Egg on My Face, Olive Oil in My Hair

I've been meaning to talk about this for a long time and now the timing seems right. For no particular reason.

Pinterest is extremely popular in America. It's got something for everyone. If you find someone online that tickles one of your fancies be it culinary, pop culture, home decor, crafting, etc., you share it on Pinterest and others can ooh and aah over your amazing discovery and incorporate it into their own lives. If you're just a social leech and you don't contribute, hey that's cool too. Just browse through the millions of pinned items and find what you're looking for. Having a bad day? There's a category of humor just bursting with side-splitters. Need a new workout? Everything from cardio to yoga to pilates is at your fingertips. Or what about beauty and personal upkeep?

Here my friends, is the mother load of all things hair, skin, teeth, eye, nail, cellulite and other. And the do it yourself side of personal care is a huge sub-part of this category. I've always been fascinated with home remedies. My mother certainly gave me a few pointers. If you have a head cold, boil some water, drop in some scented oils or nothing at all and lean over the bowl with a towel tented around your head and the bowl. Steam your face until you resemble a prune. Good for a simple steam facial to open your pores.

Of course, that whole "opening your pores" thing is sort of a myth, but hey, I did it. Everyone's family and culture has these odd little tricks and secrets that everyone swears by. It's been that way for centuries! And some tricks are a bit more lethal than others. In Elizabethan England, face powder was laced with lead to give you that glowing pallid pallor. Arsenic was also popular for eye drops!

We've wisened up in recent decades and graduated out of the apothecary's store and moved on. If you're curious, just go to Pinterest and find a "remedy" or "cure" for whatever plagues you. Interestingly enough, particularly in America, beauty isn't so much in the eye of the beholder, but in the produce section of your local supermarket.

All over the world, things like honey, olive oil and tea have been the harbingers of good looks for centuries. But it never ceases to amaze me the foods America turns to for a quick beauty fix. Apple cider vinegar is like a cure all for everything: use it as a rinse for stronger hair, drink it to prevent weight gain and to give you better skin and nails. That's not such a surprise: ACV has been a popular cure all for ages. Eggs are also popular. My mom taught me that egg is good getting rid of zits if you put the beaten white on your face. Egg washes are common on your hair because the protein in the yolk helps strengthen your hair. Again, old hat.

How about chocolate? No, not in your tummy. On your face!

What about oatmeal? With mashed banana and honey? Yum, right? Try it on your face to soften skin and exfoliate! Not so yum.

Here's where it gets weird. I've found people claim you'll get softer skin or stronger, longer hair from applying the following:

Olive oil
Coconut oil
Avocado
Coconut milk
Mustard powder
and Potato juice

I'll admit to having done the mustard powder treatment. I was trying to get my hair to grow faster before I came to Japan. I found this on Pinterest and it actually did help my hair feel stronger and grow a little faster. The whole idea is stimulating the scalp with massage and the chemicals in mustard. You mix egg yolk, water and mustard powder into a paste. You massage that into your roots. It burns a little, but that means it's working. After about 10 or 15 minutes, wash your hair. And you'll smell zesty all day! Just kidding!

So where is all this coming from? Well, last weekend, I went to a consultation with my friend and hair stylist, Izu-san. She noticed my hair is a bit brittle and she told me to start a "treatment." She was nice enough to rub my hair with a nice rosy oil, but I don't really know much about Japanese products to find something that isn't just 70% water.

And so I turned to Pinterest for a thrifty alternative. And the grocery lists that accompanied most of those remedies made me think about America's approach to beauty regimens. I have to find out what Japanese women do at home with what they have on hand because I'm almost positive it's very different from America.

 It's a little unnerving, actually. What I love about Japanese markets is the freshness and locality of most of the produce. That also means fruit and veggies are a bit pricey. In America, food is definitely cheaper (except the good sushi! Japanese sushi is never not good no matter if it's a 100 yen plate or a 3,000 yen bento)...so I suppose it's a lot easier to get creative with putting your food on your face instead of in it.

But Japan aside, when I look at women who are rubbing their leftover oatmeal on their faces and would-be guacamole in their hair, I can't help but feel bad about those who don't have that luxury. It's not even a matter of third world countries where starvation is still rampant. If every bottle of "homemade hair formula" went to starving families in Africa, I wonder how long it would be until world hunger was a distant memory? What about the people in the United States? Children go without dinner every day in America. Homeless people flock to understocked soup kitchens for a bowl of soup and a sandwich. What if every "oatmeal banana" face mask was donated instead?

It's all a matter of perspective. And while it's not exactly realistic, this produce donation system, I hope it's enough to make people think of how lucky they are to have this exorbitant excess.

An alternative is thinking about putting that extra money you'd spend buying food you're not even going to eat, but instead donating to a cause. And instead, you might consider skipping the hair mask and try the "shampoo free" routine.

Seriously, there is a system where you shower without putting shampoo or conditioner in your hair. At first, your hair gets greasy and feels god awful. But after a little while, your body adjusts and your hair actually looks and feels really great!

And yes. I speak from experience. 

Kamabuchi Falls and Caution Bears

 After my first and hopefully last for a while experience with Japanese bears, I journeyed back to the woods. This time, I went to Hanamaki. Close to one onsen complex is a trail that leads to a beautiful little waterfall, Kamabuchi no Taki. This was the sign at the head of the trail.

Is a Caution Bear like the Japanese Smokey?

 "Please ring this bell when you walk around here."

Every few meters was another stand. You bet your boots I rang those bells!

 

If you can't really see it, you can actually walk across the top of the waterfall. A ballsier person might use it as Japan's best natural waterslide. I was content to wade around and take pictures.

Deep Japan

Have you ever had one of those days when you come home and you just don't feel like cooking? Of course, you have. Normally, you might stop at the convenience store or a fast food joint. Maybe you're rather posh and you go to a nice restaurant. Maybe you actually go on dates and someone takes you out. Either way, you have a game plan, you have your favorite spot and you have a good time.

One of parts of living in another country is trying to experience it as an insider rather than as just another tourist. Last night, my friend and fellow ALT, William, and I coined a new term: "getting deep Japan." It means experiencing a part of the sub-culture that outsiders aren't usually privy to. Instead of hitting the family style and chain restaurants, instead of getting take-out and retreating back to your apartment, you take a swig of courage and dive into the night and find something new and exciting and even a little scary.

These are the stuff of memories.

Here are the basic guidelines of a night out in Japan:
1. Start somewhere and get a drink and some food. Call it the warm up.
2. Move to a familiar bar and have a few more drinks. Get nice and loose.
3. Move to yet another location. Now's the time to start getting adventurous.
...Wake up and piece it all together.

I caught up with Will at one of the many reggae bars in Kitakami called Shelter. We had some beers and the most amazing kimchi salad with raw tuna. After that, we traipsed over to Bar Roots, the tried and the true. It was early yet, only about 9:30, so the bar was quiet. Will and I camped out at the bar with beers and a wine cooler, respectively. Like I told Will, I was feeling so delciously American, I ordered the American Lemonade.

I was only half joking, too. I've been missing my friends and family and it was nice to see something so delightfully "American," I couldn't help but indulge.

The menu of the night included some beastly fries and fish tacos. Haru, the owner, knows how to fry a potato, let me tell you. It's always a surprise when you go to Bar Roots; the food is always delicious, and Haru himself is just such a likeable guy! When I was there with Harue, he cooked up a gourd she brought from a farmer's convention that evening! Anyone who's lived in a small town and been a regular customer has developed that sort of congenial relationship with the business owners. Nothing beats that.

At this point, Will and I started talking about what to do next. And here, we invented "deep" Japan and we decided then and there to do the typical Japanese drinking night circuit. We asked Haru for a recommendation for another bar. Haru thought for a minute and said something. Over the rap playing in the bar, I wasn't sure I'd heard correctly. We asked again.

"Honky...Tonk," Haru said.

William is from New Orleans. I'm from Cecil (aka "Sessil") County, Maryland, redneck country. It seemed too perfect. We were directed across the street and down a narrow alley. The building itself literally is just a wall with just a doorway. A literal hole-in-the-wall. The dim, tiny bar seats about 12 people. The barkeeper has wooden homemade shelves stacked with jazz, reggae, rock, etc CDs and a beautiful stereo. Behind his picket fence-like line of liquor bottles, he smokes and drinks with his customers.

And who should be at the bar but Junya, the chef of Mountee and a couple newer friends! To be greeted with excitement and smiles, it truly made me feel like a local. "Deep" Japan was proving to be a success!

We enjoyed chatting and drinking very rich malted beers until the bar's closing time. We followed Junya back to Roots for additional drinks. After a while, I was thinking about heading home. The beer had really gone to my head and I was sipping a water to keep the spins off. I left William to talk to another local and experience more "deep" Japan. I had every intention of walking around town a little and meandering back home. It was about 1:30am after all.

Intstead, I got as far as a convenience store at the end of the Arcade when I came abreast of a drunken trio: two women, one middle aged man. At this point, I'm used to people seeing me, a foreigner, and practicing their junior high school English with me.

"Hello!" one of them said. I turned around and surprised them with a smile and a "Hello!"

They stopped and got very excited! We were communicating. After I explained I was an English teacher and living in Kitakami, they decided my fate was to spend the rest of the night with them. We walked a few paces to a darts and karaoke bar called Nice Nice. Another man joined us, who I suspect was the nephew of the older man (the younger fellow was 26, the man who drunkenly goaded him all night was 49, and if my Japanese is as good as I think, he was calling the older man "otosan").

I immediately developed a friendship with the petite woman with red hair. Her name is Miki. Her birthday is July 7th.

My mother's name is Miki.

My father's birthday is July 7th.

I explained this to Miki and and the group and a bond was forged. They caught onto my mom's name and asked if I was half Japanese. I told them that I'm "quarter" and I explained the three generations of Harukos in my family. Again, they all became very excited. It's like pulling a mask off myself and what they see underneath paints a new identity for them. As long as they're happy with what they see, I'm good with whatever they think.

We spent hours drinking and singing karaoke. Myself, I usually go for The All-American Rejects' "Dirty Little Secret" or Cascada's "Because the Night," but they had neither artist. So I settled for a very genki rendition of Katy Perry's "Roar" and a duet with Miki to "My Heart Will Go On."

Now let me talk about the older gent. This guy was drunk. No holds barred. Not ten seconds after we met on the street, he was clearly indicating the virility of his manhood with some enthusiastic gestures. Here are a few other highlights:

1. When we shook hands over the table, he snatched my wrist so the whole group could examine my pale hands and narrow fingers (this is actually a thing, having slender hands that are "fish white" as an esthetic)...and proceeded to pretend to lick it.
2. Talking to the younger man, he indicated my cheekbones and ears and expressed a desire to lick those too.
3. He asked if I like sex. I countered thusly: "Sax? Saxophone? Oh I love JAZZ!"
4. Although he is 49, apparently, his manhood is 18. (The other woman shook her head and held up her pinky)

Come 4am, we were packing it in. They were going to go to get ramen, but I was more than ready for bed. I excused myself ahead of the group. Miki escorted me out and the man stood at the top of the stairs roaring enthusiastically "F---- me!" in rather exemplary English. Miki, coming to my defense blew a raspberry and called him crazy.

Deep Japan: you can't walk into it expecting anything...simply because you'll never be able to guess what you might experience. There's no telling, there's only doing.

Lost and Found

I can't believe it's already July. Everything about this second year has just been a blur! Life is just as busy and hectic as always, and of course there's always something new and interesting to see. I'm trying to take advantage of this time as much as I can because, well, of course, all good things come to an inevitable end.

It's an old cliche: a young adult, fresh out of college, goes abroad to "find themselves." I don't know that I've "found" myself. I've certainly become a lot more self-assured than I was. My journey hasn't exactly been of "Eat, Pray, Love" quality. There's been eating, oh quite a lot of eating and drinking, none of the praying (unless you count itadakimasu) and more friendship (and douche-baggery) than love. Instead, my journey has been about connecting with my grandmother's culture, and I really do feel like I'm accomplishing that.

It just happens that along the way, I've begun to think about where this is going to take me. And right now, one of the most brightly lit paths leads toward teaching. If I'm going to commit to teaching, it means in all likelihood, my adventures in Japan will end next spring or next autumn.

So every day is the chance for something new and lasting and meaningful. I'm not sad, thinking that I'll leave Japan. I'm excited about what I'll do in the meantime and then what comes later!

One of the things I'm most excited about is getting to see my parents again...and I mean this summer! My mom and dad are coming to Japan next month! They have their own plans but they'll be coming to Iwate to see me during the Michinoku Geino Matsuri. We'll enjoy some of the festival dances and parades and of course the big hanabi on Sunday night. But I'll be sure to show them the beauty and surprises of Iwate including Hiraizumi, Oshu and maybe somewhere out on the coast. Then they'll head down south to climb Mt. Fuji.

A few days later, I'll join them in Nagasaki. Together, we'll go to Sasebo. My dad explored Sasebo a few years ago, determined to find the mountainside where my grandmother's family lived, the bay where the Navy operated and where my grandmother lived in the aftermath and while she was seeing my grandfather.

This time, Mom and I will be there to see our own roots for the first time. I just know it's going to be like nothing I've experienced. I'm excited and cautious. I don't know the area, I don't know what waits for us, but it's there. It's waiting. And I'm ready.