Mom's visit to Japan: Yokohama and Tokyo

My mom arrived in Japan on March 6th. Of course we were all hoping for nice weather, but Murphy's Law gave us some of the worst weather of the spring! On the first day we were out and about we took this picture huddled under and umbrella. My umbrella had already been broken (took all of 30 seconds for the wind to destroy it!) and I was sharing with Mom.


In fact, just after this picture we headed to the shopping area not far away (it's actually fairly similar to an American style mall, really). We had coffee, warmed up and then went in search of new umbrellas! I inherited Mom's clear plastic one and she was given a nice, Japanese-style one by Shimon's mom.

Luckily the next day (Monday) the weather was a bit better. At least the rain stopped. As Yokohama was the port where Admiral Perry arrived to "open" Japan so that trade with Western nations could begin, there are a lot of really beautiful Western style buildings in an area called Yamate. These buildings are called yokan (yo - meaning Western and kan - meaning building). We went to a particularly nice building that was based on Spanish influences.

We also got a picture of Shimon's mom, Shimon and myself on the lawn outside. Shimon had recently got his hair cut so it was spikey, his mom kept calling him a hedgehog because of it!


After visiting the Yamate area, we saw Shimon's mom off at the train station. Then we headed to the ramen museum. Sounds kind of funny, but really it was a lot of fun! Mom ate two different types of ramen and was continually amazed by the speed at which Shimon can eat a bowl of ramen. :-)

Star pose there!!! Gotta love the ramen. What's interesting about this is that the whole museum is fixed up with shops and things (besides ramen shops) to mimic post-WWII Japan. It's really very fun! Even though mom and I stopped at 2 half-bowls of ramen (really one full bowl is enough at any given time for me), we could still wander around while Shimon got his fill. Really fun time!

After that Mom and I headed for a few days to Yamagata, but I'm going to post those pictures separately.

When we returned to Tokyo, the weather had miraculously gotten better. And we were able to go to the Palace area around Tokyo Station and the Diet to see some of the early blooming cherry blossoms. There's so many types of cherry blossoms that even though Mom missed the "main" show, she still got a pretty good view. Here's just one sample!

Very pretty little flowers!

We also walked to the Palace and saw the famous gate. The gate behind Mom and I is famous because you've got a mixing of Western and Eastern architecture in this picture. The bridges in the foreground are of Western design, while you have one of the keeps (white building behind) from the original Edo castle behind it. Edo castle incidentally was built by the Tokugawa shogun and was the center of power in Japan for over 200 years.


The last 5 days that my mom stayed in Yokohama, she was able to have a seaside room. Which afforded her a lovely night view. Thankfully the camera she brought was really good, so I could capture the view from her room. Really fun to watch the ferris wheel change colors!!


This is the most famous view from Yokohama. There is a pier that has an observation area where you can see all of the major landmarks of Yokohama. The reddish buildings in the foreground are the red-brick warehouses that are now filled with boutique-y shops and restaurants. Then there's the bright white ferris wheel. Also, the tall building to the left with a white line in the center is Landmark Tower. A really beautiful view at night. Sadly it was so cold that we could only stand and look for a short time before we took a taxi back to Mom's hotel.


That picture was taken on the last night Mom was here. We had a really nice visit and were REALLY busy all the time she was here. But the weather pretty much finished like it started, cold at the beginning and the end!

Visiting Japan :-)

My mom recently came to visit during her spring break from school. Since this was her 3rd visit to Japan I found it much more difficult to plan things because she's already seen quite a lot.

It all kind of fell together in the end. My boyfriend's mother came from the most southern tip of the main island of Honshu just to meet her. The meeting of the mother's really was a bit epic. I have some wonderful pictures to share of the two days that we were able to do things with "the moms."

The first day the weather really was horrific. We spent most of the time in and out of cafes and restaurants just to keep warm!

This was a lunch stop where we could warm up and enjoy some Chinese food. (Minus one camera man!)

We also went to a funky art exhibition in a place that used to be an old warehouse. It was so cool! And since it was a student exhibition, it was entirely free! Here's some of the art:

There's more to be told, but the pictures say a lot... and I'll post more later!

My mom's here!

So, my mom is here from the States. We have had a really busy schedule so far. The day mom arrived, my boyfriend's mom also arrived. She had really wanted to meet my mom and so she came up all the way from her home in Shimonoseki (a 6 hour train ride - on a fast train!).

Last Sunday, we all met around 11:30 am at my mom's hotel room in a place called Sakuragicho in Yokohama. The weather was horrible. We spent the day walking a short distance and then going inside for a warm-up and then going out again. It was pretty intense and cold!

That evening we had a lovely formal dinner at a restaurant called Scandia. It was amazing! All of the food was delicious, but what was also important was that the setting was nice and also quiet. I was doing all of the translating that day... and in order to facilitate things I needed to be able to hear. The restaurant was perfect for that.

Pictures will follow... I have to get them off my mom's camera! :-)

A mistake.

I think I made a mistake.

I chose a job based on certain information and expectations and then I let myself (I was sitting there and just let it happen!) be hoodwinked. Here's what happened.

I decided that I would look for a teaching job around December and interviewed for two positions. In one instance, the company lost the contract with the school and consequently I didn't get the job. In the second instance, the company is led by someone who prepared me for an interview with a school, really seemed to understand what I wanted out of teaching (a M-F position being one of those things), and the company has a curriculum development division which would be an exciting new direction that I could take.

I was offered a job with the second company for a three day position (I should have smelled a rat when the days weren't specified up front). I was also led to believe that I might have a choice of teaching for the other two days of the contract or doing curriculum development.

I went in for a contract meeting. The three day position is Tues-Thurs-SATURDAY!! (Don't want to work Saturdays!!!!) I let the guy at the company justify it to me and end up signing the contract while specifying that if possible I would like to work the other two days doing curriculum development. (I've been handed a shit deal from them, so that was the least I could expect, right?)

Well, I received an email from the man at the company today asking me to teach at a completely different school on those other days and if I'm able to interview on Friday or Saturday. (I think that people must not value their free time or OTHER people's free time after a long enough stay in Japan!)

I feel like an idiot. I feel like I've made a mistake in taking a contract from this company. Though they have a development side that interests me and they have a unique and supportive approach to teaching, I think I let myself be hoodwinked into a contract that I really am beginning to regret.

Good things about this situation? I'm only under contract for one year. If I stick out a year, I get a small bonus at the end. At the end of year, I can say - I hate working Saturdays and will not do it another year, thanks.

But I still have a sinking feeling that I've made a mistake and still don't know how much I will regret it since the school year hasn't yet begun. Eek!

More information...

So my good friend Em asked me to tell a bit more about my boyfriend, Shimon. And to post pictures of us together. The former will be easier than the latter.

One thing about Shimon is that he is the cameraman whenever we go places. There are always LOTS of pictures of me, but hardly any pictures of the two of us together. I'm trying to scavenge a few pictures from recently, but we haven't done a lot of travel recently where he's had his camera out. So here are a few pictures.

This was taken just after we started dating. It was the first time we went away for the weekend. It was late March or early April, but we didn't have to wear jackets anymore.

Fastforward to graduation! I know there are more pictures, but I think they are on Shimon's computer and not mine. Graduation was this past September and Shimon was a great sport. He came and took lots of pictures and even joined in with the party afterwards with all of my friends from my seminar. In Japan, you are assigned a seminar group to belong to during your 2 years as an MA. It was great to have him come and meet everyone he's already heard a lot about.

In March, my mom is coming for a visit. There will be A LOT of pictures then and I promise to update how that goes. My mom is nice, but she also talks a lot and I hope that Shimon isn't too intimidated by her. We'll see.

Interesting and frustrating things about living with Shimon... he is a total neat freak and I am a pack rat! Eeek! If only there were second hand stores in Japan, but there aren't so anything that you don't want goes straight in the trash. It makes me sick to throw perfectly good things away. Alas, it had to be done.
He is a night owl. I like to go to bed before midnight. I need more sleep!! It's ok, unless he starts talking and wakes me up all the way.

We both like doing things outdoors and like going to a park that is fairly close to the new apartment. I hope that we can do a lot of that kind of stuff when we visit Alaska in August. It should be a good time to get to know everyone and not have to talk the whole time. Climbing Angel Rocks (a spot in Fairbanks) doesn't need a full narration.

Hope this helps. If you're curious about something in particular, let me know. :-)

So, I've moved.

The big news is that Shimon and I moved in together at the beginning of February.

In Japan, undertaking a move is in many ways much more painful than moving in the United States. There is no craigslist or rooms for rent in a newspaper. You MUST go to a realtor. So we spent the better parts (weekend) of November and December looking for an apartment. This search was complicated because I have a cat. Pet friendly apartments are difficult to find. CAT friendly apartments are even more difficult.

Sometime in the beginning to middle of December we found a cat friendly apartment that we liked AND was the right price. By price I am not just talking your first months rent, last months rent and deposit. Of course there are those fees, but the list is longer. Since we have a cat it's two months rent deposit, plus 3,000 yen a month more in rent (roughly $35). The realtor fee (one months rent). Insurance and other fees. In all, it was a scary sum that we paid when we signed our lease agreement. (600,000 Japanese yen)

Fastforward... WE'VE MOVED!!!

And here are some pictures. We still don't have all the furnishings that we plan to have, but saving for things you want is part of the fun, right? :-)

The kitchen, notice... counter space. A real stove top! A big sink. I love it!! I've used it a lot already and can't wait to start experimenting!!



This is one half of the dining-ish area. The only half with anything resembling furnishings. And the shelf only arrived yesterday. :-) We're looking for a table, but have not found one to our (my) liking yet.


The bedroom. We have some more decorating to do (obviously!!). But we have a place to sleep, so the decorating can wait a little while.


The couch in the living room... it faces and empty wall where the TV will live when we get one. The couch is actually covered in blankets to keep Suzu (cat) from ruining it. Bah, cats and their claws!

There's the big update (well, for now... I'm sure there's more to tell)!

Neglect...

That is the word that best describes the last few months of blogging for me. After Christmas things just got MUCH more hectic and... I have neglected my blog. It's pretty bad when you get an email from your dad saying, "I was bored at work and checked your blog. You haven't posted since December 29th!"

First, bad that Dad is bored.
Second, worse that I haven't posted since December 29th. Eeek!

So, the next post (in a few minutes) will help explain a bit as to the busy-ness!!

The Christmas that nearly wasn't...

This year I wasn't sure how Christmas was going to turn out. I had a few things planned, but wasn't sure how they were all going to fit together. Then I got an email on December 22nd: Shimon had the swine flu.

I still had my miniature tree. Yes, it is made of felt and has no lights. I needed something that was tree-like to be able to get into the Christmas spirit.



I had miniature stockings as well. Not very festively colored, but stockings in shape at the very least. All I could stuff in them were some Reese's Peanut Butter cups that a friend sent me. :-)



Even though I don't have much space I even insisted on a strand of twinkle lights! They are small, but when the lights are off they do look pretty.



Christmas morning, I unwrapped presents while Shimon watched via Skype. (The only thing that made things a bit better!) I unwrapped a kitty present for Suzu the cat. She didn't seem to like it very much, even though it is meant to keep her warm in winter.



She wouldn't even stay still for a picture. I call this picture "uncomfortably dressed cat!"


The real Christmas surprise came when I arrived late after a lovely turkey dinner!! (My back up invite was really great!) I came home and Shimon had been a bit of a Santa's helper and brought me flowers, some presents and some cat grass for Suzu. That's the one thing I wasn't able to document on film (digital camera!?).

The Christmas that nearly wasn't turned out pretty alright. And the cat still gives me funny looks if I try to put her "jacket" on!

Scaredy-cat!

My cat scared the CRAP out of herself tonight! She was sitting in the window and decided to jump off... she managed to knock something off the window seat and it made a great big clatter. Next thing I know, she's huddled in the entry way with her hair puffed up so she looked twice her normal size.

Now, my cat does a silly "I'm going to get you" dance and puffs up a little just for show every so often. This was different. She was REALLY big (all fur of course) and usually she mellows and lets me pet her when I get close... she hissed and wouldn't let me close right away. AND she was breathing all funny like she was getting all hyped up for a fight.

All that over knocking something off a shelf. Cats are funny!

Missing Christmas...

This year I am really missing Christmas. Two years ago, I managed to get through Christmas because my brother was going to visit me (that fell, through but it still got me through Christmas). This year, I'm doing everything I can to get in the Christmas spirit, but it feels like I'm forcing it.

I wish that I were going home for Christmas. I love this time of year at home. It's snowy outside and warm and snuggly inside. The smells of baking and goodies is in the air. Then there's decorating the tree, wrapping presents, watching Christmas specials on TV and all of the other things that make Christmas so great at home. I'm missing it a lot this year and I'm not entirely sure as to why. I knew I wasn't going to be there, but being away from all of it seems worse this year and I'm not sure why.

I am trying to get in the spirit of things... if someone has seen my Christmas Spirit anywhere, let me kn0w!

Out of order...

Well, I haven't gotten around to the Yamagata photos. They are coming. So, this post and the following post will be out of order.

I know this great photographer... and wanted to toot his horn a bit!


This one looks a bit colder... more wintry.

And a bonus that has nothing to do with lovely, picturesque mountains...



Different location, different subject, but a pretty good pic nonetheless. If I do say so myself. ;-)

Since my photographer doesn't like to toot his own horn, I figure that I can do a little bit for him. He takes phenomenal pictures and these are just three that are pretty darn good!

I have pictures!

But the pictures will have to wait until tomorrow when I'm not completely tired from my long weekend trip to Yamagata. I had a great time and came back with lots of fun stuff, I just really need sleep before I need to download pictures! :-)

Junior high school girls... in Japan!

This week I only taught 2 classes at the girls' junior high that I teach at. There are three girls in one of those classes that are obsessed about marriage and kids (and they are only 14!!).

I supposed I made a silly move when I answered the question, "do you have a boyfriend?" with the answer "yes." I could have been more mysterious about things and made life slightly less interesting. Well, these three girls from the aforementioned class are always asking me when I'm going to get married. To this question I reply, "mada, mada" (not yet).

This particular class was made more interesting by another question: "Alisha, when are you going to have a baby?" My reaction... "HUH!?!?!?!" To illustrate how wrapped up in marriage and babies these 14 year-old girls are I should say that throughout class they were making a list of names. Not names of potential husbands... but baby names. I wanted to say to them, "don't you have the order of things a bit backwards!?" But I didn't.

Once class was over and I ran into the same girls at lunch, one assured me that my boyfriend was going to surprise me and propose on Christmas Eve. To that I just laughed because I know very well that he won't. Geesh!! What is it with 14 year-old Japanese girls!?! I'm fairly sure that I wasn't thinking baby names at age 14!

So, the moral of the story is... don't tell girls you have a boyfriend unless you want them to turn into your mother!! Haha.

Bowing in Japan!

Now... my brother brought up a very interesting "news" item for me the other day. He asked if I'd heard about the right-wing going nuts over President Obama bowing to the Emperor of Japan. It is entirely frustrating that people are pushing their own agenda to the extent that they completely disregard Japanese culture as being the reason that the US President would bow to the Japanese Emperor.

Bowing is greeting between people of all ages. A bow is usually deeper based on the age and status of the person you are bowing to. (Obama is in his 40s and the Emperor is in his 70s - and he's the Emperor!) Friends bow to each other as do family members. It's not a sign of subservience (usually anyway, only when you are bowing to apologize ).

Why did the Emperor not bow to Obama in greeting? He's the Emperor of Japan. He is the ONLY person in Japan who does not have to bow to reciprocate a bow made in greeting. The Japanese Emperor is no longer regarded as a god, but he is still probably the most respected figure in all of Japan. (There were celebrations last week for the Emperor's 20th year on the throne... it was full of celebrities just like the Queen's Jubilee in 2002 in the UK.)

Why is the right making a big deal out of this cultural exchange that was a sign of good will and cultural understanding? Well, I have a theory. Instead of trying to resurrect the Republican party in an honorable fashion, by re-defining goals and their voter base, it is easier to oppose President Obama on EVERYTHING. The attacks are getting more and more petty and proving that the American people made the right choice in voting for Obama. Isolationist behavior, as displayed by the right-wing, is what earned the US a horrible reputation on the international stage for the last 8 years. Thank goodness there's been a change.

OK, my political rant is over... I'll talk about something more fun tomorrow! :-)

My poor neglected blog...

So, again, I have managed to neglect my blog. But in my defense, there hasn't been a lot happening lately.

Things have been happening... but mostly things like "we went to look at the fall leaves in Yokohama and while I was there I fixed a bench" or "I looked as a very old building and tried to find out when it was built, but couldn't" so... not very exciting things to post on a blog.

In March, I plan on moving. Moving is REALLY expensive in Japan... much more so than in the US. (You have to have between 3 and 4 months rent up front!) So these days, Shimon and I are trying to minimize expenses and maximize money saving.

However, this coming weekend is a LONG weekend. I will be going up to Yamagat (where I used to live) to visit a friend of mine and see some of the old places that used to be my "old haunts." I'm pretty excited to be going and very much looking forward to the girls weekend that will ensue. After that I am bound to have tons of pictures and stories as well. :-)

That's the scoop... I will try to keep blogging away... I'm sure to have more stories as the Christmas season begins. Bear with me, if you can... :-)

The Question of Culture

Halloween. Christmas. Valentine's Day...

The list goes on. The list is of holidays (in no particular order) that are part of the culture that I come from. I'm at the point when I really want to stress the importance of the cultures that Shimon and I share because we are a couple. Most of the time he just listens to me babble about things that I want to do in the future (Christmas trees, etc.).

On occasion his minimalist tendencies bubble over and he says things like "we don't need a tree" for Christmas or "what would we do with a pumpkin AFTER it's a jack-o-lantern, it would just get in the way." It's at these times when I realize I have not insisted enough on sharing the real importance of the symbols of Christmas or Halloween or whatever holiday happens to be discussed. I NEED to be better at discussing the importance of my cultural heritage with Shimon and I haven't much thus far.

This year will be a low-budget Christmas celebration, but that does not mean that there can't be a lot of holiday cheer involved. :-) It just hit me last night that I have not been as vocal about the cultural celebrations that I want to share with Shimon and I need to start being more specific about what I would like to do for some of the holidays that are important to me.

Sometimes I have really delayed reactions to the fact that I am operating in two cultures, but my significant other is not. He's operating in his own culture. In order to bring him closer to my culture, I have to make a concerted effort. Here's to doing that in full force from now on! (Well, maybe not full force, but there will be much more effort from now on!)

Now... any recipes for Christmas goodies that don't require an oven?? I have limited oven access, so any recipes that don't require one would be AWESOME!!

Yay for friends!

Last weekend I had a very special friend visit from Korea. Ji Yon is a friend that I met in Hawaii and I have been good friends with ever since. We live so close (less than 2 hours!!) and I haven't managed to get to Seoul to visit her.

Well, she beat me to it! She had a free weekend, a free ticket and so she came to see me. We had a great girlie weekend. Sadly, we didn't take many pictures. But we did get a really good one of us in Yokohama.


No, I am not a giant, Ji Yon's just tiny! :-)

I spend a lot of time in Yokohama since Shimon lives there. He met us there and did an impromtu tour for the two of us (mostly for Ji Yon's benefit).


The view of Yokohama at night is really nice... well worth a visit if you ever have the chance.

Getting over hurt feelings.

So, I live in Japan. I think that I've adapted fairly well to the culture that I live in. I also think that most of the cultural differences and subtleties do not come as much of a surprise anymore. There is one area that I don't seem to be able to get used to.

In Japan, many times couples do not socialize or even meet each others friends. On a number of occasions when I would have liked to go to certain gatherings (mostly barbecues and things that are outdoorsy and fun) of Shimon's (boyfriend) friends, I have been excluded simply because the group is set and outsiders would change the dynamics and somehow, inexplicably, make it weird or bad (in Japanese I would disturb the "wa" of the group).

I get it. I won't be invited to anything that involves that group of friends. In my head, I understand. Then why does it always hurt my feelings?

This time, Shimon thought that I might be able to be included (the group of people was slightly different) and told me as much (but without having checked with the person planning the bbq first). And once again, I can't go. I should have seen it coming. I should have been prepared. But I wasn't and I've got hurt feelings.

I don't even know why. Maybe it's because I always hope that the next time I might be included or it might be okay for me to go to an event. Or maybe that's one thing that I really miss about the US - I know there are some events that are exclusive and require a specific invitation, but there are many, many times when it is perfectly okay to take a friend or girlfriend to an event (especially something like a bbq).

I just needed to vent a bit because it's bugging me that I can't somehow get over this strange cultural "hump" that I seem to be stuck on. If anyone has any ideas or interesting "takes" let me know!

Odd things that happen...

So lately there have been some strange things that have happened. Now, these things have nothing to do with Japan or really with me. I suppose that they are just random coincidences of time and place.

First, Monday night Shimon and I went for a walk after dinner. There is a very nice park near where he lives and so we went for a walk. We went to the viewpoint where you can see a lovely night view of the Yokohama skyline. Usually the park is busy at night with dog walkers, but we were there right around dinner time as we had eaten fairly early ourselves. As we were leaving the park, we saw a man and woman fighting. We couldn't hear anything, but we could see that the man was being rather rough. We got closer and the man hauled the woman into the nearby trees. Both of us were worried as to what was going on, but weren't sure what to do. I had to use the bathroom, so I said, "I'll be right back, keep watch." While I was gone, he asked whether things were ok. The man responded "OK" and then more weakly the woman also said "ok."
Everything was ok as far as we knew and there wasn't much more we could do. What would anyone have done? After we left the park, Shimon made me promise to never go there alone at night!

Second strange thing. Today I was on the train and a man motioned that I should have his seat. I was listening to my iPod so didn't really hear what the man was saying. Turns out he was kind of "crazy." He was speaking to me in Japanese and I couldn't understand what he was saying (this is after I removed my earphones), I realized he wasn't really saying anything that made sense. The woman sitting next to me was trying to pretend not to notice, but I think she was relieved I had sat down. (She just had that look) I must admit I felt a bit stupid, but at least I tried to talk to the man. I think most Japanese people would have ignored him (and were ignoring him), which I just couldn't do.

These two "strange" encounters could have happened anywhere and they would have struck me as odd. I just felt like sharing. :-)

my feelings on rain...

Rain. It's water - that comes from the sky. It can be warm or cold. It is very helpful for plants. It's also necessary in order to grow a large portion of the world's food. Sometimes it is a mist... some times it comes to drench - as if a bucket has been overturned on your head. At times it is a relief and other times a burden.

Right now!?!? I just want it to go away!! A single day reprieve (Sunday) was not enough to prepare me for an entire week of rain. It's only Tuesday and I'm sick to death of the rain. I know that the rain is coming from two simultaneous typhoons that are rather close to Japan. I know this, but it does not stop me from just wishing it would all go away.

*sigh* Ok... enough about the rain. (And yes, I will blame it on the rain!)