Mysteries

So the biggest mystery in my life in Japan is why I am gaining weight and why I am so tired during work. I think the two go hand in hand. The schedule is tiring and teaching in general takes a lot out of me but I think it might have something to do with the school lunch. After kindergarten I come home and am absolutely exhausted. The kids wear me out, but I also feel like the food I'm eating is not the balance I need or am used to. I've tried cutting down on how much kindergarten food I eat, but then I just crave more food and snack all afternoon. Somehow I cannot justify coming home and eating a second lunch?? I'm definitely trying to eat balanced meals and exercising outside of work but somehow I've still gotten a freshman 15!!. Every time I talk to my mom we discuss what could possibly make me gain weight and make my hormone balance broken...still after almost 6 months. I guess as much as humans can easily relocate and adapt to different surroundings our bodies still have a difficult time adjusting. Even though mentally you don't feel the stress of all the changes the body does and reacts with anger. And right now mine still hates me!!

Take a look at what I've been eating for lunch the last while. We usually have a soup, a vegetable, cold salad and some fried meat/fish then I bring brown rice. Maybe it doesn't look to appetizing, but its not so bad. My favorite days are when we get fruit with lunch. Lately though, I am just sick of eating cafeteria made food. Coming from a place where we are given so many choices it is hard to have to eat this lunch every work day. Somedays, I just want a sandwich and carrot sticks so bad!!

I remember the first school lunch I ate at kindergarten. I am pretty sure all my manners were absolutely wrong. I can recall the students correcting me on how I ate and everything I did wrong during that meal. I swear I almost cried from the torture of being corrected by young children. They sure made me feel different that day! haha. Lunch has gotten better since then and I am enjoying the kids more and more as we can communicate a little better. I am starting to really see inside the complex character of a Japanese child. Below I have taken a video of the ending of lunch when we say thank you for the delicious food. I was trying to be discrete so that is why the aim is a little off!

As for the mystery of weight gain, I am unsure. Is it the food? Is it stress? or possibly from drinking too much?? If you have a chance please give your input on the topic.

TOGA and Tequila Time

This weekend was full of fun surprises and beautiful things. For starters all over the place are these really pretty bright flowers. I have no idea the name! I took a few pictures because I would like to paint a picture of them if I can find the time.

As for weekend events it was pretty awesome, busy but yet relaxing. Friday night Lesley had a Toga party for chatroom that Wilfred and I planned for. Yoshi, Chikako, Wilfred and I did a small skit that I wrote. Then on Saturday night we rode the trains 4 hours to get to Ustunomiya for an all night electronic dance party. Getting there was half the fun! Here we are in the train where we enjoyed some drinks, games and Tequila Time!!

Arrive in Ustunomiya, Rebecca is stoked and Chris gets dolled up with shiny eyeliner!! The night was super awesome, the club was small but the dj played some pretty rad tunes and there was a good vibe. I practiced a little Japanese on some the people there which is always interesting. I usually only get as far as finding out their age! haha Alas the car ride home from Fukishima. It was a long and bumpy ride that my stomach did not really agree with. The rest of my weekend was spent relaxing because I was so tired from being up all night. I rode my bike to the mountain, picked some wildflowers to decorate my apt, did the onsen and on Monday night I cooked Greek food for oisha san my doctor friend! mmmm delicious!

Climbing Mountains and "Grub Crawling"

Saturday I was able to go with my student Norihiko and his work's annual hiking trip. The mountain we hiked was just outside Nagai and it took all day. Three hours climb up, then we prepared a delicious lunch with all the mountain vegetables picked on the way up, miso soup, and other assortments of fresh vegetables. For a veggie lover I was in heaven. Not to mention the people Norihiko works with were super chill, friendly and didn't seem to mind having gaijin around. They included Wilfred and I in all the conversations and to my surprise I was able to comprehend a lot of what went on. Participating in physical activity really helps language learning because the conversations do not stretch too far and many gestures are used naturally. It was a great experience and good for learning Japanese! Though I still need a lot of practice but I feel this weekend I was able to get out there a little more and be with Japanese people more than usual. Here we are, Wilfred and I happy teachers enjoying a nice hike, weather and beautiful scenery.

Norihiko was a great tempura cook, one of my favorite dishes in Japan!! Freshly picked mountain vegetables that we just peeled taste even better after a three hour climb. I guess the fresh air and exercise make you feel like you deserve the fried food! haha
Here I am at the top of the mountain. Just a ten minute hike further up from the hut we ate lunch at. Just behind those mountains through the mist you can see part of Nagai surrounding countryside. It sure is a beautiful area when everything is nice a green!

To end the day I met with a gaijin friend, Jack who lives in a small town nearby called Oguni. It is quite a bit smaller that Nagai so we have a lot to talk about considering out situations. He has a car and drove up for the evening to get out of town. We ended up randomly, how I don't know participating in our own made up Grub crawl. Like a pub crawl but focusing on eating at different locations. I don't normally frequent a lot of restaurants here so it was good to check out some new places. The night included everything from Japanese food, pizza, dessert and random drinks. The best part of all was trying to find a dessert place because about that time it was past 8 pm and apparently even on a Saturday night places close quite early here. We had a hilarious time walking into a place and asking in poor Japanese if they served apple pie or dezato. Probably the question seemed awkward but it was so funny to us. I accidentally busted out my nervous laugh and left Jack to deal with the Gomenasai's and mata kondo's, sorry we'll see you again! I think we went into 9 different places, then ending at my favorite drink spot Paradise where Rebecca met us. I was glad to have someone to explore Nagai with who doesn't know the area or speak a ton of Japanese. Someone who didn't order for me or tell me where to go or to mind my manners. Just the way I want to get to know my city, mutually, in a fun relaxed kind of way where mistakes don't matter.

Sunday I went for coffee with Wilfred's student and then Rebecca and I cooked a delicious fish supper together. Kudos for a good weekend spent with fine people and eating delicious foods. Finally what I expected my experience to be like in Japan...hmm only took 5 months to get to this point.

Country Life Living

Recently, I have found myself back to the same inner conflict of living in the countryside of Japan. Is it for me?? These thoughts come every so often living here in a small town and I dream of the hustle of city life . I think about my Japan experience and wonder would I feel better in a city? Dancing, clubs, easy access to shopping, public transportation, coffee shops, Japanese lessons...PEOPLE, maybe even a better chance of meeting more friends who speak English. These thoughts of a more convenient Japan life usually come after a trip away from Nagai. So after an amazing time with Mandy in Tokyo last weekend I wonder if the country is where I am supposed to be. It must be or how else did I get here? Still it is a challenge therefore, I find myself on the internet reading up about country life living trying to seek out advice or just understand what other foreigners are up to in countryside Japan. Today I came across something really interesting about rice farming in Japan and living the slow life. The article and news clip hit home in many ways. One because I am living in a rural area with rice fields all over, two: my boss is a rice farmer, three: the story compares city life and rural life which I often do myself and alas, the story connects to an idea that I have about someday living off the land.

Check out this link to read up on this topic and watch out the video as well!
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/11/japan_the_slow.html#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaCyPHTLY_o

Finding this is a funny coincidence because just yesterday in the car, I was comparing the farm life of Japanese people to the farm life at home in Saskatchewan. It just seems that there are so many rice fields out there but I don't really know anything about who or how it gets done. I asked my friend Robin a concerning question about rice farming: is it losing to the big city and eventually die out kind of like farming is at home?