Take Two

Another earthquake just happened here. Second one today. This one lasted pretty long. I stood by the doorway and saw the bookshelf shake. Scary.
My nerves are a bit shaken...no pun intended. I'm ok though. Have my emergency bag ready to go.

31-year old Japanese females

I don't know why, but I've gotten to know many 31-year old Japanese females during my short time here. I don't do it on purpose, it's just that almost every Japanese girl I meet happens to be 31...and all single. They're not 30, not 32, they're all 31. It's a mystery to me.

Inevitably, because of their view of their age and marital status, the conversation always veer towards the topic of guys. In each of my initial conversations with them, they always tell me that they don't have a boyfriend. I dutifully nod in response to hearing that. Honestly, there's not much else that I can do aside from nod.

And then the conversation somehow turns to me...albeit unwillingly on my part. Each one of them would say, "So, do you have a boyfriend?" And when my reply's a "no," they always give me a sympathetic nod.

One of them even asked me, "Why not?" one time. At that point, the conversation just turned awkward. I wasn't sure how to tell her that for me, at this current point in time in my life, I feel ok about not having a boyfriend. It's not like I'm trying to reach the nirvana of spinsterhood, but is singledom really that undesirable? Am I really that weird for enjoying my own space and time?

Anyway, my most recent encounter with a 31 Japanese female is my tutor. She is also 31 and single and she keeps asking me whether I like any of my guy friends that she's met.

I will admit that all this talk has made me feel somewhat insecure about my single status. I guess it's kind of like in elementary school when every girl had a scrunchie and I'm still using a rubber band to hold my hair up.

Earthquake

There was an earthquake at 6:47am this morning. I was getting dressed for work when the doors to my closet started to rattle. I stopped for 5 seconds hoping that the minor tremble would be the end of it. And then the bigger one rolled in.

The whole thing only lasted for about 10 seconds total, but it totally freaked me out.

I kept looking at the news online when I got to school, but it took a while to find it. I guess it wasn't such a big deal because other teachers didn't even mention it.

Coming from California, this is nothing new, but it's still kinda scary since people keep saying that the city/ country is "overdue" for a big one...then again, that's what people have said about California as well. None of this provides any comfort.

Japan is Seasonal

I realized that people who live in places with dramatical climate changes are usually ones who can't bear the weather changing in any form.

When I first arrived, people kept complaining about the heat and saying "atsui" (hot) all the time. When fall rolled around, people were still not satisfied. One teacher was surprised to find out that I walked to school on a random fall day. I responded by smiling and saying that the weather was great. Then she corrected me to say that the weather is not so great. I saw maybe two clouds in the sky.

Now, it's winter. The word has turned to samui (cold). It's been snowing pretty hard on and off for the past week. They pump up the kerosene heater in the staffroom so it's toasty in there with toxic fumes.

Considering all the complaints I've heard about this cold weather being unbearable, there is one thing that I really don't understand.
School girls are walking around the snow with skirts on while I'm bundled in my puffy jacket, beanie, and scarf and rubber boots! Mind you, many of their skirts are a good 6 inches above their knee!

I just don't get it.

Hajimete

Today was my first time in an onsen (Japanese-style spa). We had the day off from school because it's Labour Thanksgiving Day in Japan. Unfortunately, aside from combining two holidays into one, they don't celebrate it the same way we do. There are no elaborate meals being made all around the country. What a shame.

I decided to take a day trip to the nearby town that's famous for its onsens. I went there mainly to visit and eat with my school nurse and her twins who live there. She's been one of the nicest people to me in school and I just wanted to do something that didn't involve 10 other foreigners for a change.

My friend who teaches at that onsen town graciously came with me. Our original plan was to hike/sightsee, lunch, and then onsen. He would go into the men's and I the women's.

After eating lunch and spending a couple hours playing with her hyperactive 9-year old sons, my school nurse offered to drive us and go with us to the onsen. Hmm...on one hand, it is cool to have a Japanese guide, but on the other hand, it's kinda weird seeing your colleague naked.

I agreed nonetheless- I didn't really know how to say no.

I thought everything was a-ok until we entered the onsen. One son followed my friend to the men's...and so where did the other one go? Yes, he went in with US, right into the women's onsen.

I won't lie, it was a tad awkward. But overall, it was a cool experience and I'm quite relaxed now.

Thanksgiving Chaos

Happy Thanksgiving...albeit a day late!!!
Thanks for keeping up with my crazy rants and all your emails and love. I am thankful for you.

Alright, so Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day of thanks...giving, right? The point is to eat and enjoy each others' company. So why can there be so much confusion over when and what we are supposed to do?

Allow me to explain.

The English teachers here organized a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday...then it was changed to Sunday, and now...less than 20 hours before it's supposed to happen, it's changed back to Saturday. Hmm....and this is supposed to be a pot-luck.

There goes my elaborate plan to bake a 50 lbs turkey (currently being shipped from America) in my toaster oven. Ok, just kidding.

Anyway, I'm just slightly annoyed especially because I found out two days ago that one of the main organizers changed the party from Saturday to Sunday because there's a possibility that her crush won't be able to make it on Saturday. Puh-lease. Can't believed that she would inconvenience 70 people for that one person. And it's not even at her house!!!

Must breathe...; )

Brrr....it's getting cold

I have been obsessed with knee-high boots for as long as I can remember. I don't know what it is, but I've always like the jockey-style boots that I see people wear. It's so...cool, for the lack of a better word.

Unfortunately, I have ginormous calves. They are short, muscular and fatty all rolled into one. I've come to accept my calves. I don't shy away from wearing skirts just because my calves are big. In a way, I've come embraced them the way they are.

The only thing that sucks is that I can't fit into any of the knee-high boots because the circumference of my calves are so huge. When I lived in CA, it was ok. I was mostly sacrificing not being able to sport that one style.

But man, I'm getting so frustrated! It's getting cold in Japan and I want, I mean NEED, these knee high boots to keep me warm.

It's really sad that shoes in this country are mostly made of really poor quality and they aren't cheap.

So, I was forced to solve my own problem.

After about 3 hours of research online (because even the "extended calves boots" wouldn't fit me, I made a purchase. A pair of boots will be shipped to my US address and then one of my lovely family members will ship it over.

I think it was more than I've ever spent on a pair of shoes. The fit is also still uncertain at this point...but I'm glad they're coming!!!!

This time last year

They're already playing Christmas tunes in all the stores already. It's hard because Thanksgiving is not celebrated in this country, so once the not-so-important Halloween decorations come down, they go straight to Christmas.

Hearing the Christmas songs makes me think of home.

At this time last year, I was still trying to put together my essay for JET. Thinking of that reminds me of the end of December last year. The very day I received my "receipt of application" confirmation in the mail from JET was the same day I found out that I will be an auntie.

It was a bittersweet moment. On one hand, it was the first step of a long process for a different life, but on the other hand, the same life was going to be changed for the better. Johnathan Coulton's song "You Ruined Everything" kept playing in my mind.

Anyway, it just feels like time is flying.

Vendors at School

I don't know how it all works, but there are vendors who come into school to sell things. The range of items baffles me a bit.
We regularly see the "stationary man" who's always smiling and bowing at everyone. He's in charge of school supplies needed for classes.
On other days, there's the Yakult yogurt lady who comes in to sell soft drinks after school. Unfortunately, the last time she came in, 90% of the teachers were in a staff meeting. Her visit seemed wasted, but she still stood there for a while hoping for business to come while chatting with the tea lady.
Then, two days ago, a lady came with the most random assortment of goods. Her wheely cart of goods included tea, dried foods...and body-slimming ladies underwear!!!
The funniest thing was that two of the female teachers actually went up to this lady in the middle of the staffroom and discussed the product's effectiveness! The lady even unwrapped a package of the underwear to convince the teacher that it's of good quality.
I couldn't keep a straight face when I saw all of this, so I had to hurry to my desk and acted like I was laughing at something else. It's a shame because I would like to know if she had made a sale.

Japanese school staffrooms still baffle me. =)

Things I Miss

I miss waking up to NPR.
I miss Friday mornings when I hear StoryCorps.
I miss being touched by the stories of people around me.
I miss being slightly informed about what's going on around the world.
I miss being able to communicate with people around me.
I miss volunteering and feeling like I'm making a difference in the community.
But mostly, I think I miss seeing your faces and hearing your voices.