Baby

January 8th, 2012, I delivered a baby girl. Oh, my gosh, it took 21 hours to deliver my daughter. I thought I might die because my blood pressure got really high (over 170mmHg) when I was pushing her and she didn't come out smoothly. The due date was January 15th, so she may have wanted to stay in me little bit longer. However, she was born really healthy. 

I didn't know what to say or what to think when I touched my daughter first time. She was in my body for 9 months. I was moved to have finally met her. She was small, soft and warm. My husband and I were very scared of holding her because she was so fragile. We thank God to have let us have such a beautiful girl. 

We have to be ready to raise her now. The delivery may be end, but raising one person has just started. Producing life comes with a huge responsibility. When I got pregnant, my husband and I didn't think much of anything, we just happy simply. But now that my daughter depends on us, we have to face the coming challenges with care and thought. We need to be parents who she can always be proud of.

Well, nice to meet you, girl! Let's have a great family together.

Autumn

 

The other day, my husband and I went to see Koh-yo (紅葉：red autumn leaves). Many Japanese people enjoy such scenery, like the full moon, Cherry Blossoms and so on. Since I am one of them, I asked him to take me there to see it. 

There is a website that tells you when the best time to visit an area to see red leaves. 

The website is kind enough to show you how to get there, where you can eat lunch, if they have hot springs or other events. Of course after enjoying Koh-yo, we went to one of hot springs and relaxed. It will be December soon, but check the website out and try to go out and enjoy nature.

Red Autumn info web (Japanese) : http://kouyou.nihon-kankou.or.jp/ 

Pregnant

I am wondering who is reading this blog since I haven't written for a long long time. Within that long period, I got pregnant.

Now I am 33 weeks, or 8 months pregnant. (Using the Japanese counting method, I am 9 months pregnant)



Within 50 days, I will see my baby. That is unbelievable.
The baby is a girl. How fantastic!

She moves a lot in my uterus, no matter what I am doing. It is a beautiful thing (?) to be able to see my stomach move as she moves her arms and legs. My husband touches her over my skin softly and calls her name; which was decided by my father and his father. I realized that having my "own" family is a very special thing. I am so excited! I can't wait to kiss my daughter's cheeks. I want to touch her soft hair and want to feel her warmth. I am wondering if my daughter will think the same way as me.

Pilgrims

What is famous in Shikoku? I don't know much of Shikoku because I was born and grew up in a different place other than Tokushima. The first time I came to Tokushima, I checked a tourist guide book and tried to find features of the place I was living in. According to the book, Pilgrims' temples are the most famous in Shikoku. There are 88 pilgrimage temples in total on this island. The famous monk, Kookai associated his new religion and made those temples under his beliefs, so people who admire him or tried to discipline themselves visit all 88 temples. Some of these pilgrims will  walk across Shikoku, while some drive and some use train. Shikoku islanders are very hospitable to  those people.  I am an agnostic and my husband is a christian. However, everyone can enjoy going to the pilgrimage temples without being Buddhists. Tokushima is home to temples 1 through 23. My favorite is Kakurinji (鶴林寺). You can find stone guideposts there that were placed there in the 1300s. That is amazing. Isn't that beautiful, that we can share time with such old era relics in the form of the stones? And Kakurinji is located in the mountains, it is a little hard to get there, but trees and vegetation are phenomenal. I appreciate that I could come here and live. Shikoku rocks!

Comfortable

Do you remember the very first day you started living with someone? Not your dad and mom, I am talking about your partner such as your husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend. After your wedding, even before your wedding, or if  you live with somebody now, you must have had that experience. I tried to remember what I did and how I felt on that day, but I can't remember. I asked my husband who was my boyfriend at that time, and he said he remembered. He told me I went to work that day and was too tired to cook, so we went out to eat something. I used to work 7 days a week and didn't cook very much back then, so I guess what he said is right.

Living with somebody who came from a different background causes problems sometimes, because each person has his or her own living habits. I was born and grew up in Japan and my husband is an American, so our lifestyles were very different. Even very small things were different such as how to wash dishes, doing laundry, what to use for scrubbing one's body in the shower, how to clean a room, what to eat for breakfast....wow, I can't count!!  We'd wondered, fought, and compromised with each other a lot.  Now we've gotten used to living together and feel comfortable finally. Probably more comfortable than living with our own parents.

The Earthquake

There was a big earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand a couple days ago. I wasn't paying any attention to what they said about it on the news the first time. However, after hearing that there are several Japanese people still trapped in the rubble, I keep listening intently to the news. It has been more than 72 hours since the Japanese international students were said to still be missing under the building. The news breaks my heart. How bad were their families devastated by the news...? Just thinking of their feelings gives me pain.

I was an international student once.
I know "time" and "place" were different in my case, but it could have happened to me.  I took off from my country with hope and I was so excited to go somewhere new. So I can tell those missing people felt the same. We never know or imagine such tragedies happening to us.

In 1995, we experienced an outrageous earthquake in Japan. I still remember the morning of that day. I was in Yamaguchi-ken, about 450km away from the epicenter, so I actually didn't feel the shaking. But when I went to school, I heard my friend's grandma had dead in bed by the fore-shock from the quake. At that time I was taking geology, me and my teacher calculated the force using a formula and knew how bad and severe The great Hanshin earthquake was. The remarkable numbers on the paper crushed me and all my classmates. we were shocked by the quake all over again.

May they find more people in the wreckage before time runs out.
Nothing I can do now, but pray.

Fever

I had a fever yesterday and today.

Kept having 38.5 ℃ (101.5 °F) all day long.

My body temp is usually 35~36 ℃ (96°F), so I was dead.

I guess I've got a cold.

My husband took care of me very well, I thank him for being with me...

How to improve your English

A fair amount of people in my town want to learn English. I don't know the reasons why, but they do. If I were them, I wouldn't want to though, because I am not curious in learning languages at all. When I was a high school student, I needed to learn how to read old Chinese and old Japanese. It was unbelievably difficult for me, so I gave up on it. English was not an exception. I hated English class, so I was thinking how I could ditch the class all the time. However, now I speak and write English well.

Human lives are strange. The person who hated English knows how to speak it.

Some people ask me how to study English. My answer is always the same, "Do not try to be perfect". Lots of people want to speak English perfectly without making any mistakes. I guess making mistakes embarrasses them. But the mistakes make you grow.

Here is my small story. 

The first place I lived in the U.S. was Utah. When I was there, I couldn't speak English at all. The only phrases I knew were such sayings as "Good Morning" "I love you" "Bye-Bye" "How are you?"... something extremely basic. Of course I couldn't have any conversations with my American roommates with those super-duper basics, so I felt very lonely. One day, one of my roommates from Virginia spoke to me. She asked me to go to a gym together. I even didn't know how to say "No, thank you, I have to do my homework" in English... so, I said "Yes".  On the bus after exercising, I realized that I left my necklace and earnings in the locker room. And without thinking, I screamed "my accessory!" My roommate said "What?" I told her "I forget my accessory gym!" (Ahh, horrible English!). She calmed me down and told me again, "What did you say?" . I said again, "My accessory, forget!"  She laughed out loud. No wonder, all jewelry is called "Accessory" in Japanese, but not in America. That I left accessories may mean "I am a robot and left my body parts at the gym."...

When I found out that mistake, I laughed at it with her again and learned how to say it correctly. I was scared of making mistakes but since then, I realized making mistakes leads to correct English.

Oh, Here is a tip. After learning how to say the right phrases, use the right one. Do not use the one you made a mistake with. Some people keep using wrong phrases like an old habit, even though it had been pointed out. Those people are never able to learn.

Is Japanese food healthier?

I am wondering if Japanese food is healthier than other countries' food. Lots of people in the world say that we, Japanese people, eat better than everybody else. But, is it true? This is my personal opinion though, I would say "No".  Think... What is typical Japanese food? Rice, miso soup, fish, pickles, Tofu, etc..., right? As you know, Rice is not really healthy thing because it changes to sugar immediately after putting it in our mouth. If you have diabetes, your doctor might say not to eat a lot of rice. Miso soup contains lots of salt. Some people's bodies get swollen after they have miso soup. I can't say all fish are healthy. If you eat Tuna sashimi everyday, you may gain weight from its fat. Also pickles are made with a bunch of salt. Compared to other countries, the rate Japanese people die from stomach cancer is much higher. Everybody knows it is because we consume a large quantity of salt daily.

When I went to Korea, I was surprised by the amount of vegetables that Korean people eat.  They eat great amount of meat, but as much as the meat, they eat veggies as well. How can we say Koreans are unhealthy? To me, they look very healthy.

I have Italian friends who love eating. The image of Italian food is Pasta, Pizza or Rissoto. Looks like all carbohydrates, but of course they don't eat only carbs. They eat fish, veggies and so on. Just like Japanese people don't eat only rice, Italians have variety in their diet. Needless to say, regarding their diet, my friends are not unhealthy.  Not only these two other countries, but Chinese food uses a lot of oil. However, they look as healthy as we are. Chinese people must eat well, too, right?

Huh? I haven't mention American food yet? American food is unhealthy? ...maybe...  When I was in the U.S., I was 30 lbs(about 15kg)heavier than now. But I am pretty sure it is because I ate as much as I wanted, whatever and whenever!!  I am positive there are so many people who are in good shape in America, too.  You may think American food is only hamburgers, fried chicken and steaks. But do not forget the United States is called "a Melting Pot". You can find any cuisine there. My favorites were Arabic, Vietnamese and Hawaiian cuisine. I also liked Gumbo, which is eaten among African Americans. It rocks! yay!

Japanese food is healthier?  Hmmm..., I think it's a Myth.
The keywords of healthy food are "Balance" and "Amount".

Osaka

Have you ever heard about Osaka? It is one of the biggest  city in Japan. As far as I know, it is the second biggest after Tokyo. I've been to Osaka twice before, about 4 years ago and 1 year ago. I didn't choose to go there, but I had some errands to do. I don't like Osaka very much.

There are three reasons I say so. First, let me say I don't like the way they talk. People in Osaka speak using a special dialect called "Osaka-Ben. " It has a very rough sound, so sounds like they are always angry at me. Second, the main station is too big and complicated for me. I got lost every step I walked. I am 32 years old, but I felt like a little girl. I'd lived in Los Angeles, but I still think towns in LA are much better than Osaka. The last of these reasons is most of their buildings are very "showy". They look like they are all trying to say they are the best. There is no humility in Osaka buildings.

I said I don't like this place, but I would say Osaka is actually very attractive to some people.  Many tourists visit and enjoy it there. Big Osaka fans exist all over the world. Because this city has  charisma and is filled with an unique atmosphere. Osaka overwhelms us all the time, in both good way and bad. It is the most powerful city in Japan. I want to love Osaka..., but I can't... because Osaka  is like a wild stallion, it doesn't mesh with me.