Friendly Drunks

Last night Stuart and I went in search of a local bar. We walked towards Narima and found some kind of bar that was supposedly open, but looked so dark and quiet we weren't sure if it was even open. As we were pondering entering or finding a different place, the door opened and a lady with big poofy hair warmly greeted us and motioned for us to come in. There was a man sitting at the small but nice-looking bar with a warm friendly face and said with an enormous drunken slur, "Where you from?" "America..." "Amewica?! Come in, sit!"

The rest of the evening was filled with this guy telling us all about his two years in the United States - "Nineteen sewenty-sicks, smaw cowege in norf cawowina" - and his opinions on the importance of learning and teaching English - "What is Engwish? Is not Engwish da Japanese want to weawn, is AMEWICAN!" - and sharing his bottle of whiskey with Stuart, and the four very pleasant women working the bar trying to get us to sing karaoke. They very pleasantly gave us some nice (and evidently expensive) sake to sample. For the entire evening, the only people in this tiny little bar was this 50-something business man and us.

The women ranged widely in age: a very old woman who smoked ravenously and cooked the small bowls of stew we were served; a very proper-looking 50-something Japanese woman, who's eyes politely smiled at us and said very little; and two middle aged women, one of whom wore large shoulder pads under her ugly sweater and had a huge permed hair. She was the most enthusiastic to learn about us and kept jumping up and down saying, "Sensei! Keshon!" which was her attempt to say "question". At one point the proper-looking lady brought out a little machine and a microphone, placed it in front of me and said, "Sing! Karaoke!" NO! My worst nightmare in Japan had come true!!! Luckily, the progressively drunker gentleman sang probably 5 songs, including pieces from The Carpenters and "Bi-Jo" (Billy Joel).

It was a very interesting time, but the awkwardness and bill at the end promptly made us decide to never visit there again. haha.

Toshimaen Onsen & Happy Adult Day!

Today Stuart took me to Toshimaen Onsen, a new hot spring in Tokyo. Our way there was interesting because Stuart realized that today in Japan was actually a holiday. It's the day when all the people who turned 20 in the past year celebrate their adulthood. It's called Seijin-no-Hi. They dress up in traditional kimonos, which are absolutely gorgeous. All of the women were wearing kimonos but most of the men just wore suits, though some of the men wore traditional kimonos. I was so upset I didn't bring my camera because we ended going to the actual gathering place of one of the districts' celebration! I didn't bring my camera, though, because I thought it'd be weird bringing a camera to a hot spring where everyone's naked. haha. So HERE is a montage video I found online of pictures of the new adults dressed up! It also provides some information, which is nice.

Being at the hot spring was really awkward at first, but it was actually really enjoyable after I got used to being naked around everyone (and by "everyone" I mean "other women"; the sexes are separated). I'm glad I decided to check out THIS website to check up on what I'm supposed to do and the proper etiquette. Otherwise I would have been completely lost as to what to do. It was really nice, though. It probably would have been more fun if I had had a friend with me so I could talk to someone and relieve some of the tension about whether I was doing things properly. It was really a rather enjoyable experience! The outside hot spring was the best because the water was SO hot and have the freezing cold air on my shoulders and face made it feel perfect. My face was red for a couple hours afterward, though. haha.

Then Stuart and I went to get him a futon, which in Japan is really just a pad to put on the floor to sleep on. It was a lot of fun picking one out and then trying to distinguish blanket cases from futon cases. Eventually we found something that nearly matched in dimensions and assumed we had the right thing. Fits perfectly so I guess we got it right! Now I can sleep without making one entire side of my body going numb!

Tomorrow we're planning on going to the Imperial Grounds! I'm really excited! Yay! And for anyone who doesn't know my facebook, HERE are my photos so far from the trip! Hopefully it updates automatically and I don't have to keep reposting the link. It's faster to put the photos up on facebook than in here, and unfortunately Stuart's computer is a bit too slow. Enjoy the photos!

Japan

Well readers, I've made it to Japan! The flight was uneventful, save for one or two very turbulent spots, and I watched two movies and an episode of NCIS, haha. The flight headed west, over Canada, into the Arctic Circle, and over Russia. The Arctic Circle was AMAZING. I got to see all the floating ice chunks! I've always wanted to see the ice in the Arctic Circle. It was beautiful.

Japan looked so beautiful flying over it. At one point I saw a large river coming in from the ocean with about five fishing nets set up. Interesting to see. I easily worked my way through the airport to the train station and had a quiet and uneventful train ride. The landscape to Tokyo was positively breathtaking. There were so many little villages and farms. It was honestly the beautiful thing I've ever seen while traveling, and I'd only seen 30 minutes of it. The city of Tokyo is so many things to describe. It's very clean for so many people, and I've seen very little trash cans. The city is constantly busy and full of people without feeling rushed. I have no idea how that can be, but everyone takes their time.

The area just outside of Tokyo I'm staying at with Stuart is just the opposite. Still exceptionally clean, but barely a person in site. I have never felt more comfortable but more foreign. It is so easy to become acclimated, I feel, but I don't understand any of the language, so I'm very awkward. I just try to keep remembering to bow (thanks, Heather! ha!).

Stuart and I haven't done too much so far. I gave Stuart his Christmas present (a wonderful pair of mocassin slippers), which he absolutely loves. He says they're so nice, he's too afraid of wearing them outside in case they got dirty, but he hasn't taken them off while we're inside. He also gave me my Christmas present - a brand new iPod nano!!! Now I can listen to music in the subway! When I got in, we immediately went to find dinner at a little local noodle bar. Super tasty but I felt so awkward because everyone else who came in were by themselves, ate and drank the scalding hot food faster than I've ever seen, and finished every last bite. These were some very large portions of food, and I have no idea how they managed to finish all of it. I burnt my mouth so much while attempting to imitate how they ate. I felt so rude leaving so much food left in my bowl. I refused to leave until most everyone else had. haha. Stuart tried to persuade me that I shouldn't feel so embarrassed, but I really was! This "culture of shame" works far too easily for my easily guilty conscience.

I immediately fell asleep when we got back, which was like 7:45, and I slept all the way until 9am! I am still very tired even now, but Stuart is doing a very good job at forcing me awake. This morning we got coffee at Stuart's favorite cafe. It was very good coffee! On our way back to the apartment, Stuart took me down some side streets to show me the little shops and the small local shrine. We saw a little tea store with beautiful tea pots. Stuart bought me one! :) We also went grocery shopping, which was a little interesting, since a lot of the food was very foreign to me. Also, Stuart only has a hot plate for cooking so our cooking options are very limited. After I broke his computer and then finally figured out how to fix it again, we went out to see some of the real city. It's like a giant version of Times Square...it's just a bunch of large shops with bright lights everywhere. It's not even that specialized, just enormous stores full of everything you could think of buying.

We ate dinner at a bar Doma-Doma in Izakaya (spelling?). Super cheap but very tasty. I ordered raw horse meat, which is not super tasty. It's very stringy. The sauces they put on the side made it taste alright, though. I ordered what I think was a dragon fruit soda. I thought it would be alcoholic, but it really was just club soda. They gave me a whole half of a dragon fruit with a juicer so I could put my own juice into the club soda. It was actually really good. Not sweet at all, but it was refreshing.

Stuart made me get us home then, so I know how to get back tomorrow. Stuart's working tomorrow and I plan to do some exploring on my own. I managed to get within a block of the apartment before I had no idea which way to go, but I think I'll be ok for tomorrow. I still am not sure what I'll be up to then, but I at least know how to take the subway back and walk back to the apartment! That's all that matters!

Now to look up some of these places I want to see and not go to bed for a while! I MUST get used to the time zone difference!

Somehow Mothers Always Know...

I spent some significant time at the library Wednesday to get work done on my final paper. Before even looking at any of the books I needed, I decided to organize my papers and look through readings the professor gave us throughout the semester. I was on the verge of a panic attack like no other because what I was expecting this to be a simple and quick 3 essays began looking like an impossible task. Then I get a text. Mum: love u.

Just enough to kick my butt in gear and get those books and say to myself, "Oh, ok this really is as easy as it looked before..."

Thanks momma. <3

Interesting...

It appears that I have equal levels of productivity in paper writing when I am in a library and when I am in my room listening to music and distracted by the internet. This is good to know, for when I am sick of being in one place, I now know I can be at the other location and still manage to be productive! However, I cannot get work done when I am in the living room...