Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!

So I love bubbles. I love blowing bubbles, watching bubbles, popping bubbles and I love dancing around them as they float away in the air. (and yes, you can get your mind out of the gutter...bubbles is not codeword for anything)

Bubbles automatically make me smile, just like that. Perhaps there are people who don't like bubbles, I hate to burst their bubble but i reckon if they can't see the joy in bubbles then they must live in...yes, a bubble. (I may have kind of overdone it there just a tad bit with the bubble related idioms,no?).

Bubble lady at Fuji Rock

Earlier this month I got to see a steady stream of bubbles, in the midst of  a lot of rock music, laughter and just plain ole chilling out...at my very first proper music festival (well, disregarding the smaller ones at home). Fuji Rock Fest 2010. It was on my list of 'things to do because I want to do them' and ended up being on of the best experiences I have had in my short-lived life. There were times when I would pause and tell my Fuji rocker friend,  
"I am soooo happy! 
This is absofuckinglutelyaamazing!!"

There was Massive Attack, Atoms for Peace, Belle and Sebastian, Vampire Weekend, a Japanese rock band called Boom Boom Satellites and several other performers. It was held at the foot of some lovely mountains in a place called Niigata (an hour away from Tokyo on the bullet train-my very first ride on the bullet train wheeeeeeee) and in the evening there was mist surrounding the stage. twas magical.

bubbly eyes!

It also hosted all of 110,000 people, the most I have ever seen in one place. And yet everything was in order. There was serious recycling going on, people would wait patiently in lines, not a spot of rubbish on the ground, the portable toilets were flush-able and even had toilet paper! yes, only in Japan

Crowd at ONE of the stages. White pile on the left =empty P.E.T bottles collected for recycling.

and then a day later, back in the city, I found out that bubbles don't necessarily always bring joy.

They sometimes bring great annoyance. And aggravation.

The kind that makes you wish that the girl sitting next to you chokes...on the very straw she is using to blow bubbles into her ginger-ale. >_<

some people should not leave their...bubbles.

Eye see you!

Had my first visit to a doctor in Japan today.

Felt proud for being able to have avoided it for the close to 2 years that I have been here.

Was going to save you the gory details but heck! why not?!

I have a small lump on my lower right eyelid. In-fact, have had it there for almost 3 months now. There was a hint of a growth when I was back home in...March? Prolly why I always looked sleepy..or maybe I really was just sleep deprived.

SO yeah, doesn't hurt or bother me in anyway...its just there.Wouldn't have worried about it cept its grown ever so slightly and is now a visual bother...as in I can see it when I look in the mirror. Still I managed to leave off the dreaded visit to the docs...imagining up terrifying scenarios of how they would have to surgically remove it and how I would end up blind or lose my eye...yes i know, dramatic.

So on an impulse I walked into the uni health centre today and got referred to the neighbourhood ophthalmologist. Thought it would be quite the adventure given my language abilities, or the lack thereof.

So I find the place and get called in...and the guy speaks communicable English.
And is a sweetheart and tells me that I don't need a scalpel in my eye. *long and loud sigh of relief*
Just some antibiotic eye-drops. Apparently one of the sweat glands in the eye lid got clogged.
"Just wait it out", he says. "That's it? Really!" I squeal.

So yes, worry not people, for I shall live.

Also, I've been here almost TWO years already?!!! wow.

Sweat, rain and phlegm.

My appetite is back!
After a week of being down and out with a nasty cold, I finally feel hungry.
Just now, my stomach grumbled a bit.
Waiting on Thunder (American-who-forgot-it-was-July-4th-today) to go celebrate 4th of July by having some random American food nearby. (Yes, most prolly burgers and fries.)

My sense of smell hasn't returned though, but I'm still happy. At least the cold has bid sayonara. Now am just left with a cough, and phlegm and heaps of homework that was neglected last week. (Hey! I was sick ok!) Also, haven't had a single ciggy in an entire week. That's how sick I was.

Its 梅雨 (tsuyu) here, the rainy season. Can't beat the rain back home, that's real rain. Not this piss-weak excuse of a shower. The temperature though reminds me of Suva at its humid worst some days. Other days its just dry and sunny Lautoka. I need a fan.

July already?

...and then!

(borrowed from the internets)

Am at home sipping on garlic tea waiting for Japan to take on Paraguay (in the World Cup, for those of you who live under a rock). Never thought garlic tea would actually be so...palatable. And no, I don't intend to kill vampires with my breath, just trying to get rid of a very icky sore-throat. errrgh!

All the soccer viewing is taking its toll on me. Have had to miss a few games (gasp!) to ensure that I don't collapse from sleep deprivation. Most were worth the watch but the most memorable so far was probably the 3am rendezvous at a nearby pub to watch the Japan vs Denmark game. Found out upon arrival that one needed to have purchased tickets, and that all tickets were...sold out.

But persistence, sad pouts and 30minutes of lingering around the door batting eyelashes at the doormen got us in...my friend and i ended up being the only foreign females in the place, total foreign population was about 5. Was a real treat! Japan won (shockingly beautiful!) and we saw and met and cheered alongside a lot of soccer-crazy/japan-crazy fans! Then there were also others- high-heels clad, perfectly manicured nails, sipping on their Vodka Cruisers. Great game viewing and awesome people watching. All in all worth the wake!

Otherwise, have about 3 weeks of school left and exams are creeping up slowly (what will turn into shinkansen speed soon). Start an internship at NY Times Tokyo office mid August, pretty excited even though I have no idea what I will be doing. Will find out soon enough. And then there's the planning out of the rest of summer...

And the bus drivers are usually stoned.

Got out of Tokyo for a day about a week ago. The trip was organised by JICA and they put a bunch of us foreigners from Tokyo on a bus to Nagano (which is the inner mountainous area on this island). We were to spend the day with JICA Volunteers soon to be sent off to their respective host countries.

Was nice getting away from the lights and concrete and driving into the green (still slightly snow-capped) mountains. When there, we were put into separate language groups of English, Spanish and French. My group had one volunteer bound for Fiji, two for Palau and two for Rwanda.

On the visiting side there was me and a (spiritual leader) from Mozambique with X's in his name!!! (yes, kaicolo) The Mozambique guy was carrying a stick...which was apparently sacred and would be used as weapons in the old days. It had a rounded top, almost like those old Fiji war clubs. For all its worth, the guy actually forgot it on his chair when he was leaving. I had to yell after him and point to the stick, a little scared to actually touch it myself. Now he owes a random Fijian girl for life. Yes.

We also did some Japanese calligraphy. My work wasn't really worth putting up so am including a pic of the brush instead, a fair trade I would say. I usually write with my paper/book etc placed sideways, when I suggested doing this during the calligraphy lesson I was quickly shushed by disapproving nods. And one needs to have their forearms parallel to the table when writing. ouch! not.my.cup.of.greentea.

During the snack break/reception thing I met with some other volunteers bound for Fiji, 4 in total. They were all asking questions about what to expect and putting their fears to rest (or igniting them further :P )
They asked about the humidity in Suva, the beauty of Sigatoka, if Nadi actually had anything interesting and perhaps the most amusing of all:

"is it true that the buses don't have windows?"

(>_<)