Contentment

Content. This is certainly what I feel for the most part right now. Quite honestly I expected myself to be taken up in a whirlwind of emotions and constant discomfort, but all I feel now is perfectly content. One might wonder, how exactly, would I feel so content in a foreign country and culture, and I could pose a few apparent reasons – though more likely exist that I am simply unaware of at this point.

I contemplated this thought of contentment as I walked home from Fukuroi Station this evening. The humid air was clinging to my skin as it normally does, resistant to the pleasant breeze, which fatally attempted to ease some of my sweaty misery. Dusk had settled in and a thunderstorm brewed overhead, signifying its presence with thunder and lightning. My thoughts drifted to stopping at one of the many konbinis (convenience stores) on the way home to pick up some kind of sweet treat. (As I said, there is soft serve and delicious treats EVERYWHERE!) The fact that I have access to any number of my favorite foods on a daily basis seems to provide some source of satisfaction. And yes, satisfaction from food is certainly not any type of TRUE satisfaction, but it certainly brings a certain amount of joy to my life.

This brings me to a great realization I had today as I went to a large depato (department store) in Hamamatsu (the closest large city to me). The entire basement floor of this store was FOOD. Not just a grocery store or market or something, it was full of little shop type vendors, kind of like what you see in the cosmetics section at actual department stores, selling various types of food at each. Again, I felt like a kid in a candy store and almost passed out because it was so overwhelming. They even had pack of nigiri sushi (yes the slabs of fish on rice) for only 400 yen, which is about $4. That is much, much cheaper than at home, and tastes ten times better. So for all you food lovers out there, especially of Japanese food, (and aren’t afraid to try new things) you will love eating here. I should also note that some of the candy and snacks are kind of crazy, such as watermelon Kit Kats (they really do taste like watermelon chocolate – sounds gross but is actually quite good).

Another weakness of mine is electronics. Why do I bring this up? There are discount and recycle shops everywhere with “used” electronics. Some of it is used but a lot of it looks brand new…but of course cheaper than the original price, which would be expensive here. I’ve already scoped out my digital SLR camera set that I plan on purchasing once I actually start making money, and a few other fun things have caught my eye, like the PS3. However, on that note, I would like to officially introduce the newest member to my family of electronic toys – the iPhone. Yes, it looked so lonesome in the cell phone store, not only that but it blinked at me with its sleek, shiny face in a way that you could only translate as “pick me! Pick me!” All the other phones looked so self-assured and sociable with their phone buddies, and my iPhone was sitting there all by itself, calling my name, and so of course I took it home. Took about 3 hours, and various translating, but finally it was in my hands and I was connected to the world again with internet. Of course now I can’t stop playing with my phone and my poor iPod is feeling neglected, and my Mac is sad too since all I ever do on it anymore is watch movies and write blogs. Oh toys…
Ah yes, and then a P.E. teacher was nice enough to give me his extremely large flat screen TV for free. I don’t know the measurements but it has to be at least 3 feet across. With all this food and electronics, I am not sure how I will ever be able to go back to Seattle again…

Most of you are well aware of the fact that I frequent bathrooms and public restrooms, and well, anywhere that can be used as a place to pee. (Excuse the crudeness here). Being that I am in Japan, in the middle of the humid season, I sweat constantly. I played basketball with the girl’s team again yesterday for three hours, and I sweated right through my dri-wick clothes. They wicked but then remained soaked themselves…and through the night as well. I also soaked up most of my towel. Of course the two hours following practice I also continued to sweat. Needless to say, it was very disgusting and since I sweat all my fluid these days, I hardly need the bathroom anymore. Are you impressed? I thought you might be. This has also served as a source of contentment for me, as I never worry anymore about using the restroom, or making sure there is a restroom where I am going.

On the topic of restrooms, you might be familiar with what is known as a “squat toilet.” A traditional Japanese toilet of course, still around in Japan, though Western toilets seem to be pretty common. I have to say though, you would think the squat toilets would be horrible but they really aren’t. It is just like going hiking or something. I will end this subject here…
Oh, how could I forget, pillows. They have of course, cotton pillows and down pillows and foam pillows like at home, but they also have these other strange pillows, some with beans and others with some material I am not sure about. I have to say that my entire life I have failed to find a comfortable pillow, and I have spent money looking for one. Cotton, down, latex, they all fail. However, I just found a pillow, it might have some kind of beans inside I’m not sure, but so far it has been very nice to use at night. I will mention too that I sleep on a futon on the floor. The futon is a traditional Japanese futon, not a Western futon, and you wouldn’t think it would be that comfortable but I seem to be sleeping pretty well. This in itself is amazing for me since I am such a light sleeper. Oh, contentment.

I don’t have to drive a car anymore, so my anger level has decreased significantly…and I walk everywhere right now since I don’t have a bike so that seems to keep me full of endorphins (on top of practicing with the sports clubs). The atmosphere is so calm here (yes even in spite of areas with bright flashing lights) and the people are incredibly nice. In fact, I was walking to the station the other day when a woman stops her car, gets out and starts motioning at me. I look behind me to see if she was talking to someone else, since I have no idea who she is. She calls out “Fukuroi Eki?” To which I reply, “Hai, Eki!” while motioning in the direction of the station (Eki means station). She spoke some English, said she would take me to the station. I hopped in the car and her two year old daughter immediately jumped from the front seat into my lap. Her mom tried to get her to come back into the front seat she was in, but the girl just sat on my lap staring at her mom with a look that resembled defiance. (Two year olds really are the same everywhere). I found this generous offer so vastly different from many experiences I have had, and really, I’ve had people offer me rides before, but not a random woman with children, and certainly not of some other culture offering. I am the freaky looking blonde, tall, white girl, so it has been interesting…

Just the other day I walked up to the top of Aino Koen, (Koen means park) which is right across the street from where I live. It is a lovely park, (I will upload pictures soon, I am waiting for an internet connection!) and there are nice trails that lead up this hill to the top. The landscaping of course is enough to take your breath away but to stand at the top of the hill and see all of Fukuroi city, or at least most of it, is pretty incredible. A lot of it is simply agricultural land for rice and green tea, so the landscape reminds me of Bellingham, even with the various tree-filled hills to the south of the city that stand between the city itself and the ocean. It was a nice evening to sit up at the top, and watch the sun turn pink as it sets. It looks large, and the sunsets thus far have been very different from what I have seen at home.

So as I sat and watched the sun set and observed my new home, I felt a sincere sense of contentment. I knew at that moment that I am exactly where I need to be, even if I really am not completely sure why I am here. The interesting and ironic thing about this whole life transition, is that I feel much more relaxed than I have felt in quite some time. Perhaps because the stress of moving is gone, and I am not in school anymore, but really I feel so calm and relaxed. I laugh constantly, I go with the flow, and I feel, in a sense, more like myself than I have ever been, and yet so surprised because I never thought I would react this way after a transition like this. I know, some of you might say to just wait or something like that, but if you know me well, you would know that even a few years ago, something like this probably would have set me off into pandemonium with no end in sight. The idea that I really cannot control anything that happens here, that it is not MY culture or anything that I can interpret with my own lens, seems to leave me with just an easygoing mentality as I really am a foreigner, and interpreting as a third-person (or at least trying to, minus the food part). I merely exist now within a new framework, as I attempt to make sense of me in it somehow. I feel no fear, I have no qualms (aside the obvious discomfort of navigating in a new culture outside your comfort zone)…and many of you knew that a little over a week ago I felt as if I was jumping off a cliff into the unknown. I did that, and now I seem to have found some kind of oasis. At least for now. So as I finish off this bag of cookies I’ve been munching on this evening, after my salmon sushi and matcha-flavored chocolates, I will rest tonight in a wonderful state of contentment.