Japanese, Fairytales & Insect Heaven

Ah, it has been far too long since I have last written... I am not sure what to start with really, although I'm sure you are all avidly awaiting the end to my fairytale story.

However, I will briefly note my visit to Kyoto last weekend with a friend. Kyoto is one of the larger cities in Japan, formerly the imperial capital. It is well known for the various historic temples and shrines that surround the modernized city. So accommodated by a hostel a few minutes from the train station, we set out to discover Kyoto in 3 days. Much of our time of course, was spent in transit, as we figured out the bus and train systems, learning how to navigate our way around to get to the various destinations. (For a visual of what we saw, my pictures are online in the link I e-mailed out). I think we saw about four temples over the course of two days, some shrines and discovered the traditional shopping that seemed adjoined with every temple location. In the back of my mind was the fact I need to purchase a kimono or yukata to wear in my wedding next summer, but unfortunately, though shops were clustered everywhere, I was unable to find anything to fit my needs. However, we, by chance, discovered the main shopping area of Kyoto on our last day, after a brief visit to Gion (a traditional district). So, I may just have to hop the bullet train back to Kyoto another weekend to search for something to wear.

Kyoto station in and of itself was something to behold. Yes, sad to say but the modern architecture and various dimensions of the station held my interest more than the temples did. Really, I don't skimp anything by saying the station was quite large, with various staircases that led to new levels, sky bridges, a rooftop park and a giant staircase, literally about 5 or 6 stories high, cascading down the middle. We also found on the night before we returned to Shizuoka, Mister Donut! We had misfortune searching for it the days before, so it was rather exciting to discover.

I must also attest that the hostel experience was nothing to write home about (though i am writing about it) as we had to share a room with 5 other girls, who seemed to all own bags with 10 zippers on them and yards of plastic. Never have I heard so many zippers and plastic scrunching in my life. Then some girl decides to spray something on her hair/body/face so the particles fly around the room, finding my nose in an outright smell battle. Another girl thought it necessary to completely clear her sinus passages, as she sat blowing her nose for literally about 10 minutes, as I laid there, trying to sleep at 6 am, contemplating throwing something over the side of the bed in my half-conscious state - could be deemed as a mere sleep-activity occurrence. Yet how to explain that in Japanese, I have yet to learn.

In light of our sweaty, tiring days of endless walking, we decided to find an onsen (or what they call a sento if its just a bath not a hot springs type thing). After wandering around and deciding which sento to visit, we walked in, unsure of what was going to happen. So of course you get a key for a locker, you put all your stuff, clothes and all, in a basket and then in the locker. Of course I had to use the restroom before we went into the bath so the crazy lady that worked there who had already been hovering around us, escorted me to the bathroom, and as I was in there, according to my friend, the lady sat outside having a near panic attack. I kept hearing noises at the door when I was in there, but wasn't sure what was going on. When I opened the door, the lady nearly jumped on me, and practically led me back to my locker so I could strip down. Then she proceeded to put my things in the locker and close it, without me even trying. Then we asked for some soap, and went in, as she stood at the entrance to the bath, staring at us. I half expected her to rush in and start scrubbing me down too.

Life now seems more or less normal now as I have adjusted to it. In many ways I feel no different than I did in the States since I am just going about life as I did there, just using another language on top of English. My Japanese was put to the test today, fortunately for me since I have been pretty lazy about it lately. I went to the post office today to send some mail and though I really didn't understand what the man was saying, somehow it worked. I vowed to study up on how to send mail. Then, I decided to check out the kimonos in a nearby department store. I was very pleased to find out that I could communicate more than I thought I could, and came more naturally than I expected it would, though there were some words and phrases that I couldn't figure out how to say. However, I was able to get across that I am in a wedding in the States next July (I thought that was impressive). The workers at the store became very excited and showing me all the materials and even dressed me up in one and took a picture. Unfortunately, all the kimonos were at least a $1,000, and the one I saw that looked exactly like my dream kimono, the one in my head, was about $3,000. Needless to say, more than I would ever spend on any item of clothing. I cheered myself up with some donuts from Mister Donut.

I have been enjoying getting to know my students and talking with them, although it doesn't happen as much as I'd like. In English Club last week, though the girls are supposed to do some kind of report, I ended up chatting with some 2nd year students about other things. They asked if I have a boyfriend, to which I responded...no...... They got excited and asked if I was married, and I responded, no. Then they grew quite puzzled (since we figured that the term engagement isn't as commonly known here).

So back to my Prince Charming story.... well, I left off exclaiming that David should just spit out whatever it was that he had to say (since it had been driving me insane all day, and the weeks before that...). So, he turns away, says "hang on a sec" and messes with something, as I get a funny feeling in my stomach, knowing that SOMETHING is coming. He suddenly turns, and is holding an origami folded diamond. I remember my face becoming total shock that instant, since an origami folded diamond could only mean one thing, right? Well he said "I made you a gift, you need to open it." So I am trying to unfold this insanely folded origami diamond, and failing miserably (ten times more difficult than a map). I am peering in the parts I have managed to open as David tells me I can't peek, reaches over and helps me unfold it (who knows how long it would have taken me). I flipped it over, and there was a kitty in a sink, holding a ring in its paws (David photoshopped the ring in) with the words "Will you Meowy me??" across the top and bottom. As soon as the actual thought of the words registered, I immediately hugged him, ecstatic beyond belief that this was actually (and finally) happening, as I barely managed to squeak out "of course I will" since I was going into shock about the whole thing. He said something to the effect that he wouldn't want to spend the rest of his life with anyone else, to which I responded (as the tears start to fall) that I wanted that too but wasn't sure if it would happen, that what if this and what if that and all those other things girls blubber when they are emotional.

And that folks, is my proposal story. The man I had been waiting for, for five years, had finally proposed, and now we're planning a wedding! It is slowly starting to sink in, with all that there is to do and talk about, but I am excited beyond anything, and amazed at the good things that do come from patience, from healing, from a lot of hard work, and from faith. I have been blessed immeasurably and this is so far one of the greatest blessings I have received.

Anyway, to end a bit lighter, a spider that decided to inhabit my bathroom (not Fernando, he disappeared - a big spider) and I had been battling it out for about a week. Finally one day, I decided enough was enough and tried to drown him by pouring water on him to get him to fall in the toilet. That didn't work as he scampered behind the toilet. I tried again later when he came out again... and that failed again. So finally the other day, i spot him on the wall, and jump to find a shoe so I could smash him. And then - end of spider. His death was swift, and now he can be with the various other insects in bug heaven that I have sent in the last few weeks. They really should let their fellow kind know that entering my apartment is like a suicide mission. Or at least wonder why their friends don't reappear after a few days....