So yesterday, I felt like I was dying at school. Or rather, I described it as going through everything associated with a hangover, without the benefit of having gotten drunk the night before. I got cheated. I came home as soon as possible from work, took a bath and lay in bed for most of the evening.
My phone went off around 7pm and I was surprised when I saw my parents' number come up on Caller ID. I was even more surprised when the first words out of my mother's mouth were, "Sarah, are you okay?" I thought, Do I sound that bad? How did she know I felt like crap? and blurted out, "No, I'm feeling kinda sick," before I knew it.
Apparently though, it was less a testament to my mother's observational skills as it was to her superstitious-ness. She had had a dream with me in it and was worried, so she wanted to check in and make sure I was all right. Normally, I'd kind of make fun of her for that kind of thing, but just earlier in the day, I had been thinking about how it'd be nice if someone was at home to take care of me. I'll admit it, I wished I had my mom around.
So, we had probably one of the best talks in my life: frank, unconfrontational, caring. It was a surprising. I spent the rest of the evening feeling much better.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Spring Break and the PI
No, PI does NOT stand for Private Investigator. PI stands for the Philippine Islands, i.e. the archipelago southwest of Japan, the archipelago that I currently inhabit. It is also my ancestral home, my birthplace, my homeland. It is the place of my dreams, not memories, because I was too young to form any that remain. It's an odd thing...to see photos of yourself in a place and have no recollection of it or having ever been there. You have to take others' word. You take it on hearsay.
Pin suggested that Katy, Stacey, Brian, he and I go somewhere for spring break. One of the possibilities being the PI. I think that I've either been underestimating or just not realizing how much of an effect going to the PI might have on me. Honestly, it wasn't until Pin mentioned it last night that I remembered that it WOULD be my first time back...and I might not be ready to do that with a group of friends. I think I've been so focused on how my mom and family would react, that I didn't bother to think about how I would.
I think I would feel, and even though I know that he and the rest of them would tell me that I don't have to feel thus, responsible for everyone. Not just responsible because I can understand what people say when they're not speaking in English, but responsible for making sure everyone has a good time, because it IS my country. I don't know if I'm ready for that, especially never having been there since I left. I'd feel as much a stranger as they would, but I'd feel obligated not to be.
Pin suggested that Katy, Stacey, Brian, he and I go somewhere for spring break. One of the possibilities being the PI. I think that I've either been underestimating or just not realizing how much of an effect going to the PI might have on me. Honestly, it wasn't until Pin mentioned it last night that I remembered that it WOULD be my first time back...and I might not be ready to do that with a group of friends. I think I've been so focused on how my mom and family would react, that I didn't bother to think about how I would.
I think I would feel, and even though I know that he and the rest of them would tell me that I don't have to feel thus, responsible for everyone. Not just responsible because I can understand what people say when they're not speaking in English, but responsible for making sure everyone has a good time, because it IS my country. I don't know if I'm ready for that, especially never having been there since I left. I'd feel as much a stranger as they would, but I'd feel obligated not to be.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Settling
So it's been over a week since I've been back, and I think I finally FEEL back.
Seattle was fun though slightly disappointing because of being snowed in for 2 out of the 3 weeks I was home. The weather has not been kind to me in the last month. But the pictures of a white Christmas were nice, and I did catch up on a lot of movies and American TV. Plus, I got to spend a lot of time with my neice Kyla, which is all too precious of a commodity these days. My dad seemed all right and about the same, though my mom seemed to imply otherwise in some comments, along with the ever-present desire that I come back to Seattle.
The thing is, it's not going to happen. While I liked seeing my friends and family, being back there only made me realize how much I want to be in Japan. Partly because I love having a place of my own, partly because I love living abroad, and most importantly because I LOVE living in Japan.
While I was home, I met up with Ryan, an ALT from Gunma that I met briefly in Tokyo for a friend's birthday celebration consisting of a night of clubbing and post-dancing Italian food, and my boy Branden. I guess because both of them are of Japanese descent, their ties to Japan are much stronger than mine, yet I find it odd that I'm the one that's stayed and is staying here for longer. Neither of them has much desire to travel or live in other places. I on the other hand, continue to want to go anywhere, everywhere. Hmm, that's proving a rarer quality in people that I'd previously thought.
Seattle was fun though slightly disappointing because of being snowed in for 2 out of the 3 weeks I was home. The weather has not been kind to me in the last month. But the pictures of a white Christmas were nice, and I did catch up on a lot of movies and American TV. Plus, I got to spend a lot of time with my neice Kyla, which is all too precious of a commodity these days. My dad seemed all right and about the same, though my mom seemed to imply otherwise in some comments, along with the ever-present desire that I come back to Seattle.
The thing is, it's not going to happen. While I liked seeing my friends and family, being back there only made me realize how much I want to be in Japan. Partly because I love having a place of my own, partly because I love living abroad, and most importantly because I LOVE living in Japan.
While I was home, I met up with Ryan, an ALT from Gunma that I met briefly in Tokyo for a friend's birthday celebration consisting of a night of clubbing and post-dancing Italian food, and my boy Branden. I guess because both of them are of Japanese descent, their ties to Japan are much stronger than mine, yet I find it odd that I'm the one that's stayed and is staying here for longer. Neither of them has much desire to travel or live in other places. I on the other hand, continue to want to go anywhere, everywhere. Hmm, that's proving a rarer quality in people that I'd previously thought.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Summer in the City: Retroactive Post
Wow, I can't believe that I finally get to spend some summertime in the city of my childhood, after deploring how I only get to visit it at the worst time of the year, weather-wise. Unfortunately, I guess I should've checked the weather forecast before I headed out here, since it was cold and showering when I got in a couple of days ago...rain, in Seattle...Go figure. I think what surprised me was less that it was showering, because it's been showering on and off in Shiz for the last month, but that it's COLD here. That and I was coming from Gunma, where, at 5,000ft about sea level, the daytime was clear, blue and quite sunny.
Tonight was the first time I got to go out into the city since I've been back, and of course, who did I go with, but my partner in crime Patrick. We headed over to Bahama Breeze in Southcenter after he got off work in the evening and had a Caribbean dinner of habanero-spiced chicken wings and filet mignon for me and Jerk-rubbed chicken breast for Pat. It was SOOO good to have food that was flavorful, spicy and fruity in a way that you can only find in tropical island cuisine. That and the authentic mojito I had along with dinner was a perfect start to a cool summer evening.
We then drove up to our favorite late-night cafe, the B&O. I've made it a point to stop off there every time I'm in town. This time we had kahlua-spiked mochas and I indulged in some chocolate-y, liquered mousse for dessert. The rest of the time, we spent catching up about what's been going on in each of our lives, and some of the people in them. For me, Travis of course, as well as Luther, JTEs and other ALT friends.
I told Pat that Seattle's best feature and what I love and miss most about it is that, when I go back, it's not like Luther going back to Minnesota: I'm not just met with white people. I go to Seattle and I see, especially coming from southern Seattle, people of all different ethnicities and nationalities. I see people of black, Asian, Latin American, Native American descent, mixed in with all the Caucasians, not to mention all the people that are halfs, quarters, etc... it's great to see so many people of different cultural backgrounds in the same place.
I've forgotten that everywhere is not like Japan. You don't just have a homogenous society in which everyone else that's not Japanese is just a 'gaijin', foreigner. But like I also told Patrick, while I love Seattle still and would love to live here, I don't want to live in America, and unfortunately living in Seattle would constitute living in America, which is something that I'm not prepared to do yet.
Pat and I talked about all the traveling we might be doing over the next year and in the future: him coming out to visit me in Japan; going to the PI with Chris and Char, though later talking about the possibility of going to the UK instead; Huong and him moving out to Spain or somewhere in Europe; Travis and I eventually following suit in France, and maybe at some later stage, going across the Atlantic and checking out life in the Big Apple.
I'm not yet 25, and I know that I have so much more of my life ahead of me, but the thought of cutting my time short in Japan, cutting the life that encourages me to stay young and (maybe a bit irresponsible) un-rooted and free, in turn cuts me to the core.
I think I've realized one thing over the last couple of days that's made me take a look at why I've been so determined to keep my being in town a secret: not only do I not want to get into the details about my dad with people, but I don't want to be place myself in the situation where I'm with people that won't understand me making comparisons between Japan and America, between Shizuoka and Seattle. In some ways, maybe that's why I don't talk to my sister as much over the last couple of visits. Maybe I'm starting to realize that what annoys me about Americans in Japan saying they want certain things in Japan the way that they would get them if they were in America, might be the way that I talk about Japan while I'm here.
I think I'll make more of a point to be quieter about them. Though the big difference is that, I know that if I had a choice I would go back. I'd head back to Japan in a split-second and that's what ultimately makes me different from the people that complain that it's not like that where they're from, but continue to stay.
Tonight was the first time I got to go out into the city since I've been back, and of course, who did I go with, but my partner in crime Patrick. We headed over to Bahama Breeze in Southcenter after he got off work in the evening and had a Caribbean dinner of habanero-spiced chicken wings and filet mignon for me and Jerk-rubbed chicken breast for Pat. It was SOOO good to have food that was flavorful, spicy and fruity in a way that you can only find in tropical island cuisine. That and the authentic mojito I had along with dinner was a perfect start to a cool summer evening.
We then drove up to our favorite late-night cafe, the B&O. I've made it a point to stop off there every time I'm in town. This time we had kahlua-spiked mochas and I indulged in some chocolate-y, liquered mousse for dessert. The rest of the time, we spent catching up about what's been going on in each of our lives, and some of the people in them. For me, Travis of course, as well as Luther, JTEs and other ALT friends.
I told Pat that Seattle's best feature and what I love and miss most about it is that, when I go back, it's not like Luther going back to Minnesota: I'm not just met with white people. I go to Seattle and I see, especially coming from southern Seattle, people of all different ethnicities and nationalities. I see people of black, Asian, Latin American, Native American descent, mixed in with all the Caucasians, not to mention all the people that are halfs, quarters, etc... it's great to see so many people of different cultural backgrounds in the same place.
I've forgotten that everywhere is not like Japan. You don't just have a homogenous society in which everyone else that's not Japanese is just a 'gaijin', foreigner. But like I also told Patrick, while I love Seattle still and would love to live here, I don't want to live in America, and unfortunately living in Seattle would constitute living in America, which is something that I'm not prepared to do yet.
Pat and I talked about all the traveling we might be doing over the next year and in the future: him coming out to visit me in Japan; going to the PI with Chris and Char, though later talking about the possibility of going to the UK instead; Huong and him moving out to Spain or somewhere in Europe; Travis and I eventually following suit in France, and maybe at some later stage, going across the Atlantic and checking out life in the Big Apple.
I'm not yet 25, and I know that I have so much more of my life ahead of me, but the thought of cutting my time short in Japan, cutting the life that encourages me to stay young and (maybe a bit irresponsible) un-rooted and free, in turn cuts me to the core.
I think I've realized one thing over the last couple of days that's made me take a look at why I've been so determined to keep my being in town a secret: not only do I not want to get into the details about my dad with people, but I don't want to be place myself in the situation where I'm with people that won't understand me making comparisons between Japan and America, between Shizuoka and Seattle. In some ways, maybe that's why I don't talk to my sister as much over the last couple of visits. Maybe I'm starting to realize that what annoys me about Americans in Japan saying they want certain things in Japan the way that they would get them if they were in America, might be the way that I talk about Japan while I'm here.
I think I'll make more of a point to be quieter about them. Though the big difference is that, I know that if I had a choice I would go back. I'd head back to Japan in a split-second and that's what ultimately makes me different from the people that complain that it's not like that where they're from, but continue to stay.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
So When Does the Ball Drop?: Retroactive Post
This morning during second period, one of my JTEs (a pretty close one, since she is always helping Luther and me with various Japan/school-life issues) left in a hurry from school. I was on my way up to the LL to prep for my third period class, and caught up with her in the hallway. She was upset about something and soon explained the reason why. She had gotten a call from her family and found out that her father just passed away unexpectedly. Now, she is middle-aged, so it's not like her father was very young, but there was apparently no reason to suggest that he was sick or anything. She didn't know the cause of death, so I have no clue either.
This comes on the heels of two announcements during the morning meetings with bad news. The first one on Monday was accompanied by my former JTE/supervisor coming up to the middle of the teachers room, bowing and obviously very upset about something. I couldn't catch what he said, I thought I heard "musume," which is Japanese for daughter, but I wasn't sure what exactly happened. I didn't get a chance to ask about it until the next day, after hearing another disturbing announcement about one of my vice-principals.
This one, I managed to catch the words, "hospital," "sick," and "gone until next week." Actually, I verified with the teacher whose father just passed away, my suspicions that our VP was in the hospital. Our principal said that he couldn't say exactly why she was hospitalized, but that she will be undergoing surgery tomorrow. She also clarified that my other teacher's mother-in-law had passed away, which was he was upset and hence the announcement on Monday.
Obviously, all of this sucks for the people involved. I can't imagine what they are all going through, but I can't help but think about my own situation with my father. Especially after one of my other JTEs and I were talking about what was going on and she asked me to take care of my health...Little does she (or any of the other teachers, except for Luther, for that matter) know (since I haven't mentioned it to anyone), that it's not MY health that I'm worried about.
I've managed to keep thoughts of my dad, his health and his lifespan at bay, since I know that I can't really do anything until I'm home, but all of this is just a bit too familiar. I know that at least, unlike my poor teacher, I do have a heads-up of his health but that doesn't really help. Especially since I keep wondering, when's the ball going to drop and if I'm going to be the next person to have to make an announcement at a morning meeting.
This comes on the heels of two announcements during the morning meetings with bad news. The first one on Monday was accompanied by my former JTE/supervisor coming up to the middle of the teachers room, bowing and obviously very upset about something. I couldn't catch what he said, I thought I heard "musume," which is Japanese for daughter, but I wasn't sure what exactly happened. I didn't get a chance to ask about it until the next day, after hearing another disturbing announcement about one of my vice-principals.
This one, I managed to catch the words, "hospital," "sick," and "gone until next week." Actually, I verified with the teacher whose father just passed away, my suspicions that our VP was in the hospital. Our principal said that he couldn't say exactly why she was hospitalized, but that she will be undergoing surgery tomorrow. She also clarified that my other teacher's mother-in-law had passed away, which was he was upset and hence the announcement on Monday.
Obviously, all of this sucks for the people involved. I can't imagine what they are all going through, but I can't help but think about my own situation with my father. Especially after one of my other JTEs and I were talking about what was going on and she asked me to take care of my health...Little does she (or any of the other teachers, except for Luther, for that matter) know (since I haven't mentioned it to anyone), that it's not MY health that I'm worried about.
I've managed to keep thoughts of my dad, his health and his lifespan at bay, since I know that I can't really do anything until I'm home, but all of this is just a bit too familiar. I know that at least, unlike my poor teacher, I do have a heads-up of his health but that doesn't really help. Especially since I keep wondering, when's the ball going to drop and if I'm going to be the next person to have to make an announcement at a morning meeting.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
My Love City: Retroactive Post
God, I love being in Nagoya. I came here yesterday right from work and the minute that I got onto the platform at Nagoya station, I could feel this overwhelming sense of relief pass through my body. Like this is where I belong. It's like that every time I go back. I thought that that would be how I felt when I went back to Seattle this Christmas break, but I didn't. I guess that reinforces my recent realization that Seattle no longer feels like home. I mean, don't get me wrong, I still love that city and being with my friends and family is awesome, but it's no longer the same. I don't see it with the same eyes anymore. It just makes it easier to decide to move to Europe after this.
Anyway, I came out here because I wanted to see Chika before she heads out to Europe tomorrow morning for a month, but I now, I feel like I wish I hadn't, because it shows me just how much I love being here. Everything is familar in the way that Seattle is, but it's also still very foreign. Add to that that not only is one of my best friends here, but my aunt and uncle. Tonight, we had dinner and were drinking together with some of their friends, and it felt just like hanging out with my own friends at my house. I really love my Tita Elvie and Otosan. It almost makes me regret signing my contract for another year. I wish I could spend more time here than just a couple days at a time. I would give anything to be able to live in this city for another few months.
*Sigh* Oh well, the world changes and you've just got to roll with the punches, right? Here's to the future...
Anyway, I came out here because I wanted to see Chika before she heads out to Europe tomorrow morning for a month, but I now, I feel like I wish I hadn't, because it shows me just how much I love being here. Everything is familar in the way that Seattle is, but it's also still very foreign. Add to that that not only is one of my best friends here, but my aunt and uncle. Tonight, we had dinner and were drinking together with some of their friends, and it felt just like hanging out with my own friends at my house. I really love my Tita Elvie and Otosan. It almost makes me regret signing my contract for another year. I wish I could spend more time here than just a couple days at a time. I would give anything to be able to live in this city for another few months.
*Sigh* Oh well, the world changes and you've just got to roll with the punches, right? Here's to the future...
Monday, May 1, 2006
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!
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!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
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!
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!
Saturday, March 11, 2006
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.
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.
Friday, March 3, 2006
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
