Lonely in Cyberspace

Where`d everybody go?

Still In Japan

Some of the great sites...

Trains in the night as they seem to glide through the sky and all you can see is the interior lights through the windows. Like some wonderful electric snake.

Green trees. I mean, really green.

Did I mention the fountain of youth? You can`t actually see it, but I`m sure it`s here, dispersed in the atmosphere. (Actually, the humidity here, uncomfortable as it is, does wonders for the skin. My skin got softer within a week of being here. I`m sure it`s why the Japanese look so young.)

Sunsets through the smog (surprisingly beautiful, though no comparison to a prairie sunset. And yes, I`m biased.)

The butterflies. Big, bold, beautiful.

My nephews` smiles. They`re so cute!!

There`s so much more. I`ll blog about it if I can recall it all.

Off the top of my head

There are various random things that I see around here that I think I should blog about. I don`t write them down, so I don`t always remember them. But I`ll see how many I can come up with.

You know you`re in a safe country when....
the security guys who service the campus atm`s WALK up to the machine, and only one bothers to keep "watch" (with his back to potential danger!) while the other gets the cash. They could drive their armoured vehicle up to the machines (other service vehicles drive past them), but they don`t seem to have one!! But they dress like a S.W.A.T team. I guess if you look scary you`re safe around here. Except on a bicycle.

Ummmm.....I guess that`s all I can come up with.

I am trying to plan a trip to the place I formerly lived, to see old friends, but it`s come down to getting up there for a couple of weekends, since I couldn`t extend my ticket. It`s kind of tricky getting that far in one evening, which I`d like to do after work on a Friday, but I will find a way. At least one of the weekends is a long one.

So I`m down to thinking in terms of going home. I`m starting to plan my shopping to pick up the things I wanted to take home with me, and I have to do report cards at work, and a final report on my semester, and I`m trying to get to see the people I came to see. The count down is on. Just 3 weeks ago I was musing how fast my first 4 weeks had gone, and that in only 2 weeks I`d be counting down the last 4 weeks. Now I`m down to just over 3 weeks left (of work. I have one more than that in the country). Anyway, the days are going fast, boring or not.

Bored

I`m bored. Bored, bored, bored. And there are probably a million interesting things to do. But I`m also broke. So maybe after I get paid tomorrow I can stir up a little more fun.

I keep thinking I should blog about Japan, but the thought of it bores me.

Pics

One or two of you, or maybe the same person twice, said you were looking forward to seeing pics. That is actually one of the big differences between this visit and my last, I`m not taking pics. Not many, anyway. Last time I was actually snap happy. But if you`re interested in seeing Japan, I can show you the 7 year old pics. They`re mostly of historical stuff, so are actually still up to date. Pics from this time will be mostly of friends and family, and maybe the occasional sight that strikes my fancy. Like the field of cabbages outside my apartment. I`ve never seen a field of cabbages before. I`m going to snap it. Anyone want to see my pic of the field of cabbages? You can come to my house and enjoy some fresh green tea while you gaze at the cabbage picture. Sounds like a great night, eh?

Perfect

Today has been a perfect day. I got to see some sites I`ve been meaning to see and spend time with an old friend. One of my students from the first time I was in Japan, the only one I`ve kept in touch with, came to see me today. We went to see the local museum and park that I`ve been meaning to get to. I really liked it. It really gave me a feel for what old Japan was like. I walked along a highway that is hundreds of years old. Except for some old houses, I`m sure it barely resembles its old self. Then I was in a 200 year old hotel. Very rare in this country of wooden houses. It`s now a museum. Went to the zoo, which is in a great park. It was a cool day. Enjoyed chatting with an old friend, and just relaxed and had fun. Then we did the dollar store tour. They`ve got some good dollar stores here. Anyway, she has to work tomorrow, so she`s gone home. I`ll go into Nagoya to see family tomorrow. Today marks the half way mark of my time here. I can hardly believe it. I more or less still feel like I`m settling in.

The rainy season is supposed to be starting this week. From here on in it should get humid and hot. I just hope it doesn`t get too bad. We`ll see.

More Japanisms

Words that DO NOT belong together.


WashAmuse and Shower Toilet





I am taking my life into my hands biking around here, and that`s on the sidewalks!! Everyone bikes there, but some of the sidewalks are sooooooo narrow. The teens just about knock me over. I`m going to start staring them down. A nasty looking foreign chick should easily scare the bravado out of `em. Thing is, I see them coming, and I get scared. I`m just not as used to brushing past people and keeping my balance as they are.

OK, lurkers, today`s your day. If you`ve been dropping in to visit and have never commented, stand up and be counted. I`m just curious as to who might be out there.

Have a great day.

Tokyo

Went to Tokyo. Enjoyed it. Stayed in a nice little hotel in a Japanese style room. Slept on a tatami floor. Don`t have any tatami in my apartment, so I`m glad I got to see the stuff again. I love it (it`s a flooring made of woven straw or reeds or something. very aromatic). Stayed near the majorly touristy Sensoji Shrine in Asakusa (remember it, Stacey?). Nice place to walk around. Just spent my time walking and looking with my sister. Saw a Louis Vitton store in Harajuku! Never been so close to luxury before. Didn`t go in. I`m neither that rich nor that interested. The high light actually was meeting a friend of mine before my sister arrived. Haven`t seen this friend in 7 years. She took me to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, which traces Tokyo`s history back 500 years (to when it was called Edo). I LOVED it. Diana`s friend showed us around by car. Thought that would be interesting, but it turns out Tokyo`s just a place like any else, lots of concrete and shabby buildings, and all the interesting places look the same on foot or from a car window. I think I`ve just done enought touristy things in Japan that nothing is really novel any more. Maybe that`s normal, but Japan is the only travel experience I really have, and I`m used to the feeling of high adventure I used to associate with it. But I guess that was a feeling more attached to circumstance than location, `cause I can`t seem to find it now. Too bad. Adventure is fun.

Fortunately, I actually like Japan and Japanese people, so even if the sense of high adventure is gone, I`ll enjoy being here. I guess I`ll just focus more on catching up with old friends than site seeing.

One more hi-lite. In our wandering, my sister and I came across this little store full of beautiful boxes with silk designs worked into them. The were expensive, but so beautiful I had to buy myself a little one. I`d buy a lot more if I could. Anyway, you can see it when I get home.

atto de ne

Chicken Pox

It`s been 3 weeks since I was exposed to THE POX by my nephew. My parents and I both think I`ve never had them, though my brother did. And maybe my sister. So if I haven`t had them before, and I don`t have them now, I think I can conclude that I`m naturally immune. Yeah. At least I didn`t get them here. I was really scared I might. If I have to get the pox, fine, but not when I`ve got limited time to enjoy Japan and I`m far away from anyone who could care for me!

I`ve only been here a month, and I am running out of things to blog about. I keep thinking about what interesting tidbit I could share. But the fact is, life is life where ever you live it. Once one gets over culture shock and the novelty of a place, you just get down to the rythm of life. My rythm is get out of bed on Monday, check the weather, read, get ready for work, go to work, spend the day prepping lessons, talk to students, wonder if anyone thinks I`m dressed inappropriately, compare my wardrobe to the other female professors, decide if I`m eating ethnic (a sandwich) or local cuisine for lunch, go home, find a way to kill a couple of hours before bed so I don`t have to sit too long in my rabbit hutch apartment, then go to bed early so I`ll have had a good night`s sleep before my jerk neighbor [I`m sure he`s really very nice, but I`m annoyed] starts stomping around at 4:30am, or before the sun wakes me (at about the same time). Then I repeat that until Friday night, when I hop on a train after work and head for John or Diana`s place. This weekend I`m going to shake up the routine with a trip to Tokyo, and I`ll be going to more places on other weekends. But the weekdays in Japan ain`t so exciting, unless I take a bike ride that leads to a cool discovery. Thank goodness I like my students. They're fun.

But at least I`m enjoying it, for the most part. My days and weeks are busy and enjoyable enough that they`re flying by. That`s way better than hating where I`m at and having time drag.

me again

I give up. I try. Really, I do. Tried again tonight. But the plain fact is all y`all won`t be getting individual emails. I can only type a couple before it seems my time is running out. I`d like to connect with each one of you, say hi, and I`ll keep trying to do a few here and there, but this blog is going to be your best bet for news about me. I just can`t afford the computer time. Nor do I want to spend all my free time here in front of a computer.

Discovered a wonderful new thing yesterday, Brazilian bbq. WOW. If there`s one near you, get to it now. If not, grab the closest Brazilian and beg him to get into the restaurant biz. WONDERFUL. Unless you`re a vegan or a cow. I even ate, and enjoyed, the chicken hearts. And I`m not a giblet eating type of chick. Tried a Moroccan restaurant a few weeks ago. Also WONDERFUL. Got to go to Morocco.
The Japanese food, on the other hand, I`m finding kind of boring. The Coke`s OK;)

Going to Tokyo on Saturday. Couldn`t get my ticket extended, so I`ll be coming home July 21, as originally planned. Won`t be going to Okinawa, as it would cost about $800 to get there. I can get cheaper tickets from here to London!

Found It!!!

On my latest bike adventure I found out I`m only minutes from the countryside. Turns out those first fields I found weren`t just a fluke, they indicate the southern end of the city! It was so lovely to go for a country ride! And to think I was looking for Jusco (Japan`s Walmart)

Have you ever...

...bought a meal at McDonald's with a $100 bill? I did, just this morning. And as I did it I thought how silly it would seem back home. But the guy in front of me did it too. Over here, everything lower than $10 is a coin, and the common bills are $10 and $100. I don't think any other bills exist under $100. Haven't seen any. It makes spending money way too easy for me, 'cause I haven't quite gotten over treating a $100 with the casual-ness of $20. Yikes.

I Love Japan

The rain finally stopped on Wednesday, though it returned Friday, and I went for a walk in my neighbourhood. I was curious about where I live. I went for a bike ride the following night. The walk was beautiful. I started out as the sun was going down, and as I walked in the dusk I was joined by several flitting bats. I love the bats. They're harmless, and to me that's one of the things that makes Japan Japan. Not that there aren't bats at home, just that I never see them there. So the bats entertained me as I ogled my neighbors' homes. Most of them look to be quite new. Some of them also have very nice yards. The neighborhood is quite eclectic. Houses of all ages, apartments, gardens, fields, and shrines all meshed together. The shrines are surrounded by trees, and therefore add spots of nature to the area. The gardens had corn, pumpkins, onions, potatoes, and other things I didn't recognize. There were a few places with corn in them. The shortest corn was a foot tall, and the tallest maybe 4 feet, so that'll give you gardeners some idea of when they plant around here.

As I walked, I came to some rice fields. I was so glad. I love rice fields. Now I feel not so "trapped" in the city. I heard a couple of bullfrogs. They have the neatest voices, and I haven't heard them since last in Japan. When I lived here before, I had rice fields off my balcony, and I would often enjoy listening to the choruses of the bullfrogs and other frogs. So the sound took me back a bit. When I headed home, I tried a different route and managed to find the road my closest supermarket is on. So now I know my neighborhood a bit better.

On my bike ride, I started following the same little river I'd been following during my walk, but decided to go farther. I was sure I had to be close to the bay, and figured the river would lead me to it. I was right. The little river (more of a stream) led to a huge river which I followed to the port. Apparently that port is the one where most of the imported cars arrive. It's very industrial, at least the part I found. But if I keep looking I might find a beach. However, I'm not sure I'll have time since I need to use my weekends to visit the various friends I want to see around the country, and between rainy days and a 7:30pm sundown, I won't have much time to explore during the week. I should have come in fall.

Anyway, as I walked and rode, I totally reconnected with my love for this place. I love the natural beauty of this place. It's a little harder to find here than where I was before, but it's here. I wondered what it is about the nature that captivates me so. And then this thought came to me. Maybe it's because nature here is singing, even screaming, out God's praises. That's what always got me growing up in the Canadian prairie, maybe that's what's attracting me to nature here. And perhaps, since when man is silent the rocks will cry out to praise the Creator, nature is singing God's praises even more loudly in this country than in my own. There aren't many people here who will even acknowledge the Creator, nevermind praise him. Perhaps nature is stepping in to fill the gap.

Whatever the case, this place is beautiful. I love it.

Karma

As seen on a student's sweater:

KARMA Knowledge And Recognition My Ass


Eeee?

The Wonders of Technology

I bought a bike yesterday. $50. Now I can get to work in 10 min, the supermarket in 5, and the theatre in 10-15. Ya gotta love technology!!!

It`s raining. It`s not even rainy season yet and it`s raining. Do me a favor and join me in praying for the coolest and most comfortable summer in Japan`s recorded history.

My nephew had chicken pox. I`m praying I don`t get them.

What else.... I`d love to be able to regale you with fabulous stories of life in Japan, but life is life. Japan`s cool, but it`s not constantly amusing. But then, neither am I.

I turned 33 on the weekend. Got an Ipod Shuffle for my birthday. Gotta love siblings!! Thanks again, guys.

Later

The Other Side of It

After my last blog, I thought I can't just present the bizarre or annoying aspects of this place. That would be to misrepresent. All in all, it's a great place, for so many reasons.

One being, taxi drivers who wear white gloves and keep their cabs immaculate. Comfortable and safe. At least, it feels safe.

I know my watch is fast because every train I've gotten on lately has been a minute or two late. Back home, if that happened I'd assume the problem was with the public transport. Here, I know my watch is wrong. Reliable public transport is such a wonderful (and novel) thing.

There are escalators that only move when someone is actually on them. Such an energy saver! These guys are really committed to the Kyoto accord. We could learn from them.

Amazing green vegetation. The humidity may be uncomfortable, but it makes for a lot of beauty.

Bank machines that print a perfectly neat line in your bank book, even if it slips and goes in crooked. Drink machines that never keep your change or rip you off at all. Machines in general that seem to be better than ours. If the technology is available, and we're such a rich country, why don't we have it?

I am absolutely in love with the nature in this country. It captivates me, when I can find it.

The history and all of the relics still around to represent it is amazing.

Internet cafes that are cheaper than any I've seen back home, and serve all-you-can-drink free drinks. But no alcohol (no where is perfect)

Well, that's a start. I'm sure I'll think of more.

Japanisms

But first, before I get to Japan, I must direct you to this video. You can thank me when you`re done laughing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg%20


A few things unique to Japan:

I don`t find myself rehearsing what I`m going to say to the clerk before entering stores at home. At least, not as much as here:)

Camouflage trees. At least, I`ve never seen them anywhere else. There are these trees here that shed their bark in such a way that they look exactly like army camouflage, in green. And with the varied shades. I wondered where the idea for that pattern came from. (sorry I don`t have a digicam)

Twenty-two year old men who giggle. Well, I`ve only met one here (a student), but a giggling guy in Canada would surprise me.

Shortening words to make new words. We come up with slang and nicknames sometimes, but we wouldn`t change "personal computer" to "pasocon" or "convenience store" to "combini", would we?

Bicycle parking lots. (very common)

Car parks that rotate like ferris wheels so your car is up in the air as it waits for you. Probably deters thieves.

UMM, shrines. Pretty boring to me by now, they`re so common and I saw so many last time. Their like churches in Canada, I guess. Once you`ve seen one, you`ve seen one. But the worship would be totally different.

Shinkansen. Pretty freakin` cool train.

Postal money accounts. Same as bank accounts, but at the post office. I don`t know if there is any difference. Easier to send money home from, maybe.

Japanese English. A constant source of amusement and bewilderment. For example, I copied this off a vending machine:

COFFEE and SOFT DRINK Freshly brewed coffee and delightful fresh our mind and soften our heart. They are indispensible to us

Yeah, coffee and soft drinks are indispensable. A good grammar text apparently is not.

J and A

I'm at John and Andrea's home right now. It's a lovely day, a nice breeze, cool by Japan standards, and warm by Canadian ones. Either way, very comfortable. J&A live in a very residential area, not close to a convenience store or anything. Apparently it was developed 30 years ago or so, so all the houses are modern. John and Andrea have a lovely back yard, a rarity in Japan. It's a nice size for the kids to play in, and not really small as Winnipeg yards go either. They have a beautiful Japanese garden, and even a corner where they "make vegetables", as Simon says.

I had a great first week at work. All of my students are very interested and self-motivated. Maybe I said that in my last entry. Anyway, yesterday A and the boys and I went to an aquarium. It was my first time to one. I loved it. Never seen sea animals so close up. They're beautiful. Would love to go back without the kids and just sit and stare for a while. Maybe I'll check Vancouver's out some time.

A Little Price Comparing

Last time I was in Japan, everything seemed so expensive. When I did calculations in my head to price compare, I added 30-40% because of where the Canadian dollar was at. Now the difference is only about 10%, so I actually don`t bother to calculate exchange. And some things really aren`t so horribly expensive at current exchange rates. My apartment is expensive ($800), considering it`s only a bachelor pad. But my sister is paying the same as me for a place with 3 bedrooms. I don`t know if that includes utilities, but it`s a nice place and if it were in Fort Garry place or some other nice Winnipeg location you could probably expect to pay $700 for it. So, it`s not that over priced, I think. I was talking to a guy who lived in Sendai, way up north, for a while. He said he could get a room for $250. It was nothing special, but you can`t get much more than a room for that in Winnipeg. So if you know where to look, I guess you can find affordable living here.

Coke prices can vary between vending machines, but you can get 300ml for about $1.20 and 500ml for $1.50

Parking in one lot I saw in Tokyo was $2 for 15min from 8am to 10pm and $1 an hour overnight. Don`t buy a car if you plan to live in Tokyo. Gas went up to $1.35/l this week, a 15 year high for Japan. What bugs me is 7 years ago the Japanese were paying twice as much as us for gas. Now we`re only a few cents behind.

So that`s a little bit about prices for those who are curious. Overall Japan is probably still more expensive, but it ain`t as bad it was. (Good time to visit)

AAAHH! Even blogger is in Japanese!

Good thing the buttons all look the same, or I`d be screwed.
Well, I`m not so homesick as I was. My first 2 days of work have gone well, my students are nice, interested, and self-motivated, which makes　my life easier and more fun. And I don`t feel so alone as I had a good conversation with some of the office workers today, a good laugh and some fun. I just have to find things to keep me busy so I don`t spend all my evenings alone cooped up in the rabbit hutch. I`m looking for a Japanese teacher or 2. I figure that`s a good way to spend a couple of evenings. And I expect to fill my weekends visiting various friends and family around the country. So here I go, the adventure begins!