.003+09:00

Keith and I met up on Saturday morning to visit Osaka Jo (Osaka Castle). The sky was clear and bright blue, and the sun was shining full force. Once I forced myself to put in the effort neccessary to get out of the dorm, just getting out and being in the sunshine fixed the elevator cable, and it started rising again.

Osaka Jo is surrounded by a big and beautiful park, so we walked through the park in the sunshine to the castle. It was incredibly warm out - I was wearing jeans and a tank top and was too hot! It was a beautiful day, though, and I'm not complaining! The river running through the park, the breeze, the sketchy pigeons (pigeons are everywhere, here!) - all in all, a great walk. There were a couple jewelry stands (which I, of course, had to stop and look at), and a street performer with a monkey! I've always wanted a monkey. Keith got a picture of me getting a high-five from the monkey...when I get it from him, I'll post it! He was adorable, and his little hands felt like soft leather.

We got into the castle after some lunch, and did the 8 floor tour. It was amazing to see all the history and displays, and stories behind the castle! They had displays and pictures and movies and original drawings and sketches... Osaka Jo was built twice, and two great wars centered around it. There were biographies on the families and the men who had the castle built. I kept stopping to imagine what it must have looked like, way back then. I would love to be able to have just a snapshot of it's court and people, so many years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed the castle, and am planning on going back - both to the castle, and just to sit in the park and read a book!

On the way out (after some ice cream...yummy), we met a man selling wire bicycles. We chatted with him a bit - his name is Jaime and he's from Chile, but has been living in Japan for 10 years. He was quite interesting, and I couldn't keep my eyes off the bikes - they were so intricite and cute! I think I might go back and buy one next weekend.

Most of the coop students in Japan are leaving within the next 2 months - except for 4 or 5 of us. One of the students planned a going away party for everyone... unfortunately it was the first time I had met most of them! But it was good to meet them and hear about their experiences. We went for yakiniku to a restaurant...$30 for all you can eat and drink, for 2 hours! We ordered plate after plate of meats, cooked them on our table grill, and enjoyed! I haven't eaten that much meat since (maybe Memphis Blues?) - or never! It was delicious, though.

We've requested a list of the new coops who are coming over the next few months...I'm excited to see who is coming (one guy I know from my class is coming), and hoping that some of them are close to me!

I was glad I got up the motivation to get out of the dorm and do something...which bred more motivation for the next day. I need to stop getting in these inactive ruts, cuz they just keep going - but once I get out of them, I have a great time and lots of energy. I have a new plan for this week - No more broken elevators!

Broken Elevator

2008-03-23T21:25:00.005+09:00

I've never been in an elevator when the cables have broken and it plunged down into the deep dark depths of the earth (although I did go on a ride that pretended to) - but if you put that into emotional terms, that pretty much describes my last week. The week started alright, but for some reason, as each day went by, my mood and motivation (or lack thereof) went down like the elevator. I had Thursday off, and I spent the day cooking, watching TV, crocheting, and being really moody. To myself, because there is no one else to be moody to.

Rabbit Trail: I've picked up crocheting again, and I'm actually really enjoying it. I learned to crochet when I was quite young, and did a fair bit before I got too busy. The only problem now is that I've found so many awesome patterns to do, I can't decide what to do, first! My crocheting is bordering on obsession. When I lose all motivation, I just want to sit on my bed and brood and be moody and crochet, crochet, crochet. I suppose there could be worse things.

Anyways - so once Friday came around, I didn't feel like doing anything, seeing anyone, or going anywhere. But, some coop students from Tokyo came down for the weekend, and there was a going away dinner for the majority of the coop students (who are returning to Canada), so I figured I should get up on Saturday and do something. So I did, and it turned out to be a good thing (not that I was surprised).