Happy New Years

Dear people in last year, the future is trippy. Sorry for the lack of anything, but I just put a bunch of pictures up in Flickr for the time being. Hope everyone had a happy new years! We miss you!

snowy dayz

The snow has finally come with a bang, Lindsay said that Kanazawa is all over the news because of this huge storm. It usually doesn't come until January, so I guess it was very unexpected. We went out to get Alex's Christmas present on probably the worst day. As you probably tell, Nate wasn't amused by my picture taking while we were waiting for the bus, but that's mainly because he had been walking around in wet shoes and socks for about 3 hours. The solution to winter driving here is that there are mini sprinkler systems placed in the center of all the main roads. This is a bitch for pedestrians (especially if they don't have knee high rubber boots) since there can be up to a foot of water and slush to wade through when crossing streets. Also the bonus of getting constantly splashed by cars. There are also crazy thunder and lightning storms constantly, the thunder is so loud it rattles the house. I have always like thunder storms, but it is scary for Alex. I told him it was the clouds talking because they are so cold.


Now we are more or less confined to the house, which I also kind of enjoy for the time being, at least until we run out of food and Christmas cookies, so most likey until tomorrow. The house is cold, but outside looks freezing. I made Alex his first Christmas stocking. I also knit a scarf which looks terrible and I think I hate knitting. We have been cleaning and organizing , and hoping that my dad and Barbara will make it here with no weather delays. It still doesn't seem like Christmas to me, but I am not down about it. Japanese style Christmas is kind of annoying to me because it seems especially materialistic, even worse the in the U.S., not so surprising since as one teacher told Nate "we don't give a shit about jesus". For me, it is mainly that the selection of Christmas novelty items here are so tacky that I almost want to vomit. They make those fuzzy cheap Christmas stockings you can buy at Walmart look classy. And I really just want some eggnog.

Nate is so sweet that he takes over my most detested chore on his days off, which is wiping bucketfuls of freezing cold water off the "sunroom" windows. There is so much water condensation that occurs, and from what I can tell, no one else has this problem. The best solution would be to get a dehumidifier, but they are expensive and we have already sunk enough money into stuff that we are just going to lose in the end. It is a ridiculous amount of water, and when I wipe them down, after only an hour I come back to find it looking totally like it did before. It drives me nuts. The only solution so far is to keep the windows slightly opened all the time, which sucks when you have paper screens as barriers. Funny, too, is that this is where we are supposed to hang our clothes to dry.

So, I know I don't paint Japan as a great place, but I just love to complain about it. The thing is, the things I like about it are impossible to describe. Like the way the string of lights glow at dusk when I ride my bike home from the grocery store, or how I have to stop and make myself hear the 1000 crickets chirping because I have become so used to them that my mind tricks me into thinking they've stopped. And most of all, the way people have gone out of their way, even running a whole block and back, to give Alex a small toy or something to eat. And I really don't know what else to say, except sometimes I am of the opinion that this place is o.k.

he just wants to be taken seriously

Omicho Market

One of the prized landmarks of Kanazawa is Omicho Market. Here you can buy fresh seafood, vegetables, flowers and more everyday except Sunday. The only thing I have bought here so far is flowers, I am too chicken to venture into the seafood arena. Right now it crab season. There are what seem to be hundreds of different types of crabs: hairy Hokkaido crabs, tiny local crabs, giant, spiny purple crabs. The prices range from 800 yen to 30000 yen (add a decimal point 2 numerals in, you get a general idea of what it would be in u.s. dollars).


The japanese consider the guts and brain to be equally delicious as the actual meat. This is good because some of the crabs here are so small that it would be too unsatisfying to pick out and settle for just the legmeat, although not good for me. I am not into eating crab guts.








Hopefully by the time we leave here I will be able to say I have purchased something other than cymbidium orchids and tortillas from the Diamond Store in Omicho Market. A few weird restaraunt experiences involving raw wormlike sea creatures and whole, ungutted cooked fish, where there was no mistaking the fine taste of the fish filet and the foul taste of when you had actually (and not intentionally) reached the bowels of the fish, and of course, fish ovaries, kind of turned me off of the whole fish thing. But I think I am almost ready to make a fresh start of it, or maybe I'll just buy more flowers and look.

photos at last

I realized that is has been over a month since we have taken/posted any pictures, so yesterday we made up for it. Now you can view too many new pictures on Flickr. It was a beautiful sunny day, Nate took the day off because he had 0 classes to teach. It's hard to believe how today it is back to rainy and freezing. I hear snow is coming soon.

bears, bears, bears

Well, Thanksgiving here was a total bust consisting of Alex puking and laying on the couch moaning all day, me eating muesli for dinner and both of us watching a taped vcr recording of animal planet over and over. I expect you all to help make up for it next Thanksgiving! In the meantime, Nate got to sit for hours in an outdoor hot springs, in the rain with a six pack of beer. He brought back one can of beer and this story:

There is another JET here who worked last year in a school that was way up in the mountains. Anyway, one day she went to work and her students starting getting worked up about something. She looked out the window and there was a giant bear walking around the school grounds. Everybody was freaking out and a call was made to two grizzly-looking Japanese mountain men. Soon enough they arrived, dressed in furs, and shot the bear while everyone watched from inside. Then they proceeded to also skin and butcher the bear, also while everybody watched. They recieved a portion of the meat and the fur as payment for killing the bear. The rest of the meat went to the school and everybody had bear for school lunch that day.

Note to Mothers: You aren't going to like this

Well, I guess one way to get a new bike here quickly is to get hit while riding one. Although I really hesitate to say this, in the last week both Nate and I have been hit by cars. Luckily, neither of us were injured at all, beside a small cut for him and a small leg bruise for me. He was on his way to work, I was on my way to the grocery store, and thank god, without Alex. Luckily, I saw my car coming and tried to brake and turn to avoid it and didn't even fall over. But my bicycle front tire did not come out so well, it was practically bent in half and the bike was unrideable. The woman spoke no English, but seemed extremely apologetic and said she was going to repair my bike. I left it at Mos Burger, she insisted to have the bike-lock key and I would have Yoko, my teacher, call her tomorrow about the repairs. Much to my surprise, the next day Yoko called her and she said it was my fault- I ran my bike into her car!! Yoko asked her if she reported it to the police, she said no, and therefore had no right to make judgement. She said she would have a new bike delivered, and here it is! But, I guess we will have to buy a new child's seat. Anyway, I am not happy to be hit by a car at all but a new bike is kind of nice. Fortunately, it will be winter soon and no bike riding anyway, so you can all try to be a little relieved about it. I was quite shocked that she lied about it, though.

Now I have to deal with this kerosene heater! It is so warm, but kerosene? Supposedly it is safe, you just have to air out your house every so often, which seems to defeat the purpose, but it is quite warm when it's on and electricity is so expensive here. I never thought I would use it when we first got here, but here we are. Poor Nate is freezing at school with no heat at all there, either. And all those girls have to wear skirts all winter long. In the good news, I am very excited because it looks like my dad is coming for Christmas!!! I can't wait, visitors at last! And I got up the nerve to invite my friend/neighbor Yuko and her 3 kids over for Thanksgiving with me and Alex while Nate is out of town. Her husband works and lives in another town during the week (which is actually pretty common here). I am a little unsure about what to make, but I am very excited to have such fun things to plan for! I hope her kids will eat my food!

The last week was rainy, not really much happening except maybe too much Japanese television and too many ramen noodle bowls from the convenient store. I could never eat these at home due to 1. not knowing what the hell was in them and 2. the outrageous amount of fat and calories. Now, I could really care less what is in them as long as there seems to be no weird fish-like pictures on the cover and I cannot read any of the nutritional information, so I can pretend they are healthy. They are actually pretty good, although not that filling.
Alex caught a cold, but has been in really good spirits despite being sick. He has learned how to peel satsuma oranges all by himself, which he is very proud of and has been watching many video game clips with his dad, something both of them seem to be able to do over and over and over. Nate gets very excited when he thinks about Alex finally being old enough to be his "gaming" partner. And I have no doubt that Alex is going to kick Nate's ass in any game he sets before him He has a way with buttons, as you all know. I bought him 4 crayons for $3.00, and haven't seen them since. I have no idea where they could be, he didn't even color with them at all, they just disappeared as soon as I handed them to him. I cannot figure out why something like a single crayon has to be so ridiculously expensive, but maybe at least they were good quality, I would have liked to tried them out myself!
Last week I found myself trying to stall my Japanese tutor by getting her to gossip (not a hard thing to do) because I hadn't studied enough. Not very smart, considering I am paying her, so, this week I have made up for it and been studying tons. I actually had my first real conversation in Japanese with a guy at the train station, which I could more or less understand and also answer everything he said.





I have been thinking a lot about winter, it will be so strange to be here over the holidays. It is the first time we have been away from our families, it seems like they (the holidays) just won't exist this year. Nate has to go to a conference on Thanksgiving Day which is overnight, so it will just be me and Alex and some chicken nuggets. I was looking up recipes on Epicurous.com and there was a beautiful picture of a pecan pie, it made me sigh. What are we going to have for Christmas that involves as microwave, toaster oven and a fish broiler? How I am going to get to the grocery store or bank in all that snow, something now that is done on almost a daily basis? (and oh yeah, let's not forget I am pregnant) I guess with many layers, boots, and planning ahead we'll waddle our way down to the store. Maybe we can quack like ducks, too, Alex would really like that- and I am sure the neighbors would!

fall

Fall here has been very beautiful, when it's not raining. There are persimmon tress in almost every yard and the smell of burning fields in the countryside. This red farmhouse surrounded by rice fields is near Valor, a supermarket we like to shop at. It provides a very unjapanese-like, kind of surreal scene that reminds me of Idaho.

This is the Valor supermarket, which also looks like it could be anytown U.S.A. until you step inside. I have finally gotten to the point where I can go in, know where everything I need is, and not totally lose track of time because I am stuck gawking at one of the million different products because I have no idea what they are. Sometimes, they actually stare back at me. Nate saw a fully dressed geisha shopping here at Valor the other night, sans make-up, the first one spotted so far.

In other news, as many of you probably already know, Nate and I are expecting another baby. I went to the doctor Monday, an experience I was dreading, but actually turned out to be just fine. I had the embarassment of having to have the receptionist physically show me where and what to do with the cup for the urine sample, but luckily that was cancelled out with me having to help the doctor spell syphillis (not because I have it, but because they test everyone for it!). The doctor spoke English well enough, and was friendly. I have heard rumors that often doctors are very cold and uncommunicative, compared to Western standards, so I was relieved that it went so well. Also based on Western standards, you would have thought they were running a meth lab by how unorganized and in disarray the exam room was. But, this extreme messiness is very common in Japan, and I have no doubt that under the piles of tools, viles, and papers everything was very clean. Based on an ultrasound, the due date is June 8 and based on my last "mens" it is June 6, so I have to go back in two weeks and then the doctor will be able to tell me exactly what the due date will be and blood test results. Then I will be able to give my official statement of pregnancy to the major of Kanazawa and recieve a Boshi Techo (maternity/child handbook) and then we will see what comes next.

pictures

I got this new book about this kitty who plants a beautiful flower, it gets eaten by a caterpillar, so she bakes him a flower pie and he is to full to eat her flower anymore. It is all in cut-out felt and the cutest thing ever.

I put up some more pictures of Alex on Flickr, check them out!

killing time

Some of you may wonder what it is Alex and I do everyday while Nate is off teaching proper English to scared junior high school students.

One of Alex's favorite pass times is going to the train station and watching the trains. The walk to the train station is about ten minutes, if I am lucky I can get Alex to walk the whole way. Above is the view near the train station of a meadow of weeds, which is full of crickets and solidago, with the surreal background of a expressway in construction that we walk past almost every day. I will be amazed if it is completed while we are here, it looks like it has been there forever. Yesterday we actually noticed that the dirt road that the cement trucks take to work on the expressway had a small, concrete pool surrounded by sprinklers in it, Alex of course wanted to go play in it. I couldn't figure out
what the heck is was for, then I realized on the way back that it was to clean the truck's tires off before they enter back onto the paved road.

So, we go to the vending machine, get a drink, go to the train station and wait.

And we wait some more, and then the song starts and we know there will be a train. Alex freaks out, starts jumping up and down, yelling that the train is coming.
Then the train comes, if it is a fast train, it doesn't stop. If it is a local train, it does. Fast is better.

Sometimes we are there an hour, Alex wants to stay all day. I usually have to bribe him to leave. One day we were leaving to go do this and I ran into my neighbor. When she asked where I was going, I was kind of embarassed to try to explain with her that we were only going down to the train station to watch the trains. She said that her son liked the trains too, they actually have a huge train set they invited us over to play with. But since then I have realized it is not only the local foreigners (aka-us) with time to kill that do this. It is what all the Japanese moms do. Every day they are down there with their toddlers and babies to watch the trains, too. Last week, we went to the train station to actually take the train downtown, and I ran into my neighbor with her son and her daughter. It was her daughters holiday off from school, and this is what they were doing.

Alex is, as usual, by far the most enthusiastic when it comes to showing his excitement. None of the other kids yell and jump quite like he does, or really at all. Maybe they come to watch him.

kyoto and graveyards

This last weekend I met Lindsay in Kyoto while, for the first time, I realize, leaving Alex and Nate home alone. Before coming to Japan I had always had this notion of Kyoto being this quaint place where everything was traditional, beautiful and full of history. While I see why it is such a popular tourist destination for the Japanese, so much of it is actually a concrete jungle of sprawl and modern ugliness that I wonder what it is that the Japanese value so much. If they valued the traditional buildings and history, it seems that they would have tried to save some of it, rather than tearing everything down and rebuilding McDonalds and pachinko parlors everywhere.
Anyway, it was a fun time, and we did see some amazing sites, such as the Kinkakuji temple (the golden pavillion). The top 2 stories and top inside room are covered completley with gold leaf, it is truly amazing, if only they would let you see the inside! They also had a nice selection of key chains and cell phone charms. We went to Kiyomizo-dera, a buddhist temple which had the most beautiful and ornate lanterns and brightly-colored floral designs on the builidngs, and much more than I cannot even start to describe. We also went to Arashiyama. There was a walk through a bamboo forest and once we got away from most of the tourists (it was a 3 day weekend here, there were so many tourists everywhere, you could hardly walk down the streets) it was so peaceful and pleasant, walking through small streets with old farmhouses and groves of trees, it was one of the nicer times I have had here. The main tourist attraction here is the bridge, although we weren't that impressed--too much traffic. Our walk ended at another temple which had 8000 primitive buddhas that had been collected from around the countryside where lower class people had been buried. We also did a ton of shopping and had a lot of fun eating and I hope Lindsay didn't get sick of me dragging her into every souvenir shop in search of the perfect silk purse, which was never found!
Alex and Nate apparently explored some rather infrequently visited graveyards, saw some very large spiders and took some eerie photos. Alex is still too young to be wary of what situations his father is getting him into. Now we are home, resting, have caught colds and are back to normal.
kind of.

sorry no pictures

Last weekend we went hiking and I was looking forward to posting my pictures about it, especially the "watch out for bears" sign, but I accidently erased them all. We went with two japanese girls from my cooking class the previous week, and their older german man-friend. The hike was about an hour and a half uphill, to a beautiful view of the countryside, city and ocean, and all to the enjoyment of a loudspeaker at the top playing Rod Stewart. Actually you could take a gondola to the top, and there was also a remote control car race track, childrens playground, concrete animals the size of small houses (unfortunately I didn't get any photos) and a little "chalet" where you could get fresh popped popcorn, beer, coffee, etc out of vending machines and ice cream and other treats from the counter. Somehow, I really don't feel like there were many bears around, although there must be if they felt there needed to be a sign there. If there is a sign, then there is something to worry about. We didn't see any that were alive and not made of pink concrete.
Our companions were all very friendly, although we are still a little unsure why Masae, who is a married Japanese girl, is hanging out with Hartmut, who is a married German engineer living here. His wife and 4 year old couldn't handle living here after 4 months so they moved back to Germany. Masae told us she picked him up at a bar. Afterward, Masae and her friend made Japanese style barbecue at Hartmut's really nice house. Actually, Nate cooked most of it. We ate and drank for hours and special highlights were fish ovaries (not good), grilled rice triangles (very good), various grilled beef, pork, squid, and vegetables. Grilled tofu, mushrooms and ramen noodles with vegetables, I think we ate continously for about 4 hours. Anyway, despite the confusing social ties, we had a really fun time.
The last couple of days I have had a cold, so today Alex and I made this little playhouse in the closet. Alex doesn't seem to really care about hanging out in it, but I think I might.
I have been really cutting back on my pastry consumption, but I must admit that I had one of the best things yesterday from the place near our house. It was a cream puff type thing, although the "puff" bready part of it was alot softer then you would expect. Inside was smooth and creamy vanilla bean custard and layer of real whipped cream. I am going to make everybody who comes here have one, it is one of the best yet, and it will give me an excuse to buy the cute little box set that they come in when you buy more than one. I will also have you know that, despite what you may think, I have not gained any weight and this is the last time I am going to write about my love of Japanese bakeries and desserts!
There are some new pictures of Alex and where we go for his playgroup that I posted, also some other random pics. I think Nate has pictures of our hike on his phone, I'll try to get them up too.

if you come I will feed you

For those of you thinking about visiting Kanazawa, i would just like to note that autumn is considered the best time to come. Supposedly there is a two day period where the weather is bearable, well, maybe it is more like 2 months. And for you those of you coming in winter or spring- just kidding! The weather is always great!
I went to a cooking class on Sunday by invitation of my Japanese teacher, crazy Yoko. We made Indian food, it was a mix of older japanese women, younger japanese women, JETS and me. I met some really nice japanese girls, one invited us hiking and over to a barbecue at her house on Saturday. I am excited, except for I think she is going to try to get me to eat nato, which I hear is totally disgusting fermented soybean the consistancy of snot. The class was taught by an Indian woman living here, today Yoko informed me that she was surprisingly only 22 or something, and how when she found out she was shocked and thought for sure that the woman was at least 29 (and told her so). She also talked about how Indian women are thick around the middle, and because she was a little chubby she probably looked older. I hope she didn't tell her that, too!
Nate had the last couple of days off and unfortunately we did nothing really exciting, except get a paycheck. Yoko took me today to visit a nursery school and we signed Alex up for next month, Monday and Wednesdays for 2 hours each time. It was very cute and seems really nice, Alex seemed to like it, it will be a big step for both of us. They do not speak any English at all there, hopefully it will all go smoothly. They were very sweet, and all the kids were very cute and friendly and there will only be 7 other kids in Alex's class.

fanfare

Today after visiting some Christians, Alex and I regrouped at Fanfare. We had a calzone stuffed with creamy mushrooms and sweet corn, finger sandwiches, and a flaky mandarin orange and custard danish to finish. Then I woke up and realized I was in Japan, not France, and I loved it anyway.

ryan atwood

Speaking of Ryan Atwood, I am sitting here eating flan and drinking instant coffee, downloading the O.C. as I type! I am so happy, especially after I had spoiled it for myself be reading the whole episode synapsis, before I discovered I could download it! I also just discovered the "Chateraise" a block away which has many delicious temptations-they have their own line of ice-cream treats, cakes, cookies, and even truffles. And also, of course, many bean paste items such as the one pictured here, which are pretty, but I still have quite accepted them as a worthwhile reward. Alex got a little ice cream cone fish stuffed with ice cream and bean paste (I thought it was chocolate, he doesn't know the difference) and I had a cream puff with chocolate ice cream inside. It is true that I have had flan and cream puff both within the last hour, but I earned by having to desperately communicate to the lady at the bike shop that I had a hole in my tire that needed to be patched. It is the only time so far I have actually had to pull out a phrasebook and it was useless, but it is fixed and we went on a bike ride up the street.

a poem

Here is an essay by one of Nate's students, I hope he doesn't mind me sharing it with you:

My summer vacation was very much.
Blue sky is every give me power.
Blue sea is every give me real.
Last summer exit. But I think.
My heart in forever 2005 summer."

why can't every shrine have a jungle gym

today is sunday and rainy. the bike has a flat (again). our espresso maker arrived this week (a wedding present that we thought was necessary to ship here) but apparently we don't have enough electricity in our apartment to run it. (?) anyone have any thoughts/suggestions on this, I just don't get it. We were supposed to get a real sized refrigerator but the only person we know to help us totally flaked out and I have been referred to as a "housewife" about 3 times this week. Not that I have a problem with housewives, I just don't feel I really fit the part. Although, I just had a vision of watching soap operas all day with a box of chocolates- not such a bad thing after all. Don't housewives also have to also take a lot of bubble baths and drink sparkling wine to escape their daily chores? Damn that moldy bathtub of ours!
I think I have been avoiding writing anything because I feel like maybe we sound like big bummers. Well, it is partially true, we are. But here are some very nice things that have happened:
I have had 3 japanese classes and learned all the alphabet and my one teacher is completely nuts and I love her. Her name is Yoko and she comes over and entertains me with gossip and drama and is very fun.
Alex and I have been to more playgroups, and although I still feel a little out of place, Alex seems to warming up to the other kids and activities.
I made a very successful sushi and miso dinner.
Our friend Maureen supplies us with endless supplies of British fashion/celebrity scandal magazines and sex in the city dvds, and I finally talked Nate into opening up his box of Ghiradelli chocolates that were supposed to be a present to his school coworkers (oh, wait, I guess I really am a housewife after all).
Nate has started to get up at 6 am to write which is inspiring me to think about getting up at 6 am to draw.
I have gotten e-mails that made me really happy and some that didn't make me happy but I was still happy to get them.
I have crocheted a little cat head. Instant coffee isn't soo bad.

my sweet boy

I am going to be using the flickr account for pictures, rather than Alex's old website. (If you click on the side scroll of pictures to the right of here, it will take you to the all the pictures). Sorry for the lack of pics, but now we will have more. promise!

my new japanese friend

For those of you who were worried about Nate and I being doomed to live our lives like cavemen, and all you moms out their who have been worried about Alex and I lost in some random Japanese alley surrounded by Pachinco Parlor gansters- I want to introduce you to my new friend. She is pink, quite entertaining (multi-functional), speaks English and, although she does not make it any easier for me to talk to you- she does have a fantastic camera, something I have been dying for. Finally, I can start photographing all the pothole covers and dark alleyways that I have been stranded in. And Alex. Sometimes money can buy happiness, and wait til I charge this sucker up- pictures to follow!
Nate and I finally went to the 21st Century Museum of Modern Art. It is mindblowing to me that such a unknown medium-sized Japanese city can have such a renowned collection of modern art. It was so comforting to be in a place where I felt like I knew what was going on, or at least the lack of knowing, this time, was something I was familiar with. I had a similar feeling of happiness when I was digging up my garden a couple of years ago and dug up a chunk of resin with plastic flowers imbedded inside. I still cannot figure out what that treasure used to be, but it had my name written all over it.

the future's o.k.

This is a funny website to check out -http://www.engrish.com/
also check out Rallye, the actual store is the best place I have been here, http://www.rallye-kanazawa.com/
This little shop has tons of crafty treasures, books, and their own record label, you can listen to some really great music on the website. I bought a cd there that I love, a band called au revoir simone, I think they are actually from NY.
I have to admit I have been a little down the last few days. I never thought that moving to Japan with a child and no ability to speak the language was going to be easy, but I just wish I had a burrito and someone to talk about make-up or my frizzed out hair with. (Who knew straight hair could frizz so badly?) I miss my friends and family and pretty much everything else.
It is freakin hot today. Alex and I rode our bicycle to the grocery store this morning at 9:45 to find the parking lot completly empty. They weren't open yet!! What is up with this idea that you can just open things whenever you want? I knew they must have been opening sometime today because we watched as every employee that could possibly be employed there filed out into the parking lot to primp up the landscaping. I don't know what they were doing, arranging rocks, possibly? It is not as if there is ANY garbage anywhere.
Today is Nate's first day as a school teacher. I wonder how it is going-we are very proud of him, he seemed a little nervous. Alex and I went to our first playgroup today which was super cute. It was a bunch of Japanese toddlers and moms-they were singing songs and blowing bubbles and doing all sorts of really cute things. It is funny because Japanese people think Alex is the so "kawaii!!" (cute) we hear it like 100 times a day, but Japanese kids are just the cutest, they are so funny and sweet! Also there was the cutest Japanese mom was also very sweet and we talked a little and she introduced me to her friend. It would be nice to think that maybe over time I will be able to make some Japanese friends, even though at the level of communication I am at now, it seems impossible!

I miss the O.C. (and you)

I cannot even remember today what happened on the last episode of the O.C.

Today we went to Libro bookstore that has some English stuff, and I thought- Oh! I'll buy some magazines. Except that the new Vogue is $22 here!! On the bright side, I found some really cool Japanese textile design books that are only $15, but it is just not the same, so I bought nothing.

It is hot again, I thought we were lucky and the cool breezes would last. I am taking private Japanese lessons starting Tuesday, and am a little freaked out about having a Japanese person come to my house! I really need to find a fabric store- the textile books inspired me to design a purse. For some stupid reason I didn't bring one, I can't bring myself to buy a new one (or actually can't afford to). The only fabric stores I have seen are, again, on the higher levels of department stores and not going to work. The sewing "aesthetic" of these stores is American quilting/country-home style. It is kind of cute, but not for me. It is all cotton calicos and expensive buttons. There has to be a store for me, I just don't know where it is. All that silk has to be hiding somewhere!

yay or nay

I am obsessed with this painting. It is on the 5th floor of this department store, back in the corner along with some other weird art, a sparse antique selection and stale kimonos. It is gigantic, like 3' by 5', huge. And it is only $350! How would we get it home? How much would that cost? Nate wants it too, but are we crazy? Help!



It is finally cooling off a little. We actually went out yesterday and didn't come home and immediately jump in the shower. And Alex wore pajamas to bed for the first time.

hot japanese chics

There was a point when I thought, thanks to my Aussie predecessor informant, that there was going to be a major lack of shopping and clothes here that fit me. I had some doubts, and tried to buy clothes to get by for the year (mainly some very unfashionable t-shirts). I really wish that what she had said would have been the truth.
Yesterday, I rode downtown to check out a shop called Uniqlo, which is basically like the gap. I had never been, but heard there was a sale and wanted to get out on my own for a change. I found Uniqlo, which was fine, not very exciting, but did manage to get some really cute tank tops for about 3.50 that I can wear inside the house, but not outside, thanks to the tattoo factor. I wandered around this 7 story mall, finally finding my way out.
As I headed uptown, my worst inclination had come true, and I actually gasped, then sobbed, when I saw the two Marc Jacobs stores up the road. I had a hunch that there was something major going on here. Kanazawa is a fashion mecca and there is no way in hell I will be able to afford any of the clothes. But I can fit into them.

I went into a "department store" (yeah right, there is nothing deparment store about this place) called Daiwa which was basically surrounded by Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and numerous other seperate designer stores. The department store itself was like Saks 5th Ave. times 500. There were at 5 floors of womans clothing, all designer clothing, (Agnes B., Michael Kors, Burberry, N. Miller, Gautier, etc,etc) -I'd say maybe 6-10 different sections of different designers per floor, at least.
Equally as impressive is the abundance of French patisseries everywhere. This is like having 500 pix patisseries in one town. And they are not a weird Japanese version, they are the real deal. At least these I can afford, on a short term basis. The Japanese know what's going on, they keep up appearances. All the girsl are hot and high fashion. Thank god fall is around the corner and I will have some semi-better clothes to wear and look kind of like I know what I am doing.
By the way, did you know that they actually sell wash rags (designer ones of these, too) in the accessories area of all the stores. These are for when you are fashionably wiping sweat off your face. Right next to the earrings.

Here is Alex. I know most of you want to know what is going on with this little bear. Here he is in his own room and a huge bed, which is more than I can say for Nate and I. He has only fallen off the bed once, but it didn't seem to even wake him up. We are in the process of finding a playgroup, there is a huge park and playground nearby with a childrens center that is one of the coolest places for kids I have ever seen. There is a huge toddler room with every cool toy, a little aquarium, tons of kid-made crafts everwhere. When we were there some kids gave us some huge bug carcasses (I didn't know what to do with them, so I gave it back, I probably should have just kept it). From what I understand, everything there is free. Alex has been doing really, he's adjusted quicker than any of us. He is not that fun to take shopping, but he loves riding around on the back of the bike and mimicking Japanese people. He also seems to be the loudest kid around, Japanese children are so quiet, even if they are being crazy. There are a couple of little kids in our apartment building, we have met a couple, so hopefully we get to play with them, too. There are crickets everywhere that are gigantic, they look like small birds when they fly and are super loud, all the kids wander around with nets and little boxes trying to catch them. In the parks they are so loud and piercing it hurts your ears. Alex has also been eating well, trying new things, and enthusiastically trying to use chopsticks. He calls all little kids Holden.