Coddling

As I mentally prepare myself for a trip to Malaysia and Thailand, I have brought myself to a sense of awareness in Japan I haven't reached before.

On my to-do list today is to buy a few locks so we can safely store our luggage at hostels.  Last night Tom and I estimated how to best pack our luggage so as to avoid any issues like pick pocketing.  I spent a good amount of time researching effective bargaining techniques to avoid getting cheated on taxi fares in Thailand.  Just thinking about bartering for a taxi fare makes me sweat.

Japan has coddled and cosseted me.  There is no bargaining when I enter a store or hop in a taxi.  Almost every person and situation I've encountered here has been "fair."  My cell phone has been left at 7-11s and promptly returned.  A friend's wallet has been forgotten on a train and returned safely.  The streets of Mantorville, my hometown in rural Minnesota, is probably more dangerous crime rate-wise, than the streets of my current residence in Tomakomai, Japan.

Cue my note of thanks.  Japan has let me relax in a foreign country for the first time in my life.  My first trip abroad was with an overprotective (but well-meaning) teacher in Spain, who convinced us (a bunch of high school students) that we were representing the United States as ambassadors and were required to be extremely aware of our surroundings at all times.  Bold "REQUIRED" and "ALL."  It was a great lesson learned, but I feel I am too guarded and introverted because of this.  I later studied abroad in South Africa, where I was advised to never go outside at night without at least one male in tow.  After a trip to Uganda this past year which came with lengthy lectures on safety, it is safe to say that I have trained myself to be uptight in foreign countries.  I cringe at the thought of going out for a beer for the fear of making myself seem obnoxious and/or culturally insensitive.  Take public transport?  Be careful!  To make it short: I'm not much fun (just ask Tom).  Or at least I wasn't before getting to Tomakomai.

Japan has offered me the chance to let my guard down a bit.  Tom will tell you otherwise, but I feel myself being a little more outgoing lately.  Karaoke with people I just met?  Sure!  Dinner at a mom & pop restaurant with owners that only speak Japanese?  You bet!  During my time in Thailand and Malaysia I'll need to stay extremely aware of my surroundings, keep an eye on my belongings, and barter more than I'd prefer.  That also comes with more forward, lively and colorful cultures, but I won't get into that now.  I'll use this opportunity to say thank you to Japan and appreciate the coddling before returning to Minnesota in June.

Back in Japan

On the 18th, Tom and I decided to take a little break and spend a week in Seoul.  There were a multitude of factors that brought us to purchase tickets including concerns from family, a deteriorating Fukushima power plant, and a great opportunity to travel to South Korea.  It turned out to be a wonderful trip, including cathartic time with family members (we stayed with Tom's cousin and his family).

Tom and I with our wonderful hosts in Seoul

We're midway through the week back in Japan, still keeping a close eye on the nuclear plant down south. Even though we keep a close eye on the radiation levels, my concerns for personal safety are decreasing at a rapid rate.  I'll occasionally check U.S. news sources to see what they've been saying, and every time becomes a frustrating experience.  If I turn on the news in Japan, a majority of stories are dedicated to those who were hardest hit, the people of Miyagi prefecture and surrounding areas.  Rarely do I see CNN covering a story on the people of the disaster.  What about the death toll that has skyrocketed to over 10,000? What about those still missing?  How are those remaining surviving?  What conditions are they living in?

The 24-hour news networks in the States need to discuss more than alarmist, generalized stories on radiation.  

How about the conditions in the rest of Japan?  Hokkaido, to my knowledge, is doing fine. Other than supermarkets being short on canned items because they've been shipped to shelters in Honshu, I haven't seen or felt any affects post-earthquake.  Fox, MSNBC, and CNN can make all of Japan out to be a disaster zone, while in fact, people have been back to work for weeks.  That's not to say that Japan is fine.  Thousands of people need help, and will be getting help.  As I mentioned, canned goods and some fresh food from supermarkets in Hokkaido have been shipped to affected areas.   Same with the Tokyo area.  Many people are helping in their own way, by persevering.  Japan has been hit by disasters, man-made and natural, so many times in the past century that if they were unable to pick themselves up and return to work, the country would not exist today.

As for donations, aid organizations are going crazy over Japan.  Japan is a developed country and has the resources to help its people, unlike Haiti, who experienced a horrible earthquake only three years ago.  Education prior to donating is key here.  There's a variety of websites out there dedicated to making a wise decision when deciding where to put your money.  I've listed a few below that concern Japan:

Aid Watchers
Reuters
Stratosphere International

For now, Tom and I will keep updated with radiation levels, but our thoughts will stay with those in and around Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.  We hope Japan can do what it does best: focus on the community, pick itself up, and persevere.

The earthquake

It still amazes me how quick things can change.  One second I'm at my desk checking my email, and the next I'm running outside with my co-workers, watching as buildings around us shake and sway.  I remember feeling the onset of the quake, what I thought was going to be like others I've felt: minor and short.  I saw my computer monitor start to move.  We stopped working.  I looked to a co-worker and said "Jishin?"  She nodded and repeated "jishin" as it began to grow a little stronger.  Andrea grabbed her desk like she was ready to run out of the building, and soon the office started to make noise.  We ran out the door into the open courtyard that connects the university offices.

As the earthquake gained in strength, everyone turned their head in the same direction, to the largest building directly opposite the courtyard.  It began to sway and shake, making the most horrid of noises, rocking back and forth on its foundation.  I turned around, looking at all of the neighboring buildings, wondering if where we were was actually a safe place to be.  Some people had crouched down to support themselves, screaming at the violent shaking. I don't even remember feeling the earth; I was mesmerized by the haunting movement of the buildings. 

Within twenty seconds, it was all over.  Everyone immediately reached for their phones, pulling up news sources and calling family and friends.  We were told to stay outside, to wait until we had more information.  We knew there could be an aftershock that had the possibility of rivaling the power of the original quake, so Andrea and I stared blankly at each other and our surroundings for a while.  We could still feel the earth move underneath us.  Being the only two foreigners, a few people approached us asking if it was our first 'big one' and that it was the largest they've felt in years.  I don't think anyone would have guessed at that moment Japan had just experienced one of the biggest earthquakes in its recorded history and that a tsunami was on its way towards the shores of Japan, one so destructive that it would take thousands of lives and leave thousands more without homes.

Crack in the foundation at Bunkyo Gakuin University

I soon began to feel the need to get in contact with Tom.  I had no idea where the epicenter was, how big the earthquake was, and if it had reached Hokkaido.  After about thirty minutes of waiting, I asked a co-worker if I could run back inside to grab my cell phone.  People were going in and out, grabbing their coats and other personal items.  I was given the OK as our office is easily reached from the outside.  As soon as I reached for my phone on my desk, I heard the shelves in the office make noise and felt the ground beneath me shift.  I ran outside as the M 7+ aftershock rocked Tokyo.  I soon found out that trying to contact Tom via cell phone was futile as cell phone services were down. 

News anchors experiencing aftershocks

 The Bunkyo staff was moved to different location outdoors, and there we waited for another twenty minutes.  We watched lamps in the cafeteria swing as aftershocks rolled through.  I remember feeling like I was trying to keep my balance on a bus.  We caught pieces of information from office workers on mega phones: the subway lines are closed, it's still not safe to go indoors.  I tried multiple times to reach Tom, but had no luck.  Eventually we were able to turn on the TV to find out what was going on beyond the walls of Bunkyo Gakuin University.  We soon learned that we were so very, very lucky.  What we saw was devastating.  We watched from an aerial view the tsunami sweeping over Sendai, cars trying to escape, houses being washed away. By now, most of those who have access to TV and the internet have now seen footage of this tsunami.  My boss watched on in awe as her home prefecture was mutilated by the earthquake and tsunami.  Others tried to email their friends and family in the Sendai area.  I was able to get through to Tom to find out he was fine.  Soon news networks around the world were covering the earthquake in Japan.

Where the water used to be at a convenience store

Three days later, we are still feeling aftershocks (Japan has felt over 300 aftershocks in total since Friday).  They are enough alone to make me want to throw down two grand for a ticket home.  One minute you focus your attention on something other than the quake, and then with a jolt, you're reminded that you've successfully located yourself on the volatile Ring of Fire.  Japan has also implemented rolling blackouts, the first in history, to help ease the strain on power plants.  My day is spent on the computer, trying to keep myself updated. I have an irrational fear that I won't get some piece of imperative information and put myself in danger.  The stores are being drained of food, as shipments haven't come in since Friday. To say I'm stressing myself out would be an understatement.

After talking with friends in Japan, people are surprised at how fast the Japanese have transitioned back to daily life.  So far it's been difficult for me to transition from survival mode back to living-my-life mode.  It seems like my co-workers have been more successful at this transition.  I have no "lesson learned" final statement after this whole ordeal.  Life throws you curve balls, and I have no idea how to deal with this one quite yet other than just learning how to move on.

Packing Light

My time in Tokyo is coming to a close.  Within the next two weeks, I’ll be moving to Hokkaido for a few months with Tom, temporarily amending our seemingly endless long-distance relationship.  These two months of what we like to call “normal” time together cannot come soon enough.  

Before I can let my mind settle on daydreams about Hokkaido, I have to first finish a few errands.  On my ever-growing to-do list is to practice packing my belongings into the two pieces of luggage that carried my material possessions to Japan.  Granted, I can fit in one of those pieces if I’m feeling agile, but it’s still a relatively small amount of space to carry a year’s worth of necessities, memories, and souvenirs.  I’m always keeping myself in-check, and often not having enough luggage space gives me enough motivation to not buy a new souvenir and save my money.  I’ve begun to think of this initially nagging thought as more of a blessing, as I realize how burdensome material possessions can be.  

Grant, my cousin, ventured to see if I could smuggle him to Japan

I’ve traveled before, and I’ve kicked myself for not bringing home more souvenirs.  After two weeks in Spain, I have only a key chain to prove I spent two tiring weeks speaking poor Spanish.  A week in Ireland left me with a small drunken trinket that says “I got pissed in Ireland.”  I imagine myself in a future apartment or home, delicately placing a set of prized Japanese pottery back in their rightful place in the china cabinet, but yet I can’t get myself to buy that set of Japanese pottery for the fear of it breaking in-transit (a lack of cash may also play a part in this issue).  

Considering my circumstances, I have spent a lot of time realizing that what I’ll bring home will be far more valuable than a Japanese kimono or sake.  I have gigs of pictures, a plethora of memories, and a basic understanding of Japanese culture to share with Tom.  It may seem obvious and a tad cliché, but it’s surprising how consuming the process of buying souvenirs can be.   

As I prepare for the move up north, I’ll be sure to keep my expenditures down and my baggage weight down these next few weeks, remembering that even more important than avoiding overweight baggage fees is to understand that the souvenirs that will last the longest won’t need to be physically packed away.

Life vs Adventure in Japan

Last week I was busy teaching Survival English to ten students who are leaving for New Zealand at the end of March for four months of studying abroad.  It would be safe to say that  I am thoroughly jealous of their impending adventure. I asked them repeatedly what they were hoping to do when they arrived, with thoughts of my own dream vacation in NZ floating around in my head. 

Have you thought about bungee jumping? 
Backpacking? 
Maybe some mountain biking? 

I expected murmurs of excitement, but all I got were blank stares.  They were travelling to NZ for different reasons other than sightseeing.  After some poking and prodding, I found out that their wish was not to solely experience NZs array of adventure sports, but to live with a family, learn English, and experience life as a New Zealander.  It seems like a simple request, but it's more difficult than any adventure sport I'll ever encounter.

I spent my time abroad in South Africa taking classes about everything South African, traveling, and volunteering.  Homestays weren't common, and none of us learned more than a few words of IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, or Afrikaans, three of the 11 national languages of South Africa.  Our study abroad wish was to travel to try to begin to understand South Africa's tumultuous history and how it has affected the present situation through different lenses including literature, politics, health, music, and education.

I often compare my experience in South Africa with my college roommates' experiences in Guatemala.  Courses were focused on learning Spanish, and they stayed with host families.  We had vastly different experiences simply because of our living accommodations and purpose, nevermind the obvious differences between Guatemala and South Africa as nations.  Despite this, I feel like neither experience was better than the other; they are simply incomparable.

I like to think that Japan has given me the chance to sample different abroad experiences - initially I was the typical tourist, always moving around the city in an effort to cover that Lonely Planet Top 10 Places To See in Tokyo list.  Now, I'm still a tourist, but I have "reduced" my Japan experience to going to the grocery store, cleaning my apartment, hanging out with friends on weekends, and going to work during the week.  I'm attempting to learn basic Japanese, and even though I'm not living with a host family, I get to experience Japan' second home: the work environment.

The past few weeks I've been especially restless. I've hit that moment where I'm tired of touring Tokyo; I want to experience familiarity, yet there's this little slice of guilt that haunts me, reminding me that I have yet to see so many places in Japan.  I have resorted to reminding myself of the NZ study abroad group - focus on life in Japan.  Be thankful for the every day situations and relationships.  Revel in your trips to the grocery store.  Study the language.  Enjoy life as a Japanese would. 

It's time when things start blooming in Tokyo - soon the cherry blossoms will be a big attraction

Things I'll miss... or not.

I just purchased a plane ticket to Hokkaido (Japan's northernmost island) today.  My contract with Bunkyo Gakuin University is up come March 24, and the plan now is to move up to Hokkaido to hang out and travel with Tom for a few months.  That means I have only about a month left in Tokyo, which has made me particularly reflective. 

Hokkaido, specifically Tomakomai, is much different than Tokyo as requires a little more work to be comfortable.  I was just in Hokkaido last weekend for the Sapporo Snow Festival, and during my stay I was reminded of the differences in living situations between Tom and I.  I have a convenient little apartment in the middle of Tokyo, which was built only a few years ago so the appliances are new and efficient.  I can easily rely on trains and buses to get me around, as the train station is a 3 minute walk from my front door and the a bus stop is even closer.  Tokyo has little to no snowfall (last night's inch of snow was the exception), so staying dry and warm is usually not an issue in the winter.  Let's just say I'm really comfortable in Tokyo, and frankly, a little bored.

A mini-convenience store located on the subway platform with more things than I could ever want

Hokkaido was an experience this last weekend.  It was filled with snow and ice festivals, skiing, mountains, and trips to coastal cities.  It was also filled with cold showers, old apartments, kerosene heaters, icy sidewalks, and long walks.  Tom's apartment is far from new and has experienced years of misuse.  The shower is a crank-and-light, gas-heated, piece-of-crap that has a less than desirable water pressure.  The kerosene heater heats one out of the five main rooms in the apartment, so everything has been centralized in one room including the bed, mini-couch, washer, kotatsu (heated coffee table), and TV.  The local train station is a 25-minute walk in the snow and ice-covered sidewalks, and the trains leave half as frequently and are about twice as expensive than Tokyo.  The temperature fluctuated last weekend between -5-10 C and required a lot of gear to stay warm at the many festivals and outdoor activities.  Everything that is avoidable or a non-issue in Tokyo became a challenge in Hokkaido.  Despite all of these frustrations, I found myself happier there. 

The main living space in Tom's apartment

Convenience is nice, but it leaves something to be desired.  When daily life is easy, it leaves little for you to work for.  Working and waiting for the apartment to warm up made me appreciate the heater.  Same with a warm shower.  Trips to the grocery store became more meaningful and rewarding.  There's something especially satisfying as you defrost from a long day skiing over a hot bowl of ramen or dry off after a cold shower in front of the heater.

Tom and I on Mount Isola at the Rusutsu Ski Resort in Hokkaido

Sure, I'll miss the 7-11 around the corner from my apartment and the temperate Tokyo climate, but I more look forward to face little challenges in life to make life more meaningful in Hokkaido.

Culinary Creativity

I've always thought myself to be inventive (or at least flexible) when it comes to cooking thanks to years of Food Network conditioning and food "experiments," but after five months in a foreign country where I don't speak the language, I can now be confident in my culinary creativity.

After my arrival five months ago, I quickly found that unless I wanted to spend a fortune on groceries every week buying food that's easily recognizable and Western like cheese, butter, meat, cereal, peanut butter, etc. (things that are not-so-coincidentally unhealthy), I had to adapt and start cooking food that's popular in Japan.  That means venturing into the grocery store with an open mind and a good dose of patience.  That's an interesting box of... green stuff.  I wonder what it is...? 
  
My grocery runs have become more of a guessing game than anything, so I've now begun researching recipes and writing down the Japanese kanji for the item to try to find in the store.  It makes for long trips, scanning the isles for those two kanji written on the back of my hand, but I don't mind.  This method has allowed me to learn some kanji and to leave the store confidently knowing that I indeed bought rice wine vinegar, or at least something similar with vinegar, not cooking sake.
  

  
Japanese curry complete with a cute Pooh and Piglet

As long as there are pictures, I usually do OK.


The WORST is when a Japanese label is slapped over English instructions; I usually allow myself a few minutes to attempt to remove the label before relenting.


Some foods I've been able to latch on quite fast because it's cheap and fairly healthy (and easily identifiable in the store).  This would be true with curry.  I'd compare Japan's fascination with curry to the State's fascination with Mexican food.  Japan has taken curry and made it its own, found in the plethora of curry options in the isles of the supermarket, similar to the U.S.'s Taco Bells.  Japan's curry is sweeter and milder than Indian or Thai curry, and definitely not as spicy.  Despite this, I'm still able to find Thai and Indian spices for curry.  My new obsession is to make a red Thai curry with Japanese vegetables like lotus root and Japanese sweet potatoes, which are much more affordable and accessible than some of the familiar vegetables like bell peppers or vegetables that are popular in true Thai/Indian curries like peas and lemongrass.  When I say obsession, I mean obsession; curry has been my meal of choice for the past two days and there is still some waiting for me in the fridge for lunch and dinner.
 

The makings for a Japanese-Thai curry: Japanese sweet potato, carrot, potatoes, onion, green beans, ginger, lotus root, coconut milk, sesame oil, and red curry paste

All of these culinary excursions have exercised my creativity and made me a little more outgoing, both concerning food and socially.  I'm not afraid to ask for help in the supermarket, I have been trying new restaurants and foods, and I'm excited to share my new meals with friends.  The one downside is my need to counter my eating with some exercise.  That's what the walk to the store is for, right?

Homemade red curry, mango lassi (to cut the heat), and naan. Om nom nom.