readjusting
This is going to be a really bizarre week. I have the house to myself until Friday, as my parents are off visiting my eldest brother in Atlanta, and I stayed home (partly because I had my own big trip a couple weeks ago, and also so I could housesit and catsit while they're gone). I've banished their random paper/magazine clutter to places where I don't have to look at it, the radio is never on "80's, 90's, and today" soft-rock mainstream music, and no one cares if I do or do not wear anything but pj's. All of this is nice, although this is a big house to be alone in, and it's gonna take some effort to not get swallowed up by it. I've already played more harp and guitar than I have in months, after pulling them out to prominent places where they are totally, and purposely, in my way.
And also... I had a ridiculous sleep schedule before Japan, and then the jet lag coming back totally screwed me over (not being able to sleep 'til sunrise, that sort of thing). So I'm trying this thing where you push back your bedtime a few hours each night (but still only sleep the standard 7-8 hours at a time), until it cycles around to where you want it. Meanwhile, I'll have a totally wacky schedule (like for example, today I got up at 4pm, and will be staying up until something like noon tomorrow). It won't be much of a problem, as long as I can keep occupied, but the tricky thing is... well, the combination of an empty house all night with no one to talk to, and having to stay up until I'm dumb-tired... that sort of thing leaves me so emotionally vulnerable. Normally if I'm down or lonely or unsure, I can either logic my way out of it, or daydream to distraction--but there's a certain point where I don't have the energy, and whatever I'm feeling is completely raw and in-my-face... which I guess is sort of a good thing to experience, you can't hold your emotions at arm's length forever, after all. But it's not so easy to stomach, sometimes.
Forgive me, I'm being all cryptic and wandering around inside my own head. Uhh.
So! I think I mentioned that I recently went to JAPAN. It was seriously amazing, and though I wasn't altogether surprised by how nice it was there (and how kind, and generally fantastic the PEOPLE are there), because I'd had several heads up about that... it's something else experiencing it for real. I really didn't want to tear myself away--it felt so homey, oddly enough. I expected to feel like I'd landed on a different planet or something, but right away I was comfortable, and I just grew to love it there so much. And it was really great to spend the time with Brett--we've hung out in the past but only ever for a couple hours at a time, with years in between... so, getting to know him better and finding we are totally comfortable together, was no small part of why the trip was so lovely. :)
Tokyo is huge and in parts, stuffed to the gills with people, and yet it's impeccably clean in most parts, and there is a general feeling of respect among people. Except in super-touristy areas, if I was off wandering alone I was the only non-Asian looking person within sight--which I expected to feel kind of self-conscious about, but I found that I really didn't mind it at all, and in fact kinda liked "standing out." It may be because anyone who showed they even noticed/cared that you were a foreigner were the ones who were, completely unbidden, offering you their help. One time I was in Ginza, and I knew exactly where I was but wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go, so I was looking at a map--not looking stressed or worried, just patiently trying to get my bearings. And this lady stops and asks, "do you need help?," then proceeded to happily point me in the right direction. Not only that, but we ended up walking across the street together and she asked where I was from, and talked about how she's actually been to NH, years ago--and waved and gave one last point to my direction as we parted ways. So nice!
And that's just one example--everyone was just so respectful and helpful. The last morning, when I made my way back to Narita Airport by train, my first train was absolutely packed because it was during morning rush hour and we were on our way to one of the larger stations in Tokyo. [Brett lives a bit west in Tokyo, in a section that feels more like a big town than part of a giant city] Salarymen and schoolchildren all squeezed in, and I felt bad 'cause I had my luggage taking up extra space. I think we may have gotten people-pushed onto the train, though I couldn't see if that was the case. But nobody gives dirty looks, nobody even looks stressed about it--they are just used to that close proximity and are totally chill. I didn't see this, but apparently on some of those train rides that are so full you remain standing just by the pressure of everyone around you, dudes actually just fall asleep on each other, 'cause there is that level of comfort/trust. You walk through Tokyo and there are rows and rows of bikes lining the streets, none of them chained or locked down (some of them have a small wheel lock, but that's it). Tons of vending machines EVERYWHERE but not a whole lot of trash cans, and yet you almost never see so much as a single bottle on the ground. It's sort of mindblowing, and also kind of reassuring that modern, civilized society is possible without the extreme abundance of disrespect (including general rudeness, carelessness, littering, and crime) that you see in American cities. I'm sure there are exceptions, but in Japan, respect seems to be the rule. Brett says the literal translation for their word for "no" (iie) is actually "good, but..." and even then they avoid saying that actual word as much as possible. It's somethin' else how considerate they are.
I really didn't see a whole lot of what you'd call "touristy" stuff, though I did go to a few sites like Meiji-Jingu (shrine) and the Sony Building in Tokyo, and Kyomizu-dera (temple) in Kyoto. Most of my touristing time was spent wandering in various areas, like Yoyogi-Koen (a park near Meiji-Jingu), which was filled with people due to the at-peak cherry blossoms. And that's fine with me--I'm not the sort of tourist that likes to have an "itinerary" that's strictly followed in order to squeeze in as much as possible. I'd rather just BE in a place. And in Tokyo, after only a couple days there I was so comfortable (if completely illiterate) that it almost felt like I was actually living there. The city just really resonated with me. And since I was staying with Brett, I ended up at some great places without even trying, my favorite of which was an amazing restaurant in Shimo. There was this mackerel sashimi (raw, and not balled up in rice or anything) that they seared with a mini blow-torch right in front of you, and you put lemon juice on when they're done... it was probably one of the best things I've ever tasted in my entire life, hehe (I say "one of," because I haven't talked about the curry doughnut or okonomiyaki yet).
Anyway, I have FAR more to tell about Japan... and if I'm not careful and let myself keep going on about it, it'll be 2 hours later and I'll realize I'm still telling Japan stories, in no particular order. Not that there's anything wrong with that, necessarily, but I'm getting kinda hungry and I think it might be "lunchtime" (at 11pm). So, that's all for now. More about Japan to come in the near future, though.
Oh, and here are a few photos for the road... All 350+ of them can be found at my flickr page (under Travel), and I have my 100ish favorites uploaded on facebook. Feel free to take a look!
(There seemed to be a real water theme throughout my trip, both in and out of the photos I took... which I kinda love. It seems fitting, somehow.)
And also... I had a ridiculous sleep schedule before Japan, and then the jet lag coming back totally screwed me over (not being able to sleep 'til sunrise, that sort of thing). So I'm trying this thing where you push back your bedtime a few hours each night (but still only sleep the standard 7-8 hours at a time), until it cycles around to where you want it. Meanwhile, I'll have a totally wacky schedule (like for example, today I got up at 4pm, and will be staying up until something like noon tomorrow). It won't be much of a problem, as long as I can keep occupied, but the tricky thing is... well, the combination of an empty house all night with no one to talk to, and having to stay up until I'm dumb-tired... that sort of thing leaves me so emotionally vulnerable. Normally if I'm down or lonely or unsure, I can either logic my way out of it, or daydream to distraction--but there's a certain point where I don't have the energy, and whatever I'm feeling is completely raw and in-my-face... which I guess is sort of a good thing to experience, you can't hold your emotions at arm's length forever, after all. But it's not so easy to stomach, sometimes.
Forgive me, I'm being all cryptic and wandering around inside my own head. Uhh.
So! I think I mentioned that I recently went to JAPAN. It was seriously amazing, and though I wasn't altogether surprised by how nice it was there (and how kind, and generally fantastic the PEOPLE are there), because I'd had several heads up about that... it's something else experiencing it for real. I really didn't want to tear myself away--it felt so homey, oddly enough. I expected to feel like I'd landed on a different planet or something, but right away I was comfortable, and I just grew to love it there so much. And it was really great to spend the time with Brett--we've hung out in the past but only ever for a couple hours at a time, with years in between... so, getting to know him better and finding we are totally comfortable together, was no small part of why the trip was so lovely. :)
Tokyo is huge and in parts, stuffed to the gills with people, and yet it's impeccably clean in most parts, and there is a general feeling of respect among people. Except in super-touristy areas, if I was off wandering alone I was the only non-Asian looking person within sight--which I expected to feel kind of self-conscious about, but I found that I really didn't mind it at all, and in fact kinda liked "standing out." It may be because anyone who showed they even noticed/cared that you were a foreigner were the ones who were, completely unbidden, offering you their help. One time I was in Ginza, and I knew exactly where I was but wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go, so I was looking at a map--not looking stressed or worried, just patiently trying to get my bearings. And this lady stops and asks, "do you need help?," then proceeded to happily point me in the right direction. Not only that, but we ended up walking across the street together and she asked where I was from, and talked about how she's actually been to NH, years ago--and waved and gave one last point to my direction as we parted ways. So nice!
And that's just one example--everyone was just so respectful and helpful. The last morning, when I made my way back to Narita Airport by train, my first train was absolutely packed because it was during morning rush hour and we were on our way to one of the larger stations in Tokyo. [Brett lives a bit west in Tokyo, in a section that feels more like a big town than part of a giant city] Salarymen and schoolchildren all squeezed in, and I felt bad 'cause I had my luggage taking up extra space. I think we may have gotten people-pushed onto the train, though I couldn't see if that was the case. But nobody gives dirty looks, nobody even looks stressed about it--they are just used to that close proximity and are totally chill. I didn't see this, but apparently on some of those train rides that are so full you remain standing just by the pressure of everyone around you, dudes actually just fall asleep on each other, 'cause there is that level of comfort/trust. You walk through Tokyo and there are rows and rows of bikes lining the streets, none of them chained or locked down (some of them have a small wheel lock, but that's it). Tons of vending machines EVERYWHERE but not a whole lot of trash cans, and yet you almost never see so much as a single bottle on the ground. It's sort of mindblowing, and also kind of reassuring that modern, civilized society is possible without the extreme abundance of disrespect (including general rudeness, carelessness, littering, and crime) that you see in American cities. I'm sure there are exceptions, but in Japan, respect seems to be the rule. Brett says the literal translation for their word for "no" (iie) is actually "good, but..." and even then they avoid saying that actual word as much as possible. It's somethin' else how considerate they are.
I really didn't see a whole lot of what you'd call "touristy" stuff, though I did go to a few sites like Meiji-Jingu (shrine) and the Sony Building in Tokyo, and Kyomizu-dera (temple) in Kyoto. Most of my touristing time was spent wandering in various areas, like Yoyogi-Koen (a park near Meiji-Jingu), which was filled with people due to the at-peak cherry blossoms. And that's fine with me--I'm not the sort of tourist that likes to have an "itinerary" that's strictly followed in order to squeeze in as much as possible. I'd rather just BE in a place. And in Tokyo, after only a couple days there I was so comfortable (if completely illiterate) that it almost felt like I was actually living there. The city just really resonated with me. And since I was staying with Brett, I ended up at some great places without even trying, my favorite of which was an amazing restaurant in Shimo. There was this mackerel sashimi (raw, and not balled up in rice or anything) that they seared with a mini blow-torch right in front of you, and you put lemon juice on when they're done... it was probably one of the best things I've ever tasted in my entire life, hehe (I say "one of," because I haven't talked about the curry doughnut or okonomiyaki yet).
Anyway, I have FAR more to tell about Japan... and if I'm not careful and let myself keep going on about it, it'll be 2 hours later and I'll realize I'm still telling Japan stories, in no particular order. Not that there's anything wrong with that, necessarily, but I'm getting kinda hungry and I think it might be "lunchtime" (at 11pm). So, that's all for now. More about Japan to come in the near future, though.
Oh, and here are a few photos for the road... All 350+ of them can be found at my flickr page (under Travel), and I have my 100ish favorites uploaded on facebook. Feel free to take a look!
(There seemed to be a real water theme throughout my trip, both in and out of the photos I took... which I kinda love. It seems fitting, somehow.)