Graded until about 10:30 p.m. tonight. I bribed Cullan with a jog around Kojo Park and a free dinner – complete with sparkling lime water in wine glasses topped with fresh cherries – to help me double check the essay portion of the 280 midterm exams. They are almost done. YES.
I am on cold medicine while simultaneously trying to grade the non-essay portion of my midterm exams and watch Homeland. It’s not working, so I am taking a blog break before I just GRADE.
In addition to AMELIA (!), I had a busy and fun weekend but I was feeling under the weather and didn’t take many pictures except for a few phone snapshots.
FRIDAY///
After my midterm exam at school, I biked to the train station and caught the train to Osaka. I left my lunch at school, and only had some almonds to munch on during the three-hour journey.
BUT I had my trashy novel to keep me company.
Some other friends had left earlier in the day. I met them in Osaka, immediately ate a Krispy Kreme doughnut at the station, then we went to Kobe for the Sigur Rós concert.
I was still starving and Rachel wanted to try out this Muji Cafe. FAIL. EPIC FAIL. Worst meal that I have ever eaten in Japan, possibly my entire life. That is ground fish lasagna with mushy noodles and dry sauce and no cheese, served with oily bean salads and corn soup.
It was made bearable only because we were off to see Sigur Rós in the next hour.
The concert was some of the best sound that I have ever heard at a live show. However, the crowd was really really really low energy. I am not sure if it was just the kind of concert (because Icelandic/ambient/post-rock music isn’t exactly Lady Gaga) or if this is how concerts are in Japan?
SATURDAY///
Rachel redeemed herself and took me to a cafe with fluffy almond pancakes. It also was served alongside an avocado/shrimp/tomato/mysterious sauce salad. Sometimes the combinations in Japan still puzzle me.
Then we hit up an arcade and did a little shopping before heading back to Takaoka. My cold really kicked in on Saturday. I was kind of a slug in Osaka.
SUNDAY///
I hosted a brunch at my place in the morning. I made two of Alice Medrich’s Absolutely Perfect Almond Cakes in my rice cooker (except omitted the crunchy almond crust and slathered them with strawberry cream cheese frosting), To Die For Blueberry Muffins, and homemade lemonade with frozen berries as ice cubes. We had a ton of food and it was kind of disorganized chaos – one of those meals where everyone is eating in different stages in different rooms – but fun.
Clarissa took some awesome pictures and wrote a blog post on it!
Then I had to go into school to collect the rest of my exams and grade. Not fun.
Ending with きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ – PONPONPON , Kyary Pamyu Pamyu – PONPONPON. Rachel and I enjoyed playing this song the best on SEGA maimai at the arcade in Osaka.
7 lbs, 13 oz of gorgeousness. Amelia “Mia” No-Middle-Name-As-Of-Yet (we are an indecisive family) Lain was born on May 18th, just a few days after her due date. Since Kim and her husband Matt are both natural blondes, I am going to guess she has a 99.9 percent chance of being a blondie for life. Lucky gal.
Kim is an elementary school teacher and had been on maternity leave starting this week. She went into labor early Saturday night and had Amelia a few HARD hours later.
But what a beauty.
I wish I could have been there in person, but my mom was messaging me the entire time while I was on the train leaving Osaka, and I was able to Skype with them ten minutes after she was born.
Amelia, Aunt Sarah cannot wait to meet you this August! You are going to get some major baby swag from Japan.
I particularly like that Aunt Allison and Amelia both have long diva nails.
Kim, knowing that I miss American hamburgers and enjoy random pictures of meals, sent me a picture of her dinner at the hospital. Is it sad that I was jealous? Guys, I had the worst meal of my entire life this weekend. Fish lasagna. Shudder. It was made bearable only because I was seeing Sigur Rós a few hours later.
Today at 11:41 a.m.
Message from another teacher in my prefecture.
Hey Sarah. I’m passing by your school. Wanna sneak out and get lunch.
Um, yes.
Especially since the entire teacher’s room has the plague. Everyone is sick.
Especially since this is only the third time I have been out to lunch on a school day.
I snapped a picture of the end of our post-meal chai tea. I didn’t get a picture of my meal, a delicious vegetable curry, at Kashmir. It was essentially a cabin-like shack on the side of the road but better than any other Indian food I’ve had here. And I’ve had a lot.
The other day I ended up walking to school (instead of biking) and listening to music on my iPod.
Usually, I turn it off as I cross the street to school, but I thought of my friend Cullan who has a school “threshold song ritual,” whereby he plays his favorite song as he enters the building. Giggle. Only Cullan.
But I thought, “Keep on the tunes” even though this is probably totally frowned upon if any teacher saw me, since morning greetings are BIG over here in Japan.
I walked in, then quickly stuffed my iPod in my pocket. Rebel!
My school threshold song: Out of My League by Fitz & The Tantrums
Cullan’s latest school threshold song: I Won’t Kneel by Groove Armada.
VERDICT: It’s so much more fun walking into places this way. Try it going into work or class or anywhere!
Saturday night.
“Ok hikers. Those open to doing a hike this Sunday? I know Diem, Chelsea, and Alex are out.
I’ll take a look at the mountains when I get home. But I think we’ll keep it under 1,000m. I’ll look for something 3-6 hours.”
I get this message from my friend Keith on my phone around 8 p.m., right when I am doing my little workout video, alone, on a Saturday night. I immediately send a quick reply.
“I’m free!” (TRANSLATION: I HAVE ZERO WEEKEND PLANS. I spent the day Skyping with friends from home and stayed in my pajamas until 4 p.m. And I was essentially a hermit all week, wiped out from the overnight buses last weekend. I wonder, have I talked to anyone all week in the prefecture? Like, had a real in-person conversation? I didn’t think so.)
It ends up just being me and Keith who can go.
He promptly follows up with a text, sending me hiking details, meeting point, and lunch plans. I especially appreciate that he included lunch plans because I turn into a grizzly bear if I am hiking and hungry.
The next morning, after my 30-minute YouTube yoga class (trying to make yoga a daily habit, which according to the Internet takes 30 days), I leave the house at 10 a.m. to meet Keith for our Sunday hike. I take the train 50 minutes to a tiny town called Kamiichi.
The weather could not be more amazing. After rain all day on Saturday, it is sunny and cloud-free and perfect. The train passes through rice frield after rice field, which I realize have the most beautiful reflective surfaces. It’s pretty stunning.
Keith lives about an hour away in a different town along the coast, but Kamiichi is our meeting point. He has a CAR, and is actually parked and waiting for me. I love his promptness. I have only been to Kamiichi once, back in August for a teacher training, but I forget most of that month. It’s an adorable little mountain town.
We drive around and get totally lost due to my incredibly poor – nonexistent? – navigation skills on mountain roads. I have hiking books that I borrowed from another teacher in the prefecture. I know our hike is #36 in the book, but that’s about all I could figure out. The roads were tiny, so Keith couldn’t look at the book and drive. Anyway. We drive around for, like, hours. But he doesn’t get annoyed, and I don’t get (that) frustrated. We are on an adventure.
We stop at waterfalls. We see walls made out of verdant green ferns. We see rock slides. We do U-turns on small scary roads without guardrails. At one point, a large log gets stuck under the car. Keith needs to stop in the middle of the road and pull it out from under the car. And finally, two hours later, we arrive at our trailhead. I completely miss it, but Keith spots it.
By this time we – or maybe just me since I wanted to eat lunch back at the waterfall? – are starving. So before hiking we make lunch on the side of the road. Keith loves to bake bread, and he brings a fresh loaf for lunch. Right? It is also whole-wheat. Please, I am impressed, and now I think that all men should learn to bake homemade bread and be able to cut clean slices on the hood of their cars with badass Japanese knives.
I brought two fried eggs topped with Colby Jack cheese, carrot sticks, green beans, and grapefruit. I had also brought chocolate cookies, but I ate them all during the long journey to find the trailhead. Keith doesn’t like chocolate.
We make egg sandwiches and sit on the road and enjoy our pre-hiking picnic. It’s 2 p.m.
The hike is short but steep. We plow up it quickly. (Well, Keith does. I sort of follow a pace or two behind, panting from the steepest incline I’ve seen since Mt. Fuji last August.)
There are some cool plants that I have never seen, but unfortunately neither Keith nor I know their names. We point and guess.
“Morning glory?” he says, shrugging.
“Isn’t that a vine? Could it be….” I trail off.
“Looks cool whatever it is,” he finishes for me.
On we go.
We make it to the summit by 3 p.m. We lounge at the summit for a longer time than we actually hiked, chatting and just enjoying the sunshine and the view. I kiss the summit marker. WE MADE IT! I had doubts earlier in the day.
We go down quickly because this is steep stuff and there are no switchbacks. We find a MUCH SHORTER WAY back to the station. Keith is nice and stops at a wisteria tree because I cannot stop ooohing and ahhhing from the passenger seat. I pick a few branches to take back home. They smell like fruit and honey. WHO KNEW?
Keith also gives me the rest of the bread. My bag breaks at the train station, so I am carrying wisteria branches, bread, and hiking gear. I get a few strange looks, but I don’t care. Because I just had a really cool, spontaneous adventure on a sunny day in Japan. HELLS YEAH, or as they say in Japanese すごい!
P.S. Happy Mother’s Day Mom! And Happy soon-to-be Mother’s Day Kim!
I enjoy cooking, but I find meal planning for the week to be a burden. (This might stem in part from my illiteracy at the grocery store?) I’ve realized that making a few simple dishes and prepping snacks/veggies on Sunday night makes a huge difference in my work week. My mornings run smoother. I actually look forward to an edible lunch. I come home – hungry – and have a plan of what to eat or make.
I like planning a separate lunch and separate dinner, so I don’t eat the same thing too often during the week. This week!
SCHOOL LUNCHES: 99 percent of the time I pack my lunch. I often have a short lunch, so it is just easier to bring my own food. I do love the curry at school though.
The weather was unbelievably wonderful today. I’d call it hot and perfect hiking weather, which is just what I got to do this afternoon. It reminded me of summer and I actually felt like making salads for lunches this week. In Japan, they often add daikon radish to their salads, so I added that to the lettuce mix. I need some protein in all of my meals, so I baked some chicken and salmon to add to my lunches. To satisfy my sweet tooth, I bring fruit and a treat, usually chocolate.
DINNERS: I made some black bean soup. It makes a TON. I like to freeze half of it since I get sick of eating it all week. Then on Wednesday, I’ll make something else for dinner.
SNACKS: I bring almonds and yogurt. I cannot find Greek yogurt over here, and I really miss it. (PINEAPPLE CHOBANI!) Of course, during the week doughnuts and cookies find their way into my life. The sweet tooth lives on. I love making cookies over here in Japan even if they never quite turn out like they do at home. If they come out especially disappointing, I just warm them up in the microwave a little bit to make them chewy, which leads me to the question: Is there such thing as a bad warm cookie?
I usually take more pictures of my food on Instagram. Here’s some of my pics from the past few months.
