Well, no photos today... blogger.com is not being very cooperative.
What can I report? I've been well and truly riding the rollercoaster (did you know here they are called jetcoasters?)- this week has been great ... the week or two before I wished I could die without anyone noticing. I'm not really exaggerating saying that, but I guess I was exaggerating a lot of things in my head when I felt so. It was a case of heartache, of "what am I doing here?" and "what the heck would I do if I went home anyway?"... mixed with a bit of early mid-life crisis ... who am I kidding ... I guess a large part of why I'm here is the early mid-life crisis thing. You know: I'm 31, single, no commitments, no property, limited prospects... at least that's how I view it when I'm having a really bad time. When I'm having a good time it all seems like a great opportunity. Sorry if I'm revealing a bit too much here. Very unJapanese of me. I guess tonight I'm being a nudist and will pull this post offline when I come to my senses ... hey, being a nudist is kind of Japanese, isn't it? At least at an onsen it is. (An onsen is a hot spring where people bathe... one of the oldest and most famous in Japan is a few kilometres from here).
Well on the subject of nudism I will introduce my new friends, Hiroshi-san, Yuko-san, Norihiro-san and Yoko-san. Are they nudists? No, but Hiroshi always seems to bring up the subject of nudist beaches in Australia and laments the limitations of Google Earth's zoom feature! He is very funny. This is how we met...
I plucked up some courage and went to the little restaurant behind my flat by myself. I'd been there a couple of times before with Sue-yen (my friend, fellow Aussie teacher and building-mate) and we'd enjoyed great, simple but delicious and amazingly cheap food and some very friendly co-diners. Anyway, I walked in and sat down with a book, giving a very fleeting glance of acknowledgement to the other people inside. I felt kind of like I'd just walked into a saloon in Tombstone and the guy playing the piano had just stopped mid-tune. Despite this establishment being very much the "local" I was far from grasping the reality of my situation, but I have an over-active imagination. I had not recognised that I was among the company of the abovementioned very friendly co-diners: Hiroshi, Yuko, Norihiro and Yoko.
Well, as I feigned nonchalance and nervously read my book Hiroshi came up and said hello. The scales fell from my eyes as soon as he approached me. It was more his demeanour and voice than his appearance that I registered - hearty would be a good word to describe him. He asked me can I drink beer and as I said yes, he summoned a glassful from the kitchen as if he was the master. I don't mean that he was arrogant - everyone was so kind and happy at what was happening. I instantly felt ashamed of my fears and suspicions that caused me to be so afraid of being there in the first place. We talked and ate and drank for a good while and I walked out at the end having had a great meal and having 4 beautiful new friends, with an invitation to Nori and Yoko's house for dinner the following Monday. How gracious are these people? How gracious is God?
The invite was also extended to Sue-yen and so as planned, Hiroshi and Yuko picked us up and took us to the Izugami's. We were surprised to find we were very familiar with their place - we walk past it all the time! Wow, real local friends! There we met Titi the golden retriever puppy who is a lovable and lively (leaking) bladder on legs. We ate oysters and drank beer and sake. We talked and played cards and the night was over too soon.
Another night at the Izugami's has since happened - this second occasion saw us eating home-made okonomiyaki. Totemo oishikatta desu!! (It was yummy). We did some Google Earth travelling and I showed them Mum and Dad's house in good ol' Epping, New South Wales, Osutoraria.
Hiroshi is a kak. At work on his lunchbreak he likes to take virtual holidays. He had taken a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas that day. He said it was quite boring - nothing but straight roads in the middle of nowhere! I am very fond of these guys - they have made a real difference to life here - just knowing that you have friends who are such nice people around the corner is a great comfort.
One more thing to know about Hiroshi - he drinks a glass of warm salty water everyday. This may not seem remarkable, but what if I was to say he drinks it through his nose and spits it out of his mouth!? I think it's 5 years that he said he's been doing it and swears he hasn't had a cold since starting. He could read the apprehension in my face as he told me of his routine and added this disclaimer to his suggestion that I try it: the first time you may feel like you are dying!
Anyway, he should know about that part of the anatomy - he's a dentist and Yuko, his wife's an orthodontist. Nori is also a dentist, so it's a real dangerous group to smile too broadly among! Just kidding. I must get photos of these guys from Sue-yen.
Well, in contrast to Hiroshi, I've been snotty for about a month now - the week leading up to that trip to the hospital was the worst, but I still haven't gotten back to 100%. The weather here has been crazy, swinging on a pendulum between warmish and wintry weather. I thought Spring was supposed to have started at the beginning of March, but apparently it's officially this Tuesday (equinox - a national holiday here... yay!). Today I walked out into something which I will call micro-hail. I think it was snow, but it didn't seem to be like ice crystals. It was drier than sleet, but faster and smaller than snow. Picture tiny polystyrene balls in a wind tunnel. It snowed on occasions through the last 2 weeks - nothing substantial, but considering that it was interspersed with warmish days where you could walk around in just a couple of thinnish layers, enough to confuse your body. I am well and truly sick of cold weather. Sorry to whinge again.
Well, on a very bright note, my parents are going to be here in just over a week! Hard to believe. I will spin out for the first few days, seeing my "two lives" comes together in this obscure place. I am getting extremely excited! Apart from missing them so so much, I am keen for them to experience what is so dear to me - Japan. After they spend some time in my neck of the woods and seeing other bits of Kansai (Kyoto, Himeji) we will go to Gifu Prefecture to see Hida-Takayama (where I took most of those snow photos) and stay in a traditional ryokan for 2 nights (one that's decked out with antiques - I'm excited) before going on to Tokyo for 4 nights. Hopefully we can visit Tom, Jen and Ruby in their new place in Tsukuba (north of Tokyo) and see Junko too (it was great to see her again in Kobe just last weekend).
Well, this will sound like a really poserish thing to say, but I swear it's true - I better go as I have to get up earlyish to go see the Sumo. The Osaka Spring Tournament is underway and I am keen to see the top guys strut their jelly and smack into each other. That's a pretty crude way to put it, (the ceremonies are quite elaborate and refined) but essentially that's the spectacle, right? I've been following it a bit on the telly and it should be great - although at my price-range I might be straining my eyes. Hopefully I will have some good piccies to show you soon...
Thanks for reading, it means a lot to me.
Mata ne (later) (^-^)
What can I report? I've been well and truly riding the rollercoaster (did you know here they are called jetcoasters?)- this week has been great ... the week or two before I wished I could die without anyone noticing. I'm not really exaggerating saying that, but I guess I was exaggerating a lot of things in my head when I felt so. It was a case of heartache, of "what am I doing here?" and "what the heck would I do if I went home anyway?"... mixed with a bit of early mid-life crisis ... who am I kidding ... I guess a large part of why I'm here is the early mid-life crisis thing. You know: I'm 31, single, no commitments, no property, limited prospects... at least that's how I view it when I'm having a really bad time. When I'm having a good time it all seems like a great opportunity. Sorry if I'm revealing a bit too much here. Very unJapanese of me. I guess tonight I'm being a nudist and will pull this post offline when I come to my senses ... hey, being a nudist is kind of Japanese, isn't it? At least at an onsen it is. (An onsen is a hot spring where people bathe... one of the oldest and most famous in Japan is a few kilometres from here).
Well on the subject of nudism I will introduce my new friends, Hiroshi-san, Yuko-san, Norihiro-san and Yoko-san. Are they nudists? No, but Hiroshi always seems to bring up the subject of nudist beaches in Australia and laments the limitations of Google Earth's zoom feature! He is very funny. This is how we met...
I plucked up some courage and went to the little restaurant behind my flat by myself. I'd been there a couple of times before with Sue-yen (my friend, fellow Aussie teacher and building-mate) and we'd enjoyed great, simple but delicious and amazingly cheap food and some very friendly co-diners. Anyway, I walked in and sat down with a book, giving a very fleeting glance of acknowledgement to the other people inside. I felt kind of like I'd just walked into a saloon in Tombstone and the guy playing the piano had just stopped mid-tune. Despite this establishment being very much the "local" I was far from grasping the reality of my situation, but I have an over-active imagination. I had not recognised that I was among the company of the abovementioned very friendly co-diners: Hiroshi, Yuko, Norihiro and Yoko.
Well, as I feigned nonchalance and nervously read my book Hiroshi came up and said hello. The scales fell from my eyes as soon as he approached me. It was more his demeanour and voice than his appearance that I registered - hearty would be a good word to describe him. He asked me can I drink beer and as I said yes, he summoned a glassful from the kitchen as if he was the master. I don't mean that he was arrogant - everyone was so kind and happy at what was happening. I instantly felt ashamed of my fears and suspicions that caused me to be so afraid of being there in the first place. We talked and ate and drank for a good while and I walked out at the end having had a great meal and having 4 beautiful new friends, with an invitation to Nori and Yoko's house for dinner the following Monday. How gracious are these people? How gracious is God?
The invite was also extended to Sue-yen and so as planned, Hiroshi and Yuko picked us up and took us to the Izugami's. We were surprised to find we were very familiar with their place - we walk past it all the time! Wow, real local friends! There we met Titi the golden retriever puppy who is a lovable and lively (leaking) bladder on legs. We ate oysters and drank beer and sake. We talked and played cards and the night was over too soon.
Another night at the Izugami's has since happened - this second occasion saw us eating home-made okonomiyaki. Totemo oishikatta desu!! (It was yummy). We did some Google Earth travelling and I showed them Mum and Dad's house in good ol' Epping, New South Wales, Osutoraria.
Hiroshi is a kak. At work on his lunchbreak he likes to take virtual holidays. He had taken a road trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas that day. He said it was quite boring - nothing but straight roads in the middle of nowhere! I am very fond of these guys - they have made a real difference to life here - just knowing that you have friends who are such nice people around the corner is a great comfort.
One more thing to know about Hiroshi - he drinks a glass of warm salty water everyday. This may not seem remarkable, but what if I was to say he drinks it through his nose and spits it out of his mouth!? I think it's 5 years that he said he's been doing it and swears he hasn't had a cold since starting. He could read the apprehension in my face as he told me of his routine and added this disclaimer to his suggestion that I try it: the first time you may feel like you are dying!
Anyway, he should know about that part of the anatomy - he's a dentist and Yuko, his wife's an orthodontist. Nori is also a dentist, so it's a real dangerous group to smile too broadly among! Just kidding. I must get photos of these guys from Sue-yen.
Well, in contrast to Hiroshi, I've been snotty for about a month now - the week leading up to that trip to the hospital was the worst, but I still haven't gotten back to 100%. The weather here has been crazy, swinging on a pendulum between warmish and wintry weather. I thought Spring was supposed to have started at the beginning of March, but apparently it's officially this Tuesday (equinox - a national holiday here... yay!). Today I walked out into something which I will call micro-hail. I think it was snow, but it didn't seem to be like ice crystals. It was drier than sleet, but faster and smaller than snow. Picture tiny polystyrene balls in a wind tunnel. It snowed on occasions through the last 2 weeks - nothing substantial, but considering that it was interspersed with warmish days where you could walk around in just a couple of thinnish layers, enough to confuse your body. I am well and truly sick of cold weather. Sorry to whinge again.
Well, on a very bright note, my parents are going to be here in just over a week! Hard to believe. I will spin out for the first few days, seeing my "two lives" comes together in this obscure place. I am getting extremely excited! Apart from missing them so so much, I am keen for them to experience what is so dear to me - Japan. After they spend some time in my neck of the woods and seeing other bits of Kansai (Kyoto, Himeji) we will go to Gifu Prefecture to see Hida-Takayama (where I took most of those snow photos) and stay in a traditional ryokan for 2 nights (one that's decked out with antiques - I'm excited) before going on to Tokyo for 4 nights. Hopefully we can visit Tom, Jen and Ruby in their new place in Tsukuba (north of Tokyo) and see Junko too (it was great to see her again in Kobe just last weekend).
Well, this will sound like a really poserish thing to say, but I swear it's true - I better go as I have to get up earlyish to go see the Sumo. The Osaka Spring Tournament is underway and I am keen to see the top guys strut their jelly and smack into each other. That's a pretty crude way to put it, (the ceremonies are quite elaborate and refined) but essentially that's the spectacle, right? I've been following it a bit on the telly and it should be great - although at my price-range I might be straining my eyes. Hopefully I will have some good piccies to show you soon...
Thanks for reading, it means a lot to me.
Mata ne (later) (^-^)
posted by Ian at 11:22 PM
2 Comments:
hi ian,
as always enjoyed your blog very much. great to hear what's happening for you. your new friends sound cool. have a great time with your folks. things here are chugging along as usual (but not the same without you of course)
morgan
G'day Cheesy, I have checked out your site a few times since Steve McKerney sent us the site telling us about our Sparks blurb. Hope all is well. Maybe I should email you instead of this comment section (but not sure if I still have your email?) Anyway, mine is jsparks@shore.nsw.edu.au or jonosparks@hotmail.com (if you don't have them?) Dude, I'm thinking of doing a round the world trip at the end of 2006 on my way to South Africa, and thought I could pop over to Japan to see you??? Let me know what you think? Very early days, still have to check out costs etc. Sounds like things are going well for you and you're enjoying it. Didn't know your parents went over? Cool! Anyway dude, speak soon, keep charging for our Saviour. Speak soon my easy.
Jono :>)
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