Procrastinator: Retroactive Post

So, it's currently 2:39AM in Japan, and I haven't started packing for my flight back home to Seattle tomorrow afternoon. While my flight doesn't technically leave til 3, I start my day of train-riding at 9 tomorrow morning, which means my last 6 hours left in Japan will be spent trying to clean my house and pack for two weeks. Yay for me.

I don't quite know how I feel about heading home. It didn't hit me until I sent Clifton off to his own flight today, that in about 24 hours, I was going to be in Seattle. I came back into my house and just sat down to try to deal with that. Of course I'm excited to see my family and friends, and to be able to be in the city that I love and grew up in. Not only that, but one of my best friends is going to come with me and I can introduce her to life in the Pacific Northwest. It was having a friend over (Clifton, you're great) that made me realize how much I miss having friends that I related to over more than just the fact that we were all in Japan at the same time. I want to share Japan and this incredibly unique experience with all of you. But we don't always get what we want...

I think that what worries me more is the thought of coming back to this after two weeks. I left work today not really finding that much closure, probably since I was leaving early, before school was offiicially out for winter vacation, but also because I know that it will be crazy to come back the day before school starts up again. Maybe I should have left an extra day to readjust, because if there's ever a time that I'm likely to need readjusting, it'll be then. Readjusting to Shin-kambara after Nagoya or Tokyo is hard enough, readjusting to it after Seattle will be killer. I dunno, maybe I'm just rambling or whining or both, or maybe I should get more sleep, but here are my thoughts on going back right now. Make of it what you will.

My Birthday!: Retroactive Post

Hey all,

Had to post this because it contains two of my favorites, wrapped up into one:
My favorite TV show ever, and those of you who know me well enough already know that the answer is: Farscape, and my favorite song is '23' by Jimmy Eat World. I was just thinking about how appropriate this is since I'll be turning 23 on the 23rd, the only time that this'll ever happen in my lifetime. So, this is mostly for me rather than anyone else, but I guess, five, ten, fifteen years down the line, I can look at this post and remember the Sarah of now. Enjoy, and maybe it'll give you a bit of insight into me.

Lonely Dreams

Aine's Birthday Celebration: Retroactive Post

Oh god.

I am currently sitting in school, on a Saturday, after teaching a class hung over. I'm at school because we're having an open house for prospective junior high school students, but that's not the point. The point is: I got soo drunk last night. It was my friend Aine's, a fellow JET, birthday on Thursday, and we went out to this awesome dance festival way out in Ito on the Izu peninsula. But I didn't get drunk that night.

Last night however, we went to this little Korean bbq restaurant, which was so yummy, and I had three lemon chu-his. Feeling a bit buzzed, we make our way to Oz, this Australian-themed bar. It's tiny, but we've been there before, and the people are so nice, and they have Guinness and other foriegn beer. But what's important is the Guinness, because then you can have an Irish Car Bombs. So we did. And then I had another...and another....and another. Four in all and it was GAME OVER. But I didn't and I haven't thrown up, and I made it into work.

The first pic is of me sleeping on the train on the way home. The second is one of me with one of my student's dads. He was at the bar, cause he normally is, and had seen me doing one of my carbombs and started talking to me. He asked where I was from, and what school I taught at. When I said Ihara Koko, he goes, Oh, my daughter goes to that school. Then Albert tells me that not only is he the FATHER of one of my STUDENTS, but he's also the PTA head or something and that he was going to be at our school today since he had to talk to our principal. Rock.

I had to put the videos up on my page, since myspace is stupid, the first one is of me outside of Oz, and the second one is right before Albert and I got stopped by the POLICE on our way home from the station last night. Luckily, I wasn't riding my bike, because riding your bike drunk can land you in jail, and apparently, I used the polite form when I spoke to them.

So, a good night overall, I'll post more pics when I get some from friends. However, I'm going out clubbing tonight in Tokyo for my friend Yumi's birthday celebration, and meeting up with Chris (I'll give him the message, Pat), going to kabuki and tramping around Tokyo during the day with Shiz JETs, and then likely, going out drinking with them again. Then, I might go to Nagoya again on Monday for a day. Jeez, I keep this up, I'll be a broke alcoholic. But, I sure as hell am having the time of my life. Hope you are too!

Back In Japan: Retroactive Post

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that I've arrived to Japan safe and sound. It's crazy being back and knowing that for the next year at least, this country will be my home. Today we've got a bunch of workshops and receptions and things to go to. Tokyo is really cool. I can't wait to check it out some more in my freetime. I guess that's about all to report. Tell everyone I say hello and hope you're all having a good time back home.

Tadaima!!!: Retroactive Post

Some of you may know that I was going to Kyoto this weekend with my aunt and uncle since it was Golden Week, and everyone gets a few days off for the holidays, which is why I've been out of contact the last few days. We went and it was absolutely amazing. It was so neat to be in another Japanese city. I told my aunt later that for some reason, as we were exiting the shinkansen that we had taken from Nagoya to Kyoto, that I was expecting Kyoto to be very different from Nagoya. The one big difference is that Kyoto reminded me even more of Seattle than Nagoya, because it is hilly unlike Nagoya. But enough about that.

The point that I'm making is that I wanted to tell all of the few who have diligently followed my blogs depicting my various adventures as I've eaten, biked, shopped and sang my way through two months in Japan: Thank you. It's nice that you have taken the time out of your schedules to check up on me and keep in touch. Therefore, you will be the special few to be let in on a secret: SURPRISE! I came home early!

As I sit here typing this blog, I'm currently in the US! It wasn't planned, and completely last-minute. My aunt's work had allowed her to go and I decided that with the number of my relatives that are going to be in Seattle at one time, that I should go while I still have the opportunity, so here I am. However, we missed our flight from Tokyo to Seattle, so we had to catch another one from Tokyo to San Francisco. Now we've got problems with the one from San Fran to Seattle, so I'm waiting. But I'm getting home sometime today.

I miss all of you, but I'll see you soon! The one thing is that you MUST NOT LET MY FAMILY KNOW. I want to surprise them, so please don't call them, if you know their numbers. All right, see ya soon!

Tojinbo: Retroactive Post

Hey all! This last weekend, my aunt, uncle and I took a roadtrip down to Fukui. Fukui is well known for these high cliffs it has. The water is really deep, and its infamous for being the place to go, if you want to commit suicide. Not a very welcoming thought, but the place is very scenic, nonetheless.

It was a long drive, like 4 hours long, but we made it to the Japan sea on a nice warm day. Stopped off at a couple places, bought omiyage *souvenirs, had lunch at a place with fresh snow crab and got there in the mid-afternoon. You make your way down to the water through a walkway lined with various restaurants and stores selling omiyage. It opens up onto these high cliffs, which are littered with people walking all over them to get pictures.

My aunt and I took a boat ride and learned more about the history of the place. Here are the pics from there: ToJinBo

As the sun was setting and we made our way to the little island, the wind had started to pick up so we decided to take a break and stop at the nearby onsen for a bath to warm us up. This onsen is a little different from Utopia, because it's just a public bath, they don't have a movie or game center or anything, but the water is from a natural hot spring, so it's better for you.

After more driving, we stopped off at a restaurant for some dinner and then got home at 1:30 in the morning. All in all, awesome way to spend the day.

More pictures to come, since I'm going to Kyoto this weekend! Love you guys, miss you!

Tanjobi Omedetou Obasan: Retroactive Post

So a few days ago, on the 27th, was my Tita Elvie's birthday here in Japan.

A few days earlier, Sa-chan and the kids surprised her with dinner and presents, since they couldn't make it out for her real birthday date. We had a lot of food, and were drinking and exchanging stories, when I found out that Sa-chan and Uichi-san were inviting me for some drinks and tsumame at the izakaya downstairs. Sa-chan got really loaded, and it was hilarious because earlier she'd been making progress speaking English/Japanese with me, but she couldn't talk anymore at dinner. As we were leaving, she kept a hold of my arm, refusing to go near Uichi-san and kept whispering stuff to me in Japanese about him like I really knew what she was saying. Good times.

Then on the 27th, I ended up getting her this really nice orchid plant, and it turned out well since she said that just the other day she was thinking that she needed more flowers in the house. Later that day, I was trying to set up dinner at the Outback Steakhouse with my cousin, 'cause I know that they haven't been there before, and they like to eat, so the big portions would be perfect. I had a few moments of worry when my cousin suggested that we go somewhere nearer, since it's in Sakae, since my aunt usually likes the izakayas, like myself.

But my aunt and I turned out to be more alike than I thought, and she was up for somewhere new, so she convinced my uncle, and off we went. Luckily, unlike other American restaurants like McDonalds, KFC, and Denny's, it has not been Japanized, and had large portions of food for relatively cheap, which made us all happy. Plus, the best part was when I asked the waitress, (who was awesome by the way, because she spoke to everyone in Japanese, except for me when she realized I spoke English, and even offered an English menu for me), if they did anything special, since it was my aunt's birthday. I was expecting them to provide her with a birthday cake surprise, and maybe sing to her, but I was pleasantly surprised as well, when she announced to the entire restaurant and got everyone to sing to her. All in all, it was a very fun night. Here are the pics from those two nights: Happy Birthday!!!

But for those of you wondering how old my aunt is, just believe me when I say that she's still got it, regardless of what age she is.

Utopia: Retroactive Post

So the next day, after going to Nagoya Jo and Tsurumai Koen, we decided to go to this public bath house, or onsen, since I had heard of them and I knew that they were a Japanese tradition.

Maybe I first need to explain how baths in general work here in Japan. Actually, let me show you what the ofuro *bath looks like:

So on the top, is obviously a bathtub, and the other is a picture of the area for you to shower. Notice that unlike US bathtubs, the shower area is NOT the bathtub. This is because it is typical for Japanese to take a hot bath at night, to help them go to sleep. However, if you are a member of a large family, it gets to be very expensive if you have to fill and refill the bath water with each persons' bath. Therefore, the process here in Japan is that usually the father first takes a shower to clean himself before going to soak in the bath tub, and then the next person follows that process all the way down to the youngest member of the household, with everyone sharing the same bathwater.

Now I know that that might seem gross at first, and I was a little weirded out by this, until I realized its practicality, as well as the fact that it's virtually the same as if you were in a hot tub with other people at the same time. In fact, that ends up being grosser, since most people don't shower before they get in the hot tub. The only significant difference is that you're naked in the ofuro, and you're not, unless you're skinny-dipping, in a hot tub.

Plus, one really neat thing about Japanese baths is that they're a lot hotter than US baths, which makes them more like hot tubs. My aunt had said that she was going to take a bath after my uncle after dinner, and I was surprised that he had left the bathroom some time ago, but my aunt was still cleaning up the dishes and everything, so I asked her if she was still planning to take a bath. She answered yes, so I asked her, puzzled, if the water wasn't cold by now, since my uncle had finished a long time ago, and she explained that in Japan, the water is all regulated by a central heating control in the kitchen. It is especially used for baths. Of course, you can modify the temperature of your water by adding more cold water, but this way you can set it to be up to 46 degrees Celsius and get a really hot bath going. Anyway, that's how Japanese baths work at home.

In public, they work much the same way. Everyone showers and then you go into a hot tub, but you're doing it nude. My uncle had asked if I was okay with that plan, since it would involve being naked in front of other people, but I said that I was up for the "Charrenge," and that I had to do it, because even if I'm not accustomed or comfortable being nude in public, I didn't want to miss out on a tradition that I wouldn't be able to experience once I got back to the US. So we went to this place called Utopia. My aunt told me that men and women did bathe separately, so I didn't need to worry about that. Now please forgive me in advance for all the blurry pictures, but I was pretty drunk when I took them.

At first I was expecting a kind of wooden building or something like what I've read about of Middle Age bath houses, but this is nothing like that. It's completely modern, and very much geared to the family-oriented crowds. It has saunas and cool water pools as well as normal hot tubs, both indoors and out, and some of the baths even have different bath minerals added to them for arthritis and rheumatism, etc...Outside of the ofuro, you get changed into one of their yukatas, and you can go to the gaming arcade, they used to have karaoke boxes, go and get a massage or a pedicure, sleep in one of the quiet rooms, watch a movie in their movie theater, play go, which is like chess, or go and have a drink and food downstairs in their restaurants. It's great.

My uncle had to deal with an emergency at work, so we went ahead. I took a bath, chilled in the sauna till I couldn't stand it any longer, dunked in the super cold bath, and then went back to the bath and sauna. After we were sufficiently warm and pink-cheeked, my aunt and I got drinks and ice cream to help cool us down. I watched this movie called Shinobi, which I really liked, even though I didn't understand it fully since it was in Japanese and no subtitles. But it was still good. I'll look for it on dvd and maybe bring it to the US.

After the movie, my uncle had arrived and taken a bath. He had brought Chu-hi and a canned cocktail drink for me, since they were way more expensive to buy inside. I didn't realize how thirsty I must have been, because I killed that drink. Of course, I also failed to recognize just how little food I had eaten throughout the day, because that one can with 5 lcohol hit my system like a series of shots and before I knew it, I was drunk. My aunt had the best time getting funny pictures of me, so please enjoy: Utopia She'd make you proud, Pat. Anyway, it was a good experience, and if any of you are ever here, I'd recommend that you see for yourselves. All right, that's all for these pics!

Hanami: Retroactive Post

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've either been a bum and too lazy to put in the work of putting up all of my new pics, or out and about, and taking the damn things. But here's what I've been up to so far.

The weekend before last, signaled the start of the hanami, which is when all the sakura *cherry blossoms go into bloom and everyone goes out to enjoy them in the many parks around the cities of Japan. This is a huge deal: the news is full of stories, following the wash of pink as it flows up from the south to cover the country. The reason why its such a big deal, and why everyone goes out to see the flowers, is because its so fleeting: the blossoms only bloom when it gets warm enough and then once they bloom, they're gone with the next rain or the next day of strong winds.

I think it's great that people take the time out of their schedules to recognize the momentary beauty of these flowers and maybe reflect on the briefness of our lives. In short, it's the Japanese way of stopping and smelling the roses. Which is really important for them, since one thing that I've learned since I've gotten here, is how much of a workaholic nation Japan is. I think they value their free time a little more than we do, and it explains why they tend to drink so much and maybe do some of the crazy things we sometimes see. And why they love karaoke so much.

Anyway, on the Saturday, I went with my aunt and cousin Uichi-san to Nagoya Castle, though I'm supposed to make sure that I call it Nagoya Jo if I'm ever taking a taxi, since if I ask for Nagoya Castle, I'll get driven to a love hotel-and I'm still not sure what exactly that means, but I think I'll stay away just in case. So, here are my pics of the castle: Nagoya Jo.

Nagoya Jo is one of the largest castles in Japan. It is a famous symbol, because it was the home of one of the family lines of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu (shogunate), a military dictatorship which ruled Japan from 1600 to the Meiji Restoration in 1868. I actually also visited his childhood home, Okazaki Castle, the following week. I'll post another blog for those pics later on.

Following that we headed over to Tsurumai Park, (where it snowed that one day), and ended the day celebrating in true Japanese fashion with a picnic under the trees lasting into the night. It was too cold for my cousin Uichi-san, so he went home. Meanwhile, my aunt and I are left to spread out on our little picnic mat alongside many other parties of varying sizes. We got there around 5 or so, and already, there were drunk people wandering around, especially drunk Americans.

My favorite was when one of the drunk Americans stumbled into a group of young Japanese people, and the Japanese guy that he had ran into had also been doing some drinking, and so his group happily started to chant, USA, USA! After that, he passes them and starts to head to his group, but of course the mat with me and my aunt sitting on it is in front of him. I wish that I had been able to get a picture of the look on his face, as his eyes took us in. It was hilarious, knowing that were right in front of him, but he looked as if we had appeared out of nowhere to him, because he was so drunk. Oh, funny.

Later on in the evening, there is a group of maybe four older Japanese men, Im talking 60 or so, thats got a mat next to ours. They seemed friendly and one of them asked if where we were from, since it was obvious we werent Japanese. My aunt responded saying that she was from the Philippines and that I was visiting from the US. My aunt tells me that he was surprised to find out that I was her niece, since they thought that we were just friends. They chat a bit more and give us a can of beer, which we share, to be polite. Fast-forward to when I get back from using the restroom, and my aunt tells me that the guy that had talked to her earlier had asked if wed come and join their group, but my aunt had to refuse, since we were actually waiting for her husband, my uncle.

I'm sorry if I think that this was hilarious, its just that I soooo saw it coming when they first talked to us. Anyway, later, my uncle gets there, we buy some of the slightly over-priced vendor food, have a drink and then head home since it was starting to get cold. Not the most exciting hanami, but it was still enjoyable. Apparently, it gets pretty crazy later in the night, once everyone has had more than a few drinks, and people end up dancing and singing and stuff under the trees. My aunt told me that when she and my uncle were younger, they did that. Maybe if some of you guys come to visit me in the next spring, we'll have a wilder time! So, start saving up, okay?

Real NEWS!!!: Retroactive Post

Okay, so this is not a late April Fool's Day joke: I just found out that I got into the JET program!!! I'm so happy and excited, but I'm also worried because I don't know if I'll be placed in Nagoya or not, and I won't find out until later. However, I've also got an interview with another teaching company called NOVA next Tuesday, and it's possible that I might get accepted to both of them...Anyway, just had to let you all know. I'm heading out, but I'll post pictures of the last few days soon. Take care!

My New Japanese Friend: Retroactive Post

Hey all! I've been having a lot of fun lately with my new friend Chika. As I've mentioned before, we met because she's interested in practicing and improving her English since she wants to finish studying film in the US. We've hung out more recently, since it seems like she has more time on her hands and she's very cool and fun. Since we're both 22, we seem to be into much of the same things: going out with friends, drinking, watching movies, shopping, and lately for me, karaoke and piricura. Which is what we did on Tuesday and today.

Here're the pics from that: Buddies!. Hope you're all well, and that maybe sometime in the future you'll all get to meet my new friend!

Hell Just Froze Over: Retroactive Post

Why? Because yesterday, I did the UNTHINKABLE. The two things that I wouldn't be caught doing in Seattle, EVER.

Yesterday, I was on the phone with Pat, checking up on him post-birthday-barfage, and waiting for my cousin, the one that doesn't live with me (Eugen-san) to come home with his girlfriend, Yuka-chan, whom I had met once before, since I had to open the door for them because they didnt have a key. They get home, and after getting cut off with Pat, I take the gidensha over to the post office, where I exchange my travelers checks for yen, go for a quick bike-ride around the Mizuho Koen *park, pick up cookies for them, and come back home. But none of that is out of the ordinary...

To my surprise, Yuka-chan had planned on taking me out, so we left soon after, and picked up her friend Miwa-chan in Sakae, braving the traffic. While driving, we decided to go to karaoke, so we headed down there. I'm sorry, are you wondering whether you heard me correctly? Yes, I said, KARAOKE. I, Sarah, went to KARAOKE. Thus begins my official conversion into Japan. So we went, and I had a good time, but unfortunately left my camera at home, so, sorry guys, no pics for you. Maybe some other time.

This was then followed by going to a place where you can play pool, video games and other things, but we did none of those things. Instead, we took PICTURES. The kind of pics that are tiny little stickers that cover every Japanese person's cell-phone. The ones that you take in a tiny little booth with different backgrounds and such. Well, I am now ADDICTED. I love them! But only the ones in Japan, b/c the ones in the US, you can't do as much. The ones here, you can write and draw all over them, stamp them, etc...They're so KAWAI *cute!!! I like them so much that I'm willing to show them, so for you all (but I still wish that you were here with me so that we can take some together):

Today was less adventurous. My cousin Uichi-san had a day off today, so we went with him, his gf Sa-chan, and Riko-chan and Taku-chan to the Villaggio Italia. And since I promised pictures, here are some, though a lot less than I normally take: Little Italy

We had lunch, walked around, did some shopping and then headed back, since I had to meet up with Chika again, near my house. Chika and I studied English and Japanese while everyone else either slept or played video games (Taku-chan), then watched 50 First Dates, since Chika had never seen it. We had dinner, chatted about anime, comics and manga, and then everyone headed home, but not before I made them promise that we'd take pictures together then next time we met. Now, I find myself again staying up late to provide you with pictures and updates about my life here, so oyasumi!

Busy Little Bee: Retroactive Post

I've been pretty busy lately. Earlier in the week, I rode the gidensha *bicycle to the Nagoya City Museum. I didn't really take pictures while I was there, but they have a really large regular exhibition. I followed it chronologically from the prehistoric period, to the development of a rice-harvesting society all the way to the development of Nagoya itself, and through World War II. Here are some pics from the outside garden:

Nagoya Castle and its famous Golden Fish symbol:

A couple of days ago, I met with one of the girls that I might be helping with their English while I'm here. Her name's Chika, and she's my age. She's been to the US before, studying film, and wants to go back for her second semester of film school, so that's why she wants to improve her English. We hung around Sakae for the afternoon. While we were in one of the many department stores, we stopped at this little shop with all sorts of useless-seeming knickknacks. What caught our eye was Elmo. But, for some reason, some Japanese person decided that Elmo is better in different colors, so:

Yesterday, I went to the Nagoya Aquarium with my aunt. Check my album to see what it was like: The Aquarium. One of the cool things there, which I unfortunately couldn't take a picture of, were all of these computer graphics displays depicting different things, like how whales evolved from being four-legged land creatures to water-living mammals, and what their skeletons look like. There was even a large-scale animatronic killer whale with a projector screen set behind it, and when they lit it up a certain way, you could see it's skeleton. It was a really long walk through all of the exhibitions in the two buildings.

Following that however, we decided to walk to the nearby Villagio Italia, even though it was raining. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pics of it because my camera had no more memory space and my battery had run out. But I'll definitely go back there again, and I promise pictures in the future. It was very cute and most of it was pretty authentic, though like the rest of Japan, as I'm finding, inundated with tons of shops.

Today, I met Risa, another girl looking for English help. She's 28, and actually lived in Vancouver for about a year, as well as living in Puerto Rico and visiting other places in the US. We met up with her friend John, who has recently moved to Japan from Vancouver, and mostly chatted. They gave me a bunch of tips regarding where to apply for teaching jobs, as well as what to be wary of and more of what to expect while living in Japan. For now, I'm sleepy, so oyasumi nasai! *good night!

My Second Week Here: Retroactive Post

I can't believe that I've already been here for a week. More than a week at this point. So far, I've been having a great time. I wake up, check in with friends and then do something new. I've checked downtown Nagoya and some of the big sightseeing spots-I've still yet to go to Nagoya Castle, but I'll do that when it's warmer. Lately however, it's been super windy and super cold, though sunny. Check out some of my new pics, as I walk around the city some more:Walking Around Nagoya. Oh and Pat, Happy Birthday. These are for you:

Only in Japan will you find a package of chocolate chip cookies filled with individually wrapped cookies. Oh, and notice that all of the cookies cannot have any chocolate chips showing through the tops. They just can't. The Emperor said so.

My Aunt is Off the Heezy: Retroactive Post

Ok, let me first preface this by saying that I love my aunt. My dad's side of the family is way more fun and funny than my mom's side and I think that it's because they like to drink. I'm staying with her and her Japanese husband, my Uncle Sam (Isamu), and they're both really awesome people.

My aunt, Tita Elvie, is, despite having lived here in Japan for the past 20 years, still hella Filipino. She was worried when she found out that I wanted to go to Japan and that I would likely be living with them, because she speaks Japanese and Tagolog despite being able to understand English since she had to study it in school, and I only know how to speak English, and have a limited comprehension of Tagalog. Not only was she worried that we wouldn't be able to communicate with one another, but she tells me that she, like her Filipina friends, avoid English speaking people like the plague because they don't want to embarrass themselves by not being able to speak it correctly simply because they never use it. This being the reason that my aunt has told me why none of her friends have come to visit her on their days off. But that's not the point of this little story.

My aunt and uncle Sam, I have found are accustomed to having a fruity alcoholic drink (like beer) or two every day, usually at dinner. And usually by the end of dinner, we will sit around and talk, and exchange stories and my aunt will sometimes joke about the fact that she's already drinking. Well today, i found out just how funny she is when she does. We had already finished dinner and were relaxing in our rooms, and my aunt came into mine to tell me something about tomorrow since it is my

So she gets to my door and says, Sarah Kay, tomorrow...not early...not in the morning...but later...after one...or twelve...after...later...And she seriously couldn't do more that look at me, because she couldn't think of 'afternoon' until I said it, at which point we're both laughing at her, and she says that it's because she's already under the alcohol. Then she tells me that in the afternoon, as we're both still laughing, my uncle Sam will drive me around in the Mercedes (bearing in mind that this is their truck) and that I'll need to wear my party dress, because my Uncle Sam will be driving me around in it. And continues to repeat this to make sure I understand her, but all I can do is laugh, and I'm still not sure if she was serious about me wearing my party dress or not.

Anyway, I guess you just had to be there. I'll post more pics later, but this one goes out to you tita.

On Being a Foreigner: Retroactive Post

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been having some technical difficulties with myspace. So, since I left off the last time, I had been held up at both the Tokyo Narita airport and the Nagoya, had to take a bus to catch the plane on the tarmac, was stalled by Tokyo snow, couldn't find my luggage in baggage claim, had to go through customs and finally, found my aunt and uncle.

Now that I've been here a few days, I have to tell you guys that I absolutely love it here. Nagoya is not crowded like Tokyo, even downtown Nagoya (Sakae) is about as crowded as downtown Seattle, and it reminds me a lot of Vancouver. It's very clean: there's no litter on the sidewalks; safe: everyone leaves their bicycles (jidensha) on the sidewalk, not locked up at all; and there's a lot of things in English, so I don't get too confused. I've been working on my nihongo and I hope that by the time I leave here, I'll be fluent in it.

As for what I've been up to, you can check out pics from my first three days here: Japan. They go in chronological order. On my second night here, Sa-chan, my cousin's gf, her daughter Riko-chan, who is eleven and I were trying to exchange languages, so I would try to ask what something was, and she'd tell me in nihongo, and then I would tell her what it was in English. It was hella funny, being 22 years old and having an elementary vocabulary. Also, I have to tell you guys, just how jealous I am of all the Japanese girls and guys here. They're all hella stylish and I need one of you to come and visit me here so that I have a shopping buddy, and then I can be kawai (cute) too! Also, here's a link to some pictures of things that I found entertaining while here in Japan: Interesting... Yesterday, I took the chikatetsu (subway) by myself and I even went to a convenience store and the supermarket and bought stuff alone. I pretty much went, Hai, hai, arigatoo gozaimas! But, hey, it got the job done.

Anyway, I'm gonna work on my Japanese before I attempt trying to travel to another city or town, but I really want to go to Kyoto, and see the geishas. Sometime in the next few weeks we're all gonna go to the Nagoya Castle for the sakura viewings. I'll post pics once I go. As for now, I hope that you're all doing well. Leave me a comment if you want anything from here (Jorge, I've already got you down buddy!). Take care!

Sayonara Seattle: Retroactive Post

I haven't slept for more than four hours in the last 36, so maybe that might account for my jumbled emotional state right now. As I type this, I am hurtling hundreds of feet per minute towards Japan.

I had stayed up until 2 am last night, getting packed for the next three months and then woke up at 6 to continue preparing while my mom and dad left this morning to go to a doctor's appointment for my dad. My plane was due to depart at 12:55pm this afternoon, and I was starting to worry when Pone and my parents still weren't home by 10:30. They get home at last, and we load the two huge check-in luggage, my carry-on luggage, my laptop case, my niece Kyla who's knocked out in her car seat, and her diaper bag, into our van and get on I-5 to SeaTac.

Unfortunately, after merging onto the freeway from the entrance ramp, traffic just stops moving, we hear emergency signals and spot a truck heading to some point up ahead of us. Luckily we get past the accident that had been slowing everything down, and get to the airport by 11:00. However, I was to find that this was merely the first in a series of occurrences that seemed determined to prevent me from getting to Japan.

We unload everything from the car and go to the curbside baggage check-in. There are several people there, but we eventually get the attention of a friendly baggage handler. He then promptly tells me that the weight limit on check-in baggage was not the 70lbs that it normally is if you go to the Philippines, and which my mom and I had argued over about trying to pack everything and still remain under the limit, but rather 50lbs: which left us with 40lbs to redistribute in my already full carry-on luggage. Fortunately, there was a Filipino man also traveling to Japan right behind us in line, and who had also been unaware of the different weight restrictions, but after talking with the Filipino baggage handler and my parents in a Tagalog conversation which I barely understood, I found out that he'd be willing to take on some of my excess packages.

After getting my boarding pass, I head over to my gate, say rushed good-bye to my family and head through the screening process. I get my stuff through pretty quickly, but they tell me that they've just got to look through my rolling carry-on luggage, which I readily agree to. They take out my things and wipe down the inside of the luggage and scan it for stuff. I think nothing of it, until the machine alerts of her an EDT (no idea what that is) hit, which makes her call someone else.

As he looks through a folder of info, she tells me that she's got to go through the purse I had inside. Again, I agree and it's not until she starts pulling stuff out that is covered in something liquid that I realize that something has gone very wrong: the bottle of prescription cough syrup that my doctor had prescribed for me in case I got sick again in Japan, had broken and leaked all of its contents into my purse, covering my umbrella, lotion and other materials. They didn't make a big deal about it once they found out that it was just cough syrup, but that left me with a huge mess to clean up, aided by the roll of paper towels they gave to me, but my Coach purse is ruined, and it sucks even more because that was the ONLY purse I had brought with me.

I get most of it dealt with and head to my gate with the guy, Leo, who's carrying some of my stuff. We make it to the gate, and after waiting for only a short time, find that they're starting to board. It was going through that boarding ramp that started doing it for me. It was when I realized, there's no going back. I get on the plane, make it to my seat, struggle with getting my luggage into the overhead compartment and take my seat next to a Japanese girl who looks to be about my age (we haven't spoken). From there, as more and more people of Japanese descent get on the plane, I realize just how scared I was about going to another country and that I've left my life and everything that I know behind, but I take some deep breaths and calm down. I sorta dozed as we were preparing to get ready, but had to wait through a half hour delay as they had to do something with the water tank. Finally, our plane pulls away from the terminal and we make our slow, bumpy way down the landing strip.

At one point, there were these loud thudding noises coming from below us and I felt a brief flash of fear as I thought about it being a sign that our plane was going to crash on take-off, further helped along as our plane started to slow and then stop. However I was relieved to find that we were stopping because we were waiting for a plane in front of us to start their take-off and then noticed this line of planes behind us all waiting for their chance to take-off, and all of a sudden, instead of being scared, I was excited as my plane's engines fired up and thrust us into the air and towards Japan.

As we cleared the cloud cover and got into the sunlight, I remembered what it was like when I had gone sky-diving and the extremely unnatural sensation of falling fast through the clouds. The feelings that I felt then mirror a lot of the ones that I'm going through now:; fear about what it's actually going to be like; excitement that this is something I've never done before; sadness that no one is with me; disbelief that I'm actually going through with this; but pride as well, that all of my talk about traveling was not just talk, and that I can actually walk that talk.

So, to everyone at home: I love you all but I'm happy I'm doing this. See you in three months.

The Countdown Begins...: Retroactive Post from Myspace

Actually, the countdown officially began yesterday, since I had one week to go at that point, but I was too lazy to post. For those of you who haven't seen or talked to me in a while, you might be wondering what it is that I'm counting down to. The answer is that in less than one week, I will be in Japan, Nagoya to be specific, where I will be living for the next three months.

I'm going to be living with my aunt and uncle there, where I'll mostly be sightseeing and being a tourist. I'll also try to volunteer at the local school as a tutor or something, since part of the reason why I am going is because I've applied to the JET (Japanese Exchange and Teaching)Program, which involves teaching English in a Japanese elementary, junior high or high school for a year.

This is a huge deal for me, since it will be my first international traveling experience, save for my immigratory trip from the Philippines to the US when I was three, and my wanderlust is such an integral part of my personality that I can't remember when I didn't want to travel. However, now that it's finally happening and I start preparing for my trip, my life seems to take on this surreal aspect to it. I can't believe that in 6 days, I will be in Japan, surrounded by its culture, its people, its language, its architecture, everything that makes it Japan and not the United States.

I am a mess of emotions right now. I am nervous about traveling to Japan with very little knowledge of the language; I'm excited about finally fulfilling one of my dreams; I'm sad that this means that I'm leaving my friends, family and boyfriend; I am a bit overwhelmed by all the things that I need to get ready before I go there, and in the background is anxiety about whether I am going to get into the JET program based on my application and my interview at the Consulate this last Wednesday.

Anyway, for anyone that is interested in hearing about my travels in Japan, I'll be posting blogs while I'm there, but feel free to email me if you ever want to see what's going on. For everyone that I've already said good-bye to, I just want to say thanks for celebrating with me and know that I'll miss you guys a ton; and for those that I have yet to see one last time, just know that I'm looking forward to it.