Kyoto

When I told myself I was going to start taking it easy, apparently what I meant was that I was going to spend the week not sleeping and then do some traveling.
Brilliant.

Yes, I shouldn't have travelled. But really, it's...fall in Kyoto. How could I say no?



Pictures are in my photo album. Of course.

I am slightly determined to blog more regularly. If nothing else, to make up for my complete lack of e-mailing. Also, there are somethings I just shouldn't trust to my sieve of a memory...

Like this:

On Thursday, a national holiday, I found myself with Dawn and two of our local Japanese friends at...the Kewpie Mayonnaise Factory.
In Japan, Kewpie is to mayo as Kraft is to Mac and Cheese in America. The tour we were on was so highly competitive that we only got in because our friend won a drawing.
What can one say? It was a mayonnaise factory...filled with hundreds of Kewpie dolls.

After the brief tour, they left us in a room to sample various Kewpie products. And in the background, they projected their famous Tarako commerical on the wall. Repeatedly. For half an hour. The sheer torture of this can only be understood after you see the commerical. Please do so by clicking here.
It's an experience I wouldn't give up for anything. Or repeat for anything.

Or this:
The following day, while still humming the Tarako song, one of our little students started choking on a piece of candy. Right in front of me and Dawn. I picked him up and pressed under his ribs, which...thankfully, sent the candy flying. It's no exagguration, when they say that time slows down in situations like that. I'm sure the whole thing last 5 seconds but...it felt like...well...a lot longer.

Or this:
There are those brief moments in life when, as Mom and I say, your tanks are filled. From every angle, you're just...affirmed. Whether it's laughing for hours over past adventures with a friend, planning for new ones across Asia, finding surprising companionship with your co-worker, enjoying heartfelt conversation over tea and toast, receiving unexpected letters from loved ones, waking up to a message that even your freckles are missed or just hearing your Mom laugh at your crazy stories...
It's a rare moment, when all those things come together at once. And certainly just as memorable as the Kewpie factory.

Safe

Last night, Dawn called me to ask "Ummm, have you heard anything about an Earthquake or a Tsunami? Cause my Mom called me all worried. Apparently it's front page news in America that Japan was hit with both and people are evacuating..."

I looked around my cozy apartment, glanced up at the clear night sky and shrugged "No..."

After a little research, I learned that....apparently, there was an Earthquake in Hokkaido, which is a separate island of Japan much much further north. We didn't feel so much as a tremor here.

I'm safe and sound. But thanks to everyone who wrote or called to check on me. :)

To die for

Today, Dawn jumped in front of some oncoming cars in order to save my hat from blowing away.
If that's not true friendship, well, I just don't know what is.

Never forget...

I've returned from Hiroshima and, as promised, I have a stack of pictures.

 

Go here to see the rest of them. :)

It was an unforgettable trip. Not just the sights and sounds of bustling Hiroshima and majestic Miyajima island, but the sights and sounds of the A-bomb dome, the museum and the Peace Park. No, I'll never, ever forget...

Yesterday, I went for an company scheduled (and paid for!) check up at the doctor. Let me just say, you've never had a check up, until you've had one in a foreign language. ;)