Pajamas be damned

"...I'm only going to the store to pick up some eggs so I won't really run into my students... Right?"

That's what I thought anyways. I was making wonton today and I needed an egg, but forgot I didn't have any. I had already changed into my pajama pants (they're red and black flannel) and I really didn't want to change just to run out. So what did I do? I put on my jacket and went out in my flannel pants. Thankfully, I didn't run into anyone on my short trip.

I did find a really small grocery store about half the distance from my house as the normal small grocery store in the covered mall. Unfortunately it's at the bottom of the hill and across the canal but oh we'll, it's still closer than essentially biking tot the station. The old guy running the store was really nice too, as was the old woodman. She gave me an orange. I thought I was supposed to take it back but apparently, I was supposed to peel it and eat it there since when I failed to peel it, she took it from me and peeled it for me and have it back to me. She was super nice though, like one of those stereotypical hunchbacked old Japanese ladies.

The tangerine (clementines are the same thing as tangerines... Right?) was really sweet and then the old obachan lady told me that one of the tangerines had mold on it so that one was bad. But she specified and said that because it was white mold it was bad to eat. Black mold was also bad. But apparently, if your tangerine grows blue mold (or green mold... the Japanese is unclear) it means it's a really good time to eat it.

Not so sure how much I believe that.

I'll try to post something about English camp sometime, but right now I need to focus on my applications.
I sent one off today (to Hawaii via EMS which is pretty. Much the equivalent of both rush service and guaranteed delivery/registered mail I think). So now all that app needs is my letters of rec (and possibly my study abroad... But I really hope they don't request that).

Next up is Berkeley's app, hooray. But for this everything is going to be online so that's way less of a headache.

What time is it?

It's kotatsu time. Winter time. Ugh it's friggin cold time.

Busy time. I'm afraid I won't be able to complete the one entry per day challenge (lord knows I've slipped lots already, but the point was to get around every day... I guess...). But yesterday was a holiday, tomorrow and the day after are English camp, I've had to work on my presentation for mid-year seminar, get my applications done for grad school (one is due in a week... ACK) and on TOP of that, study for the Japanese proficiency test.

Oh, and I've developed a rather bad cough. Coughing kind of hurts right now. I'm half tempted to run down to the grocery store for an actual lemon... but for now, lemon juice will have to suffice. Ugh, I really don't need this right now. I've decided that I can't get sick until I get back from winter holidays in January. Yep.

Can't get sick this weekend, English camp. Then after that, applications are due. Then next weekend is JLPT. Then after that, midyear seminar. Then the week after that, I go home, and hell NO I'm not getting sick while I'm back at home. Then I'm going to the Philippines to visit Maxine (still need to buy the ticket... arg...). Then I come back to Japan. Then it's okay to get sick. But not until then.

I don't care if it's silly. I refuse! THEY CAN'T MAKE ME or well actually I guess they can BUT IMMA FIGHT CHUUUU.

I did have an interesting talk with my teacher today about the hospital. When I told him I was sick, he asked me if I had gone to the hospital yet. I told him, (with surprise) no. He told me that the Japanese people love hospitals. I guess so. I told him that if I went to the clinic or the doctor in the states, they would tell me to get some rest, drink fluids, and then come back in a week or two if I still have a cold or cough.

Hm. It makes me wonder kind of, if the Japanese go the moment they get sick to the hospital for meds...

Though then again, stuff like sudafed and alleve are actually prescribed drugs, so that might explain why. That and we all pay into health care, so might as well use what you pay for, yeah? I wonder if other places with socialized healthcare are that hospital-happy as well, or if they're more hospital-avoidant, which I suspect America is.

I am kinda amused with our assignments for English camp. Today has been very uhhhh, how can we say it... informative? kind of day.

We got our group assignments, songs, and skit topics for English camp. We'll be performing in a skit as well as singing a song and helping out with other various duties.

That reminds me, I need to finish my cultural presentation and decide on my "cultural greeting." Ugh.

My group, apparently, is singing Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" which I am completely okay with. I actually really like that song. It's kind of funny though that out of everyone, I get the Lady Gaga song; at the last English camp in my group's skit, they had me play the role of Lady Gaga. I dunno what it is.

One of the guys has to sing Baby by Justin Beiber. I am so very very very amused with that, since I'm pretty sure he's one of the people who really doesn't like Beiber. Personally, I don't mind that song. Sure he sounds like a girl, but so what? Anime characters are voiced by women all the freaking time. Deal people. I'm not a huge fan of Beiber himself (way too young for my tastes) but honestly, Baby isn't that bad. It's kind of like Twilight; I'm really guarded about saying in public and around people that I like it because if I say something, the likelihood of provoking unwanted hating and bashing is high.

Also, I found out today (finally) who I'm teaching with for my demonstration lesson... next week. I'm teaching with my supervisor for the "Living English" class.... which I don't usually teach in because I can't normally go. So yeah. Yeahhhhhhhhh.

I guess I'm kind of excited to be able to go to a class where they want me to come. My teacher said they're always asking why I can't come, bless their souls. :) So I'm really excited about that, even if it isn't a class I normally teach.

Sigh.

QUAKE WITH FEAR

I've had a million thoughts running through my head, most of which I go "oh wow I should write about that!"

And what happens when I start typing?

Yeah.

Nothing.

Oh! There was an earthquake here about an hour ago. It was a relatively small one; a 3.something here but the epicenter clocked in at around 5.4. So not gigantic or big enough to cause a lot of damage, but large enough to spook people and startle my facebook feed into a flood of posts about the earthquake (of which I participated in).

Having grown up in California, I've been doing earthquake drills and safety things about it since we were old enough to be in school, yet when it comes to being in an actual earthquake... I'm pretty sure that I'd die.

This time was not as bad as the last time I felt an earthquake. Last time, I just sat there and went "...there's an earthquake. OH I SHOULD CHECK FACEBOOK." This time, I was on my iPad and I was like "...oh snap son there's an earthquake, imma check facebook while getting up and walking over to the doorway" since there was one decently long shake followed almost immediately by another shake. I stood in the door frame near the table (I forget if you're supposed to duck under something or if the doorways are supposed to be better). My thoughts after that went something as follows:

"Woah the earthquake is really long. Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Wow other people have posted about it too. Dammit I need to make dinner. Hm I wonder if my kotatsu would be better to go under than the table since the table is really close to the cabinet. ...is concrete strong? Is it good earthquake material, or will I just get crushed and die? I guess at least it won't really burn."

At this point, the shaking had stopped and I slipped on some shoes and went outside... carrying my iPad and no jacket, only a long sleeve t-shirt. It's about 4 or 5 C outside. "Priorities. I have them." I thought. I also thought, "I would so die in a real earthquake. My priorities are kinda... off. Why did I bring my iPad and not my laptop? I should have brought my jacket. I would freeze to death."

Nobody was outside the dorm though, so I went inside, grabbed my trash and got rid of that while my shoes were still on. So it actually wasn't a very big deal. Go figure. You think I'd be over it by now, but the shaking was kind of like hm...

It occurred to me as I walked back in that my house is ridiculously old. Like over 40 years old. It probably has weathered its fair share of earthquakes, and it's still standing with minimal cracks in the wall (though I'm guessing that's just the wallpaper being really old). So I should be fiiine in my house.

...right?

Hot Hot Heat

I'll keep this short. This is kinda sunday's and friday's... since I'm behind by a day and I don't actually have the time to write like I normally do.

It's finally dropped down to the under-ten-degree weather here in Takahashi at night, which means it's *cold.* I stupidly, haven't gotten around to ordering more kerosene for my heaters yet, but I do have those foot heaters. Oh god they're wonderful. I have one sitting right in front of me right now, and it's quite lovely. Honestly if it weren't for the fact that I'd probably burn something (like myself), I'd leave it under the table and use the kotatsu blanket with it instead of the built in kotatsu heater.

That reminds me, I need to pull out the blanket for that and also look at putting down carpet or something. And buying those insulating pads for the floor, and a rug for my bathroom. The tiles in the bathroom have been like stepping on ice with bare feet.

I miss central heating and a well insulated house. I guess my house has reduced the cold somewhat, since with my dinky heater running the house is still at a nice 15 C.

God I'm tired. We have a holiday in the middle of the week to celebrate labor thanksgiving I think? A couple of us might have our own thanksgiving that day too. That means getting through Monday and Tuesday first though. You know how tired I am right now? I just tried to type "thursday" as I was thinking in my head, "oh the first day of the week..."

Invisible

Yesterday I went to kibichuo cho with the two JETs there for a really nice thanksgiving dinner and general hanging out.

Kibichuo cho is beautiful and really quaint, though parts of it made me swear I was back in irvine and the lake forest area.  It made me do a double take ahaha.

Oh yeah, we had parfait too, earlier in the day, but it wasn't the huge one that I had been expecting. There were 14 of us so it was fiiiine and actually I was a little hungry afterwards since I hadn't eaten anything the whole day out of anticipation and forgetfulness.

After parfait though, one of my friends drove me back to kibichuo cho where we picked up her monk friend who doesn't really seem like a monk. He works and lives at the Buddhist temple... But he smokes, drinks, swears, and drives a Harley (and speaks really good English!). Cool, just not what you'd expect from a monk! He gave us a tour of his temple though and explained things about the inside.

It was wondrous. I geeked out so hard, since I had studied Chinese Buddhism in college. It was like oooohhh my gooood. Most of this stuff (he said) was the same as the Chinese version that had been imported so many ages ago. They had had some of the original sutras in a lacquered wooden box (is it redundant to say lacquered wooden?) and there were six that unfolded to reveal original Chinese script that was at least 700 years old.

700 years. Holy crap. That's really old. So it was kind of amazing, being able to see them. He also took us into the epitaph room, where they had the epitaphs of all the ancestors... Though he didn't mow ( or didn't say) how old they were. He said ancestors go in kind of forever and possibly these went to the beginning of time.

We also saw the calligraphy one of the calligraphy masters in china had written. They were really gorgeous. What else was there...

They had bodhisattva statues and the whole place smelled of incense. There were also small mukades crawling all over... That was kind of gross. But their slippers were amazing. They were the nicest slippers I've seen. They were green with gold patterns that were all swirly... and Chinese.

The tablet of the former ANA president was there too. He told us about how the president's house was in kibichuo and how he worked really hard at improving Chinese and japanese r elations after the war after an experience with his Chinese roommate. His Chinese roommate eventually went back to china hating Japan and Japanese because of how he was discriminated here in Japan. I can kinda understand a little.

But yeah. The temple was amazing. So amazing to go into and see.

After, we went to dinner after that at a really cute British themed place called the Bernese house. They made us thanksgiving dinner... And holy wow. It was amazing. We had a chowder soup, salad, walnut bread, and some of the best chicken I've had ever. Seriously, it was delicious. I'd take that over turkey any day. I think he tried to make it look a little like turkey; there was a piece of foil wrapped around a part that you could grab and pick up and eat like a savage haha.

The cook was ridiculously nice. Since he didn't know what a thanksgiving dinner was, he actually looked it up online and based the dinner around what he found (I guess, sadly, he found no mashed potatoes) :) He was from. Hokkaido. We had a fun talk about food afterwards. :)

Seriously though. Ridiculously good food.

Afterwards we went back and talked until eventually both of the guys left. Oh yeah, the monk also studied agriculture in salinas valley so he had been to places in California! But after they went back the really good talk started. Girl talk. We vented to each other hahaha. But we also talked about what it was like to be an Asian American and she talked about how it was hard to always be in the shadow of a fellow jet because their skin was white and they didn't look like Asian people. I don't get that too much - only when I hang out with some of my other friends. But the poor girl gets it all the time in the town, and sometimes people completely ignore her because they think she's Japanese or Chinese. I know how that feels, and to feel it all the time like that...

None of us (or well, most of us) come to Japan seeking attention, and it's not like we're saying we want lots of attention. It's not that. I actually prefer to not have much attention on me. But when you're standing next to someone with the same qualifications and everything else equal. (or maybe your Japanese isn't as good but you both still got hired, so nobody is 'better' than anyone else in that sense). The only difference is the color of your skin... not something you can so easily control. And they get showered in attention (some pr a lot of it unwanted) while you get mostly ignored because they make the assumption that you're Japanese or because you just don't look that foreign. I've been fortunate enough to where sometimes when I'm out with my friends and that happens sometimes I do get included... but sometimes I don't. And to have that happen all the time is taxing.

There are good aspects about being Asian too, don't get me wrong. My friends have all told me that it gets really annoying having people come up to you, or yell at you, or interrupt what you're doing to try and speak English, and I can understand that. I can understand that it's probably annoying to always be in the spotlight and stared at. But sometimes we get a little tired of being ignored and invisible. And yeah, I know the grass is always greener on the other side... But if it were you, would you rather be an invisible nobody, or a celebrity?

Hard call.

Well if I didn't have diabetes before, I probably will after today.

Today we do giant parfait, take 2. Twice in one month. Oh god.

So. Very. Not. Healthy.

I think I'll let other people pig out on the ice cream and just take a couple bites :)