no more moldy futons, tomorrow I will wash my clothes in hot water

There are many things I will miss in Japan, but most of all I will miss my husband.

sightseeing

We rented a car and drove up the coast of the Sea of Japan. We stayed at a beach cabin, there were no spoons so we ate our oatmeal with chopsticks and seashells. We were the only ones there, and found tons of shells. It was alot like the Oregon coast, but the little seaside towns were pretty incredible. Tiny winding streets, wooden houses butted up against one another with no yards, we could never tell if a house was new or 100 years old, but it looked like they were built to endure many cold winters by the sea.


Sightseeing wears you out!

The day Donna and Gene left the sun came out for the Asanogawa River festival. We saw geishas performing, music, taiko drumming, and hip-hop dancing. We also ate alot, it was like going to the fair! Snow cones, ice cream, popcorn, more snow cones (Nate's students worked at the booth), hanami candy, dumplings and a gyro for Nate.

And of course, cherry blossoms!

There are many more pictures to see on flickr

Thank you so much, Barry and Jeanne, for the camera- we have been making up for lost time!!

This is Hume and Alex. Hume is the coolest kid in Japan. She reminds me so much of Holden. Alex loves her, and so do I.

This kid, on the other hand, is a little devil. But something tells me we'll be seeing more of him.




















We went to the zoo. It was surprisingly nice, I was anticipating it to be kind of depressing, because I heard the zoos here were not very good. There was alot of concrete, but there is alot of concrete everywhere in Japan and over-all it was really well designed. There were a couple of times where I felt like my child was the main animal on display, but by now that is just to be expected.
















The coolest was the tiger. Everytime we go to the portland zoo, the most you see of the tiger is it's tail. This tiger was out pacing, it seemed like it was constantly thinking about how to break out. As was the other tiger who was inside in a viewing room about the size of a bathroom. That was depressing, as was the roaring, male lion next to it, but we think they must just get put in there temporarily. At least I hope. It was a great warm and sunny day and we all got sunburnt.

Now Donna is on her way, and it is snowing. Yesterday it was probably 65 degrees, today, 39 maybe? I am way to tired to be doing this, but with company coming the days will fly by and the next thing you know I am going to be the one on the plane home, and this blog is most likely done deal. I hate writing!

Since I have been here there have been so many times I have thought about how I wish I could just go home for just an hour, and how everyone else can just go home (except Melissa and Iris) but for me it is impossible. Now this really weird place has become what I know as home, and I am leaving and know I will never be back. I mean really, unless we somehow acquire tons of money, when will we be back? There are so many other places I want to travel to. I will never make the walk to the grocery store, never take Alex to the train station and hear the song, never have to hang out and put away my futon (thank god for that one), never take the bus to the market to look at fish and flowers or make the uncomfortable, but always nice, trip to the neighbors apartment or watch terrible japanese television. I know "never say never", but I just know it will be never. I wish I could describe what this feels like, but I really can't, I would cry and I really have to start cleaning now.

This just in (according to a breaking story on national news last night) - Today cherry blossoms began blooming in Fukuoka as temperatures had risen 2 degrees. This is three days earlier than last year. Next week cherry blossoms should be able to be viewed throughout all of Japan. The official forecast for Kanazawa: estimated flower-opening date- April 4. Estimated best viewing dates: April 9-16.

A side note- it's true, I love to poke fun at Japan. But a whole country where all men, women and children are equally, genuinely excited about a flower opening is also truly endearing.

new pictures click here

hello spring!

Today is White Day, which contrary to what it might look like, has nothing to do with the amount of snow that has accumulated today. White day is the boy's version of Valentine's Day and they are supposed to give girls cookies or something sweet. On Valentine's Day, girls give boys chocolates. I am a little let down, to tell you the truth. Immediately after Valentine's Day the White Day stuff arrived in the stores, I thought it would be a bigger deal, but last night at the grocery store I didn't see a ton of boys gathered around a gigantic cookie display like I did for Valentine's day, there was no Godiva booth selling deluxe editions of chocolate wafers. The display was pathetic, and I only saw 2 teenage boys. Girls always get the short end of the stick, except when being targeted to choose between 35 different chocolate items for some boy. Alex and I made cookies for his little play-group girlfriend, but after an hour of deliberating whether it was worth trudging through a blizzard, dragging a crying toddler, wearing a coat that I can't even button up around my stomach all for the sake of cookies and love, I decided. Forget it.

This is the view out my front door, notice that the name of the other apartment building is Fragrance. Next to that, is another apartment complex named Hermes. Ours? Residence K-1, it sounds like a dog kennel.

bread and colds

This is Alex and Riku, the boy who lives upstairs. We all went to Fanfare (pronounced fawn-far-e, here) with his mom, Yuko, who is equally excited by pastries. In case you have forgotten, Alex and I have been to Fanfare once before, when we first got here, and it is the closest thing to home, as far as bakeries go. I wish I could go to Fanfare everyday.

The downfall is that Yuko's kids are always sick, and guess what, so are we!

My new favorite thing here is melon pan (aka me-ron pan) . It actually doesn't normally have melon flavor, it is called that because of how it looks. It is best when bought hot off a vending truck on a cool day.

In other news, Alex and I have plane tickets home for April 21st. We even get to fly home with Lindsay! A big relief since she is familiar with the Vancouver airport where we have to change planes, and my last lay-over experience was pure hell. Nate is staying here, and hopefully flying home June 3rd for 3 weeks, then returning to Japan for another month to complete his contract. Someone needs to come and make sure he is not eating instant ramen every night and keep him in check.

photo essay

I have a friend! This is Satomi. She and her son Hana came over to our house. I remember thinking I would never have any friends here. We are almost to our 8th month here and I have made 3 japanese friends! (4 different people, but considering the language barrier, I think it counts more as 3 friends) Having a japanese friend is really nice. Satomi sent me chocolates when I was sick and yesterday spent at least an hour calling travel agencies for me, and I didn't even ask her to do it. I am so happy I met her, who wouldn't be!


Alex loves watching videos, but he is banned from Sesame street because he is always talking about his emotions- which are usually either sad or scared. I think he watched too many hurricane episodes. Ok, I know it is good to talk about these things, but really, how sad can a lego really make you, on an hourly basis? Anyway, he is still pretty cute. He is going to throw everyone through a loop when he comes home.















I bought this fabric to make a cool bag for new baby stuff, or whatever it happens to be used for beyond that. It is not a diaper bag, I hate that term because usually diaper bags are just ugly and who wants an ugly bag with a dirty diaper in it. If you have to carry around something like a dirty diaper, because that situation will arise where you know you have to just stick it in your bag, you need something to compensate for that. Anyway, in anticipation of being reunited with my beloved sewing machine in the near future I have been looking for patterns online.

















Maybe I am the only person who spends endless computer time looking up patterns, besides possibly Ted (who I love because he recently introduced me to pattern review), but can I just ask who in the hell thinks people want to still see patterns that look like they are from the 70's? This is a NEW Vogue pattern in the current issue of Vogue Patterns. Whoever makes these books needs to be tortured for all the years they have tortured me.

I was just reminded of something. About a year ago I was sitting on a park bench at PSU reading this and I knew then that marrying a genius like Nate was no mistake.

Look, no snow!!

meme

4 jobs i have had
teenage candy seller
the bookstore
city market slave
flower girl

4 movies i could watch over and over
the rules of the game
bottle rocket
the thomas crown affair
goldiggers of 1933

4 favorite tv shows
the oc
sex and the city
magnum p.i.
the office (british version, although it also makes me
queasy due to striking similarities it has to a certain "chard"
(ex-boss) I know)


4 places i have lived
idaho falls, idaho
portland, oregon
kanazawa, japan
multnomah village (does that count?)

me and my brother at redfish lake

4 places i have vacationed
san juan islands
czech republic/poland
anne's beach cabin- r.i.p.
redfish lake, stanley, idaho

4 sites I visit daily
101 cookbooks
craigslist-portland-real estate for sale
friend's blogs
epicurious

4 favorite meals...
sunday brunch at daily cafe
dinner at Gino's with dolcetto and tiramisu
fresh caught, pan-fried trout with potatoes
7 flavor beef and bacon wrapped oysters at wild ginger in Seattle


not to be confused with
first 4 things I am eating when I get back to the u.s....
hamburger at McMennamins
Baja Fresh, or anything closely resembling mexican food
old town pizza with green salad/ blue cheese dressing
chicken crudité and mille feuilles from the boulangerie

also not to be confused with
4 favorite meals in japan.
ham and egg sandwich and dorito-like chips from convenient store
ton katsu in Kyoto
salmon cakes with mustard sauce and Yoko's potatoes
steaming-hot pork dumplings, again, from convenient store

I spend alot of time thinking about food.

4 places I'd rather be
I'm not even going to answer this question.
No offense to japan, but I have been here for 7 months now,
the list is endless

4 people to tag to do a meme, too

nate

melissa l.

casey

molly

guess what?

We are having a girl! Well, the doctor's exact words were, "My guess is a girl" but backed it up by pointing to sufficient, factual evidence found on the ultrasound. Besides, the chinese astrological chart told us many months ago that it was true, so he was only really confirming what we already knew. In any case, we are really excited. Nate is already worrying about dating and keeping her under lock and key.

In other news, we have all had the worst case of influenza and have done not alot of anything besides watching 200 episodes of Sesame Street. We were teased by a few beautiful spring like days and then it started dumping snow again.

I am working on crocheting a baby blanket. Maybe it will be more of a lap blanket, it is kind of bigger and denser than I planned. I am using alpaca wool and it is very, very soft. Also it will take forever to make, so who knows when it will be done. I also made and attached a body to my crocheted cat head.


polly tagged me for a meme, which before a couple of days ago I had no idea what that even was, or that being tagged for it actually meant that I now need to do one! I will get to work on it and try to post it soon.

new friends

We went to our new friends' house for lunch the other day- Satomi and Hana. Hana is almost 2 years old and doesn't say any words yet, but finally we have found another kid here as crazy as Alex. Despite his sweet face, he is loud and kind of a little terror- he and Alex get along great.

winner gets a prize

ok, give up? The closest winner I'd have to say is Derek with the guess of cocaine and hot chocolate. But, it's actually ice cream! I sent Nate to get chocolate covered ice cream bon-bons and this is what he came back with. Yes, they are in a balloon. And, no, they are not good, but in Nate's defense- the package does say bon bon on it!

new years party

Today we went to a new years cooking party. 5 different countries foods were represented: Phillipines, Mexico, Japan, Kenya and me, U.S. The food I was ordered to make was chocolate cake. My japanese teacher, who has now become more of my japanese teacher who comes over to my house to gossip and cook and not teach japanese, asked me months ago to make a cake. I said yes, but as time grew nearer, I worried that there might be some issues- like ingredients, pans, recipe. We, and most people, don't have an oven, so I had no idea how a cake would even turn out. Although there are plenty of cakes available to buy here, nothing ever lives up to my standard of what good cake should be. This fact alone led me to think that the possibility of being able to make one was slim. Then, day before the party, Yoko called to tell me that I needed actually to make 4 cakes! Even more worried, I kept asking about what kind of pans there would be to use, but my only answer was repeatedly "ok, yes, see you, make 4 cakes, bye!" over and over. Then when I got there, there were no pans to be found anywhere.


Finally, we managed to dig up 2 sheet cake pans. Two other JET girls really did most of the work, I mainly supervised and laughed nervously when everything seemed to constantly be seperating in the bowl and looked nothing like any cake batter I've ever seen. But, in the end, although it wasn't really, exactly cake, it turned out. Enough frosting seemed to make everyone happy. It kind of turned out more like a brownie, or something in between. All of the food, cake included, was very good, especially the Mexican lentil soup. Alex had a really fun time playing with a little girl there, he even shared his new, coveted sticker book with her. Afterwards, we all played bingo. Nate won two Asahi beer mugs and I got a new towel to wipe down the windows with and a cheap velcro wallet- SUGOI NE!
Also, check out more pictures on Flickr

Alex has mixed feelings about snowmen, which is interesting because usually he is quite sure how he feels- he likes it or he doesn't. I wonder what it is about the snowmen that has him somewhere in between.

Nate has gone back to work after three weeks off. The apartment is so quiet now, and I find myself feeling kind of like I did when we first got here, which is wondering what to do now. Except now it is snowy and I am big and Alex seems bigger and I can hardly carry him to the end of our driveway. Also, now, I am not wondering what to do in a worried, helpless sort of way. I guess I feel confident with my options and comfortable with my surroundings. And considering the uncertainty of our future it seems best to take advantage of being a little comfortable and bored. I wish I could get motivated and try to fufill the 8 credits of art electives I wanted to complete while I was here. If only somehow I could transfer my overactive brain into something that looked like art work. I wish I could find some printmaking ink, and a potty training seat.

Lately, I spend alot of time thinking about my neighbors. I think about their lives and how they are at home everyday with 2+ kids, hanging up laundry, wiping the windows down multiple times a day, making meals. There husbands come home on the weekends and are rarely seen, and they don't really ever have friends over and never seem to go anywhere. And I don't think they wonder what they are going to do with their lives or if they are satisfied. And I think about my me and my friends who may be reading this, and the options and freedom we have and how we don't know what we are going to do, but I wouldn't want change places. It is no wonder to me now why they keep you in the hospital at least a week here after you have a baby, it is probably one of the only breaks these women get. It is interesting to me, not good or bad, just very different.

We still don't know whether we are having a boy or a girl, or where the birth will be for sure, but so far things are good. I am almost positive that it is a girl, but any suggestions for boys names are encouraged!

finally 30

Nate's birthday was yesterday, he has arrived.

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.