Rainy Season

Well today is the first day of rainy season here in Japan.

This means that the next week of my forecast is rain. every.single.day.

I thought that I would write some things that I have learned that are VERY important during this season:

1. Never leave home without your umbrella.

It might be nice and sunny when you leave but in about 10 minutes time, it will be pouring down rain.

2. Fashion is out the door.

You wear your hair in a bun and no make up… well except mascara.

3. Get some cute rain boots.

They will be very important and will be essential during this time.

4. Buy a sweat rag.

Yes. You will need to wipe the sweat off of your face because of the humidity.

5. Turn on your dehumidifier.

This thing will make your life much easier and less sticky. Also to mention, you will not be able to dry your clothes if you don’t have this on… well you could use your drier but that is too much money.

6. Drink a lot of water.

You will be sweating a lot and you will need to hydrate yourself.

If you think of any more ideas or things that you do during rainy season in a humid place, please let me know. :]

 

 

Tokyo Trains

This weekend I went to Tokyo to visit with my Japanese family. It was great.

I have known Yukari since I was 10 years old. She has seen me grow up and I always talked about how I would someday live in Japan and here I am! I love spending time with her and her family. She has 2 little boys, Rui who is 4 and Riku who is 1. Rui loves to talk to me in English and run around the house being silly.

She cooked me some great food and it was good for me to just be away for a weekend. It was very refreshing.

I also got to hang out with my dear friend Hiroko. She is awesome as well. We met up and ate at Hard Rock Cafe and chatted about life. That was also good. :]

But… before and after all of that happened, there was some train drama.

Train drama #1

I decided that I would get off of my Shinkansen at Omiya, the first stop in the Tokyo area, and get on another train that would take me to Yukari’s station. Well… that was just the beginning. I found out that I was able to get off and get onto the right line. I was sitting reading a book about Gladys Alyward. She was a missionary to China from England.

Anyway… I’m reading in the book about how she gets lost on the train and they kick her off of the train and she has to spend the night on the platform.

Well, as I’m reading that, the train that I am on stops. I look around and an announcement is made on the train. Everyone looks around and gets off. I stay seated with all of my stuff. Then a train official comes up to me, points at his watch then to me and then out of the door. I understood that he wanted me off of the train. So, I grab all of my stuff and get off and there I am on the platform. I have no idea where I am or when another train was to come. Finally the man came over to me and told me in Japanese that it would be 14 minutes. So, I sat down with all of my stuff and continued reading my book.

Thankfully another train came. So, I get back on the train. I look at my map and it shows that this line will take me all the way to Yukari’s station. Wrong once again. I get to Kashiwa station and everyone gets off once again. So, I sat there and no one came up to me. Then people get on and we continue on. THEN we end up back at the same station and we are moving in the opposite direction of where I want to be headed. Finally I get off of the train and think that I will go back to Kashiwa and figure out what is wrong. I sent Yukari an email saying that I was lost and she told me that I had to get off at Kashiwa and go up the stairs and back down on the other side of the platform. So… I do just that. sigh of relief.

Train drama #2

I meet my friend Hiroko at Ueno station. I am confident that my train will stop at Ueno and I can get on it to go back to Sendai. Well when it comes time for me to leave, we look at the time schedule and my train is not on it. We go to the station help and they tell us that my train does not stop at Ueno. UGH. So I have to get a new ticket and get a new train. Thankfully Hiroko was there to help me because I would have no idea how to do it. And Japan is just awesome because they gave me my money back because of the price difference even though it was my fault. ^.^ Happy!

So now, I know 2 new things.. 1. get off of the train at Kashiwa 2. check to make sure your train stops at the station you are at. :]

Haircut

After living in Japan for 14 months, I decided that it is time that I should get my hair cut here IN Japan instead of Australia or America.

I had one of my Japanese friends call and make the appointment for me.

I walk into the salon and everyone says hello. I also sensed some anxiety since I am obviously a foreigner and they assume that I don’t know Japanese, which is correct.

A lady comes out and hands me this black bag. She says a bunch of stuff in Japanese and I just stare at her with this blank look on my face. I took my wallet out and motioned to put it into the bag. She was really excited that I understood somehow what to do. I think looked confused as to what to do with my actual bag. She took it and put it behind the counter and then motioned for me to sit down.

Apparently they don’t want you lugging your bag around so you just take out your wallet and cell phone. Smart idea.

So I’m sitting in the chair and my stylist comes over and has me fill out some paper and then asks me to move to the corner where there is a mirror and a chair. I move over and he tells me.. “consultation”. I wanted to die laughing. They want you to understand what you want done and how much it is going to cost. Trying to explain to him that I wanted my dead ends cut off was quite hilarious. Just picture me pointing to my hair and making a dead face and then scissor motions. HILARIOUS.

Well he washes my hair… AWESOME. It was like 20 minutes of hair washing.

Then I move to the chair and he asks me if a head massage is okay. Uh YES!! So he sprays my head with some cooling spray and then massages my head. Awesome.

He goes about cutting my hair and normally in America, this is when you would be talking away… haha. Well since I speak like no Japanese and he spoke very little English, I just sat in the chair.

He decides to dry my hair and then tells me he will cut my bangs afterwards. Smart, so they don’t shrink up. THEN… he pulls out the curling brush. White people hair here in Japan means play time for Japanese hair stylists. I seriously was feeling like a Barbie who was getting her hair done. It was so curly and poofy. A little outrageous. My friends always told me that this would happen, but for some reason… I didn’t believe them.

After it is all done with, he gave me my point card, since you can’t go anywhere here in Japan without getting a point card, and then walked me down the stairs and outside.

Over all… great experience. I guess if I would have gotten my hair dyed or permed, I would have gotten a cup of tea. Maybe next time.

letters

Last night I opened my last letter.

My best friend, Melissa, wrote me letters for an entire year. I was supposed to open them only on certain days.

Days that were holidays, birthdays, and random days.

It was so awesome to get to get a little piece of love from my best friend every few weeks.

The first letter that I opened was on the plane to Japan on February 2nd, 2010.

My last letter was last night, February 2nd, 2011.

She wrote little bits and pieces of encouragement, bible verses, and funny stories that we share in common.

It was great to have a piece of my best friend here with me in Japan.

One Year

One year ago today… well February 2nd in America… but not here in Japan….

I got up, made my bed and packed some last minute things.

I got on my computer to update my Facebook status to: I’M MOVING TO JAPAN TODAY. I said goodbye to Nathan (he was online) and closed my computer.

I got in the car and drove to the airport with my family. I had a one way ticket to Japan.

I walked through security and waited to board my plane. At the Kansas City airport, you can see people who are still outside security. So I waved goodbye to my family and got on the plane.

I was crying. I didn’t know what I was about to get myself into. I knew that I was going to miss my family. I knew that I would make friends in Japan. I knew that I already HAD friends in Japan. But the thought of moving to a country that is 6,000 miles away was really a scary thought.

One year later. I sit here in my apartment, drinking some coffee and am chatting with some of my best friends online. Friends that I miss dearly because when I go home to Missouri, they won’t be there. They live in other states. These girls know me. They have been there for me in this year long journey, and have heard all of the cute exciting things about living overseas as well as the not so glamorous things.

I guess in all of my time here in Japan I am thankful for these things:

1. Family- I love talking with my mom every Sunday morning. It always is a great way to the end of the week.

2. Friends- They are always there for me to rant and laugh with even 6,000 miles away.

3. Technology- It is seriously one of the best things ever. Without technology, I would not be able to communicate instantly with family and friends.

This isn’t exactly what I thought that my one year post would be, but I guess this is what it has become.

 

So Good

It feels so good to be home.

It still kind of feels like I am in a dream and I cannot wake up.

Landing at the Kansas City airport I was so excited.

Hearing “Here she comes!” from my dad and to hear everyone scream and holler and wave their poster around was awesome.

Running through the security and crying my eyes out was awesome too.

Hearing all of the people who were waiting for their flight say “Aww she’s crying” was awesome as well.

Hugging my mom and my family and friends for the first time in 11 months is way more than awesome. It was so good. So good for my heart, so good for my soul and so many tears running down my face.

It is so good to be home.

Anticipation

Every morning when I wake up, I roll over and look at my phone. I go and look at my countdown app.

Today it reads 37 days until I’m home for Christmas.

HOLY EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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In 37 days I will be on a bullet train bound for Tokyo. I will have slept hardly at all because I will be so excited. That morning I will have shoved last minute items into my bags.

On the bullet train I will not be sleeping. I will be updating from my iphone as much as possible and documenting my trip home to America.

I MIGHT stop in Tokyo for some shopping but probably not.

Getting to the airport I will check in and I might be squeeling from excitement.

Okay… fast forward 15 hours. I will be getting ready to land in Houston. My first time in America in 10.5 almost 11 months. Party in the USA will be playing on my ipod.

Seeing America out of my window (I only sit in window seats) I will have tears running down my face.

After I land, I will be RUNNING FRANTICALLY to get my bags, go through customs, recheck my bags and then try to find my gate for Kansas City!

Hopefully around 4:48 I will be landing in Kansas City.

I will be crying. (Like I am now from the anticipation.)

I will see my mom for the first time in 10.5 months.

I will be home.

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Oh my heart. Until then I will be waiting and listening to Christmas music and drinking tea and blog stalking. Oh and the occasional work. :]

Little things #2

Living in Japan I get excited about the little things that remind me of home.

Things like:

1. Going through the drive thru at McDonald’s. I have only done this twice.

2. Finding goldfish crackers.

3. Baskin Robbins.

4. Apples on sale for 50 yen. Which is about 70 cents for 1 apple.

5. Finding an American shopping cart.

6.Standing in the restaurant, Subway.

7. Tasting how good WHOLE WHEAT anything is.

Just a few random things that I love from America.

がいこくじん

Whenever I travel to a foreign country, I normally try to adapt to the culture.

Today was NOT that day.

It is October 1st and 71 degrees.

Oh and there is NO wind. :/ So all of that means that I will be sweating.

If you know me, you know that I am one of the warmest people to walk on the planet. I am usually ALWAYS hot. ugh.

Well today I ventured out to the post office. We all know how that experience went the first time.

Today I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. NO one else was wearing this. They all of course were wearing pants, long sleeve shirts, arm covers, hats and so on. AKA none of their skin was showing.

Since I was going to the post office I was carrying not one but TWO ginormous packages.

I cannot tell you how many people stared at me.

Once I got to the post office it was another round of stares and charades. I had to try to communicate to the girl that the two packages would be paid for separately.

Finally after spending uh… too much money, I left. Then I decided that I should treat myself to some Starbucks.

Let me tell you, I know how to order my Starbucks in Japanese. I am a pro at this now.

Once I left Starbucks I had my beverage in my hand. Here in Japan people don’t walk around and drink food or eat food. So, once again I am getting stared at. I am carrying my drink in my hand and wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt.

So I’m walking, walking, walking, sweating, walking, sweating and then I come to a group of children that are maybe 3 years old. They all of course are so precious and I make the weird faces at them and say “Konichiwa”. They are staring. The teachers are staring.

To sum this adventure up we will use 3 s’s.

1. Sweating

2. Starbucks

3. Staring

This is my life in Japan.