Week 21: Holy Snow

My Lovely Moe 

He Looks Like This After I Park Him Everywhere

Holy. Snow.

I have repeated these two words non-stop for the past two weeks. The first snow fall occured on Friday, December 5th. What began as an innocent sprinkle of snow, turned into apocalyptic winter wonderland in less than 24 hours. This past weekend the snow has elevated to easily three-five feet, and that number keeps increasing. The past few days I head out to my dear car Moe, and seemingly sing in my head, "Everday I'm Shovelin'..." to the tune of LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem song, specifically swapping Shufflin' to Shovelin.' In other words, the amount of snow is so ridiculous that all I can do is laugh hysterically as I shovel it off my car...and apparently come up with ludicrous songs to go with it.

Least to say, the snow brings both challenges and rewards. It is a mess to drive in, and never have I been this nervous to hop in my car before. The Japanese attempt to keeping the roads clear is via giant snow plows, and an only semi-effective sprinkler system along all the streets. Night time driving is the equivalent of a really bad video game where the goal is to disrupt the driver's vision as much as possible, and drop snow bombs along the ride, but instead this is the reality of snowy Inaka winters. In turn, each  time I leave my car, it is expected that I will return to a marshmallow looking blanket of powder piled perfectly atop it. Thereby instituting the mental struggle to simply want to go anywhere knowing that there will definitely be an arm workout waiting for you. My extendable snow brush-shovel-contraption and I have already become good friends.

From KJ Parking Lot

Yet, the snow has a beauty that is indescribable. My feeble attempt to take pictures fails to do justice to the snows enchantment. The trees look like the fake snow-covered trees that you see in Snow Globes back in the U.S. but in this case they are as real and majestic as ever. Also, when in snow country there is absolutely no excuse to avoid snow sports. To be frank:

I went skiing. For the first time in over a decade, and...

I LOVED IT.

Atop one of the runs at Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort

My dear friend from high school, Anna, frantically messaged me pre-ski experience in slight disbelief that I was finally going. Since frankly, I was the person in high school surrounded by ski-enthusiastic friends who went every year and simultaneously attempted to drag me along with them...and never did. However, I was determined to commit this year. I did so entirely and invested in a ski pass, ski clothes, and rented my own set of skis, boots and poles. Basically, I did not give myself a choice of not liking skiing (huge sigh of relief that I enjoyed it so much!).

Ski Pass; First Day on the Slopes

This past Saturday I ventured over to the ski resort with my Mom's joking email in mind telling me, "Don't fall off the chair lift!" (yeah...that happened the first time) before the rest of the crew, and took a ski lesson in Japanese and somehow managed to only fall once during the entire lesson. I eliminated my anxiety with the chair lift after the first fall, and can say that I am a bunny slope semi-pro. The one attempt to go down a huuuuuuge run was not so pretty, and resulted in me butt scooting up a mountain to avoid tumbling the entire way down. I am ever grateful to Talia for enduring this process with me, and never complaining once. Rather, she listened to my manic laughter at how ridiculous the situation I put us in was.

Regardless, I am anxious to go  again and practice more. I am hoping between it being a good workout, it also helps make the snow enjoyable.

Pictures Taken Around My Apartment

On another note, in light of my previous blog post, I just want to say a huge virtual-Thank You. I am still overwhelmed with the number of messages I have received. It is unbelievably amazing to realize how many wonderful people I have in my life. It seems silly to say, since I have always known of my good friends and family, but it's crazy how it sometimes takes hitting rock bottom to fully wake up and realize how fortunate I am. In a  span of two weeks I have been in touch with more people around the world than I have my entire stay in Japan. I regret that it took me this long to reach out to so many people, but I hope to continue to maintain these conversations in the new year.

Yukiguni Crew at our Thanksgiving and Christmas Party 

Lastly, in lieu of the holiday spirit and snow, it has been a blast hanging out with my local Yukiguni crew. Between our Christmas party and a weekend filled with skiing, I am continually grateful for the camaraderie and sheer desire to have a good time these folks bring.

To end, I am extremely excited to head back to the States this Friday (tomorrow!). I'll be time traveling and leaving Friday night and arrive in the morning at LAX. I am anxious to get out of Japan, and take a break from all the maddness that has ensued in the past couple months. I am looking forward to recharging with friends and family (frankly 5+ months of not seeing people is TOO long). Also, after getting over the fact that I wasn't going to see another Asian country in 2014, I recently booked a ticket to Singapore as a birthday present to myself in January where I will finally be reunited with one of my best friends, and study abroad roommate: Mac as she makes her big work move to Asia!

I am wishing everyone the happiest of holidays, and a great start to 2015! I look forward to seeing what the year of the Sheep brings!

Honesty and Asking for Help

I was told about a month ago, "What is a blog, if you can't be honest with your readers." This comment has stuck since then, and in light of the last month of 2014.    

           I choose to be blatantly honest.

When you are accepted into the JET program, they send you a general handbook. In the many pages, there are a series of graphs and charts that detail the "waves of culture shock." There are various versions depending on the "type," of person you are. My version cannot necessarily be mapped on a "wave graph," rather I describe my experience thus far as this metaphor:

I'm on a train. The train takes a while to get going, but finally it's up and running. Then, it breaks down. It's fixed, and begins to move again, but suddenly, out of no where, it breaks down. Once again, it's fixed a second time, but within seconds it breaks down a third time. And then, I'm stuck.

The moment I moved to Japan, I was overwhelmed with culture shock, inabilities to cope with severe isolation and working a job that I had no prior experience in. Added with the the frustration of not being able to understand anything that was going on around me due to the language barrier. Most of all, I missed so many people. I let every single one of these factors, plus many others, to make me dig a very negative hole for myself. I dug it so deep, that I worried I couldn't get out. I let these feelings overwhelm me. I took out my fears, insecurities and aches of missing everyone I loved, to turn me into a person that was not me. I had evolved into a version of myself that I hated, and most of all wanted to get rid of.

My meek train metaphor above describes my experience in Japan. I've had three major life events, that have almost consecutively occurred in recent two months of being here. All have been caused by unpredictable events that are tied to significant people in my life, and all have hit close to home. Although, not directly correlated to the country itself. These three happenings, in conjunction with all the stresses of moving and working abroad, have frankly turned the latter of 2014 into a year that has caused me to experience a type of pain and suffering I have never felt before.

No one being, can truly tell you how you're going to feel in a new place. Moving, making a change, transitioning and so on, are all parts of life that can either be the most rewarding, the most difficult, or a mix of the two. No one can warn you of what is going to happen in your life when you decide to take a leap of faith.

I recognize now, more than ever, that I do not have to deal with my train wreck on my own. It's taken me until my third breakdown, to finally: ask for help. 

In a span of less than 48 hours, I have been overwhelmed with the number of phone calls, messages, video chats, and sacrifices of local ALTs have made to frankly: help me.

For me, it's something easier said, than done. Very few people knew what was going on in my life when I first moved to Japan, as paraphrased by the above paragraphs. I didn't let people know, because I am both stubborn and was trying to prove "something," to myself that I could do this. I realize now, that I can't get through any of this without help. I realize how silly I was not being honest with myself and others. I realize how my strive to handle things alone, caused me to possibly hurt and push some of my closest relationships away. Importantly, I realize how lucky I am to have people who have made sacrifices right and left to help me, notably the 90% of them being an entire Ocean away from me.

I write all of this, because a blog is supposed to be a record of an experience. Even though I, and everyone else viewing this wants to revel in all my positive and happy moments. I remember what that first person said about blogs and honesty, and I think the entirety of these raw emotions I am feeling finally need to be published in this space. I want every person who is reading this to gain a better understanding of the hardships, not to make them feel sorry, but to provide perspective. 

To further emphasize my point, I write this to all my fellow patrons abroad who are making a work transition in a foreign country, it is probably one of the hardest things you will ever do. I write this also to my friends and family Stateside, who feel the same about moving to a new city or state. I write this to people who feel stuck where they are, and have no idea when their train is going to be moving again. I write this to all the future JET participants, not to scare you, but to prepare you mentally, a heads-up never hurts.

Each person's experience is completely different on JET. I believe that no one person's feelings can accurately be mapped on a chart offered in a guide book. However, what can be written in a guide book is this: Ask for help. 

I have asked for help, and the results are overwhelming. By no means am I OK. In fact, I may not be OK for a long time. But, my cries for help are being met. Even as I sit alone in my apartment in my tiny countryside town, I feel incredibly loved and cared for. Most of all, I am beyond thankful. I am scared and nervous for each day here, as of late. Each day is a really scary and unknown adventure that I hope to overcome and tackle. In the moment, my train is completely at a standstill, but slowly and surely I at least am realizing it will move again - eventually.

In the meantime, my goal is to focus on each day leading up to December 19th when I will be Stateside (yes, change of plans) and in California for two solid weeks. I hope to recharge and optimistically end this horrendous period, on a good note.

To every single person who has helped me along this journey, I thank you. I know with your help, that I will get through this.

With all my heart,
Adrienne

Week 19: Becca & Korea

Becca and I at Gyeonbokung Palace

 

Last weekend I took my first excursion outside of Japan and visited one of my favorite AEPhi sisters Becca! Becca is teaching English in the outskirts of the fantastic city of Seoul. True to her big heart, she pulled out all the stops and catered this trip to my interests. We dined like queens, and I fell in love with Korean food. It was a fantastic trip, and I'm already anxious to see if I can return to Korea at another point this year. 

Delicious Market Place

I arrived late Friday night, and we both having had a long week of teaching slept in on Saturday. We finally left the house and grabbed a late lunch at this fantastic street market near Gyeonbokgung Palace. One of Becca's teachers recommended this gem to us, and it was well worth it! This traditional market asks visitors to buy gold coins for the equivalent of about 10 U.S. dollars. We walked up and down the aisles probably five times before we each decided on our perspective spread. We were both surprisingly stuffed. It was all delicious! I particularly enjoyed my Kimchi Pajeon, which is a delicious egg pancake (lower right of my tray). 

After we stuffed our bellies full, we headed to the palace. Becca, not only a food connoiseur, but also a big fan of taking photos (thank goodness!) urged us to stop by the gorgeous fall leaves. Both of us being from California continually "oh-ah-ed," at the real fall foliage and of course, took photos.

Obligatory Jumping Photo and Selfies at Gyonbokgung Palace

We showed off our AEPhi Love in Korea

We played around at Gyeonbokgung Palace, equipped with Becca's selfie stick which are all the rage in Korea. We couldn't go inside the palace due to the hours, but the outside was gorgeous. I loved looking at the architecture. Although somewhat similar to the Japanese temples, this place utilized a lot more color and geometric designs. 

Foodie Adventures in Seoul

Only a few hours later, we ventured over to another part of the city where I met Becca's crew of friends. We dined on legit burgers and really nice brew. I got overly excited when I saw Sculpin, a Ballast Point classic, on the menu and ordered it. I paid way too much for it but it was worth every penny of my nostalgia. The burgers were also really good and I got my fix of burgers and brew. This place was very hipster and had Butterbeers on the menu. Usually, I do not like sweet beverages but this was such a unique concoction (and from Harry Potter!) that I couldn't resist ordering one myself. Of course, good friends help each other finish their drinks.

I don't have any photographic evidence, but we  all ventured over to Karaoke. Me, usually anti-Karaoke (not a big fan of singing, sorry folks!) had a blast. It was wonderful meeting Becca's friends and putting faces to names of her group in Korea. 

N. Seoul Tower Fun

The next day we went to N. Seoul Tower, a hit destination in Seoul. Becca came prepared with our "love lock," to put on one of the many fences at the foot of the tower. We spent a good chunk of time in this area enjoying the view from the top of the tower, taking lots of pictures (of course!), and of course being corralled by a group of Asian tourists to take a group photo with them (one woman had a death grip on me, probably to make sure I wouldn't run out of her picture). 

O'ngo Korean Food Tour

After adventuring around the tower, we went off to a big shopping area where another one of our fooding restaurants awaited us. We got Dak-Kalguksu at an amazing restaurant recommended by one of Becca's teachers. This restaurant was amazingly efficient. We ordered immediately, and after stepping away to use the restroom I returned and our food was waiting.

Afterwards, we did some window-shopping and we relaxed in a cafe. Later, we met up with Becca's good friend, Michelle who is also in her program. Becca's parents got her this amazing food tour experience for her birthday present. The three of us went on the night food tour with O'ngo. This three and a half experience was amazing! We took all the back streets, and ate at hole in the wall restaurants that only the true locals would know about. We dined at four restaurants. My favorite was the first Korean BBQ place. We sat outside at intimate tables and had a blast enjoying really good meat that came with tons of spices, sauces and condiments to enjoy our grilled food with. Our dessert restaurant showed off Korea's version of shaved ice. Another treat I am usually not a fan of in the States, but was pleasantly surprised by this version. Our guide ordered two flavors. My favorite was the matcha-flavor shaved ice. It had red bean and condensed milk hidden in the center. The true tea flavor shined through this dish and it was a great end to the entire meal.

Overall, my trip to Korea was amazing. I absolutely loved the country, the people, and of course, it was amazing to see a friend, more importantly a sister, Becca. She was one of the most generous and hospitable hosts I have ever had and I am ever grateful for the organized and fun weekend she planned for us. If I have time, I hope to make my way over there again. In the meantime, I will do my best to post again before the holidays hit. I'll be in Taiwan visiting Patrick for Christmas and New Year's, and am anxious to escape this cold weather (surprisingly, it hasn't snowed yet!).

Week 17: Patrick's Visit

Yahiko

After three and a half long months I was finally reunited with my boyfriend Patrick. After him sneeking up on me at the airport, two Shinkansen rides, and some tears, we finally made it back to Inaka where we spent the first half of his visit in my "hometown," of Urasa. I have been really lucky to have visits from both my family and Patrick, it was equally rejuvinating and exciting to be able to explore Japan with people I really care about. 

Yahiko + Newbie Photographer :D

 

After Patrick arrived I took the day off so we could kick off his visit by exploring Japan. We went to Yahiko, a gorgeous coastal area that is known for fantastic fall foliage. In addition to the vibrant red leaves that adorned all of the park trails, there was also a chrysanthemum festival near the temple that was outstanding. 

Other than at Yahiko, I didn't document any other excursions we did in Niigata. However, we still did a fair amount. Patrick was great and jumped into coming to school with me for an entire day at my base school, KJ. He willingly read outload excerpts from the TOEFL for my students, chatted with my teachers, walked briskly in the visitors slippers and held his own the entire time he was being called, "kawaii," under my students breaths (that means he is cute, in Japanese). Plus my TOEFL students told him his jacket was, "really cool," and therefore I think he helped me earn brownie points by having a "cool jacket wearing boyfriend."

Addtionally, I finally hosted an event at my place! The last evening we were in Urasa I invited all the Yukiguni people over for a potluck. I made my Italian meatballs from the cooking class Mom and I took in Rome a couple years back, and they were a huge hit! I was pleasantly surprised with how many people can fit into my apartment, both awake and asleep, and definitely will host more get togethers in the future. I predict, they will be necessary when the streets start being lined with thick walls of snow and I don't want to be alone cacooned up in blankets. 

I realized this was the first time I truly hosted people at, "my place," sans roommates. It was really fun and rewarding to make so many people happy. In turn, having Patrick stay with me, I also realize how incredibly (and probably annoyingly) OCD I am when it comes to cleaning and conserving energy. I guess three and a half months living by myself really turned me into an extreme neat freak since the only person I have to account for how tidy my space is, is me. Luckily, Patrick was extremely calm and patient with me and my crazy cleaning-lady persona and helped me a lot with keeping my place clean. 

I have only been home for four full days, and I noticed immediately how quiet my place is without an extra person around. I've taken to playing music and Netflix in the background even more than I previously did to combat the quiet (cue - I want visitors! And I miss my former roommies! And Sisters! And family!). 

 

Random Happy Findings:
Hello Kitty Grafitti in Shibuya; Sensoji Temple; Sushi

The second half of our trip was spent in Tokyo. We stayed at a lovely Air BnB in Asakusa/Sumida area. We were five minutes walking from the Sky Tree and the fairly new Solamachi mall. There were two train stations within less than ten minutes of us, so overall we loved our location. 

Yet again, Patrick's patience (maybe I should say tolerance?...) with me proved to be off the charts since I was pretty grumpy post-travel, but otherwise we had a really great time in Tokyo together. Despite having asked for lots of reccomendations, as well as having a plethora of lists to reference that I found online, we didn't really do what others suggested and instead created our own routine day-by-day. The best happenings, were all the ones we didn't intentionally seek out. Such as Sensoji temple, and some really good quality sushi in Shinjuku. All of which proved to be positive and fun experiences. Notably the really awesome Hello Kitty Grafitti I spotted while we were eating salads (!! so hard to find real salad in Japan!!) in a cafe that was a few stories above street level.

 

Very Important Side Note: Patrick eats raw fish now! He's probably going to be annoyed by this remark, but when we first started dating and went to get sushi, this guy only ate "baked," sushi rolls so I couldn't be happier that he appreciated all my raw fish and sushi loving obsession here in Japan. 

 

Tokyo Sky Tree

The Sky Tree area became our stomping grounds on this trip. Ironically, even though I know Patrick doesn't like shopping and I didn't intend to go that much, we did spend a fair deal of time in the Solamchi Mall. Mainly looking around, but also enjoying all of the different departments they had to offer. Notably, the mall was decked out in Christmas decorations, despite it still being over a month away. There was an adorable German beer garden right at the foot of the Sky Tree that we both enjoyed spending time in our second night in Tokyo. Also, we both went "super-Gaijin," and freaked out at the sight of Cold Stone Creamery, and immediately ran inside where the staff sang us their version of a Christmas song while making our cones. In turn, the color of the Sky Tree changed daily, obviously Purple was my favorite. All in all, we loved our location.

Splurge Day

Good Eats at the Sky Tree and Lots of Selfies

 

We also celebrated our one-year anniversary together during this Tokyo Trip. Although it was a bit premature from the actual date, it was fun to really go all out and spoil ourselves an entire day in Tokyo. We wanted to have a picnic in the park near us, but the rain pushed us to find covered ground and probably a better spread than we intended. 

Solamchi has a lot of really nice shops, including some special eateries like the Cheese Yard, where we had been shamelessly making the point to pass every time we walked to the train station to get a sample of their cheese cake. We knew we wanted to actually buy a slice at some point of this trip and instead we bought the entire cake. Determined to eat real food, Patrick insisted we find some sushi to go. Instead we discovered that Solamchi has an amazing food vendor seciton where you can buy all kinds of food for varying prices and sizes. As seen in the photo above, the spread came from five different shops and was probably one of my favorite, "meals," we had. The "to-go," sushi in particular makes me regret ever buying it from a supermarket in the States - to which Patrick calls me a food snob, which I admit to being 100%.

We planted ourselves outside of the sky tree underneath an awning, played some Frank Sinatra and feasted for the afternoon. I'm sure we got some amusing looks, but I've learned to be "less-sensitive," about people staring when I'm in good company and frankly having a great time. 

Later that evening, we went out in Roppongi to a club called Feria. It being a Tuesday, may have not been the best choice to "go-out," in Tokyo. However, we basically had the entire five-story venue to ourselves. We took lots of goofy selfies on their outdoor patio, ate a really good dinner in their restaurant and got some free Sake from the Australian Bartender whose DJ name is "Swiddy." All and all a really great day and night, that helped us set the tone and make expectations for being "long-distance." 

Harajuku

Top Photo Credit to Jenny

 

Our last day and night in Tokyo we spent in Harajuku. Patrick helped me pick out some really nice and warm clothes for the snow form Arcteryx. I've been wearing two out of the three items I bought religiously (the third is a waterproof-insulated jacket that would be a tad obnoxious wearing inside my apartment) and they have been great and secretely I wish I could buy out their entire supply.

We met up with Patrick's friend Jenny for dinner. Jenny is studying in Tokyo, and last year spent a year abroad at UCSD. They are friends from I-House where Patrick was an RA. Although she and I had never really spent time together, Jenny possesses a personality that is extremely warm and bubbly that it made me feel like I was seeing an old friend from home. We went to a random Izakaya, that proved to be extremely delicious. The sashimi was incredibly! As well as all of the fried goodies. It makes such a difference going with someone who can read the entire menu. Thanks Jenny for a great last meal in Tokyo :) 

Overall, it was an amazing ten days. They went by way too fast, but were also some of the best I've had in Japan. However, we'll be celebrating Christmas and the New Year together in Taiwan, where I will probably be extremely enthusiastic to escape the snow. I look forward to spending the holidays with someone from home. It'll be hard for both of us to be away from our families, but hopefully we can recreate some Christmas traditions even abroad (I already have an idea for our Xmas menu).

I realize how silly I've been by not traveling as much since I've arrived, and how my efforts to go places and see more people really make living here much more enjoyable and easier to cope. I'm actually off to Korea next weekend to see one of my lovely AEPhi Sisters Becca, who is teaching English in Korea and I am extremely excited! Expect the next blog post to be about my first excursion out of Japan!