The other side...

Transitions have always been difficult for me. I've never thought I do well with change, but in recent years I seem to have an open call for whatever change I can get. First I move from San Diego to San Francisco, change job fields, everything. A little over a year later, I do it again to move to Japan. New city, new country this time (although, SF might as well be its own country), new job field... everything. The thing is that I do not plan on renewing my contract, so change will happen for me again in eight and a half months. It's weird to think that the transition back to SF will most likely still be a difficult one. Still, I feel like I've reached "the other side" in terms of transitioning to Japan. Things aren't as hard as they were when I arrived. Sure, I still miss SF, my family, friends, my old job, etc. But, I'm finding a place for myself here in Japan. Things are starting to make sense. I have things to do on the weekends. I'm falling into a routine. Now, if I can just get some rest and time to relax! I've now been here three and a half months. I started feeling more settled around a month ago. It's a nice change. Still, I can't help but think back on my time to Paris. Right or wrong, I keep comparing the two experiences. Although, timewise, this would be about when my time in Paris was winding down and coming to a close. It's hard to imagine that it feels like I'm just starting my time here in Japan. Would my experience in Japan have been easier to adjust to if I knew it wasn't for as long- more of a need to make every moment count? Still, in France, the culture is so much more similar to American, that I didn't give as much thought to the differences. Here in Japan, the culture is more different at its root. However, unlike in France, Japan is in love with the rest of the world and imports so much. They have a desire to taste and experience the best of all worlds. That is something I can relate to. It's taken a while for me to really start noticing what things I miss about home (and not specifics like a cheeseburger from Nabil at Sam's late at night or a drink on Haight Street with Flo and from my favorite bartender.) Now that I've been here a little longer, I am starting to notice a few things that they just don't have or do here, and I'm starting to miss them:

-American breakfasts in general
-Brunch in particular
-All baked Italian dishes with ricotta- lasagna, baked ziti, ravioli
-Dirty martinis
-Cosmos
-El Zarape-style burritos


Being a little easier to find English-speaking doctors, dentists, and optometrists would be nice too... It's hard enough finding a doctor you like, and MY pool just got much smaller, since I don't speak Japanese.

Socialized healthcare

I had my first experience with socialized healthcare this weekend. In the Japanese system, patients pay 30% of the total cost. It sounds like a lot, but I think without the massive amounts of lawsuits, some things are cheaper. Although, some things are more expensive. The fee for the office visit was cheaper, but you also pay 30% of lab costs. I THINK the lab costs were similar, but I think many US insurance companies cover lab costs, whereas I now paid 30%. I went to a doctor who was listed on the US embassy's website as being good for US expats. The doctor's English was good, but... I did have to pull out my dictionary to translate botulism when taking the medical history. Botulism may not be super common, so I guess that gets a pass. Once she saw the kanji, she mentioned honey, etc., so she knew what I was talking about. I realized way after the fact that nobody took my weight or blood pressure or temperature. I got my blood drawn for an allergy test and the woman didn't wear gloves. I don't understand why ANYBODY would choose not to wear gloves this day in age. Marc (my old boss, and an MD, at the VA hospital in SD never wore gloves to do blood draws, so I guess I've seen this before.) Still... Of course, I also don't clean up blood and put on band aids for the students like some of my Japanese staff. Maybe it's cultural??? Even Naomi (one of the Japanese staff) suggested it might be a cultural difference.
Perhaps equally foreign, I got a letter from the local government in the mail today reminding me to get my annual pap smear. Thank you, Fujisawa

Just another (all) night in Tokyo

I don't remember ever having lived so much for the weekends before. I think my whole mood changes the minute the weekend comes, maybe that's because I get out of Shonandai.
Last night I went up to Tokyo for a beer meetup group. It was fun, but those meetups can always be just a little awkward, because it's a group of strangers making small talk. Still, it was a good mix of Japanese and gaijin. We started talking about jokes and one man, who has lived in Japan for nine years, told me my jokes were so bad, that here in Japan, they have a specific word for that kind of humor. I forget the Japanese word, but it translates to middle-aged man humor. The people were nice and the beer was good. We decided to go to a different neighborhood and go to what they called the ¥300 shot bar. When we got there, I realized I had already been there and really liked it. It was kind of nice feeling like places are starting to be recognizable.
At some point, it was time for Cinderella to leave. My train might not turn into a pumpkin, but it does stop running. Once again, I wish I didn't live in Shonandai, but Tokyo, so I don't have a curfew. Well, trains in Japan can be confusing. I use a program on my phone to find trains. It's all in Japanese, but I normally do ok. I was running to catch the last train. I knew I had the right line, but wasn't sure what platform. My train left at 11:39. I got a little dyslexic and saw one train on the screen that said it left at 23:49. I just saw the 9 and jumped on. I immediately knew my mistake at 11:39 when the other train across from me on the platform (completely packed) pulled away... And I'm stranded in Tokyo all night... To make it worse, my first Japanese class is today- pretty early in the morning.
So, I head to Manga Kissa. My lonely planet had recommended it if you're stuck for the night. I'm glad I had read that section. So, for ¥1300 (about $15) I get a private booth for six hours. There's a computer with tv, unlimited internet access, a recliner... They offer free drinks all night... Juices, coffees, teas, sodas... They even had free soft serve ice cream last night. Manga is Japanese comics. This place is like a huge library FULL of comic books. I spent the night sleeping in my recliner, other people sleep on the floor... If I hadn't been so tired, I think it would be fun to look through the comics, explore that side of Japanese culture. Or maybe use their massage chairs. I've had much better nights sleep before, but it wasn't awful... Now to go to class and lean Japanese.

Schizophrenia?!

I've heard that transitions are like cycles, they get better, then worse, then better again. And so goes the cycle. I've even had a transition or two in my life and have experienced those transition cycles. The cycles here are making me feel schizophrenic or like I have multiple personalities or something. Some weeks are really great, and I'm happy and enjoy the experience.
Then, there's this week. It's just been a hard week. I've been homesick. I miss my life in San Francisco. a lot. My job here is not as fun. My social calendar is not as full. Then today happened... Apparently the post office sent me something in the mail, but I didn't get it. It went to a mail slot near my door, not my actual MAILBOX that I've been checking. So, apparently, mail has not been delivered to my apartment. This has messed up my bank. I STILL don't have an ATM card. Meaning, to get money, I have to go in and see a teller Mon-Fri. We figured this all out today when we went down to the bank. They'll make me another one and I should get it in 7-10 days... Well, at least the process will start over again in 7-10 days. Nothing about banking here is easy. Then, my phone service has been shut off. Apparently, the phone company ALSO tried to send me something that didn't get delivered , because of the problem with the post office. That also was "handled" today so I should have it back tonight or tomorrow morning. Still, it's incredibly frustrating that the system is so different. I don't understand any of it. Even if I did, I can't fix the problem myself because I don't speak the language. I hate not feeling self-sufficient and needing everybody to do everything for me. Weeks like this make me wonder if I'll make it the whole year. 69 days down. 296 to go.
Last night I did get a little excited for a minute. I was writing about how I want to go home... want to go back to San Francisco. I realized how to say that in Japanese:
サンフランシスコへ行きたい
san furanshisuko e ikitai

I'm not even sure it is totally correct, but I was still pretty excited to figure it out. It made the night slightly more bearable, but then today happened. At least I didn't have many classes today and had enough money in my wallet to splurge on dinner and a bottle of wine. Let's hope I still have enough cash to get through the weekend (seeing as I can't get money again before Monday) sigh... San Francisco me manque trop.

Just some thoughts on a Monday evening

Today, I went to see Alice and Wonderland in 3D! I have been waiting to see this movie for the longest time. It came out in theaters in the US the day I got on a plane to come to Japan. Even then I wanted to see it. It premiered here in Japan last week. Felt very delayed. The movie was fun, I had really looked forward to seeing it. Felt like a bridve between SF and here. Went to a nice grocery store afterward and spent way too much money on food- imported cheese, imported Anchor Steam, imported olives, imported taco seasonings, salsa, and shells.

People have asked for cultural oddities. I find Japan difficult to describe, because in many ways it's like home: they have baseball teams, Starbucks is everywhere, they like having a variety of ethnic foods. My friend said she thought Tokyo was like some neighborhood in LA that doesn't speak English, which even that is somewhat common. Still, the culture is different. I'll do a better job looming for and remembering those differences. I do find it odd that they don't say anything (i.e. gezuteight sp?) when you sneeze. They turn off the escalators in the train station around ten, even though trains still run. Men here openly admit to liking boy bands and have dangly things and key chains on their pencil cases and phones. The girls here are VERY modest about showing any cleavage, maybe even shoulders too, but then wear the shortest skirts and shorts I've ever seen. Kevin can't get over the fact that they wear masks here when they're sick, but then still use chopsticks to dip into communal food. Floral one-piece jumpsuits, while not popular, are not unheard of either. I particularly enjoyed the man with THREE glittery bows in his hair like it was no big deal. I'll try to get pics, but the culture is so respectful, I don't want to be rude.

Bizarre beyond bizarre

Before I left for Japan, I wondered if I belonged anywhere or if I belonged to the world. Now, I often think that my heart is, and always will be, in San Francisco. I have found a home. Still, there is a part that belongs to the world as a whole, and it made it's way home tonight.
After work, I went out with Kevin. We met up with Ralph, this guy who works for Aeon (our parent company), actually upstairs in the same building. Ralph is this really cool guy. He's from Britain. We also met up with Sayaka. I had never met her before. She works in a hair salon in the same building. Apparently, she is a student at Aeon. Perhaps, Ralph's student? Perhaps, Ralph's girlfriend? We went out to an izakaya and had an absolutely delicious meal!
Afterward, Kevin and I went to a bar that he had wandered past last weekend. The bar turned out to be a Latin bar. (Oddly enough, it used the batman logo as its own logo.) Still, it was an interesting night. The bartender was Japanese (Okinawa) by birth and heritage. He grew up in Argentina and considers his mentality to be Argentinian. His first language was Spanish. I spent the night, at a bar in Japan, speaking Spanish and translating for Kevin. On the other side of Kevin was a man who spoke Japanese and English. So, we were speaking/translating with him too. Then, it turns out that both Kevin and this Japanese man can sign. They were comparing American sign language and Japanese sign language. The bartender opened a bottle of wine that was ABSOLUTELY delicious!! When we asked him about it later, it turns out his friend gave it to him as a gift. His friend is a famous sumo wrestler here in Japan. The wine was INCREDIBLE. The Japanese man who spoke English was saying he thought the wine was very expensive. Kevin and I both thought it was one of the better wines we'd ever tasted. We were then "gifted" with some pastise/ouzo/absinthe... we're not sure exactly what it was. I'm pretty sure it was absinthe. Still, my poor brain is trying to catch up from the day. Such an interesting evening though. Roberto, the bartender, and I spent a good while discussing politics, racism, and the idea of being open to people of the world as a whole.

Cycles

Adjustments go through cycles, I know that. Last weekend was fantastic! We went to Tokyo Disneyland on Sunday (our Saturday). It was (almost) everybody from work. It was great getting to see them all in a social setting. Tokyo Disneyland was a lot of fun. It's very similar to Disneyland in California, but just different enough to throw you off. The "lands" are all the same, except they've renamed "Frontierland" to "Westernland" which I thought was funny. We saw the Easter Parade, complete with Mary Poppins and weird egg costumes. Honey I Shrunk the Audience was in Japanese, but they had headphones in the back row with English translations. The rides, like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, were a lot faster, which made them more fun. Space Mountain felt longer too. Sunday, I went to Yokohama and got my hair cut. It was great getting to go to a Japanese salon. I had a girls day with Naomi, one of the Japanese teachers. We had lunch, got our hair done, went to a cafe, and then went shopping. She's been going to this hair stylist for years now. Naomi had written down English translations for a few common phrases in a book for the hair stylists (not while I was there, but sometime before then.) It was super cute, because they would thumb through this book and then look up and timidly say "Let's go wash your hair" or whatever it was. One girl had a friend in Sacramento and had been to SF before. We had a very pidgin-ed conversation, half-Japanese/half-English, about her trip to SF. With her finger, she makes a big S-like curve and says the word flowers. Ahh... Lombard St... That's pretty much how the conversation went, but it was a fun day. It was nice feeling like I could have a weekend that felt kind of normal. As though, even though I was in a foreign country, life is normal and it goes on. You get your hair cut, go shopping, whatever.
This week was a little harder. I had a weird dream on Monday or Tuesday night that was pretty upsetting. I think the dream kind of put me in a funk. I'm also hearing less and less from people from home, which makes me feel lonely. So, if you're reading this, send e-mails or text messages. It's nice to know there are people out there thinking about you. I haven't talked to many people from home since I've been here. There are people around, so it's not like I'm alone, but I miss people from home, which makes me feel lonely. Last night and tonight are the first nights by myself since last Saturday, so it's really not like I'm alone, but do feel lonely. This week, I've been wondering if I'll actually make it the full year. Like I said, I know it's all cycles. I know it will get better again, and then worse again, and then better. This weekend, I'll be going up to Tokyo to go dancing. That should help A LOT! I miss dancing. I haven't gone out dancing since my last weekend in San Francisco. Well, dancing in the elevator to "Telephone" doesn't count.

P.S. I added a link to the Disneyland pictures on my facebook, but here it is again: