Cruising around Tokyo Bay

Finally got the chance to wear a yukata in public & going on the trains! I feel so Japanese walking in my kawaii yukata and geta (Japanese clogs) in gentle little steps. Though the thing is I get mistaken for a Japanese all the time anyway, even less surprising when I'm in a yukata, that I think my foreign looking girl friends get paid more attention for wearing that on the street! :p

The cruise ship that we went on is huge with 3 decks and maybe a thousand people! The night view of Tokyo Bay was fantastic. People were mainly drinking and having a good time. I was expecting a more relaxed cruise with only people from Tokyo Gaijins (the group that we signed up with for the cruise). But it was still fun anyway. Even dressing up with April & Jennifer at Nakamura sensei's place was an adventure by itself.

This summer has been fun: going to a natsu matsuri (summer festival), hanabi (fireworks) & yukata boat cruise!!

A peaceful night of hanabi

I got off at Kumagaya station, north of Saitama where my Mexican friend picked me up to go to Menuma to view the hanabi, fireworks. It was a really pleasant day with such nice weather. Thank god it wasn't hot & humid today! I was expecting a really crowded festival with sweaty people pushing against each other and squeezing among the crowd. But there was none of that. It was really quiet and dark there in the middle of nowhere with just a few food stalls. Although there were many families with mats & little chairs, it was still pleasantly crowded. I loved the place...perfect for viewing hanabi!!

Hanabi in Japan are so long!! The one at Menuma lasted for 2 glorious hours!! And I got more that what I bargained for as it happened that 2 other places were displaying fireworks at around the same time. So while waiting during the intervals, I would look at the smaller ones further away. As I sat watching the fireworks, the wind caressed my face and it even felt a little chilly as we were in the open air. It was a really beautiful night and I'm glad that I was there enjoying the moment.

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story written by Paul Auster. It's not a book I read, but a story (translated into Japanese) that I had to re-translate into English as my homework. Well, not the whole thing because it'll drive me crazy and take up all my time... Novel translation is so much harder than I expected. I doubt I'll ever make it...or at least I can't see myself making it now. Reading & understanding the Japanese is hard enough, but to translate it into an English context that native speakers can easily understand while considering the author's style and injecting my own style is even harder! It sucks not being a native English speaker because I have to think & write like one when I translate. Anyway, here's the part I translated. If there're any comments on the style of writing or if it even makes any sense, do let me know....if anyone cares to read. Although, DO NOT correct my grammar mistakes openly! :p

I heard this story from Auggie Wren. He doesn’t come off as a very good guy in here. Well, at least he wishes it would have been different. For that reason, he has asked me not to use his real name. Apart from that, everything else here is true: the lost wallet, the blind girl and the Christmas dinner. We’ve known each other for almost 11 years. Auggie works behind the counter in a cigar store on Court Street in Brooklyn. And I’m his regular customer. That store is the only place that sells my favorite thin Dutch cigars, which gives me enough reason to drop by frequently. For the first few years, I’d never paid much attention to him. He was just an eccentric guy always wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt who sells me cigars and magazines. You can always count on Auggie to hit you with witty comments on the weather, the Mets, or the politicians of Washington. He’s the sweet evil tongue that everyone loves for making their day. That was all I knew or thought about him.

But as it happened, one day, while flipping through the magazines in the store, Auggie’s eyes fell across a review of my book. His eyes narrowed with recognition as he stared at the photo that came with it. And that changed our casual acquaintance completely. I was no longer just one of his many customers that walked in and out of the store daily. I am a writer. Not that many people in the world would give a damn to my books or that I’m a writer. But Auggie differs in that he regards himself as an artist. Since the moment my identity was uncovered by him, he began to take me in differently as if I were his trusted confidant or comrade on the battlefield. Although, honestly, I was irked that he thought we shared an affinity. As if I had been anticipating it all along, one day, he came up to me and asked if I would like to look at his photos. Looking at his eager face with all good intentions, I couldn’t bring myself to say, “Sorry, but I’d rather not”.

An unplanned vacation

I'm going to Taipei....next week!! Little did I expect to travel so soon just after coming back. But life is sometimes full of such spontaneity. Though I'm not your most spontaneous person because I like to plan ahead. But the opportunity was too tempting to pass over.

So 4 people from Japan & Singapore will be setting out individually (though one is already there), each with a different agenda. But we'll all converge eventually. I just thought that it's such a strange but cute idea. As if it contains a significance...hmm...but most likely not. I've come to realise that coincidences are only significant if you attach significance to it. Shirley, my ex-coworker; Alex, fellow JET; my sister; myself...the 4 with our different agendas. And it wasn't even planned! It evolved from a sudden offer which involves me bunking with Shirley at her hotel... to meeting Alex while he's there for his regular visit...... to having my sister come with me, as it was her plan to go to Taiwan at exactly the same period. We didn't even get to know each other's plans till yesterday.

Well, the more the merrier!

Making takoyaki in the heat!

My second natsu matsuri (summer festival)... Last year, it was very nearby as I attended the one in my town. But this year, I crossed the border to the city next to me, Hasuda, where my tutor lives. :p Though, both times I didn't get to wear a yukata. It's ok since I'll be able to wear it to a Yukata boat cruise at Tokyo bay next week!!

Nakamura-sensei was volunteering at the （椿山夏祭り）Tsubakiyama summer festival with her group of friends. They had a takoyaki stall (6 for 100 yen) and have been volunteering every year for perhaps 20 over years. She invited me to go, which I did in the evening when it wasn't that hot (but still very hot!!). And I had a really fun time because I wasn't just looking around, but helping to make takoyaki too! I had never made any before and always thought that it looks hard to make them nice & round. But it was actually quite simple. So for about three hours (while taking a break here and then), I stood in the heat grilling takoyaki that made the heat even more unbearable and drinking beer. I don't usually drink beer, but I had about 11/2 (or less) cans because it was just so hot and the beer felt refreshing. And I met a really cute little girl, Miku-chan, the grandaughter of one of the volunteers. She is so tiny and cute in her pink yukata!!

This summer seems to be going pretty fast, as I have quite a few things going on. It's kinda good though because it's better than having nothing to do. Though I hate summer for causing spots to appear on my face!!!

Caught in a storm

The sky thundered yesterday afternoon and my tutor asked me to quickly head back home. I looked at the grey sky and got a little worried as I didn't have my raincoat. Although I wanted to hurry home, I needed to drop by the supermarket for some groceries. By the time I was done there, I could feel a little raindrops when I was riding. The little drops got bigger & bigger until the storm poured straight onto me. I panicked because it was still a distance from home and I had my yukata (simpler version of a kimono the Japanese wear in summer) in a paper bag (brought it to Nakamura sensei's place to learn how to wear but think I've already forgotten!). I quickly swerved to hide under the shelter of a grocery store. I was lucky because there aren't many shelters on my way home. I was a little soaked and looked dismally at the heavy rain. I stood there for quite some time as the thunder crashed a few times. The store owners were very kind and invited me to go into the store to wait out the storm, perhaps thinking that I might be scared of thunder.

It was a first experience, being caught in a storm. Somehow I felt as if I was in a movie because it would never happen to me back home.

Status as a sempai

I walked down memory lane today...to my first day in Japan as a JET. Except that it was raining today while it was blazing hot last year when I arrived at Saitama. I went to fetch the 2 new AETs at Urawa (capital of Saitama) with my supervisor in the morning. It was a long day for me too as I had to stay with them the whole day. At the Health & Welfare centre at Urawa, I peeked curiously at the new JETs (Group B) of Saitama. They were half the size of ours last year. It was a weird feeling to be sitting at the other side with all the supervisors. I could still remember vividly how I felt at the "JETs' side" on my first day here. It was all so overwhelming, new & very hot.

But today, I'm a sempai (senior) to my 2 new colleagues from England & America. I wish Janet or just someone else is here to help too. They have so many questions to ask me, which is natural of course. Hopefully I would do ok for a sempai. Though I really wish there isn't such a big change. If only I could have come back to what was here before. But that's life....always full of new challenges.

Friends back home

I realised that I don't have any pictures of my friends back home. This was taken on our last night together. It's so much easier to be able to meet friends that are back home because you know you can also go back to where you come from. It's different with friends you meet overseas.

Coming back...

Who would have thought that I would be dreading to come back to Japan after a year? I left Singapore today with such mixed emotions. I know I didn't want to stay for good (although I miss my family & friends) and yet I was dreading to come back. The cold,hard fact that my good friend is no longer here really hit me when I reached home after two long train rides from Narita airport.

I have never felt that sad for a long time. This new contract year is going to be very different, I think. Though I hope it won't be as bad as I imagine it to be.