Did I mention that Takae is not here? That's right, my good friend from college who's house I'm currently visiting is gone.
MIA.
Absent in body.
What does this mean? It means that I ventured out of my house during the holiday season leaving all comforts of home and American friends to arrive in Tokyo. Here the Saito family speaks only Japanese. Since Takae is currently in America, there is no back up plan for when my limited Japanese inevitably runs out. This can be frustrating, but since it’s my vacation time I decided that I would just enjoy it and laugh at myself.
Unfortunately, an innocent party must suffer on behalf of my entertainment. Otoosan, Okaasan, and Yuko have to join forces to figure out what I’m saying. Often one person will understand me before the others, then relay my broken thoughts into a coherent Japanese statement for everyone else. We definitely spent a half hour figuring out how the American teachers came here and how many there were before and after the earthquake. We spent another half hour figuring out my elementary school schedule. About an hour was devoted to Japanese culture and New Year’s events, and before long our dinner conversation had surpassed the ten o’clock hour. The important thing here is that we’re all learning and spending time with each other, right?!
As we were cleaning up the kitchen okaasan said, “When Takae comes back it will be easier to just use her when we don’t understand…but, I like this way better!”
Awww…..
Anyways, right now I’m getting ready for bed and my tush is about the only thing truly warm, courtesy of the heated carpet beneath me.
Let’s recount the days events.
I woke up. There were about 6 layers on top of me, the least of which not being the most fluffy futon/comforter I’ve ever used. I was super warm and toasty. Mmmm…
I went downstairs and realized that everyone was already up and about their daily routine. Seeing that my place was the only one set it was evident that they’d eaten their breakfast.
Oh. It’s 10:30am. Oops.
Somehow I managed to spend the next hour and a half on skype with my friend and ate my yummy food: avocado and salami salad, chocolate chip bread, yogurt with fruit, soup, and hot cocoa to wash it down.
Taking a shower in the freezing cold bathroom was my next order of business but it actually turned out quite well. Apparently there are a few things Japan thought of in absence of central heating.
1. On the freezing cold tile floor one places a thick sponge-like mat. Okay, not rocket science but certainly a necessity.
2. Outside of the shower area you turn the knob (looks like a bathroom fan timer knob) to the right. Walk into the shower room and *poof* There’s a nice hot breeze blowing from the ceiling. Yes please.
3. As soon as you enter the sink area, push the thing that looks like a light switch (it’s not) and a small floor heater blows hot air from under the sink…you really only feel it on your feet but it’s better than nothing!
So, after following all these steps I further proceeded to take my clothes into the shower area and carefully place them on top of the covered bathtub. Thus, after my shower I was able to dress in the warmth of the ceiling fan and exit fully dressed and impervious to the cool air.
Now ready to tackle the day I asked if I could help with chores. I already knew that Japanese people clean their house from top to bottom during the new year. Yesterday, Yuko and Okaasan reminded me of that fact and apologized that despite their efforts to clean as much as they could before I arrived, there were still things to clean.
No problem. Cleaning is my thing. Actually, I’m better at cleaning other people’s houses for some odd reason…
My first task was to wash the breakfast dishes.
Done.
Number two: Okaasan pulled out the entire kitchen utensil drawer and placed it on the table. Dumping them out, it was obvious that the plastic insert orgainizer thing was dirty and needed a cleaning. No problem. I do this for my mom for fun.
Except….this plastic was old and had become brittle at the corners, meriting a solid taping front and back where plastic had broken and was missing. Since it was dirty I not only had to clean the plastic thing but remove the VERY sticky tape and replace it. I took my time and enjoyed watching the transformation from gross, to not as gross, to useable. My most favorite part was organizing the utensils in the drawer---what fun! (I’m not kidding)
Next I was informed of the week’s schedule:
Tomorrow: Clean.
Thursday: Wax all the floors in the entire house, moving all the furniture into the tatami mat room.
Friday: shop for groceries and cook New Year’s food.
Saturday: Cook and eat food all day and finish New Year’s cards. Go to the shrine at midnight to offer prayers.
Sunday: visit relatives.
Monday: relatives come over, and rest a little.
Tuesday: Something fun, TBD.
Wednesday: buy new running shoes and I return to Funehiki.
Having been informed of this I think I’m going to try and get to bed a little earlier for two reasons: I want to help out more with the chores, and I want to get up early enough to go running….looks like I’ll be eating plenty of food!
Anyways, later in the day Okaasan, Ojiichan and I went to the nursery to pick out flowers for the planters. Japan loves pansies, apparently, because there were more than you could shake a stick at. I was entreated to choose 6 plants. Half of them ended up being red…go figure.
Returning home I hung out playing the piano, eating dinner, and struggling to communicate. There were many pictures involved.
Well, it’s already 11pm and Otoosan just returned from his bonenkai…it’s basically an end-of-the-year party for all the office workers. They all go out to dinner and…relax. He brought home some omiyage for us though!
Good night.
MIA.
Absent in body.
What does this mean? It means that I ventured out of my house during the holiday season leaving all comforts of home and American friends to arrive in Tokyo. Here the Saito family speaks only Japanese. Since Takae is currently in America, there is no back up plan for when my limited Japanese inevitably runs out. This can be frustrating, but since it’s my vacation time I decided that I would just enjoy it and laugh at myself.
Unfortunately, an innocent party must suffer on behalf of my entertainment. Otoosan, Okaasan, and Yuko have to join forces to figure out what I’m saying. Often one person will understand me before the others, then relay my broken thoughts into a coherent Japanese statement for everyone else. We definitely spent a half hour figuring out how the American teachers came here and how many there were before and after the earthquake. We spent another half hour figuring out my elementary school schedule. About an hour was devoted to Japanese culture and New Year’s events, and before long our dinner conversation had surpassed the ten o’clock hour. The important thing here is that we’re all learning and spending time with each other, right?!
As we were cleaning up the kitchen okaasan said, “When Takae comes back it will be easier to just use her when we don’t understand…but, I like this way better!”
Awww…..
Anyways, right now I’m getting ready for bed and my tush is about the only thing truly warm, courtesy of the heated carpet beneath me.
Let’s recount the days events.
I woke up. There were about 6 layers on top of me, the least of which not being the most fluffy futon/comforter I’ve ever used. I was super warm and toasty. Mmmm…
I went downstairs and realized that everyone was already up and about their daily routine. Seeing that my place was the only one set it was evident that they’d eaten their breakfast.
Oh. It’s 10:30am. Oops.
Somehow I managed to spend the next hour and a half on skype with my friend and ate my yummy food: avocado and salami salad, chocolate chip bread, yogurt with fruit, soup, and hot cocoa to wash it down.
Taking a shower in the freezing cold bathroom was my next order of business but it actually turned out quite well. Apparently there are a few things Japan thought of in absence of central heating.
1. On the freezing cold tile floor one places a thick sponge-like mat. Okay, not rocket science but certainly a necessity.
2. Outside of the shower area you turn the knob (looks like a bathroom fan timer knob) to the right. Walk into the shower room and *poof* There’s a nice hot breeze blowing from the ceiling. Yes please.
3. As soon as you enter the sink area, push the thing that looks like a light switch (it’s not) and a small floor heater blows hot air from under the sink…you really only feel it on your feet but it’s better than nothing!
So, after following all these steps I further proceeded to take my clothes into the shower area and carefully place them on top of the covered bathtub. Thus, after my shower I was able to dress in the warmth of the ceiling fan and exit fully dressed and impervious to the cool air.
Now ready to tackle the day I asked if I could help with chores. I already knew that Japanese people clean their house from top to bottom during the new year. Yesterday, Yuko and Okaasan reminded me of that fact and apologized that despite their efforts to clean as much as they could before I arrived, there were still things to clean.
No problem. Cleaning is my thing. Actually, I’m better at cleaning other people’s houses for some odd reason…
My first task was to wash the breakfast dishes.
Done.
Number two: Okaasan pulled out the entire kitchen utensil drawer and placed it on the table. Dumping them out, it was obvious that the plastic insert orgainizer thing was dirty and needed a cleaning. No problem. I do this for my mom for fun.
Except….this plastic was old and had become brittle at the corners, meriting a solid taping front and back where plastic had broken and was missing. Since it was dirty I not only had to clean the plastic thing but remove the VERY sticky tape and replace it. I took my time and enjoyed watching the transformation from gross, to not as gross, to useable. My most favorite part was organizing the utensils in the drawer---what fun! (I’m not kidding)
Next I was informed of the week’s schedule:
Tomorrow: Clean.
Thursday: Wax all the floors in the entire house, moving all the furniture into the tatami mat room.
Friday: shop for groceries and cook New Year’s food.
Saturday: Cook and eat food all day and finish New Year’s cards. Go to the shrine at midnight to offer prayers.
Sunday: visit relatives.
Monday: relatives come over, and rest a little.
Tuesday: Something fun, TBD.
Wednesday: buy new running shoes and I return to Funehiki.
Having been informed of this I think I’m going to try and get to bed a little earlier for two reasons: I want to help out more with the chores, and I want to get up early enough to go running….looks like I’ll be eating plenty of food!
Anyways, later in the day Okaasan, Ojiichan and I went to the nursery to pick out flowers for the planters. Japan loves pansies, apparently, because there were more than you could shake a stick at. I was entreated to choose 6 plants. Half of them ended up being red…go figure.
Returning home I hung out playing the piano, eating dinner, and struggling to communicate. There were many pictures involved.
Well, it’s already 11pm and Otoosan just returned from his bonenkai…it’s basically an end-of-the-year party for all the office workers. They all go out to dinner and…relax. He brought home some omiyage for us though!
Good night.
Ojiichan planting our new flower boxes.
Ojiichan grew these. he cut a stump of a cherry tree, stuck mushroom seeds (spores?) inside, put it in a plastic bag with some water and watched them grow!
The shitake mushrooms with curry soba for lunch. Yummmmmm
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