A real update at last
It is Monday afternoon and I'm in Yokohama, at Shiru and Henry's apartment. They're at work (school, teaching English to grade-schoolers) right now, but we'll be going to sight-see in Yokohama, to Japan's tallest building, and to ride a super-giant ferris wheel this evening.
I got here by train yesterday. I left Sapporo early in the morning, at 7:30, and arrived in Yokohama at about 19:00, traveling on three different trains, including the Hayate Super Express Shinkansen from Hachinohe to Tokyo. But I made a mistake when I got to Tokyo. I went to the JR ticket office and asked for a ticket to Yokohama on the Tokaido line: Yokohama de Tokaido-sen e ikitai'n'desu onigaishimasu. But they gave me a ticket to Shin Yokohama, on the Shinkansen, and I didn't know any better that there were two Yokohama stations, and both the Shinkansen and the local JR lines that run from Tokyo to Yokahama are called Tokaido, but they are not the same thing at all!
So once I arrived in Shin Yokohama and looked around with the sinking feeling that I was in the wrong place, I asked a cake-seller for directions to a pay phone: Sumimasen, denwa wa doko desu ka? And, here's the super awesome thing, the phones were kind of hidden in a tucked away little corridor, and the cake seller gave me extensive instructions in Japanese, and I found the phones on my first try! My conversational Japanese has improved by at least a factor of ten in the couple of weeks I've been here.
So anyway, I called Shiru, and indeeed, I was at the wrong station, so then I went to the JR ticket office again, and explained that I wanted to go to Yokohama station: Yokohama eki ni ikitai'n'desu onegaishimasu and got directed to a different platform, where I asked a young woman if that was the train to Yokohama station: Kono densha wa Yokohama eki e ikimasu ka? and she said yes. So we got on the train, but then before we'd gone one stop, she became very agitated, and eventually with much pointing at the route map posted in the train, conveyed to me that that train was going to skip my stop, I needed to get off it, and go get on a different train. Then she got off with me, led me to the correct platform, made sure I understood what train to get on and what station to go to, and headed back to get on another one of the trains going wherever she was going. She interrupted her trip to make sure I got on the right train. I am forever grateful.
I also met a family with a little boy who couldn't have been more than six with his arm in a cast, who was staring at me, so I smiled and greeted him, and asked him if his arm hurt: Konbanwa! Itai desu ka? which made him all shy and happy. His mom said he'd broken his arm, and I responded: Kawaii sou, ne? which made the kid break out in a HUGE grin. After that he decided I was his friend, and he played little games with me, mimicking what I'm guessing were super-hero moves. His mom then told me, in nearly perfect English, that he was taking English but he was too shy to try talking to me. So I said "Hello, how are you?" to him, and he got another HUGE grin and replied "Hello!" with much enthusiasm. It was awesome.
Anyway eventually I made it to Shiru and Henry, who were waiting for me at Yokohama Eki, and we went and got food (I hadn't eaten anything but half a box of Pocky all day, so I was famished) at a local place. I had yakitori don, of which I especially loved the meatballs, and which I did not photograph because I was so hungry I'd eaten it before I remembered that I was supposed to take pics of my food adventures. I do have photographs from Sapporo, and will try to make a separate food post, I think in a little bit.
Then we came back to their place, which is astonishingly large and pleasant. I took a shower, we chatted a bit, and then I crashed. I went to bed around 23:00, I think, woke up briefly at 7:30, went back to sleep, and essentially slept until 14:15. And now here I am, updating and sipping green tea.
As for Sapporo, there are many stories to tell. I think I should probably make a separate post for that. It was so completely wonderful seeing Goh and Noriko, and I miss them both already. I managed not to cry when saying goodbye until after I was on the train, but as we pulled away from Sapporo, I found myself in tears just a little. They are dear, dear friends.
For those that have been worried, here is the health update: Over the week I was in Sapporo, I slowly improved. I'm still having some pain and am easily tired, but my appetite has returned, and as long as I take it slowly and take my pain meds regularly, I'm pretty much okay. From my internet research, I think it will probably take a few months to recover from the anemia, as I need to rebuild the iron in my blood slowly, but I'll try to be good and keep taking my iron supplements and so forth. I've finally stopped bleeding for the most part, which is a huge win. I'll definitely see the doctor in California when I get back.
I've missed everyone so much! Being offline for a protracted period has been really weird. I'm still having an amazing time here in Japan. I can't believe I only have five days left here, but it is the case. This is Monday, and Friday I fly home. I've missed my rats a lot, too, though. It will be good to get home to them. But in the mean time, I have four days to play with Shiru and Henry, and then one fabulous night and morning in Osaka with Loren, to celebrate her birthday.
I'll try to update more regularly now that I've got internets and some time to use them again.
<33333 to everyone!
I got here by train yesterday. I left Sapporo early in the morning, at 7:30, and arrived in Yokohama at about 19:00, traveling on three different trains, including the Hayate Super Express Shinkansen from Hachinohe to Tokyo. But I made a mistake when I got to Tokyo. I went to the JR ticket office and asked for a ticket to Yokohama on the Tokaido line: Yokohama de Tokaido-sen e ikitai'n'desu onigaishimasu. But they gave me a ticket to Shin Yokohama, on the Shinkansen, and I didn't know any better that there were two Yokohama stations, and both the Shinkansen and the local JR lines that run from Tokyo to Yokahama are called Tokaido, but they are not the same thing at all!
So once I arrived in Shin Yokohama and looked around with the sinking feeling that I was in the wrong place, I asked a cake-seller for directions to a pay phone: Sumimasen, denwa wa doko desu ka? And, here's the super awesome thing, the phones were kind of hidden in a tucked away little corridor, and the cake seller gave me extensive instructions in Japanese, and I found the phones on my first try! My conversational Japanese has improved by at least a factor of ten in the couple of weeks I've been here.
So anyway, I called Shiru, and indeeed, I was at the wrong station, so then I went to the JR ticket office again, and explained that I wanted to go to Yokohama station: Yokohama eki ni ikitai'n'desu onegaishimasu and got directed to a different platform, where I asked a young woman if that was the train to Yokohama station: Kono densha wa Yokohama eki e ikimasu ka? and she said yes. So we got on the train, but then before we'd gone one stop, she became very agitated, and eventually with much pointing at the route map posted in the train, conveyed to me that that train was going to skip my stop, I needed to get off it, and go get on a different train. Then she got off with me, led me to the correct platform, made sure I understood what train to get on and what station to go to, and headed back to get on another one of the trains going wherever she was going. She interrupted her trip to make sure I got on the right train. I am forever grateful.
I also met a family with a little boy who couldn't have been more than six with his arm in a cast, who was staring at me, so I smiled and greeted him, and asked him if his arm hurt: Konbanwa! Itai desu ka? which made him all shy and happy. His mom said he'd broken his arm, and I responded: Kawaii sou, ne? which made the kid break out in a HUGE grin. After that he decided I was his friend, and he played little games with me, mimicking what I'm guessing were super-hero moves. His mom then told me, in nearly perfect English, that he was taking English but he was too shy to try talking to me. So I said "Hello, how are you?" to him, and he got another HUGE grin and replied "Hello!" with much enthusiasm. It was awesome.
Anyway eventually I made it to Shiru and Henry, who were waiting for me at Yokohama Eki, and we went and got food (I hadn't eaten anything but half a box of Pocky all day, so I was famished) at a local place. I had yakitori don, of which I especially loved the meatballs, and which I did not photograph because I was so hungry I'd eaten it before I remembered that I was supposed to take pics of my food adventures. I do have photographs from Sapporo, and will try to make a separate food post, I think in a little bit.
Then we came back to their place, which is astonishingly large and pleasant. I took a shower, we chatted a bit, and then I crashed. I went to bed around 23:00, I think, woke up briefly at 7:30, went back to sleep, and essentially slept until 14:15. And now here I am, updating and sipping green tea.
As for Sapporo, there are many stories to tell. I think I should probably make a separate post for that. It was so completely wonderful seeing Goh and Noriko, and I miss them both already. I managed not to cry when saying goodbye until after I was on the train, but as we pulled away from Sapporo, I found myself in tears just a little. They are dear, dear friends.
For those that have been worried, here is the health update: Over the week I was in Sapporo, I slowly improved. I'm still having some pain and am easily tired, but my appetite has returned, and as long as I take it slowly and take my pain meds regularly, I'm pretty much okay. From my internet research, I think it will probably take a few months to recover from the anemia, as I need to rebuild the iron in my blood slowly, but I'll try to be good and keep taking my iron supplements and so forth. I've finally stopped bleeding for the most part, which is a huge win. I'll definitely see the doctor in California when I get back.
I've missed everyone so much! Being offline for a protracted period has been really weird. I'm still having an amazing time here in Japan. I can't believe I only have five days left here, but it is the case. This is Monday, and Friday I fly home. I've missed my rats a lot, too, though. It will be good to get home to them. But in the mean time, I have four days to play with Shiru and Henry, and then one fabulous night and morning in Osaka with Loren, to celebrate her birthday.
I'll try to update more regularly now that I've got internets and some time to use them again.
<33333 to everyone!