The Year In Review

Well, I'm going to update people on the main events of the past year before I start whining about my current life events. One year and two months ago I moved from Norfolk, Virginia to Misawa, Japan. On January 19, 2011 I was married to my long-time boyfriend and love, Anthony, in a small ceremony at a legal office. I learned early that influences of social pressures happen very easily in foreign places. I am aware of what others around me are doing, or how they are speaking, so I follow along. I use chopsticks all the time--even for salad. The portion sizes are different, but I feel full anyway. Last night I learned that there are a lot of social places in the area where Americans are not allowed. For some you must have a Japanese friend with you, for some others it won't matter if you have a Japanese friend, the owners will not let you in. Its interesting, but I wonder how much I am really missing out on. All in all I love Japan. The only catch about this place is that everything is covered in snow. Did you think I was going to say language barrier? That part isn't much different from being at JMU--I didn't speak the same language as most of the preppy kids there either.

Our House

Our View

AT RESTURAUNTS in the area we can get by with a little Japanese and pointing or hand gestures. Many places have English menus or picture menus. The Japanese sometimes eat cold noodles. I have yet to develop a taste for this.  McDonald's. It's so much better in Japan! My first attempt was a bad choice, but ever since then I have enjoyed eating there. They have a series called Big America and it features a new sandwich each week that is named after a famous American place. The service is always good.

Little Desserts from Le Monde

Ramen

We were introduced to a place that is famous for Okonomi yaki - a traditional Japanese pancake made with vegetables and meat. IT WAS DELICIOUS! Another place we've tried is Tony Romas American style steak house. I loved the spinach artichoke dip. Anthony got the ribs, steak and shrimp. Everything was great!

Cheese Roll

EARTHQUAKES happen often. my first earthquake was March 9 I was able to talk to a few of my friends (and of course my mamma) about the situation and exactly where I am in relation to the rest of Japan. We were not effected by that quake, except that I was a little freaked out when they said we had a tsunami warning. Anthony and I talked about what we would do in the event of a really bad emergency, and I felt better about the whole thing. Thursday and most of Friday went by as normal.

Pink Sushi

Friday just before 3pm I felt the house start to shake. It made me feel woozy and a little motion sick. I looked out of the front window and got out of the way of anything that could fall on me. Then the house started to shake more violently, and shit got real! I opened the door to the shoe room and held myself between the sides of the door frame. When the shaking stopped I found books and kitchenware on the floor. I heard on the PA system the word “Tsunami.” By that point the power had gone out. I took the laptop and some other important electronics to the second floor. I heard the English announcement to get to high ground, and the seaside areas should evacuate quickly. Another large quake hit. My desk top fell off the desk, so I moved everything to the floor. Cell service was down, internet was down, power and water was down, the tremors were strong, but nothing was damaged. With out heat the house got cold quickly. We had friends with a propane grill and a wood stove. When we got there they had a power converter hooked up to their Jeeps. We had lights! Bahahahaha. And heat, and hot food. It was like camping.
                                          

Kids played here in the summer

After we adopted our dog, Mercy, there was a big earthquake that happened while I was walking the dog. I can't describe how weird it is to feel the concrete sidewalk move beneath your feet. It seemed like the Japanese people near me didn't think it was important enough to stop walking or doing what they were doing, though. 

Mercy-Chan!

 When it got warmer Anthony and I rode our bikes down to Miss Veedol beach. The beach area had intense damage. The brick-lined sidewalks were gone. We saw stacks of bricks where workers are trying to rebuild the walkways. The parking lot looked like a war zone. pieces of pavement were lifted and thrown on other pieces of pavement. It was like a jigsaw puzzle. The guard rails on the walk way were bent over as if a giant had stepped on them.

MERCY is our little Shiba Inu. She's small and cat-like. I love her. During the summer when she was in heat we were attacked by a male dog who I'm sure wanted to hump her. I scooped her up real quick. Then I saw something that made me sad. The dog's owner came over to get him and he hit and kicked the dog. Its not meant as abuse, its meant as punishment, but I felt kind of bad for the thing. He didn't mean to, I've seen him before and he always wants to meet Mercy. 

Cherry Blossoms

AMORI TRIP - We stayed at the Richmond Hotel where they park your car in a warehouse of cars to save on space. You have to pull the car in and a lift takes it to a spot. The Richmond was amazingly beautiful! The elevator operated with the room key. They gave me a bag of free stuff. The bed looked soft but it was hard as the floor. We stopped in a store that looked exactly like Starbucks but was called Excellicor Cafe. I had a cafe mocha-Oiishi! We saw a lot of people walking the streets picking up trash; a community clean up effort I'm sure. Anthony got a few pictures. We went to the aquarium in Asamushi. We got there in time for the dolphin show. The dolphins sang, did jumps, played with a beach ball and got the crowd wet. There was a tunnel through a huge tank with lots of fish and the biggest sting ray I had ever seen! There was also a few cages for otters and one for penguins! They were kawaii!-so cute! On the second level there was an interactive room and we could play with some muscles, star fish and hermit crabs.

We got our picture taken at a photo booth but neither of us knew what we were doing. It is totally different from America. The booth is bigger, you can add words and things to the pictures in editing, you can choose a background.  We went to a bar called Aloha's. The bar tenders were awesome. The drinks were good. We had a wild good time. 

Cherry Blossom Festival  3hr drive to Hirosake in the Iwate Prefecture. It was cold, windy and slightly rainy. To get into the main fair grounds is free. To get into the castle and the botanical gardens is 300Y. The first thing I tried was fried chicken on a stick that had a little mayo on it--OISHII! We walked around and saw some performers on a stage. At first I didn't realize there were people sitting on low benches in the front. Different from America; I'm not sure old people would want to sit so close to the ground. I also saw the picnic area. No tables, but a big blue tarp with some shelter above it. I found out lightly candied strawberries. It was more naturally sweet than sweet from the candy (also on a stick ^_^). Anthony bought a soda in a glass bottle. I wanted to get one too, but it didn't happen. He didn't know how to open it, but I watched some other girls do it, so I pushed the ball into the bottle and fizzy soda went EVERYWHERE! HAHA. It was yummy. Anthony got an Octopus leg (ewww). We saw the Lotus Pond and the Cherry Blossom Tunnel. The tunnel was so pretty! It was beside a little pond where people could rent boats and paddle around. The castle was much smaller than we had thought it would be. But that makes sense I guess, cause this is Japan and the people are smaller and the culture is different. Americans think larger.

I got to use my first Japanese style toilet. It is in the ground. And there was a spider in my stall so it was JUST like CAMPING! -_- Oh, and no soap or paper towels either. It was an adventure. Not my favorite thing, but not horribly bad. Then Anthony and I went to a haunted house type thing. Anthony made me go first because he's a scardy cat. The place was DARK with only black lights and black light paint on some black curtains. There was two guys in masks running around popping out in places. It was fun. I scared one of the guys because I saw his shoe and I poked the curtain he was behind. ^_^ 

I saw something that looked like marshmallows on a stick with chocolate sauce. It was soft bread with some kind of salty teriyaki and soy sauce. I was not a fan.  Many street venders were selling cherry blossom or apple products. ^_^  The first thing we tried was cherry blossom sake. The next thing we tried was apple vinegar. I was hesitant at first because... well it doesn't sound like something I should be drinking. But no, it was totally drinkable! I think the Japanese people thought we were funny for being so hesitant. The next vender had apple juice. ^_^ It was sweet and filling. www.town.itayanagi.amori.jp   is the website.

Banana on a Stick

Hirosake Castle