A Year in Review

I can't believe it's the end of 2014. What happened? A lot happened, that's what! Both here and back home in the states, it's been a very interesting year. I'm taking a break from scouring the last particles of 2014 out of my apartment, and waiting for my friend to get back to me about a Japanese traditions question, so I'll take a look back on the year.

January:

I was buried ear-deep in snow: a true culture shock to an East coast baby like myself where New Year is a balmy 50 degrees.

I watched the local swans at the sports park.

I was at wit's end with a very toxic relationship...with a Japanese teacher who just can't get his act together. He still hasn't pulled it together, but I finally learned to be a swan and let it flow off my back.

Never Forget Mo

I gave birth to a papier mache stag head! At the same time, I decided that the white deer is rather significant for me and nuts to people who think I'm a hippie dippie for thinking so!

I enjoyed my first Japanese New Year traditions of "firsts" including the hatsumoude (first shrine visit) to Chuusonji, hatsuyume (first dream), and hatsuuri (first shopping).

I broke up with my French Canadian boyfriend and JET who was living in Kesennuma. The one thing I've missed most about that relationship? Pancakes at Ken Watanabe's cafe.

February:

I said goodbye to some of my schools. I cried, turned bright akairo and endured a lot of awkward clapping.

Some students at one school gave me a parting gift by translating my name into kanji...because "log" is not a pretty name. They bequeathed me with names involving

Maru Ta   丸田　Round rice field

Ma Ru Ta  真流多　True flow many  or  Many flowing truths

Ma(i) Ru Ta  舞ルタ　Dance "ru ta"

Ma Ru Ta   魔ルタ　　Devil "ru ta"

  

March:

With my new-found independence, I decided to take more roadtrips whenever the hell I wanted instead of worrying about working around some jerk's schedule. I went out to Goishi Kaigan and saw the Pacific Ocean and enjoyed one of Japan's best soundscapes.

I passed the Japanese driver's test in only 3 attempts after much angst, confusion and driving into an obstacle.

My students at another school said goodbye to me and gave me their personal messages:

Do your best.
Never give up!!
Fall 7 times, get up 8.
Try again.
Don't forget smile.
You'll be alright.
Fight!!!!!!
Keeping work is a power. (Continuance is its own power.)
Everyone makes mistakes.
Dream doesn't finish.
Life lasts forever.

I celebrated Hina Matsuri, Girl's Festival, with the vice principal and his family. I'll miss those dinners: it's where I learned how to drink matcha in chadou (tea ceremony), how I learned the "proper" way of eating, and I watched Tom and Jerry cartoons and translated the French parts for them.

April:

I chased the sakura! I enjoyed hanami in Sendai, Kitakami, Hanamaki, Morioka, and Aomori! 

I enjoyed yozakura and joushikai with my friend, Harue. 

Me, not being a "June Bride"

I also met a hairstylist friend of Harue's who wanted me to be a hair model for a bridal shoot. (We got as far as me wearing the dresses and her testing some styles but nothing came of it. I don't think I quite fit the bill as a model.)

I got to participate in Sports Day at a new school! It also meant I bought my first tracksuit: a white ensemble. Very nice!

I flexed my new camera muscle in Akita and at the Sea of Japan.

May:

I ran into some old demons when a real piece of work at one of my new schools pointed out how much I eat at school. His intentions never became clear to me, but sometimes you can just read a person and get a feel for them. And this guy is shady, and sort of gross. Given that, I should have just ignored him, but his words and my newly single sensitivities were feeling vulnerable. I got over it, but it showed me I had a lot of growing still to do.

I declared I wanted to be a teacher! I have since back-peddled on that.

June:

I climbed a nearby mountain! By myself! And ran into a mama bear and her cubs! And took pictures! And ran like a scaredy cat!

The return of summer also saw the return of festivals, beginning with Chaguchagu Umako.

July:

HonkyTonk: great if you like overpriced beer and jazz

I got better acquainted with the Japanese nightlife around Kitakami including finding a tiny and pricey bar called HonkyTonk and being abducted by a crude drunk and his female friend, Miki whose birthday is the same as my father's.

I enjoyed some Hanamaki kagura.

August:

My parents came to Japan! I showed them my life in Kitakami. We went to Goishi Kaigan and Ofunato, we saw an iron teapot foundry, and we enjoyed the Kitakami Michinoku Matsuri.

Together, we explored Kyoto and Nara,...

Brown eyes and crackers

had a sake brewery tour and tasted amazing sake,...

My heart belongs to Momoyama

gaped at Kinkakuji,...

saw the Fushimi Inari shrine and famous red gates,...

and swam through a typhoon to get out of town! 

On my own, I explored Gion, saw the bamboo forest, saw fake geisha and the roots of Japanese Buddhism.

Ya think you're slick....

We traveled to Hakata and ate delicious Hakata ramen and met a nomadic bard. 

Live out loud!

We went all the way to Sasebo and for the first time in forever (shameless "Frozen" plug because that was a thing this year, too), Mom and I saw our roots. The fact that we did it together was extremely moving. I didn't tell them, but that first night, I cried because I was so happy and anxious about being there. 

We ate Sasebo burgers, was turned away from the Navy base, and hiked up to where Haruko Masuda lived in a rented room after the bombs dropped. We talked to a historian at the maritime museum and got a little helpful information...though a lot of gaps were still very wide. 

We saw Himeji castle and enjoyed a tea ceremony together. Poor Dad was given a little stool so he didn't have to kneel on the tatami. 

I explored Shinjuku at night...a crazy experience for anyone from every walk of life!

September:

Hanamaki Matsuri!

Hiking!

Tono Yabusame (Horseback Archery) Matsuri!

October:

Japanese Halloween! I was getting very sick, but by Halloween, I was determined to dress up and go out. There was a party at a Tex Mex bar in Morioka and a night club upstairs was having a party so off to the Daiso I went to get what I needed. I kept it simple and was a glamorous skeleton. 

November:

I celebrated Will's birthday at an Italian restaurant in Morioka and met some new friends.

We later had a Thanksgiving pot luck with some of those friends in Will's apartment. One of those friends is helping me get information about Haruko!

December:

The snow started getting serious. I can't jog anymore, but my latest forms of exercise come in Shoveling, Yoga, Tabata, and Snowboarding.

Christmas may be for lovers, but I love myself so Myself and I went to Sendai to enjoy the Starlight Pageant. We had a great time.

I also enjoyed Christmas dinner with Will's and my mutual friends. The food was great, including the traditional KFC. Will, however, killed the mood towards the end of the night by bringing up some controversial race topics and turning off the Cajun Christmas music in lieu of soccer.

Thankfully, Christmas was salvaged by a bonenkai with the teachers from my favorite school and a Skype date with my family.

And that's about it. It's been a wonderful year and I can't wait to close it out with the love and respect it's due.

Mountee Redux

Oh, by the way, my friend Junya finished remodeling his Italian restaurant, Italian Kitchen Mountee! They knocked out the back wall and made a larger family style dining room! It's simply beautiful, warm and elegant...and it comes with the same delicious food as ever!

Tonight's Forecast: Winter!

Let's talk pictures.

 Snow in Japan just has another whole dimension to it when in context whether it's on sloping tile roofs...

 ...or bikes. Yes, they still ride bikes through the snow! I've seen a fair number of wipe outs.

 On lighter snow days, I pass the time by shoveling the parking lot.

 Standing on an empty train platform in the snow is so other-worldly! I knew the Polar Express or the White Queen's sleigh were coming any second...

Winter-Wate

Maybe I'm just used to the Japanese cold or maybe this winter just hasn't been as icy as last year. It's hard to tell. I like to think I've adapted, but that doesn't seem realistic.

Either way, I'm enjoying the beauty of the season. Back in Maryland, an inch of snow around Christmastime was a miracle and the closest we came to a white Christmas around our house was usually watching Bing Crosby croon on TV.

Not exactly "White Christmas"

And for the record, we proudly watched the original VHS tape in dazzling Technicolor.

But here in Japan, the snow falls thick and fast time time of year. Already, the roads are packed solid with snow and I won't be seeing pavement until spring. Homes and apartments are cocooned in bubble-wrap. Christmas cakes and fried chicken are whisking out the door faster than you can say "ほほほ."

In the midst of it all, I'm finally on my winter vacation. The general belief is that Christmas is a couple's holiday, here. While there is a Christian presence in most towns, it's small, and Christmas is seen as more of a novelty like Halloween: just something to dress up in cute costumes for. Oh yes, there are costumes. Mostly revealing Santa outfits for the girls.

But some cities take Christmas to heart, mostly for marketing, but they do have events. One of the most famous is the Sendai Starlight Pageant. Every year, the Jozenji Street is decorated with thousands of gold LED tree lights. The tree-lined avenue is lit for the entire evening for a couple weeks right up until Christmas. Thousands of people travel to Sendai to walk the avenue, marvel at the lights and wait for the "Starlight Wink" when the lights all go dark and after a moment of breathless silence, Christmas music begins to play and the lights flare to life! It's really very beautiful under that golden glow.

Where do trees end and sky begin?

 I missed it last year but was so glad I made the trip myself this time around. I booked a night at a hostel and spent the evening walking around bustling Sendai enjoying the holiday season.

Still have mixed feelings 'bout bean pillows

Umebachi Guesthouse upper floor commonspace

No overnight stay is complete without manga!

Christmas might be for "lovers," but even though the ones I love are far away, I was feeling it.

Hana-mizu: Nose Water or Flower Water?

I have been sitting and listening to this for two days now. It's "influ" season in Japan and Kitakami has been hit hard. I'm cowering in fear at my desk and praying I make it to winter vacation without catching anything. But it's looking bleak. At one school, there is a teacher who sounds like she's on her death bed. Every breath is a rattle and she was coughing so hard at one point, I thought she'd lose a lung! Yesterday, she turned so red during the teacher's meeting, I was sure she was going to pass out!

Instead, she retreated to the hallway to cough. That wasn't a great idea since there's a spectacular echo effect out there.

Every day, I hear of another cluster of students being out with the flu. A couple have gone to the hospital! Yet still, students walk to and from school in snow and freezing rain, they walk through icy hallways, assemble in the spacious gym and brave the arctic bathrooms. Their only reprieve is the teachers room (most of which now have central air) or their classroom stoves.

But that's okay because everyone wears a surgical mask. No fear of germs (maybe), but it still does nothing to stifle that god awful coughing.

Look, Japan, let's have a chat. Your employees work harder than most other countries. I have so much respect for these people who work 6 to 7 days a week, dawn til dusk, year round. It's exhausting to be so dedicated...and that's why this time of year, your weakened immune systems give in to the flu.

So here's a little lesson on how to be sick. Trust me, it'll do wonders!

Day 1: Discover you have (a cold/ influ / walking pneumonia)

Congratulations! You're sick! Time to call the office and excuse yourself for a couple days and run to the pharmacy. Don't settle for simple tablets. Get the controlled substances. You don't have any heavy machinery to operate and you are excused from being a cognizant being for a while. Enjoy the bliss-haze that is Robitussin.

Day 2: Begin hibernation

Your body is now at civil war with itself. While it's fighting a disgusting battle of phlegm and fevers, hunker down. Make a fortress of your bed or sofa. Arm yourself with your favorite TV shows, tissues, juice, tea and soup. Have at thee!

Day 3: Moufu, mo-fo!

Boil that fever out. Steam baths, onsen, hot showers, bubble baths, blankets, blankets, blankets! Drop some menthol, eucalyptus or hell, chili oil into the water and let the fires cleanse your soul.

Day Whatever: Mind and body recover

Take your time. You're in no rush to get back to work. You are ONLY safe to return to the outside world when you are no longer coughing up solids or snorting through your runny nose or hallucinating your oatmeal talking smack about you.

And there you have it. You'll feel miserable, but isn't it more considerate to keep the inconvenience of sickness out of the public sphere? It's also a lot more comfortable when you don't have to put on real clothes.

Thanksgiving Omedetou!

I can’t believe I’ve been in Japan for almost two entire years. Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but then something happens and I’m bitch-slapped with reality. Thanksgiving is one of those “somethings.” 

Americans love Thanksgiving. Really, we love any excuse to get a bunch of friends and family together and stuff ourselves silly: tailgate parties, Labor Day, the Fourth of July, to name a few. But Thanksgiving also has that undertone of American history that makes it all the more important because it makes us feel patriotic. 

We tend to glance over the ugly side of American Indian-Pilgrim relations (Yellow Fever, territory wars, ahem) but the important thing is to remember what the purpose of this one tradition. There was a time when the Pilgrims were grateful to the native people who helped them survive their first years in the New World. And they expressed that gratitude with food. 

Food is amazing. It’s not only delicious and nutritious, but it’s universal. No matter who you are, where you come from or where you’re going, food is something everyone shares. Having a place to gather and share your stories is one thing, but the communal act of sharing food and drinks solidifies it into a pact. We shared food, ergo we are homies.

I’m just trying to say that after I missed my family’s Thanksgiving gathering last year, I was very excited to have Thanksgiving with my friends in Japan! Will opened his spacious apartment to a motley crew of Americans and Japanese and their offerings. In American fashion, everyone was asked to bring something. 

While it rained outside, we drank wine and beer and ate a crazy assortment of food: takoyaki (battered octopus balls), fried chicken, salad, jambalaya, maki sushi, spaghetti and meat sauce. I kept things East Coast with herbed chicken, my Grandma’s corn pudding and spiced cranberry sauce with cream cheese. 

We ate and drank, listened to great music and danced once the drinks were really flowing. Towards the end of the meal, we said a toast and then I asked everyone to go around the table and say something they are thankful for. Personally, I was thankful for new and old friends, sharing a delicious meal, and my family’s health. 

Happy Thanksgiving!