Please check out my new blog: SINGLE MULTILINGUAL

Well, now that my time in Japan has ended, I feel like it is time for a fresh start -- a new blog, a new name, and yes, a NEW language!

For the next 10 months, I will be working as an au pair in Italy for three children. My new blog, Single Multilingual, will detail my time there, as well as the joys and troubles I go through with regards to learning Italian, taking care of children, interacting with my host family, and adjusting to the culture of Italy. Of course, as the title of my blog suggests, I will not be solely dealing with all-Italian issues. Rather, I plan to take a broader approach by also talking about other languages, linguistics, and language programs I have tried and tested so that you, the reader, can make some informed decisions when it comes to picking and learning your language of preference!

So please, take some time out to take part in my adventures in Italia! >>http://nonparlolitaliano.blogspot.com<<

CHANGE IN BLOG ADDRESS

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This blog has moved to http://tokyonights7.livejournal.com.
Be sure you change your bookmarks or you'll miss out on all the fun! :P

このブログのリンクはhttp://tokyonights7.livejournal.comへ変更されました。リンク先の変更をお願いします！

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Well, this is it! I leave tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. on a flight to Chicago with a connecting flight to Narita Airport. Everything I have done over the past two years has filtered down to this one event. The gruelling classes, hours of watching TV Japan just to maintain my listening levels, notebooks filled with line after line of Japanese vocabulary, and even my last exchange have all been parts of a grand mechanism designed to prepare me for this third year abroad. (Talk about planning!)

I won't say any soppy goodbyes because though I am physically leaving the country, I'm not taking leave of this blog. Plus, we can all keep in touch as the year progresses! I will post at the next opportunity I get, though I don't know when that will be, and hopefully I'll have a handful of stories to saturate your minds with! ;-)

Don't Say 'Goodbye', Just Say 'So Long'

Recently, I have found myself saying goodbye to a lot of people. My family, grandma, uncle, and friends, but the goodbye that has probably affected me the most was that to my brother as he went off to university for the first time yesterday. This sadness stems not so much from the my departure from him, which has happened many a time, but from his departure from me. This time, it was me waving him off as he started a new adventure, not the other way around. Not to mention that this is a boy who has never lived away from home, and although he is very independent, he has relied on our house, our town, and our family for support until this day.

Now, don't get me wrong - I was overjoyed to relive my first university days through his eyes, and it is the absolute best thing for him in terms of character growth and independence, but this logical understanding does not stop me from feeling empty at the thought of him growing up without me around to witness it. I was watching a few home videos with my dad today as he transferred them onto DVD, and somehow I felt better seeing how good our relationship has been over the years. I saw how all of the little things such as a piggyback ride here, or a game of pretend pool there, allowed it to flower into what it is today. Though we don't play in the garden anymore, or plan make believe adventures, we still support each other in the real life adventures that challenge us, and I never really understood how important that was until now. I wonder what mum and dad will think when I fly off in a couple of days. "The birds have finally left the nest" I suppose, but not without shedding a tear.

(As a side note, I would like to mention that I have been having a few wrist problems from typing lately, so I doubt many of my future blogs will be substantial - at least, not until things heal up. *hooray everyone says!*Just if I don't post for a while, put aside the thought of my probable death as I am probably just taking a bit of 'time out' so to speak!)

*Countdown: 2 days*

"The Solution Is Elementary, My Dear Watson"

 After my previous post, I am glad to announce that my rather messy situation has been resolved thanks to a few very helpful individuals. During the time between the 8th and the 19th, I will stay in a total of three different households!

The first, as I mentioned before, will be that of my friend Tatsuro, although he will only be there one of the four days I will be staying there. Luckily, his sister will be around to keep an eye on me which is lovely since we get on very well. The day will go something like the following:

Upon arriving at Narita airport, I will take a one hour train ride to Tokyo station. As everyone knows, it is the main hub of Japan, or what I call the Labyrinth of train stations. It is even worse to maneuver than Euston Station in London. Standing at any point in the station, it is hard to tell which way is up or down, north, east, south or west. I usually end up trying to track down a grumpy officer to guide me in the right direction, only getting a few meters away before having to ask another grumpy officer the same question. At times, I strongly dislike this station, but at others, I take a weird kind of thrill in the idea of getting completely and utterly lost in its maze of endless stores and platforms, as well as the satisfaction of getting to my destination. I guess it suffices to say that Tokyo station and I have a very complicated relationship. :P The toughest part of my journey, though I won't elaborate here, will be finding the store at which Tatsuro's sister works to pick up the key, and getting from Tokyo to N---u, but since I have done it a few times before, I think I can trust my instincts (says Heather as she heads off in the completely wrong direction).

The second stop will be Kyoto where one of my best buddies Ayumi lives. Though the train trip is costing me an arm and a leg, in the end, it was impossible to turn down a week of izakayas (Japanese bars), karaoke, girl talk and the beauty of Kyoto city! The last time I saw Ayumi in Kyoto, we hardly knew each other except for through our email exchanges. Actually, come to think of it, it was the first time we had ever met so we were just figuring each other out. However, this time we can ditch the formalities and take on Kyoto as old friends - should be a lot of fun!

The final stop was truly unexpected. After posting my last post, I received a very "out of the blue" email from my professor who suggested that I stay at his parent's house if necessary. Seeing that I had already arranged two separate visits, I gladly accepted, figuring why not meet some new people, and see a new place!

...and so stands my present situation! Three different houses, three different groups of people, one kooky traveller - it is almost like a trip within a trip, or one of those crazy variety shows you might see on late night TV! And by the time I reach Gunma, no doubt I will have completely settled in.

To end this post, I would like to say thank you to Tatsuro, Ayumi and my professor - without you, I would certainly be sleeping in a small, dusty corner of Tokyo station for two weeks. ;-) Domo arigatou gozaimasu. 

Disaster Strikes Thrice!

Do you ever have one of those days - I mean, those really bad days when you just want to don a clown suit and run around the neighbourhood screaming just so everyone knows you are gradually going insane? Well, today could be classified as one of those days, minus the clown suit and the erratic screaming. After finally booking my plane ticket a couple of days ago, I was feeling pretty at ease...that is, until I received an email from Gunma university stating that I cannot arrive on the 8th since all of the preparations will not have been completed by then. And to add to the confusion, each time I suggested a new date (three times in total), it was shot down. To be fair, the lady who sent me the email probably had nothing to do with the confusion. As I said to my mum, it is always the highest rung of a bureaucracy - that is, the principal and his/her ring of cronies - that makes the decisions while dismissing the little people. No doubt even the lady herself wasn't even informed about the change until the last minute. Anyway, no sooner had I received this rather unwelcome announcement were my fingers sweeping across the keyboard sending off emails to my two good friends in Japan, on my digital knees asking for a place to stay. To my relief, my friend in Tokyo, Tatsuro, has offered a place to stay for a few days, and after that, I may go to Kyoto for a week, money and time providing. Really, all I can do is make the best of a bad situation, and sometimes even bad situations can become memorable adventures and sources of endless laughter in years to come. A good example is when Trin and I got lost on top of a massive mountain in Hokkaido - we laugh about it even to this day, but at the time, we were ready to throttle each other! (Actually, I think it was more a case of her wanting to throttle me for my pigheadedness at the indignity of being lost and reluctance to turn back. :P) Plus, who could possibly say that seeing two good friends is a "bad situation"? It will be nice to see a couple of friendly faces before year three of me saturating my blood with day old coffee/tea, living off of broccoli and carrots, and hours spent crouching over a little computer screen in a dark room begins! (Hey, come to think of it...that's pretty much my life during the summer as well! How sad...)

Let's Go To The Ex!

My goodness, never have I been to Toronto so many times in one week! The first time was simply a stopover on the way back from London, but I also went down a second time to pick up my Japanese visa with Trin, and a third today with Nick, my brother, to see the Cat Show at the Toronto Exhibition, more fondly known to Torontonians as The Ex. I'll start with my second trip, just for the sake of order.

Originally, I had planned to make a brief trip back and forth on the GO bus to the Japanese consulate but seeing as it is 12 dollars for a round trip, it hardly seemed worth the money to go JUST for that sole purpose. So what was supposed to be a rushed and extremely over priced waste of time became a smashing day out with my best friend! We decided to make five stops starting at the Eatons Centre, working our way round in a loop to Funland, the Pickle Barrel restaurant, China Town, and finally a Japanese paper store. However, somehow along the way, despite having an extremely obvious landmark to guide us (a.k.a. the CN tower) and a very, very good map, we managed to go in completely the opposite direction, and ended up starting out day out in China Town and working backwards.

In China Town, Trin bought a belt from an elderly street vendor, and we both treated ourselves to a small bubble tea each - me with my watermelon and Trin with her lychee. The next stop, the Japanese paper store, was a very interesting place with decorated paper for all fathomable uses, as well as origami books, homemade boxes, books, bookmarks, and tea containers, boards for writing Japanese calligraphy, staplers that don't need staples, mini clothespins meant for clipping paper together...the list goes on! In the corner, they also had a table for people to try out origami. They even seemed to have a massive print shop in the backroom. Even without buying anything, one could get lost simply looking at all of the interesting things this store has to offer, and I'd like to go back again if I have the chance. The Eatons Centre was next, where Trin stocked up on paper for her final portfolio at school and chose some materials to design her resumes. I wasn't of much help but lent a hand where and when I could by giving her moral support when she looked at the rather extravagant bill. (Trin: I can't believe I spent THAT MUCH on paper! Heather: Don't worry! Money spent on succeeding at an interview is totally worth it since you will earn it all back after a day of work!) Finally, after a short stop at the arcade for a game of DDR, we went to the Pickle Barrel for supper. Both of us had wraps but with different fillings followed by a tiramisu afterwards, by which time we were both stuffed, tired and completely ready to go home. But we were completely satisfied nonetheless! Overall, I am glad I got to spend a proper day out with Trin since it will be a while before we can do that again,

Today was very similar except this time my travelling buddy was my brother. I had planned to see a Cat Show, being the unabashed cat enthusiast that I am, and Nick offered to keep me company, though I am sure he wasn't object to seeing the odd cat himself. (I know he secretly loves them! :P) We took tons of pictures of the cats on show, our favourites being the Maine Coon, a cat with a very long body and fluffy coat, the Lynx, resembling a real lynx of course, the Shark cat, and the Pug faced cats. I was astonished at how most of the cats had no objection to being flipped over by the leg and brushed all over. If that were either of my cats, I wouldn't have an arm or a brush to speak of - literally. We also bought a cat toy for our two to see if we can give them some exercise and slim them down a little - a false hope I am afraid, but worth a try. In the same building was a barn animal show as well, so we looked around and found some very ugly turkeys along with an ostrich, the first I have ever seen. It was a strange bird because its eyes look intelligent but it is obvious that its brain is very small. We were also surprised at, when seen up-close, just how unattractive it was as birds go. Either way, it was interesting to see the animals and worth the admission fee to the Ex. Afterwards, we charged to China Town (again!) to grab a meal at our favourite Chinese restaurant on Spadina. Though the food isn't overly cheap, the important thing is value for money. With about seven dollars, one can get a soup about three times the size of a large cereal bowl, and with eight, a full course meal packed with lots of good things like pork, noodles, and boc choi. For my starving brother, it was the perfect remedy. Finally, since Nick was feeling exhausted from getting only three hours of sleep, we went back to Union station where we saw three guys dressed up in hilarious pirate costumes. On the way over, we had seen a sign for a Pirate Convention so we assumed they had just come back from that. Or in Nick's words: "I hope for their sake they have just come back from the convention...!"So, as we waited, we saw the same three guys walk out of the main entrance at which time Nick yelled, in the complete silence of the station hallway, "YAR!" so that it echoed right through the halls. I laughed so hard that if I had been drinking milk, I am sure it would have come spewing out of my nose. I'm sure they heard but what can you expect when you walk around looking like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean?

Anyway, those were my two trips to Toronto. Life cannot possibly get more exciting than this. Haha.

Countdown till Japan: 10 days! Holy Camoli!

Change In Travel Plans

Big news, everyone! I have decided to change my flight date from September 22nd to the 7th. The main reason I was sticking around was for the Keane concert that was supposed to be on the 20th, but since the lead singer has apparently gone into re-hab, I won't be around for the rescheduled date. On top of that, my apartment will be completely ready by the first of September so it seems a shame not to make use of the time I've been given. So, basically, I have exactly two weeks left to see everyone and say my farewells! To be totally frank and honest, I am shaking in my boots right now at the prospect of not only simply being in Japan again, but being submersed in the language and culture for a year as well. Last time I went through it, the experience was like being thrown into a lion's den - I had no idea what to expect and the ups and downs were all surprises to me. This time, though, I have a pretty good idea of what I like and don't like about Japan, and it is dealing with the tough stuff that scares me. I also don't think I am ready for a 14 hour plane flight with stopovers in America on United Airlines but that is a whole other pot of worms. Anyway, I am sure these are just pre-flight, pre-exchange heebie jeebies that every living and breathing soul gets, so for now, I am going to try and roll with the punches and live for each day as it comes.

From One London to Another

Well, I’ve had a nice break from blogging so I think it’s high time that I write something! It has been hard winding down from such an exciting six weeks, but at the same time, it is probably good to be home both in terms of being on call to answer any last minute emails about Japan, and also saying a few “so longs” before the big day arrives. I wouldn’t want to disappear off of the continent without saying goodbye to a few people!

One of my goodbyes was to my old roommate Erin. I traveled out to London (Ontario, of course!) to attend a British Garden Party she had invited me to on the weekend, and also to take a final peek at the Western campus. Her two friends who had stayed for the night made the decision to drag us to Snakes on a Plane – not really my cup of tea as movies go, but entertainment-wise, very amusing. In short, basically every imaginable stereotype boards a plane on which a CIA officer (S.L. Jackson) and a witness to a terrible murder are being transported to testify in court. The murderer discovers that the witness is on the plane and vows to kill him so he cannot testify – even at the expense of hundreds of others. Hence, he devises the wacky idea of putting snakes on a plane! The movie is funny simply because you do not care about any of the passengers that are killed. It is also pretty random; like when a massive boa constrictor falls down from the glass ceiling of the plane. 1) How on earth could anyone smuggle a 20 foot long boa onto a plane in the first place? 2) How could you hide it?? Anyway, it just goes to show that internet fan bases really do have some clout, or else I doubt a movie like this would have ever made it to the big screen!

The British Garden Party was also good fun. The idea began when Erin’s mum tried twice to write in for an invitation to the real Buckingham Palace garden party, and was twice refused. As a result, she said “To hell with Buckingham Palace! I am going to start my own garden party!”…and so she did. This year’s was the fifth annual get together, with 20 members in attendance, and a real character actor of Queen Victoria. (The only dead giveaway that she wasn’t Old Vickie was the blatantly obvious Canadian accent. :P) Although I didn’t know anyone except for Erin and her other friend Jill, it was interesting to participate. I particularly enjoyed the game where everyone receives a Victorian object in a bag, has to figure out what it is, and then act out (without speaking) how it could have been used during the 1800’s. Jill and I picked a stamp for a wax letter seal, probably the easiest to act out of the lot! Sigh…no matter where I go, I can’t escape the influence of England, can I? ;-)

I also went downtown yesterday to apply for my Japanese visa which will apparently be ready in a few days. Thus, on Thursday, I will officially be going with only my plane tickets left to buy. I was actually checking out some flight prices online yesterday and was bowled over to discover that return ticket prices that start this September and end next August cost a whopping $5000! * gags * So my plan is to visit the Flight Centre in the mall and get some much needed advice, because there isn’t a snowman’s chance in hell I am paying that. :P

Backtracking to Greenwich

Before I post a proper blog, I would like make sure I briefly highlight the last couple of days we spent in England. We stayed with my mum’s cousin Carl, his wife Philippa and her sister Yvonne in a town called Greenwich on the outskirts of London. I have only met them each a few times in my life but we had such a good time. The highlight was seeing Carl and Philippa’s 10 month old baby Alfie, who I dub the friendliest baby in the world. He would let everyone hold his two arms as he flailed his legs precariously in an attempt to run across the floor, and never failed to give a massive grin when you looked his way. (I was definitely getting the motherly urges!)

On the first night, when Alfie was put to bed, we enjoyed bangers and mash over a glass of wine and a melodic ambiance created by the music of Frank Sinatra. I could almost see the musical notes dancing around the dining table under the dim light of their London flat, but that was probably the wine speaking! The second night, we went to a fancy pizzeria where I had a delicious anchovy, mushroom, and olive pizza doused in garlic. We drank so much water and wine that by the time we were through, we were waddling home, bursting for the toilet – but it was all part of the fun!

The flat was also an interesting place to stay. It was one of the flats that missed being bombed during the Second World War, and thus retains most of its Victorian charm, though certain parts have been renovated for modern use (i.e. the kitchen). It has five floors connected by a long, narrow staircase and if you laid it out flat, you would probably end up with the same surface area as our house. However, since flats in Greenwich are so close to downtown London, the prices are easily five times as much as that of an equally sized place here.

If I get the chance, I may be able to meet up with Yvonne while I am in Japan since she often goes on business trips for her company, Monsoon Accessories, so that will be nice. I guess it all depends on how busy I am and where she is at the time!