V for "Various"

Working with people from different culture is very exciting and interesting, but at the same time, it's very stressful sometimes.  When I was a foreigner in Canada, I adapted pretty well to its culture, so I don't think I annoyed someone because of my custom or way of thinking. There are various habit and values in the world and they don't always agree with the ones in another country.   
However, I'm thankful that I'm in the environment that I can see difference between Japan and other countries.  What I learned abroad is to accept the way the culture is even though you don't like it.  If you make a choice to stay there, you have to put up with small things that you feel inconvenient or illogical.  Only people who did this successfully can adapt themselves to the foreign country they live in. 
I tend to be too harsh on foreigners who criticize Japan a lot and still claim they love this country, but I should realize that they are from different surroundings and have totally different thought circuits.  If I want to get along with those people, I should just let them be and admit they are not the same as I am.  A rainbow consists of seven different colours, lying side by side, and it looks beautiful.  Maybe society works just like that.

 

U for "Unbelievable!!"

Sneezing, blowing the nose hundreds times a day, and closing the eyes in irritation...  That was me today at the office.  It seems like the hay fever is attacking me!  I didn't use to be allergic to pollens.  Sometimes this kind of allergic reaction happens when I'm about to catch a cold or almost getting rid of one.  I thought I'd recovered from the cold, but then, these annoying symptoms started.  I cannot live even a few minutes without tissues.  I'm hoping that this is just an evanescent thing, and I'll be OK as I completely get rid of the cold.  Just in case, I took some Chinese medicine (this is the only allergy medicine that I could find which doesn't have a substance that makes me sleepy).  If it doesn't work, I'll take some of my mom's allergy pills.  Agh, this is SOOO unbelievably stressful!!

T for "Twilight"

Have you seen the movie, "Twilight," and its series?  I haven't.  And I have never been interested in any of the movies themselves nor the actors and actresses in them.  But I was wondering if the stories are that interesting since this series has been very popular in Canada, and probably in Japan as well.  The actual books might be interesting to read, and they must be easier for me to read than Davinci Code or some other novels aimed at adults.  But they are too expensive to collect for my brief interest.  Then today, I found them in the local library!  It was a surprise.  Why hadn't I thought about this?  Luckily, this library has decent variety of English books.  I should come here often though the location is not very convenient to drop by.  The only problem is, I won't be able to finish reading within two weeks, which is their loaning period :(

S for "Seventeen Hours"

The message surprised me
With an old buried memory
 
It was long gone kindness
That I had left to you with loneliness
Angelic smiles only your eyes saw
Not the sadness that I gnaw


You still look around the building lobby 
Half wishing to find me waiting
Sit in the bus that crosses the bridge
Thinking about a girl once beside leaning


She will never be found anyway
Because I'm seventeen hours away


Awoken from dreams
Your soothing blanket has gone
Bittersweet remembrances
Stored away in mind

R for "Reunion in Hawaii"

Again, long time no see, readers...
Believe it or not, I kept thinking about "R" titles, but could not come up with any suitable ones.  But now, since it's a beginning of a new year and I came up with a great one, I started writing. 

Seems like travelling at the year end is becoming my annual custom.  It's not great to miss my family gathering on the New Year's Day, but it is splendid to get together with my second family in another country :)  This year, we decided to meet in Hawaii instead of cold Vancouver (or Tokyo).  This was my first trip to a tropical country (aside from Okinawa), and it was such a great vacation.

My friend had warned me that Hawaii could be very cold in the buildings.  So I brought my jackets, socks, and sweater.  This was the cleverest thing I did in the trip.  Partly because my exhaustion from the trip, I felt very, very cold in the airport.  And nice ocean breeze, which we had plenty in our condo, felt too cool in the evening.  I thought Hawaii must be very hot, but even in the tropical island, winter is a little cooler than summer.  

We stayed in Kauai Island, and it is filled with beautiful nature and beaches.   Thanks to my skilled travel companions, I got to see most of the things travellers should see and experienced everything what I had wanted to do.  I enjoyed viewing so many colourful flowers and big trees on the island, shopping souvenirs, spotting sea turtles, and snorkeling!  I got a water-resistant instant camera, but it was difficult to take pictures of fish in the water.  The result is not very satisfactory, but there are some pictures that tell what I saw under water.  I hadn't swum in the sea for many years, so I was afraid to go into the deep water.  I kept swimming in the sallow side of the ocean, but still, I saw many fish in different kinds.  That was such an experience.   

After spending a night in Honolulu, I came back.  My parents were nice enough to leave some New Year's food for me!  So I caught up with Japanese spirit to start a new year.
(And I had my first visit to a shrine yesterday. This is called Hatsumoude and supposed to be done on the January 1st.   I prayed hard for good luck of this year, so this will be more awesome year than the last one.)   


Travelling is wonderful.  If you are with nice people, that's even better.  I wish I can have a trip somewhere this year as well.  Maybe in summer this time?  :)  I have to work hard to save up!

Kilauea Lighthouse

                                    

plumeria

sunset from Poipu Shores

Waimea Canyon

Q for "Quiet"

What a day, what a day...  We had a worrying Sunday because of a little cat!

My sister is visiting us on the weekend to attend her friend's wedding.  As usual, she has brought her "family" with her; a cat, dog, and this time, a new kitten.  She found this kitten on the street a week ago, and keeps him until she found a good home for him.  Last night, she didn't close her bedroom door, and this little one went missing.  He had been missing for almost a whole day without food or water.  We are really worried since he is still recovering from malnutrition and cold and can't cry.  Moreover, he's very small.  We even thought he might have gone outside by accident.  Once, I was alone in the house, so I just kept quiet and tried hard to hear anything moving.  But no sound.  Everything was still....  All the family member looked for him all around the house, even our neighbourhood.  But there was not a trace of him anywhere.  I almost gave up and felt very sorry for this kitten.   

Then!

When I came out from my bedroom, I saw a striped tail going between the old piano chair and the dusty cardboard box in the hallway!  It was him.  I shouted for my parents that I saw the cat, and we successfully pulled him out.  He was covered with dust, but looked totally OK.  Now he is fed and purring VERY loudly in the cage.  It was funny because both my dad and I had checked out that place more than once, but we never found him there.  Probably, he constantly changed the hiding place, or he was too small and dark-coloured to be found in the shade.  

Anyway, I'm now truly relieved and happy to know that he is safe and will get ready to be adopted by a good owner.  

 

P for "Pillow Talk"

How many pillows do you use when you sleep on the bed?  Without doubt, I would say, "One."  But this is not always an obvious answer in all the countries. 

I was talking to my British friend and, for some reason, we started to talk about pillows.  Then she said there was only one pillow at the hotel in Nara where she stayed.  I didn't see any problems with that, but she said usually people need two pillows in the Western countries.  Ah, that's solved my long-time question: Why Canadian people put many pillows on a bed even though only one person is sleeping?  It was eye-opening.  I think I became even smarter.  :)  It's always very interesting to talk to foreigners.  Next time, I will tell her how to take a bath in Japan in return.