Full Circle

So this rather miscellaneous blog was started as a way to plot random adventures (and mundane occurrences) during my stay in Japan.

Now three years and one month later, I am back in Fiji. The adventures will continue though, of whatever nature they may be...so I will keep posting, hopefully a little more regularly!

September was a bit of a whirlwind:

First there was: a week up north in Tohoku (area hit by tsunami in March) with 20 other young people who taught me a lot about myself, and Japan.

We spent a week camping at a volunteer centre with 200 or so other people in trying to help, in our little way possible, with recovery efforts in the towns that had been almost completely wiped out by the disaster. No amount of youtube videos or images of the destruction could have prepared me for that.

Met some amazing people at the centre, some who dropped by for short periods of time, some who gave up their comfy jobs after March 11 and moved to set up the volunteer centre and help the people of Tohoku. /deep bow.

Then there was: graduation! ...which means that I am no longer a student, which also means I am jobless! After graduation of the academic kind...there was Batizado (baptism) in Capoeira and the cordao (belt/cord) ceremony  (GO FOR GREEN!) ...a happy/sad end to the one year stint...which I can hopefully continue practising (somehow) back in Fiji.

And then there was: a somewhat mad dash through Vietnam over to Cambodia with two girlfriends (a first for me...have never travelled with company), two nights with Max in Phnom Penh and then a long bus ride up to Siem Reap which then proceeded to flood while we were there. Nothing tests character (of the country and the traveller) like flooded foreign streets.

Angkor Wat- Check. The trip ended with a short flight back to Ho Chi Minh, a lovely day/night spent marvelling at Vietnam's amazing bike culture. Another highlight of the week was the great (and very cheap) food that was devoured in great amounts. We had no shame in discussing what we should eat for dinner...while we were having lunch!

Final week - Back in Tokyo: on Monday morning...there were rushed goodbyes over 3 days, a final capoeira roda and Thursday morning -sleep-deprived, heart-heavy, mixed emotions- final train ride to Narita with my berimbau in tow.

Friday morning... I was sitting on a beach with Tiza (a classmate from high school who I have known since I was 13 or so) breaking chunks of long-loaf and dipping it into Rewa Butter.

My brain will take some time to digest this month. Luckily I have a lot of time on hand... back living with the folks and job-hunting... and catching up on the three years.

Here's to the next Chapter...wherever that may take me.

detours...is how I roll.

Posting the same map again, if anyone noticed.

Japan is probably the worst place to backpack 'my way' (without a proper plan) but I managed somehow anyway.

So I did make it to Shikoku, but not through Wakayama,
ended up going up to Okayama and then taking my first over-the-sea train to Takamatsu,
spending a night at a manga (comic/internet) cafe and then taking a beautiful slow train down to Kochi and camping out on the beach for a few days. *bliss*

Pics and anecdotes later. Currently trying to get my groove back in Tokyo after being in quarantine/on antibiotics for a week. It was a long time coming.

Let me at it!

here's the map again...for reference ;)

And yes, it does say 'Kinki' region...for the observant ones out there.

二ヶ月ぐらい...

...is all I have left in this country, about 2 months.
So trying to use up every minute to take in all that I can,
sights, sounds, tastes, friends...sigh!

Taking out two weeks to explore some places I haven't been to,
the first stop is Kyoto and the rough itinerary is to go through
Nara, Wakayama and ferry across to Tokushima then make my way down to the far end of Kochi.
Lets see where the wind takes me.

Need to bid an epic goodbye to this 3-yr adventure.
But then, the adventure never really ends...

Almost 4 in the morning...

I just finished reading my first ever Murakami novel...

after almost 3 years in Japan,

and then the earth shook.

Coincidence?

no, just another tremor. >_<

Oh Japan, how I look forward to embracing more of you for the next/last two months.

NB: Norwegian Wood (Norway no Mori).

In other news, the packing has begun, poignantly so.
Yet excited about the next adventure too.

The mamachari let go sooner than I would have liked,
got towed to some big yard where all bikes go to rest
which was probably for the best.
Its wrong to be so attached to spokes.
And I had accumulated a lot of bad karma anyway from illegal parking,
amongst other things.

So lost the bike but found the sea.
Yin and yang summer this will be.

(this post was inspired by Dr Seuss,
and two days of delirium due to what I hope is the final cold I will get this season)

Over-efficiency is creepy

This freaked me out.
Gmail is watching...

(Although, I am super thankful for the ingeniousness, I sometimes do forget to attach the intended document to my email.)

A word or two on words

“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavour, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.” - John Keating, Dead Poet’s Society


Amen. 
A rich vocabulary is sexy.
Sexier than a rich man. 
Communication, being my strength, also becomes my weakness. 
In that the lack of it causes despair.


Or at least thats the reason I attribute the fair many (many many) 'single' months 
in my inactively non-existent "romantic life" to.
My inability to use/understand Japanese nuances in more intimately social situations.


Not that I am complaining. Single is the new blue.
But there were some long and cold winters in between. 
Literally and figuratively. 


Luckily that has finally changed, 
with me gaining a somewhat more comprehensible grasp 
on this (godforsaken/beautiful) language. 
Or perhaps just gaining more confidence knowing I have very little time left in the country.


No, I still am fancy-free, 
but with a newfound appreciation for the local...er, charm.
And about time too!


But alas, we shall see how that turns out later.
For now I must invest my own currently dwindling vocabulary into writing my thesis.
One month to go. 
Cannot.bloody.wait. 

Quote Re-quote

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. 
To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. 
This is to have succeeded.””

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Phone pics backlog

Realised I hadn't blogged in a while, so figured I should clear the backlog of pics on my phone.

Two birds flock together and all that. (Yes, I like mixing sayings)

My favourite one is: spilt milk under the bridge.
I try to live my life as such so that I never have a need to use that.

So pics:

• Tracked down this ramen place after reading a great review on http://www.goramen.com/

Kururi (くるり）has the best miso ramen I have had in my entire 2.5 years here.

• This is from a Japanese dessert place next to a river, near where I live. Thunder and his (now) fiancee discovered it. It has an array of things: red bean, soft mochi and stuff I don't even really know the names of. But most importantly, they were all super yum.

ice-cream with red bean and mochi etc, green tea and cake?

• This next one was taken at a 'service centre' stop on a random road trip taken in Feb. Service centres are found on the main highways and are for bathroom/ciggy breaks, and to refill on food/drinks. I love the food stalls and different fares that appear depending on where they are located in the country. Tiny octopus' on a grill. It was too early in the morning for me to try it out, so I just took a pic. 

Release the Kraken!

And this was found inside the service centre.. yes, soy-sauce flavoured kit-kat. again, your argument is invalid.

Add caption

...invalid because this country also has Strawberry sandwiches

after-dinner snack on the Shinkansen back from Toyama

Toyama also had tiny squid, this time I actually tried it out. But had enough for my entire lifetime because the tei-shoku (set menu) had tempura squid, pickled squid, ginger squid... you get the idea.

mini-squid overdose

Blurry squid, damn autofocus!

cultural after-shock

Photo credit: P-kun for insisting I take a screen shot of the session.

[warning: long read ahead]

This week I got to be a guest-speaker in a Media Studies class for 1st year Masters students in Sweden...via Skype. It was a fun experience and they were willing to listen to me to talk for 1.5hours... how can I not like that?!

The class was quite multicultural, the students are part of some Global Studies programme so there was a Bangladeshi, a Tanzanian, Kenyan, Syrian, Chinese, German etc.

During the introductions, one student mentioned "I hope you're not in Tokyo, all the radiation!!" It reminded me of how the rest of the world felt about this place. I joked about how she shouldn't worry, radiation can't spread via Skype.
But unfortunately, a plaguing misrepresentation of what's happening in Japan can.

I was glad to be home during the main disaster, even though my place got nothing more than a toppled up toaster and clock. My friends who were here on March 11 talk about the stress of living through the Earthquake, while the upper half of the country was being washed away and then staying on through radiation fears while being constantly rocked by after-shocks. I don't envy them.

Usually getting back to Japan after a break in Fiji is tough, but this time, as much as I loved being back home, I also couldn't wait to come back. Tokyo has become my second home in the last 2.5years, and it was weird monitoring the news from outside, trying to figure out whats going on.

I didn't have any second thoughts about coming back, although I think that also had a lot to do with which news media source you followed. It made for interesting arguments between my brother and I. My parents were amazingly supportive, and I will forever love them for that.

Finally being back helped reinforce my ideas of how things weren't as bad as the media made it seem, and that this wasn't some end of the days, zombie movie set. Life seemed to continue as normal.

But then I would find little clues on how they were anything but.
The frequent aftershocks, and the proper earthquakes thrown in between. Initially they were a bit unnerving, but I quickly got use to them. Although it makes you a bit paranoid, even the wind tapping at my window some nights makes me think its the start of a shake.

Then there are the slightly emptier shelves at the convenience stores, darker streets as shops try to conserve energy (Foreign friends exclaim, I can now see stars in Tokyo!), and the descending escalators in train stations are all switched off.

There is a kind of solemnity in the way people go about their lives. The hanami (sakura watching parties) out in the parks are still fun and lively, but a notch quieter.

There is also a noticeable decrease in foreigners. Friends share stories of embassies calling back their nationals. Other talk about few that freaked and fled. I understand their fears, and would be interesting to see the long term effect this will have on Japan.

I am also glad to be back because seeing Japan go through this, renews my faith in its people. This time I came back and people didn't seem cold, they were resilient. I heard stories of how they worked through the emergency, how they complied with the rules, even the unspoken ones. The tales of compassion, those that came out and took charge and made sure everyone was ok.

The class clown in one of my part-time teaching jobs went to every floor in his building after the earthquake and reassured people that everything was ok, while organising for the distribution of water and blankets. He's one of the youngest in the organisation, and helped calm his own superiors. This guy has never had any training in disaster management.

I would usually hit a low after getting back from home; thinking about my friends going about their lives, having children, getting jobs, promotions, fridges. I'd start questioning my life, what I was doing here. But this time, there is no where else I would want to be. This time I am looking forward to exploring, discovering and getting to know more of this incredible country, and in helping it get back on its feet in any way possible.

(apologies for the long post, this doesn't even cover half of it!)

頑張って日本！

of bubbles and socks.

I lost a bubble today, and now its gotten me all philosophical.

Walking back home with Sci-ninja after Capoeira and a bubble floated infront of us,
a strangely sturdy looking bubble, which Sci-ninja explained is one of those that don't pop easily.

:O gasp! what!

So my kaicolo self had to pick it, inspect it and decide that it was then, mine. I shall call him Bubble and he shall be mine and he shall be my Bubble

It was indeed a tough bubble, fragile but not enough to pop immediately, like a bubble that would last forever.
I tucked it into the open bag in my bicycle basket.

It was very windy on the way home.

And the bubble seems to have floated away.

Fleeting joy.
I guess there's no such thing as a bubble that will last forever.

In other news, I have decided to go sock-free. Today I was even able to go out in flip-flops! Hopefully the weather continues to allow me to do so. I hate having to wear socks through the winter here, my toes get claustrophobic.

Luckily they have those cool toe-socks here that keep my toes entertained.

Home...

nuff said. :)

that list...

talk to Michael Cera. (outside my dreams)

check.

will upload scribble of an autograph ...(which was somewhat a stalling tactic so I could prolong our conversation)...tomorrow

(and a bit dated,  but also crossed off 'watch esperanza spalding live' off the list!!)

orange you happy to see me!

Its the end of the semester so trying to juggle final presentations, assignments etc.
Here's some birthday flowers. Orange must be in season, got them separately.

Will post rest of overdue pics when I am done being studious.

Happy (belated) birthday to me

Yes, 27 and none the wiser...

and if anyone is actually ardently following my 'pic-a-day' update that is to happen every few days...
the reason it hasn't happened in the last few days is because... as small as my apartment is..
i cannot find the cable that will allow me to download the pics from my camera to my laptop.

there.

I'm not lazy, only messy.

But I do have nice snaps to share and talk about.  really, I do.

until then, then.

Fiji sighting!

This whole 'pic-a-day' thing is turning out to be brilliant idea.

I was early for my part-time teaching job today (Business English conversation to a bunch of people at a toilet manufacturing company).

To kill time/feed appetite and escape the cold I stopped by Starbucks for a drink. Usually I would not admit to using Starbucks, and probably only ever do once in 3 months or so. And in very desperate situations. This was one of them. It was very cold outside and I had a craving for a Matcha latte (green tea latte) which I love so much that it deserves its own post. So yeah, don't judge me.

Sitting upstairs, overlooking the street and sipping on the warm goodness, being thankful to be out of the cold for another 30 minutes or so... blankly staring out the window...and screeeeeech. *slams breaks on vision*
blinkblinkblink....try to try to focus on the familiar blue with an even more familiar four letter word...FIJI!!!!

Quickly reach into bag and jerk out camera and start snapping like a crazy person.

Tada!

OMFG....my first FIJI Water van sighting overseas!!! (its like being at the movies back home when you see the Fiji Water logo/bottle/van, but being IN the movie)

This one is slightly blurry but the slogan on the back was interesting:

Yes it really is from (either they ran out of paint, or we are supposed to read the FIJI on the side of the van, or its a new trend in advertising that I am too thick to get.)

either way, FIJI Water sighting woohoo!!

(also, I always wondered why despite being so famous they never have FIJI Water in vending machines here. I even emailed the company information section after my first year here inquiring as to why that was. They sent a lackluster reply with no additional information saying: We do supply FIJI Water to Japan. endofstory.)

Fight the fondling

I've seen this sign around town a few times, no not the 'ladies toilet' one... the little warning next to it which basically reads: 'beware of gropers'. Yes, gropers (or chikan as they are known here).

As safe as Japan is, this is one of those disturbing stories you hear of.
Its especially common in packed trains during the morning commute when some men try to cop a feel. I've heard stories from friends of friends, mainly Japanese women who have fallen victim to these a-holes on the train.

The worst part is that most Japanese women silently suffer through it, I assume thats why you don't usually hear of foreign women being groped, we'd turn around and kick balls while screaming commuters ears off. Although, because the train is packed in so tight, its usually hard to identify who the groper was, and that's how they get away with it.
A friend of mine, naturally disgusted by the story mentioned how perverted and sick one would have to be to consider sexually harassing people at 7 in the morning on the bleary-eyed, sleep deprived commute to work. Seriously. The only thing I can think of in the morning is either how I should be asleep or on a coffee drip (not to be confused with drip coffee).
So there you go, that's the 'beware of gropers' pic of the (yester)day.

And while on that issue, I have realised that although I am able to take a pic daily, it was a tad ambitious of me to think that I could upload/blog about it on a daily basis too.

So here's the new plan, I take a pic daily, but put it up when I can.

kthanksbye.

Sweeeeeeeing!

I love swings. (and you can keep the swinging jokes to yourself. thanks.)

I think it stems from reading 'The Swing in the Summerhouse' by Jane Langton as a child.
It tells the story of a gazebo-like summerhouse with a swing that allows you to transport into alternate worlds as you jump off of the swing mid-flight.
Each archway gives you a different adventure, and one is forbidden because of a risk of no return.

Luckily I never tried jumping off any swings that did more damage than a scraped knee. What can I say, I was a gullible child with a vivid imagination.

So yeah, still love swings, and I love Tokyo for allowing me to indulge in them.
Smack-bang in the middle of a concrete jungle and yet there's a park every few blocks with a few monkey-bars, a slide and swing set thrown in.

And I love how safe and quiet this city is, which allows me to go sit out in the park, on a swing, at odd hours of the night when I cant sleep.

This is not the closest swing to my house, its about 10minutes away on the bike.
The one closer to my place is nicer in the warm weather, and located on a hill so I can see over a bit of the city when I am in mid-air.

And yes, I'm a little less gullible now. Only a little.

bane of my existence

Why the photo of a remote control you ask?

Well, so that I don't forget this piece of gadgetry from my current flat.

So Japanese flats are small.
Small would be an understatement, Japanese flats are tiny. But I have grown to love mine.
I mean yeah, ok...I do bump my head on the tube-light in my loft now and then, and I have gotten used to showering standing sideways so I don't hit the wall and shower curtain with my elbows... but I try to laugh it all off and take these in as part of the overall 'cultural' experience.

This darling remote control of mine though, has...passed my threshold.
I live in the land of amazing, innovative, super duper new technology.
Where toilets clean, wash and air your nether regions, vending machines speak to you and robots serve you sushi.

And in the land of all this amazing gadgetry exists this remote control that operates the heater/air conditioner ...and its not even remote!

That wire you see protruding out the top, that attaches it to the main unit. Which means that I can't carry it off the wall. I repeat, the remote control isn't even remote!

Given that my apartment is small and walking two steps to turn on/off the heater shouldn't be something to bitch about. But its also a loft, and climbing down the ladder when its close to 2 degrees in the morning right now (or 40 in the summer) is a downright pain in the arse.

So yeah, thats my rant about my love/hate relationship with this piece of gadget. I am very grateful for the warmth/cool air that the device it is attached to provides me. But I do not appreciate having a not-so-remote remote control. sigh.

rant over.

Worlds apart across the street.

Ventured out today for a walk in the (cold) sunshine and to take in the quiet hustle of shrine-goers.
There was still a line outside the neighbourhood shrine, this time I climbed the steps and browsed the colourful stalls and even rubbed Buddha's belly (and feet and forehead because we weren't quite sure which was for what kind of luck)

And then braved the crowds back out.

Decided to drop in on the gods at the temple across the road. They're not as popular right now, the grounds were deserted.

Saw a lady walking past in a kimono with a few bunches of lit incense in her hand and followed her into...the cemetery.

Most cemeteries in Japan are located at Buddhist temples (as opposed to the Shinto Shrine across the road).

The cemetery somehow didn't feel eerie, perhaps because it looked different and I didn't grow up here. The pics aren't the best, but instead of my camera and shoddy photography skills, I'll blame the cold.

One tombstone even had an ashtray with a ciggy offering, instead of the usual incense. hehe. In retrospect I should have probably taken a pic of that too! (hey, its only my second day... i'm learning alright)

あけおめ!!1.1.11

Yay! here we go... another year to love, laugh and live...to make and break resolutions, and have a kick-arse time!

Speaking of resolutions, I have somewhat of a project planned that I will try to follow through...and that too on a daily basis. (no promises!)

Having acquired more of a resident status after living here for more than 2 years, I have become less of a tourist. Which is both good and bad, well more good than bad.
But the bad means that I have stopped taking photos. I still carry my camera along when there's a super special event, but i've stopped capturing everyday stuff, things around my neighbourhood, stuff I marvel at randomly around Tokyo.

Its been good in a way because I can admire things without looking at them through lenses, but now that I have all of 9 months left in this country, I've decided to start snapping again. It'll be nice to have some pics to browse through years down the line when the memories begin to fade.

So here I go... a photo-a-day.

Today's was a slightly lazy attempt, I was biking home after a NY's eve party, quite hungover.
Crossing the street would have taken too much effort.

This one is of the Torii (entrance gate) of a Shinto shrine called Anahachiman Jingu (Shrine) which is located right next to my university and 5 minutes from my flat.

akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! 

I pass it on a daily basis and drop by randomly. Once I followed music that was floating out from the temple grounds, and ended up witnessing my first Japanese Summer festival, with singing, dancing, food and stalls. It was quite a treat.

Today the crowds were going in for the traditional 'first visit to the shrine in the New Year' called Hatsumode.

Love, peace and happiness

Happy 2011!