Sayonara, Jo-Lo in Tokyo

The big departure is tomorrow morning. By 6:30 am I will board the familiar Narita Express headed for a not-so-familiar continent, country, and life. Along with many farewells I have already bid, I must also say sayonara to this blog site, as I will no longer be "Jo-Lo in Tokyo." I will be making a page on this site, entitled "EngRish GiRL"-- because that's what I feel I'll be-- not quite a proper ENGLISH girl, bringing a bit of Japan with me. Give me a few days to set up the site, but it will be

www.EngRishGiRL.blogspot.com.

Until then,

Sayonara to

Akasaka, my new home in Tokyo, and all the ojisan I pass on my frantic dash to one place or another

My mama-chari, the best purchase I ever made in Tokyo. 5000 yen (45 USD), which paid for itself 100 times over in saved train fares, minutes on crowded trains, and commutes to the office

Squinting at the sharp sunlight after all nighters in Roppongi & Shibuya, drinking, dancing, and singing at karaoke until dawn

The wind against my face and an excuse to hang on tightly to S as we "scooter" around the city

Thursday nights at Andy's with the freshest, most delicious fish and the best company

Free time on the weekends to brunch, to explore the nooks and crannies of Tokyo, or to relax in a rotemburo shaded by a momiji at dusk

Automatic taxi doors, heated toilet seats, all you could want vending machines, onigiri & bento

Meeting someone for the first time and answering the questions, "where are you from?" "how long have you been in Japan?" "Nihongo jyouzu! why can you speak Japanese?"

Finding all the right sized clothes at too expensive a price

And much, much more.

I'll leave you with a quote that's followed me from my high school graduation (actually included it in my speech) through every big change in my life, and from country to country.

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." ~Dr. Seuss

SAYONARA

The weekend was dominated by my Thursday night sayonara dinner & paa-tee, as it took me almost the rest of the entire weekend to recover from this 11 hour soiree. It wasn't such an unusual night after all, but I thought it best to end on a night of familiarity. Thanks to Mx, the party started with a small and lovely dinner at Kaikaya, one of the best fish eateries in town. The night was accented by a bit of fashion, thanks to Matt-o, who titled himself the night's comedian by literally bringing his "party hat." Level of drunkenness: 6.

Next stop was Ruby Room, where more friends joined us, and where too many weirdo Frenchy guys (apart from those in our own party) tried to put the moves on us. But the house was good, the drinks were aplenty, and the night passed on even more quickly. Level of drunkenness: 7.5, the increase reflected by S' not-so-graceful full on fall down the hard wooden steps coming down from the club. The half of our party at the bottom of the stairs burst into "glad it wasn't one of us" laughter at the drunken spectacle... until they realized, "OH NO, it was SAM." Then the laughing got louder! I was coming down behind him and scooped up his broken body from the bottom step... :-) hehe. (See pic of S brushing himself off) Still makes me laugh even now.

The bar hop continued on to Red Bar, the small hole in the wall adorned in red, red, red everywhere, including my face by that point. And, in true Tokyo fashion, the night ended in SHIDAX, karaoke mecca of Shibuya. Level of drunkenness: doesn't even matter, we can't count! And we sang (or shouted? fell off our chairs? took funny pictures?) until 6am, when the place thankfully kicked our butts out.

I doubt I need much more explanation as to why the rest of the weekend ended up in stomach misery 15 minutes after anything I ingested. But it was a superb finish!! A HUGE arigato to everyone who came out to help me celebrate, despite their jobs, friends visiting, early trains and planes the next morning. xoxo

A Last Weekend of Firsts

As luck would have it, my two last weekends in Tokyo include national holidays and are 3-day weekends. This means more time to spend out and about with S enjoying the little time we have before my imminent departure to the dark, cold and rainy side. For once, we successfully limited the all-night parties and subsequent hangovers and saw sunlight from outside the apartment windows.

Saturday, we set off for Mt. Takao on a nice sunset hike. Autumn in Japan has "officially" begun (meaning the date deemed "end of summer" and "beginning of autumn" has passed), and though we are sure to be sweating out another few weeks of humid Japanese summer, the weather was surprisingly fresh and cool. We dodged some spider webs and fallen trees along the way and made it to the top just in time to see a lovely sunset peek through the trees.

After, S treated me to an amazing Japanese dinner in one of the nicest settings I've seen in Japan. Ukai Toriyama was the restaurant, set in a huge, breathtaking Japanese garden complete with turning water wheels and the scent of yakitori wafting from a small pagoda opposite a traditional goldfish pond. Anyway, the photos can explain better than I can.

Sunday was even more fun I must say, especially since our inability to wake up and start the day for once didn't seem to shorten the time we had to accomplish everything we wanted. We started with a picnic and Japanese macha tea at Hamarikyu garden and then continued on to Odaiba, which I had perhaps unfairly prejudged the archetype of Japanese tackiness-- another sad product of bubble redevelopment. To my surprise, however, I can see how Odaiba has become the prime dating destination for young people. You can sit along the (man-made) beach and watch the boats sail the harbor at sunset, and if you sit long enough, you eventually see the harbor amidst the lights of the distant skyscrapers and scarlet lanterns on the water. At that point, it is easier to forget the reconstructed Statue of Liberty looming behind you. We finished the night atop one of the highest ferris wheels in the world (If you can't beat the corny Japanese couples, you might as well join them!), which was especially fun for S since it was his first time on a "fairy wheel," as he calls it (apparently "ferris" is difficult for a Frenchy to remember).

A perfect day, really, ended with pizza, ice cream, a tummy ache, and a highly recommended DVD -- think the artistic directing and lovely innocence of "Amelie" combined with a war movie-- in my opinion, it can't get better than that!

Every weekend should be so lovely...

Black Beauty... ?

This is me seducing the camera. No, really, I just wanted to see if you notice anything different about me....

HINT: I just finished a FIVE hour session at the hair salon! There is something very wrong when you arrive for your 12:30pm appointment and leave when it's almost dark outside! God, what a process! But it is the last (for a while) of my Japanese beauty experiences and thus had to go out with a bang.

I blogged once upon a time about the Japanese hair salon experience, though since then, I think prices have gone up and my patience has gone down. But anyway, since I am unemployed at the moment, I didn't really mind the day-long washing, drying, doting, sipping tea, reading ELLE, getting "massaji-ed," and making small talk, especially since I was pretty much satisfied with the outcome... (have you noticed anything different yet?)

In addition to the straight perm, an annual must for my wild mane, I went black! Really black. Blacker than I intended (though maybe you can't tell in the photo). Perhaps it was premature-- I feel a bit wintery now... but I've been thinking about doing it for a while, so why not now when my life is taking a new course? Anyway, what do you think?

The faces of Tibet

Stunning. That's all I can say to describe not only the Tibetan landscape, but the people as well. If some of these children had been raised in the West, they would be on TV modeling. Dark skin, rosy cheeks, high cheekbones, gorgeous smiles, and black, thick hair. The only problem is that by the time they reach age 30, they look double their age. I wonder how people so poor can live so happily, or at least appear to, while we often have so much yet think it's never enough. But I guess it depends on what you are exposed to. If you never had chocolate, you would never miss it, right? I guess it goes the same for flushable toilets, electricity, and clean water. Anyway, during the time I spent with those kids, I never missed any of those small conveniences either.

The kids were bundles of energy and wanted to play constantly! We gave them all the piggy-back rides we could-- I strategically chose the smallest one [above] to be my friend, and also in the pic is her big sister, and "the [Swedish] dad" ;-) . After that we hokey-pokeyed and played games with them until the sun went down. It took every ounce of resistance not to stash my little one in my bag and bring a big omiyage home to S. Perhaps we were even sadder to then say good-bye than they were. I think they all brought out the best in us. There I was running down steep mountains with a 4 year old on my back, but smiling like it was the easiest thing in the world. Another little girl got kicked in the mouth during a game, and J. and I wiped her tears away until she stopped crying. It's these little moments that really stick in your heart as well as your mind. I just hope that they too were touched in some way by us, too.

I digress

Ok, so I've already reneged on my "blogger penance," but I had a very good excuse.

T-pan was visiting me for a week, and we were having wild & crazy times, which left me sick and hungover for most of the weekend... however, extremely worthwhile! T-pan was my original partner in crime from the very first of my days in Japan-- back in Nagoya when we were both poor university students living with host families and going through the ups and downs of Japan together. How far we have come!

Here we are embracing Tokyo with open arms...


And then embracing champagne and, ahem, Miles (we are giving him birthday kisses for the big 2-5 ;-) !

We also embraced such things as karaoke with two crooning Frenchies, so much shabu shabu I never want to smell let alone consume it ever again, a psychotic and aggressive heroine addict, matching "Gallant" tank tops, and more ice cream than my jeans care to allow.

Back to the China stories next time, but needed to give proper credit to a stellar week in Tokyo!

The Great Wall

Step by step by step... that is how I saw the Great Wall. The place was Simatai, which I highly recommend for the best of Great Wall experiences. If you've gone all the way to Beijing, you might as well get the best view of this magnificent site. At Simatai, apart from the poor farm wives who follow you every step of the climb to sell postcards, t-shirts, or even to lend a helping hand, we were the only ones there! And if there is any site in China that is best seen without the other 1.2 bil, one is most definitely the Great Wall.

When I think of my experience, one of the first things that comes to mind is extreme, mind-boggling, melting HEAT! We hit Beijing during a record setting heat wave, and those steps looked less and less friendly with every breeze that failed to blow. Good thing my buns of steel were up for the challenge.. haha.

It is not cliche to say the Great Wall is one of the great man-made wonders. It is INCREDIBLE! And even better, it isn't even necessary for your jello-jiggly legs to take you all the way to the bottom after the climb up. A zipline was kindly provided for the lazier, though more adventurous spirits in the bunch, to aid our return. Only the two crazy Swedes and I opted to take part in this "at your own risk" activity, and I just can't seem to imagine why, being that the pulley had turned a rusty brown, and the rope could have probably snapped at a sneeze. But if you can't trust the Chinese, who can you trust (!!??) .... The sheer feeling of freedom while flying from the Great Wall with legs dangling over a lake.... the sense of awe while looking back on the great wonder behind you... soooo worth 35 RMB (about 4 USD) ! I heart China!

Post-China Reflections

<----- Me against the mountains.... hehe.
Unfortunately, I didn't have the time or the will to blog throughout my trip, and a summary at this point is virtually impossible. I will let you skim through these photos for a travelogue of the places I went and the things I saw, and to make up for my extremely lazy blogging habits, I will write a post about a highlight of my travels everyday for the next week -- I'm sure it won't be too hard to think of 7 good ones :-) Consider that my penance.

To kick it off, though, I just want to make note here of some thoughts about my life in general after this experience, which I would say was probably at least mildly life-altering for me. After all, the ancient mountains of China and the mystical plateau of Tibet were a mere backdrop for the many experiences I had, which are the essence of what I will carry with me from this trip.

I'll first say that this trip was exactly what I needed at just the right time. I don't think I've felt so much like myself in a very long time as during the past month. Being totally alone and meeting for the first time a group of people with whom I would be spending immense amounts of time with, there was no other way to be but 100% Jo-Lo. And there is not a more liberating feeling than to escape for a while from a society, which, to put it harshly, is stifling at times.

What augmented the fabulousness of freedom was the opportunity to share it with some of the most amazing people ever. I made three friends I will probably be in touch with for a very long time, if not a lifetime, and will sincerely miss every other single person in our group of 12. Everyone was going through some sort of transition in life and was taking this trip purely as an opportunity to see the world and experience a different side of life than the usual. It was the type of experience that you put 100% into, with no hesitations and no holding back, because everyone knew that the chances of it ever happening again were slim to none. I will remember these people when I remember any place or time on this trip.

Finally, I also have a new, or revised, outlook on my looming future in Cambridge. I've gone from being insecure and basically scared out of my wits of going and leaving my comfortable life in Tokyo, to looking forward to another new chapter of my life. The Tokyo chapter will still be open for editing and many appendices I'm sure, but I've realized that there are times in life when it's necessary to let go and embrace something new. There are times when the change seems larger than what you care to handle, and there are people who you love so much you just can't say good-bye. But a boost of confidence makes everything a bit easier (though still not easy), and I guess now I can prepare myself for whatever Cambridge decides to throw at me.

So, this is what I've learned in China (and I swear I haven't teamed up with the Commies to recruit more tourists to visit)...

In Tibet

Now one week into my trip, I've made it through Beijing, Xi'an, and now I am in a small town called Xiahe in the Tibetan province of Andou. I won't go through all the details of the trip until now because it would just take hours, but I am traveling with an amazing group of people and having the most incredible experiences.

We are 3000meters high right now in this town up in the mountains. Tomorrow we will visit the Labrang Monastery, which is one of the largest monasteries in Tibet. But today we left the town to go to a village of people of the Bon religion, which is the original religion of Tibet before Buddhism arrived. We were the only tourists in the village, and it seemed that they didn't get many visitors. We were so close to the clouds and over the mountains it made everything feel so mystical. In the grasslands, which house the Tibetan nomads, I stood about 2 meters from yaks and goats grazing everywhere, and wild flowers were growing in every inch of the grass. It's beautiful.

Also, the people are so so lovely! I played with all the little kids in the village-- they seemed to really like me, maybe because I am near their size and look morelike them! But anyway, I gave them my camera, and this little girl was acting like a photographer taking photos of everyone! Then we had lunch in the house of one of the monks in the village-- just different types of bread and yak milk tea. Can't wait to upload all my photos, but it won't be until I get back to Tokyo.

Next onto the small village of Langmusi, another town in the grasslands, before moving on to Sichuan.

Until then...

Fuji Rock & Rain

It all started with a shower and ended with sunshine. Unfortunately, all of the concerts were during the shower part-- the showers that started and never stopped all day and night Saturday. As you can see, though, it didn't stop the people from coming. Over the course of the weekend, 120,000 people were said to have shown up-- and these are the Japanese who don't go ANYWHERE in the rain!
It was a fun time, but the weather most definitely put a damper on things. The cost of one day at Fuji Rock was 18,000 yen (including a camping pass), and the train was another 12,000 or so, which brought the cost to around $300, plus a pair of muddy Pumas which will never recover. For that cost, I spent my night in a tent wet, freezing and miserable.

We did see Fatboy Slim, as you can see in the pic, and though it was a great show, I decided I didn't feel like wearing my bulky rain gear anymore, and stripped down to normal clothes-- hence the freezing cold by the end of the night. Another great new band who I heard of thanks to S, is Asian Dub Foundation-- a band of "21st century MIDI warriors" whose favorite quote seems to be "Son of a Bush!" They are kind of a cross between rock and hip hop, and I found myself in the middle of a huge mosh pit having more fun than I thought possible for being totally trampled on. Good thing I had my 3 Frenchy bodyguards with me or for sure they would have been scraping up my bits blood and bones off the ground.

Maybe everyone should try this Fuji Rock thing once, but our group agreed, next year the attendance number will be minus 119,990, minus the 10 of us. Of course next year will probably be the first year of all-weekend sunshine... Anyway, the rest of my first and LAST Fuji Rock!

Whatcha readin'?

In typical Jo-Lo fashion, though I have little time to read, while idly internet surfing at work, I ordered two books from Amazon.com. The first, to no surprise, was the latest Harry Potter, which I am now about half-way through. It's a good read, of course, and requires little thought, which is welcoming for a Jo-Lo stressed by thoughts of a big trip, then a big move, studies and a long distance relationship, but having read 5 Harry Potters before, I can't say it is anything earth-shattering thus far.

I am more anxious, perhaps, to finish this Harry Potter so I can move on to my second purchase, which I came upon by chance through a review written up in the Japan Times. The book seemed to fit exactly in my area of interest, even being dubbed (perhaps on the back cover of the book) as an extension of Edward Said's critique of the Orientalism theory, and ever since, it seems I just keep finding more and more commentary about this book. Perhaps I have a slight bias since I found out the author received a B.A. in international affairs from George Washington University and did her Masters at Cambridge, but she seems to have approached a topic academically that for the first time has gone mainstream by book: Asian exoticism.

For Asians and Asian Americans who have been looking for some methodological academic research on "yellow fever," "traditional" Asian wives, and relationships between Asian women and Western men, this seems to be the book. Too bad I didn't get around to writing it first...

300 more pages of Harry Potter and I'll give you a better review.

All shook up

Tokyo hit by strongest quake in 13 years, at least 27 injured
200500:23 Kyodo NewsEnglish(c) 2005 Kyodo News

Tokyo was struck by the strongest earthquake to rattle the capital in 13 years Saturday afternoon when a magnitude 6.0 temblor shook eastern Japan, injuring at least 27 people and prompting the prime minister's office and police to set up crisis management task forces.
The 4:35 p.m. quake measured upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Tokyo's Adachi Ward, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

It is the first time since February 1992 that the capital, excluding its tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean, has been hit by a temblor of that grade, which the agency defines as being strong enough to make unreinforced concrete-block walls collapse and most dishes in a cupboard fall.

Where was I? In the middle of my "girly day" receiving a pedicure in a stuffy 2nd floor room of a shaky Takeshita-dori building. With just 3 more toes to go, I felt some pretty big tremors. Fortunately the my beauty guru was not applying any polish at that exact moment, but in the front of the shop, a clock had fallen off the wall, and several bottles of nail polish fell from their shelves. I had my 3 toes finished and left in a hurry.... only to find that the subway was stopped. Luckily S was out and about on his scooter and able to pick me up and deliver me to a safer and less shaky location.

Rice, spare, sea and samurai...

can come close to yet far from encapsulating our long weekend getaway.

S and Gilou, rented car, GMS and I somehow made our way to the beautiful sites of the Western Japanese coast--Noto Peninsula, and finally Kanazawa, ironically, the first place I "lived" in Japan three years ago now for my study abroad orientation. Seems like light years ago, literally, since I could barely remember places I had even been before. Perhaps one's first week in Japan and one's 80th or so week in Japan don't necessarily feel the same...


Escaping Tokyo's labyrinth of concrete and lights for a weekend can really make you appreciate the lesser developed parts of the country, that's for sure. Never in my life have I seen so many shades of green in one place. The deep green of the tree tops makes the verdant bright green of the rice paddies stand out that much more. We were lucky our GMS navigated the way through some of the most isolated country roads.





The weather was in our favor, but unfortunately the road was not. While driving on one such country road, surrounded by only rice fields and more than one hour from the nearest town, S turned a curve about a tire's width too close to the left. Into the irrigation ditch (also known as "gaijin trap") we went. Fortunately we were following our other friends, who turned around when they realized we weren't behind. They were able to find a thick rope wrapped around a random fence, S was able to find a small tree, and one hour, a spare tire, and some frustration later, we were able to haul the car out of the ditch.


So in addition to the rice fields and farm houses, Noto is of course a peninsula, so it also offers some of the most beautiful rocky coastline in Japan. I thought I would be "beaching it" for most of the weekend, but really there were very few nice beaches. We hit one on the way back to Kanazawa (click for more pics), and we managed a nap and a swim in the sea, but otherwise I would not recommend the Sea of Japan coast for beachfront property.






We finished the trip in Kanazawa, the "little Kyoto," with some sightseeing in Kenroku-en, deemed one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan, a tour of the "Ninja Temple," which was actually named such just because of the maze of hidden passageways and staircases inside. It was one of the few buildings that remained after WWII, and it is the original structure from the 1600s. And then we explored Higashi-chaya and Nishi-chaya (where this pic is), which were the old geisha teahouse districts, kind of like Gion in Kyoto.

Anyway, the rest of the photos are magnificent, so have a look for yourself!! This will probably be one of my last travels in Japan for a while, so I went a little picture crazy. But for good reason, of course!

Packing the schedule

Just thought I would let you all know my schedule over the next few months, as it’s changing more rapidly than I’d like.

August 9: Last day of work!

August 11 – September 3: China trip. Actually it’s a different trip than the one I posted before. I found a more affordable one for a longer time with a better itinerary, so I opted to go with G.A.P. The itinerary looks something like this:

Day 1-3 Beijing

Day 4,5 Xi'an, home to one of the greatest archeological discoveries of our time - the Terracotta Warriors.

Day 6-8 Xiahe, through the Yellow River valley up to the edge of the Tibetan plateau.

Day 9,10 Langmusi, the remote magical Tibetan monastery town.

Day 11-13 Jiuzhaigou, passing through vast grasslands and across beautiful mountain passes

Day 14,15 Chengdu, characterised by markets, traditional teahouses and spicy Sichuan cuisine

Day 16-19 Yangshuo, cycling off the beaten track amongst the backdrop of imposing limestone karsts, rising dramatically from a lush rural landscape.

Day 20,21 Hong Kong

And I will be going it alone... I figure a month trekking around China should definitely toughen me up for those hostile drunk Brits.

Sometime in late September: The big move to Cambridge.

My Cambridge schedule:

Full Michaelmas Term: Tuesday, Oct. 4th - Friday, Dec. 2nd
(Break 1: Dec 3 - Jan 17)

Full Lent Term: Tuesday, Jan. 18th - Friday, Mar. 18th
(Break 2: March 19 - April 24)

Full Easter Term: Tuesday, Apr. 25th - Friday, June 16th
(Finish research: June 17 - August 31, or whenever complete)

Count on a one-week trip to the Caribbean in December, some scattered stays back in Tokyo during the breaks, and regular short trips around Europe. I don’t intend for this year to pass without adventure. Anyway, you people need something to read about!

Communications professional in Japan ?

VOMIT VOMIT VOMIT. How are Japanese ever going to take public relations seriously when THIS is what they read about? Perhaps I should just start applying too much make-up and thinking with a pea-sized brain, and then I can publish my own book on PR too...

Livedoor's 'beautiful face' launches book of work tips

Ayako Otobe, a public-relations official for Internet company Livedoor who attracted attention as the "beautiful face" of the firm during a recent takeover bid, has published a book of essays on her work policies.

Two hundred people were invited to a bookstore in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills on Tuesday for the launch and signing of the book, whose title translates as "Livedoor public relations, Ayako Otobe -- 40 hints on positive work techniques."

Besides essays, the book includes color photographs of Otobe, including a shot of her in a bathrobe sold on Livedoor's Internet shopping site. The 16 pages of photographs appear at the front of the book.

"I like the natural shot that Horie took of me inside the company," Otobe said.

The essays explain Otobe's work policies since her encounter with Livedoor President Takafumi Horie, using simple language. She explains the care she takes with fashion and makeup as someone who has to publicly represent the firm.

Royalties for the book will reportedly go to Livedoor, not Otobe.

"If you believe in yourself as you proceed, your dreams will certainly be fulfilled. I want lots of people to read this and feel happy," she said.

Otobe gained attention as the face of Livedoor, which operates an Internet portal site, during its battle with Fuji Television Network for control of Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. Livedoor eventually reached a settlement with Fuji TV. (Mainichi)

Mama-chari gone awry

As if the broken washing machine hasn't been bad enough, my mama-chari brakes are failing me. Believe me, I've tried getting them fixed at gas stands, bike shops, and any other place that just might service a mama-chari. But in this country, apparently bike shops only service real bikes, not bikes with baskets and without gears, so I have been told to go back to the shop I bought the bike from, which happens to be more than hour ride away these days.

So, I've continued riding my squeaky bike to the office everyday, still cutting my commuting time down by 10 to 15 minutes. However, it's recently become almost too embarrassing and too dangerous to ride! These brakes make THE most obnoxious screeching noise, so much so that I'm sure everyone in a 2-kilo radius thinks that hell has emerged from the depths of the earth and swallowed them. THAT LOUD! So, as to avoid making such a scene every time I want to come to a complete stop, I've been trying to take it easy on the brakes. I slow down until the point where I can reach the ground and stop the bike with one foot. Annoying but way less embarrassing.

However, there does come a time when brakes are necessary, particularly after a hard rain when the ground, the bike, my feet-- are slippery. I was riding on the street in the "buses only" lane and went to hop a small curb to get back on the sidewalk. I was going a bit too fast so I slowed down, but perhaps put too much pressure on my rear brake and not enough on my front. I skidded and the side of my front tire hit the curb, toppling me over like an unsteady domino. I hit the sidewalk face down on my hands, knees and chest, brushburning one and all of them. Close to tears (of frustration more than hurt) I quickly got up, brushed off, and continued to walk my mama-chari for a while before building the courage to climb back on.

It is quite embarrassing to fall on one's face with too loud a squeak, but perhaps even more appalling is that in the massive swarm of Tokyo rush hour, not one person stopped to ask if I was ok. I am sure that in the U.S., guys in particular would run over to see if a damsel in distress was hurt. But in Japan, are people too reserved or too self-absorbed to ask? Ignoring my stinging knees, I was fuming all the way home at all of the faces that certainly turned at the spectacle, even sometimes with surprise, but then kept walking without a word.

Word of advice: you do not want to run into a Jo-Lo fuming on a bike in slippery conditions with squeaky brakes. One girl almost did on the rest of my treacherous ride home-- almost crashed right into me in fact-- and then glared at me. Had she understood English, I surely would have just blown my fuse at that point, but lucky for her, my Japanese isn't angry-sounding enough. I continued the rest of my ride home swearing to myself.

In my distress, S was kind of enough to make me dinner. Can we all look at how domestic he's become and say AWWWWW!? I am such a good influence !

For this cold, rainy Monday, I also think my tired little butt also sees a nap in her post-office future. Saturday night was a big one at WOMB, which featured DJ Danny Howells. A noble 6 a.m. finish-- no wonder I am a walking zombie with a sore throat today...

My crystal ball...

In my future, as long as my shrinking wallet does not betray me, I am seeing a trip to China. Since I'm doing it alone, as far as I know (if anyone wants to join me, speak now!), I've decided on a tour package to:

Beijing, the emperors' city (3 nights/4 days)
Xian & the great terra cotta army (2 nights/3 days)
Guilin, the scenic Li River, & Yangshuo (2 nights/3 days)
Hangzhou, Marco Polo's favorite city (2 nights/3 days)
Shanghai, the amazing city (2 nights/3 days)

I just have to make sure the finances are all in order, and then I can start booking. The plan is to go from August 15th - August 28th, so I'll be working a couple of weeks in the beginning of August to save up a bit more money.

Also in my future, I found out today, is Wolfson College at Cambridge. For those of you who, like me, have no clue about the English old school system, the college in which you are placed basically determines your social circle and living quarters. Wolfson is a new college, compared to the likes of Kings and Trinity, but is supposedly the most "cosmopolitan" of the colleges, one of the most international, and it is also geared toward graduate students. Coming from Tokyo and being that I think the town of Cambridge itself is enough "college" for me, I think a cosmopolitan and international atmosphere will be perfect for me. For the past year, I've also been hanging out with people 5-10 years older than I am, so the graduate living shouldn't bother me either. My research supervisor is also placed at this college, so that should be convenient, and he assured me it is a great place to be. So tally ho, off I go to Wolfson!

"Jya ne" to Px

We bid a heartfelt "jya ne" [good-bye for now, as opposed to "sayonara," good-bye permanently] to Px this past weekend as she makes her way back to Oz. I couldn't have asked for a better flatmate as I started out here in Tokyo. Thanks so much for everything, P, and please, remember us little people when you become a famous pop star diva. xoxox!

The Mash Hits Tokyo

My little Mashy came allllll this way just to see me... ok and maybe them too. Click the Harajuku freaks for more pics of feeding frenzies, karaoke and our trip to Nikko.

The Joys of PR

My task of the morning was to create sample panel displays in order to illustrate our ingenious thoughts to the designer working for our client. Though our jurisdiction is actually only the contents of each panel (messages, text, etc.), the boss felt it would be “helpful” to create a “visual” to estimate how much text we would need. I am a serious communications professional—which means I work with scissors, colored paper, and bubble letters. Behold...


And they say cheerleading is worthless. Bah! Obviously it helps you to become a serious communications professional. It is because of high school’s football season that I became an expert at drawing and cutting out bubble letters and making signs and posters. Look where it has gotten me today (tear).

Let me just say, the closer it gets to quittin’ the less I feel like workin’.

Home Sweet Home photos

Internet has been miraculously repaired. Now if only I could say the same about the washing machine... The pictures you have all been patiently (not necessarily anxiously) awaiting...

Washington DC, Nazareth, New York: June 1 - 10, 2005. Click!

Danger zone

Internet problems have severely limited picture posting and entries to the blog. S’ modem seems to be broken at the moment, and my attempts to steal a wireless connection from the neighbors have been in vain. I have pictures from our trip to the States, Mash’s visit to Tokyo, and now P’s sayonara accumulating all the memory on my camera instead of taking the spotlight on my blog. Hopefully this situation will be ameliorated very very soon.

It’s now been one week since I’ve moved into Masters Akasaka and have taken part in the “living together” arrangement. So far so good, though the situation has prompted some good moments.

I moved in last Sunday. On Monday, I flooded the bathroom (by no fault of my own). The washing machine hasn’t been working right, and during my load of laundry, it decided to start spewing water everywhere, leaving a centimeter of water or so all across the bathroom floor. Our second night in-house was spent sopping up water with towels and wringing them into buckets—we filled two to the brim. And for the past week we have been going back and forth with the Japanese repairmen, trying to get the thing fixed. Conclusion: Japanese repairmen are merely liaison to the real fix-it people. They apparently don’t know how to fix anything themselves.

The week continued with an eventful Wednesday night. S left the door to the veranda open in his room, and at 2am we were awoken by a “zzzz, zzzz” next to our ears and in my case, 6 new red and swelling mosquito bites in various no-need-to-be-mentioned locations. We switched on the lights and jumped onto the bed G.I. style with an aerosol can of insect killer as our chosen weapon. “There’s one!” I pointed and shouted. “Putain!” the Frenchman reveled as he leapt across the bed with the spray. Definitely deserved a photo.

Last night topped off the end of the official 1st week. S was looking for a plastic bag to hold his dirty laundry (which has been piling up immensely due to scenario #1). “Babe, have you seen my Fuji Rock bag?” he queried. She looked at him sheepishly. “I kind of threw away all those plastic bags in your closet since we had so many in the kitchen.” Apparently it was a souvenir from his first Fuji Rock concert two years ago.

Good thing I’m not being graded on this moving in thing. And even better that S isn’t such a harsh grader!

Ah, Muggles...

Well, Onigiriman, the opportunity for you to get here while I’m here, I must say, is unfortunately slim, at least for the near future. I’ve been making some references here and there about a shorter time in Japan than I expected, and now that things are more official, I can clarify.

My short-lived Tokyo stay is coming to a close. I have three more months to eat as much sushi as possible, yell “sumimasen” for some service, and play harder than I’ve ever played before. The next destination will be undoubtedly more demure. Think Harry Potter. Think high tea and pinky rings. Cambridge, England best prepare itself for my arrival.

I’ve been awarded a full scholarship (the GWU Bender, for those who would know) to do my M.Phil degree in East Asian Studies at Cambridge. It is a one-year program, 2/3 taught and 1/3 research, with my proposed topic being on how China and South Korea can be expected to react to Japan’s increasingly more assertive foreign policy.

My Japanese probably isn’t quite at the level it should be to undertake this level of research, meaning I will be working extremely hard. Surprisingly, this doesn’t bother me. I’m ready for a new challenge. But the thought of being a full-time student again-- having no time, no money, and much more stress leaves me feeling more than a little unprepared.

But, it’s one of those things that if I don’t do now, will I ever? Knowing myself as well as I do, I’m sure I would eventually regret not going. After all, as people keep telling me, Japan will always be here (barring any natural disasters of catastrophic proportions).

Of course, in addition to all of these disruptive life changes, the one at the forefront of my mind is what kind of masochistic drive in me will force me to leave S? And how can I possibly think that the opportunity cost of leaving him will somehow be offset by a Masters degree from Cambridge? Why does “self-improvement” always seem to trump love? And why do I always seem to feel that the one thing I can procrastinate is love?

Just the thought of leaving S makes me feel utterly nauseous, yet I made the decision as if there was no other choice. Am I taking for granted that he’ll wait for me? Am I avoiding the thought that maybe, he won’t? Still, rather than stay safe and happy here with him, I have decided to put the one thing I really want up for gamble. It doesn’t make any sense to me, yet I’m doing it. I am consciously deciding to leave someone I have fallen irrevocably in love with.

Can anyone explain human behavior to me? Apparently it’s one more degree I don’t have.

A Side of Mash and a New Home

My university roommate for all 4 years (minus the year we were both abroad), also known as the Mash Daddy, came with her high school friend Nina for a week-long visit in Tokyo. Being that we met at the airport as I was just arriving back from the States, we all persevered through the jet lag and made the most of our week, which included but was far from limited to the most well-attended Harajuku freak show I've ever seen, delicious dinners every night, a karaoke session of insanity followed by an early early morning (4am) trip to Tsukiji Fish Market, an overnight at a ryokan in Nikko and a day seeing the shrines and temples there, Peking duck and clubbing, a Frenchy for everyone, and limitless inside jokes and laughs. Was so great to have you here, girls. Just when I thought Tokyo couldn't get any more crazy and fun-- I should have known better ;-) One city obviously just can't handle all of us!

Continuing the whirlwind that basically began back when I had left for the States June 1st, I found myself at June 19th, working everyday and still going out every night after the non-stop tour up the East Coast U.S. To top it all off, yesterday I moved out of my place in Gakugei and in with my new "flat mate" S in Akasaka. It is amazing to me how I arrived in Tokyo with 3 suitcases and yesterday needed to rent a car and make 2 absolutely packed trips with my stuff. Did I really accumulate so much JUNK!?

Anyway, despite S' fears that I would totally invade his space, I actually only half-invaded it, as I was supposed to. Except for some empty suitcases that can't quite find a home yet, it seems that I will be pretty comfortable in my new home, be it temporary nevertheless. I still think it hasn't hit me yet that I've actually "moved in," as opposed to staying the night with my all too familiar tote bag, but I am realizing it little by little, particularly from simple things, like showering with my own shampoo (never felt better!).

I'm really looking forward to some quality time with S in the couple of months ahead, and especially to this week-- only thing planned is some rest and relaxation!

"Miss" placed

I thought I would feel that way-- "misplaced," that is. Lost in translation in a dimension somewhere between Harajuku and Times Square. But no, my trip to the States made me feel far from "misplaced." In fact, I was brought back to a "missed" place. Home.

From my too short time in Nazareth (I feel as though I spent way too little time with my mom), I arrived in DC after a frenzied drive, stopping at K's house to see her parents and sister, my sister's, and T-pan's in Adams Morgan on the way in. Before I knew it, it was time to meet S at the airport, and I had barely made it into the city. I found him sitting on the baggage claim like a lost little boy with an IPOD. He'd had to wait half an hour after already flying 8. I'm a horrible person!

After we had gotten back to the T&B pad, it felt as if I'd never left-- all except for the Frenchman next to me, who reminded me that actually I was just passing through. But even with S in the picture, seeming to add a misplaced element to the reminiscence of it all, it really felt perfectly natural being there with him. That's good, at least I know we function the same, even outside the twilight zone of Tokyo. The T&B provided excellent service as always (late night spoons and even a short though unintentional peep show-- Thanks Trish!), and I got to spend some, though not enough, time with my girls and even a Mikey for breakfast at the greasiest diner I've ever experienced. The next day was spent showing S the sites of DC-- made even more special, I think, because I think it communicated in the best way where I come from. It's fairly natural to be able to meet someone and share fun experiences, but as things become more serious, isn't it also just as important to share the elements that make you who you are? My family, my friends from home, my life in Washington-- I feel like these are all major contributors to who I am now... and without understanding these elements, I think there are parts of me that would just always seem distant.

As for my family, S met the whole crew. According to him, "I trapped him." Partially true, but not intentionally. We were supposed to meet my sister and brother-in-law, which I knew would go over fine-- how could it not over a lobster dinner overlooking the sunset on the Potomac? But Mom was a different story. Fortunately, everyone liked each other (a lot, in fact!), and that especially made me very happy.

New York felt a bit more like a vacation to me, which is good, because I needed one! We stayed with a friend of S' in a beautiful apartment in the West Village. We brunched, we drank in some pretty hip local bars, we cultured ourselves with a Broadway show and a stop at the Frick Collection, we ran around like crazy to meet the friends we wanted to see, and we ate New York pizza (if only a very small slice), a veal parmigiana, and though I unfortunately failed to satisfy a few more cravings (Philly cheesesteak, STEAK, hamburger-- seems like a red meat thing), I did fulfill my shopping goals (black high pumps, black belt, and a few extras).

The trip wrapped up with a very long flight, made even longer by the Japanese ojisan next to me who, even after I had told him I live in Japan and majored in Japanese in university, apparently felt obliged to ask me if I can eat sushi, what sushi I like, if I've been to Kyoto, if I know that Japanese has 3 alphabets, and if I'd heard of the Kobe earthquake. Finally, I found seppuku to be the only solution and am writing now from the afterlife. Kidding, but not far from the truth. I returned with 2 little souvenirs-- one is Mash Daddy and the other is my favorite of her "home" friends Nina. Time to polish my tour leading skills some more. This-- to be continued....

Home sweet home...

Jet lag is the culprit. It is 8:15 am, and I think I have been awake, tossing restlessly about in bed since 6. This comes after a night of merciless stomach pains no doubt caused by the poor shock to my system of America's "natural" diet. Night one was fine-- my mom made a great dinner for my friends and me, and my tummy was as happy as could be. But yesterday, in restaurants, I could eat only half a sandwich at lunch with my dad and a shrimp appetizer for dinner with my mom, and one of those? a combination maybe? left me in the bathroom for the entire rest of my Thursday night.

On a more pleasant note, the time home so far has been quick, busy, but great overall. My best friend K picked me up at the airport, and we finally got to catch up on everything over the past year. K is my technology averse friend who has yet to accept the convenience of communications through such means as E-MAIL! so compared to my other friends, we have been in far less contact. But how do you know your best friend is your best friend? We picked up right where we left off, as if we had been talking every day for the past 9 months.

K and I could not be more opposite when it comes to lifestyle. We stopped by her house, which she began renting with her boyfriend not long ago. Located outside the "town" of Nazareth, it has a big backyard with a shed that her boyfriend built for his motorcycle, and she has the inside beautifully decorated like a big country home. My boyfriend rides a scooter, because it's the most convenient form of transportation in the metropolis of Tokyo, and I am selling all of my furniture (which wasn't even mine to begin with) in two weeks to move into my boyfriend's one bedroom apartment.

R and K have been together since high school. I still remember the day, when we were driving around and stopped by Wendy's for food, that she excitedly told me that they'd gotten together. She had the biggest crush on him for a long time, but had dated his best friend. Finally enough time had passed that they could start dating, and they've been together, on and off a bit, ever since. She informed me that since I'd last seen R last summer, he had gained 45 pounds and a B cup, making him just about 250 now. "Be careful he doesn't get breast cancer!" my mom piped up.

As I gave K a brief overview of equity derivatives trading (she asked what S did for his job), I asked, "Hey, where is R by the way?" "Planting corn with his buddies," she answers. "Our dryer is broken, I've been driving this car without a sideview mirror for months, and he's out farming instead of fixing stuff at home." Sigh.

I don't think our worlds could be more different, but we ourselves are not so different from each other. Makes you think about how many other best friends you could have in some remote part of the world where life is 100% different from what you're used to. K will never read this-- or at least not until she befriends the technology of today, but no matter where we are or what we're doing, I think we'll always be best friends.

Last smile...

全て溶けだした noon　絵にならない Monday

A rainy one too...

The Single Life

No no, I haven't been dumped (phew!). S left for France Friday night, leaving me to my own devices, and reminding me of what "life pre-S" was like. I still can't get over just how much I got done. I should include, however, that this weekend "on my own" was also a weekend of staying relatively sober and not partying at night. I was literally dying of exhaustion from the week, so I finally crashed Friday night, still being unprepared, however, for all of this:

1. out of bed at 9 AM as opposed to the average 2 PM. Saturday and Sunday mornings-- I admit I forgot what they looked like! It's amazing the amount I can get done if I wake up 5 hours earlier-- things like laundry, which can be hung outside on the line in daylight and therefore dry in just a couple of hours; cleaning the apartment top to bottom; ironing my huge pile of wrinkly clothes (my most hated task, hence the pile); cleaning out the fridge; and other household tasks that usually get shoved aside.

2. being on time for my hair cut. Honestly, the past 3 times I have had to call for being more than 15 minutes late, because I couldn't pull myself out of bed. This time I even went shopping for presents for people back home AND ate lunch outside at a cafe-- all before my appointment!

3. SHOPPING! Lots and lots of shopping for Jo-Lo, because I had time to walk from Harajuku to Shibuya instead of rushing to catch the soonest train to get to some other place I'm late for. Two pairs of sneakers (there was a phenomenal sale, I swear!) and a sweater that I fell in love with later, I made a quick but much required trip to the bank before meeting the girls.

4. girl time! Went to karaoke with my bunnies and lunched and browsed in Jyuugaoka with A. Rode my mama-chari uphill there and back in true "weekender" style.

5. went to church. SHOCK! It was the first time since Christmas, and my first ever time in Japan. Most of you probably don't know but could probably guess ;-) that I was a Catholic schoolgirl, and that my 2nd grade teacher, who was a Salesian nun, and I still keep in touch. She wrote me an Easter letter and enclosed with it the name of a Salesian convent close to me in case I ever wanted to do some volunteer work. This has guiltily lurked in the back of my mind, but I just never found the time to go... until my weekend of free time, that is. This morning I found the church, very coincidentally, I might add (ask if you want to know the whole story, because I think it is some kind of spiritual beckoning to me), and went to a Mass in Japanese. I found it most amusing, maybe, that the service was pretty much directly translated from the English Mass, so even when they refer to Christ as the "lamb," etc., they say "hitsuji" in Japanese. It makes sense, but just sounded strange to me. Despite the "Japanese-ness" of it all, it was very natsukashii-- the atmosphere was so much like my Catholic school in Roseto, PA, it was uncanny. I can't explain it very well, but even the nuns, who had Japanese faces, still had the same gestures and mannerisms as my schoolteachers back home.

So, what do I conclude about my weekend? It's great to have one of these for a catch-up every once in a while, yes. But would I rather have an "S"-filled weekend of sleep, sun, and se... ahem, silliness? Absolutely!

Taking leave

Currently in the process of trying to dig myself out of this funk of exhaustion and monotony that I find myself in. Lately they seem to go hand in hand-- exhaustion from going out on week nights to make up for the monotony of the long days sitting idly at my desk... I say idly with the exception of last night, when I was here until after 10pm on the night I had planned a farewell party for Becca. It's always good when the party planner is the last to show up.

The leaving theme continues. Tonight is another farewell for Keruko, a friend I met through Px. After 8 years in Japan, she's finally off to explore the Western world-- beginning with the good ol' US of A. Then for a temporary leave-- S goes to France tomorrow for a week with his family before meeting me on my home turf. Already on Wednesday, it's my turn! I leave for my whirlwind visit to all of the friends and family I haven't seen in what feels like ages! There is just not enough time! Tentative itinerary includes:

June 1-4: Arrival, long deep sleeps interrupted by bouts of the jet lag sit-ups-- you know, when in the middle of the night you sit up in bed and realize that you're totally awake (and hungry!), catching up with my best friend K, long chats with the Mom about my future (which she will try to convince me to live in Nazareth, PA), shopping shopping shopping with the Sis, and all of this complemented by intake of greasy Philly cheesesteaks, homemade pierogies and God willing some type of red meat every night.

June 4-5: Catch up to the latest tunes on the radio while driving to DC, pick up S at the airport, crazy crazy night of drunken debauchery with my DC girls who I've been missing IMMENSELY, and my oh-so-beloved male friends who make me laugh just thinking about them, some sightseeing, a dinner on the Georgetown waterfront, a walk along the Tidal Basin, a look at the city from Lincoln's lap. Ahhhh-- seems so good!

June 6: A stop in Nazo on the way to NYC. An unnamed wanker from Ohio has told S and GG that "Pennsylvania is the butthole of the country, and Nazareth is the butthole of Pennsylvania." Can you believe that!!? OK it's not Manhattan, but Nazareth is a charming town! Just for that, I am making S see it for himself.

June 6-10: NYC here we come! Spending some QT with friends of mine and S, strolling Central Park, shopping shopping some more, seeing a show, and stuffing myself with NY bagels, NY pizza, and other fattening Italian dishes that are just that much better in New York. Seems I will be fat on this trip... Did I mention exercise anywhere?

Only 3 more workdays to go.....

Day of disaster...

1. Firetrucks blocked my walk to the station this morning. Fire at the local supermarket! And on top of it, I'm out of yogurt. What to do now!?

2. I board the train headed for my office. Elated, I had actually made it on time for the 8:15 that goes straight to my office with no stopovers. These trains run only every 15 minutes or so, and I incessantly miss them and have to switch lines. My headphones are on full blast as usual, preventing me from hearing any announcement that could inform me of why we don't seem to be headed underground for the subway. I remove my earpieces and catch, "Jinshin jiko..." There was an accident on the Hibiya line, and my train was rerouted to Shibuya. Great. A bone crushing hour and five minutes later (since all trains were even more crowded than usual, as if that's possible), I arrive at work.

3. For all of those who have been e-mailing and wondering why I'm not responding, our work e-mail server was shut down for the weekend for a cleaning. Just to top off this strange, strange day, there were some more complications, and e-mail won't be running for the rest of today or tomorrow. We are now communicating with all clients by fax and phone. My boss remarked, "We have to remember what it was like working before the age of computers." First of all, I wasn't of working age then... second of all, don't you think it's a bit different since at that time everyone else was working without computers too? The monotony of the day has been broken only by writing this blog entry and a tuna and avocado sandwich at lunch time. THAT's how exciting it's been.

4. I can't even wait to see what will be next.

Love & Marriage: Part 2

Funny how these entries about love & marriage never involve me! hehe

A HUGE congratulations and lots of hugs & kisses to T. & Oli-chan, who have just gotten engaged. But not only engaged-- at least on paper, they will be married next week-- which also makes them my first ever friends to get married! Are we really at that age now?! Two of my very good friends are getting married, and I can say, "I knew both of them way back then... before they were ever even together!" I met, or at least knew of, both of them when we all studied together at Nanzan Daigaku.

We joked that soon we will have to call Oli-chan "Mrs. Kennedy," which is even more Irish-sounding than I am (as if that's possible!). And O. was saying that in Korea, when the women get married, it's like they are erased from existence! They are removed from the records, because their family name changes, and then they are just swallowed by the Kim or Lee or Park or whatever family they marry into-- but not really as a person on record. Even on their tombstone, it will just have their husbands' names. So O. is a bit ruffled by the fact that she will "become" a Kennedy and will miss her name. I just hope my husband has a name towards the beginning of the alphabet. I always liked being a "C" and getting to go to lunch first and that sort of thing in elementary school... but maybe by then there will be more politically correct ways of "student selection" in place.

Life for me is moving quickly-- many changes in the pipeline-- not ready to go into detail yet, but soon!

Snippets for safekeeping...

Still bored at work, but beginning a new struggle.

Now trying to take very deep breaths and engrave the smells in my memory. Stark air, perhaps mixed with the occasional whiff of grilled meat from a yakiniku restaurant. Sake on the breath of the ojisan next to me on the last train. The sulfur of the onsen water, combined with the remnants of the day's rain.

Listening to my heels clicking the pavement as I walk the streets of Gakugei from the station to my house. Reminds me I need to make an effort to stop into those little shops that I always think are so cute but will visit another time. Can I even tire of hearing, "Mamonaku, ichi-ban sen ni densha ga mairimasu."? And I remember laughs. Soooo many laughs with the girls, with S, with myself-- usually at myself. I am so clueless sometimes.

And worst yet, trying to ingrain the image of a person in the memory. I think this is the hardest. I can always remember the individual parts-- eyes, nose, hair, mouth-- one at a time. But when I try to piece them together it somehow becomes more blurry. But this is my challenge for the next few months. Trying to soak up everything so much that the memories last a lifetime.

Sorry for the weird entry.

Ask me why later.

Food for thought...

This morning I found an interesting follow up to my previous entry:

South Korea strives to reduce overseas adoptions, overcome stigma of adoption at home
By IN-YOUNG BANG
The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Paula Louise O'Loughlin once thought she'd never return to the land where she was abandoned as a baby 34 years ago and adopted by an American couple.

She's now back in South Korea for the first time since 1971 to adopt a baby of her own -- joining the tide of foreign parents who find a child here.

But in a country with falling birth rates, the South Korean government is seeking to stem the flood of children sent abroad, viewed as a national shame.

Since the end of the Korean War in the 1950s, South Korea has sent more than 155,000 children abroad for adoption. Some two-thirds of those have gone to the United States, where children of South Korean origin make up the largest group of foreign adoptees at 56,825, according to the latest U.S. Census conducted in 2000.

The number of domestic adoptions has remained in the 1,500-1,800 range in South Korea for the past five years, while international adoptions were above the 2,200 mark, according to Health and Welfare Ministry statistics.

Health and Welfare Minister Kim Geun-tae has called South Korea's plummeting birth rate "one of the most serious challenges" facing the country and spearheaded efforts to boost domestic adoptions.
"Children, especially single-mother babies, are unwillingly sent overseas to find their home when we, our people, need to raise our children," said Kweon Sang-chil, a ministry official.

Adoption has typically been shunned in Korean society, whose Confucian values place high value on blood relations. Some parents who adopt children even move to different cities to conceal their children's status.
"Korean people tend to keep a distance from someone who doesn't share the same bloodline," said Chung Ick-joong, social welfare professor at Duksung Women's University in Seoul. "Many parents who adopt a child hide the fact that their child was adopted."

Jeong Hye-kyeong, a social worker at Eastern Social Welfare Society, said in order to reduce the number of abandoned babies, the number of single mothers must also be lowered. Single mothers receive little support and are looked upon as having made a mistake, leading many to give up their babies.

Jeong also noted many Koreans won't adopt children with disabilities. Last year, 705 disabled children were sent for adoption overseas while only seven found new homes here.

"If a country can't support raising many orphans in the nation, I think sending those kids abroad ... wouldn't be so horrible," said Chung.

O'Loughlin -- who grew up in Minnesota -- came to Seoul with her husband Sean to adopt a second child, a 7-month-old boy they named Daniel Peter Jeong O'Loughlin.

"I've always felt that it is a good thing that I was adopted," O'Loughlin said.

"Me too," said Jo-Lo.

Girls just wanna have fun...

Playing dress up after too much red wine

Wakayama pics

Rainbow over the bottom of Nachi Falls ... click the pic for more!

The lies we tell...

Golden Week, true to its name, was definitely worth a gold medal in my book. One day of work, two days of good rest in Tokyo, and three days spent with S in Wakayama on a little trip to the countryside. We did the southeast section of Wakayama-- Nachi falls, a short hike on Kumano-dou, Doryoko Gorge, and a couple of famous shrines.

The scenery was beautiful, and we had two days of nice weather, sandwiching a day of pouring rain, which was smartly spent under cover on a boat through the gorge. But as corny as it sounds, the best part of the trip was the company. It seems like no matter what we do, whether we're on a bus or eating raw fish together or soaking in an onsen, every minute with S is so much fun. The longer we're together, the more I keep thinking, ok, this can't get any better, and then it does. Well, my love life was not to be the point of this entry, but as you can see, I'm constantly distracted.

I don't often think much about my heritage, and I'm rarely confused about where I come from or who I am. I've always been so American-- I AM so American, that it's never been a problem. But in just the past week, I've had two experiences that have made me identify with a "Korean side" that I'm not sure is even really a side. Maybe it's just a loose identification.

Experience no. 1 occurred in Wakayama, where S actually "stuck out" as a gaijin. In Tokyo, people don't pay a mere glance at foreigners anymore, but in the countryside, I feel like S should have attached a sign to his forehead that said, "GAIJIN DA." And since I was with him, I got the obvious questions. "Dochira kara kimashita ka?" to which I always answer "America." But that answer is never satisfactory. The next question is anticipated. "Nikkeijin desu ka?" (Are you Japanese-American?) "Okaasan wa nihonjin desu ka?" (Is your mother Japanese?) And I found myself answering with little white lies that eventually turned into full-blown stories. By the end of one day in Wakayama, I was a fourth-generation Japanese-American whose family originally came from Toyota-shi (where my host family lived). I was raised in America and spoke Japanese because I studied it in university (that part was true). So why did I lie? Partly because I felt more comfortable being Japanese than Korean in the Japanese countryside, and partly because I am tired of explaining. But how many times do you need to tell a lie before you begin forgetting the truth?

Experience no. 2 occurred back in Tokyo with S' friend who is now living in Seoul, having moved there from Tokyo last summer. His girlfriend is Japanese, and he loves Japan and really misses living in Tokyo, understandably so. But though it is easy to understand why he, as a Frenchman, may prefer Japan to Korea, as I, as an American, might as well, I found myself inwardly if not outwardly becoming defensive of Korea and its people. The tensions between Japan and Korea are still quite strong, especially recently over the controversial island of Takeshima, or Tok-do, depending on how you're siding, and unfortunately, it's quite hard for his Japanese girlfriend and him to avoid some anti-Japanese sentiment. Anyway, my point is not who is right or wrong in the history of relations between Japan and Korea. That is a conclusion for someone with either more knowledge or more experience to determine. But I was surprised that I felt myself getting increasingly defensive with every criticism of Koreans that I heard, whether it was a valid point or not. It wasn't even a conscious reaction, but more a feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was thinking (to myself of course while keeping my "tatemae" in tact), who are they to talk about Korea and Koreans? What do they know? When in fact, they probably know more than I do-- they have at least lived there. And so what does that make me? A hypocrite? Or a victim of circumstance?

And here I am. An American living in Japan and telling old Japanese men in the countryside that I am Japanese, though it seems as though I still have a sizable piece of Korea lurking somewhere in my gut. Confused? If not you are a better person than I.

Return of the Jedi, er, Jo-Lo...

Lonely days are gone-- I'm acomin' home. I'm leavin' on a jet plane...
OK, enough old song lines.

The dates are set, and the plans are in the works! June 1st Jo-Lo comes to Nazo, via Newark, where my dear friend K is picking me up. I visit with Mom, do a little shopping, and then off to DC on Saturday the 4th... and I won't be alone! S is flying into D.C. from Paris on the 4th, and he will be peering into my not-so-mature and developed past and meeting the GW gang. I have already been promised a Phi Psi party in my honor, complete with beer pong and poker. Needless to say, I'm frightened! But it will be nice to show him the city that won my heart for four years, and the people that made my university years unforgettable if not unregrettable ;-)

On the 6th or 7th, we'll leave for NYC, where both S and I have some friends. Mom has expressed interest in coming to meet us for a day, which I haven't yet mentioned to S (he is in Hong Kong at the moment). I can already picture his eyes darting for the door as he frantically ties up his running shoes. Hehe, if I were him, I'd run too!

And those are the current plans. I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised that S decided to do this trip after all... his flight back from NY is hell-- 18 hours with a stop back in Paris before rerouting to Tokyo. Clearly he's a keeper!

And to top it all off, I will be back just in time to meet Mash at Narita airport-- our flights arrive almost the same time for her week-long stay in Tokyo. Then it's some more girly craziness just a few oceans away!

The crowds are already lining up! I've got McK from N Carolina driving up to DC to see me-- if she can do it, you can too!! Mark your calendars for this once-in-a-lifetime (or at least once-in-a-year) opportunity!! Thank you in advance.

Love & Marriage...

A little over a month ago, I received a mail from my mother saying that my great Uncle Danny, in his mid-eighties, had passed away. Uncle Danny and my Aunt Eleanor are the only relatives I kept in touch with from my father's side. Eccentric is an understatement for Aunt El-- she made her clothes from old curtains and tablecloths, making her appear much like a hippy from the 60s trapped in the body of a 80 yr old woman. Their claim to fame was that they appeared in the 1996 Guinness Book of World Records for annually dressing in their original wedding attire and having their photo taken for their 54 years of marriage. A conversation does not pass without them mentioning their "celebrity status."

I have fond memories of them from my childhood, because though Aunt El surely can't dress to save her life, she could play a hell of a mean piano. Almost every Sunday afternoon when I was a child, maybe up until age 6 or 7, my mother would cook a huge pasta dinner with homemade tomato sauce, and Aunt El and Uncle Danny would come over. We'd gather around the piano-- Aunt El could play almost every old song by ear, and we'd have a big singalong-- mostly old Irish tunes or just plain old tunes. My sister would sing the loudest, and if you can believe it, back in the day before my karaoke diva days, I was too shy to sing at all. I think everyone thought I was too young to remember the words; but in fact, whenever someone couldn't remember a word or a verse to the song, I would say it-- I remembered every word-- but I was the little piano player (I think all I could play at that time was Chopsticks) and my sister was the singer. How funny!

Anyway, all of this background does have a point. I wrote to my Aunt Eleanor after I heard Uncle Danny died (I heard she wasn't doing so well), and I received a letter today that, if anything, renewed my hope in love and marriage, even though it was horribly depressing. The letter is quite repetitive, but one can't really expect the wisdom from an old widow in her mid-eighties to flow like an essay.

"Next month May 18th would have been our 55th wedding anniversary--getting dressed up in our original wedding clothes. Don't forget we are celebrities! We made the 1996 Book of Guinness with a picture of us in our original wedding outfits. What a beautiful life your Uncle Danny and I shared. We weren't like old married people-- we were still very much in love with each other. How I miss his arms around me! If and when you marry I wish God will give you the heaven on earth marriage your Uncle Danny and I had."

She repeated almost this same paragraph again earlier in the letter. I am 23 years old. This means they had been married more than twice the number of years I've even been alive. And they were still madly in love with each other. She says four times, "It's awful without him."
In a world where cynicism about marriage, love, and monogamy comes at you from every direction, it's refreshing to hear that somewhere, at sometime, "true love" does exist. And what a nice thought that someone, somewhere was kind enough to wish that for me.

In the trance...

Paul Van Dyk...

is most definitely one of the most luscious specimens of a man I can think of. Last night he rocked about 3000 club-goers, including myself, at Ageha. I can't explain it. There is just something about a gorgeous man who can make people lose themselves in music.

I lost myself until 5:30 am, and then took Becca to the Tsukiji fish market for an early morning breakfast of the freshest kind. After sleeping away the bass from 8am to 5pm, this is the first Saturday night, possibly ever, in Tokyo spent at home by myself. It is not unwelcome at all. Frankly I don't know how Becca could face Roppongi after the past two nights. Maybe I'm getting old...

But you wouldn't think so from last night! Some pics from the keitai...

A giggle for Monday...

The amusements of working in a Japanese office...

The context-- last week we did some media interviews for a Dutch bank with operations in Japan. The article appeared in the paper today. A rainy Monday morning brought this to my inbox from a Japanese managing director in my company:

I can see Maeda-san tried hard to find the fuck - strategic advisory business,
focusing on 20 food-agri companies, Rabo slated to expand business in Japan.

She later clarified: She meant to say the "hook" of the article, but wrote it phonetically, according to the Japanese pronunciation.

Please discard below - I meant hook

Hehe. A giggle for Monday.

Hakone...

where I made my weekend escape with S. I have to say, it doesn't really matter where I am with him-- my relaxation factor seems to rise by 10. We just have such a good time together! Can the right Frenchman really soothe the wildest of Tokyoites?

The trip made the sakura season last a bit longer, as the blossoms were still blooming in Hakone... though we went not for more hanami, but for a traditional lesson in relaxation-- the Japanese ryokan experience. While on the trip, we were trying to think of another culture in which you can still go to a very old, traditional-style inn, where you stay not for the bed, but for the experience. If you can think of one, oshiete kudasai (let me know).

Our ryokan, called Fukuzumi-ro, was more than satisfactory. I highly recommend it to anyone going to Hakone. Initially, I was impressed by its line-up of past guests, including Kawabata Yasunari, Natsume Souseki, and so on, which is why I chose to book it (Thank you, Onigiriman, for indirectly showing me the way to the best ryokan in Japan!). But now I can see why famous authors would write in this place. The rooms were large (3 rooms of maybe 8 tatami each), the food was delicious and more than we could even eat (after worrying, "where's the rice?" after the 1st course, haha), and the view of the river and momiji (maple tree) outside our window was serene and beautiful, especially in the fading sunlight.

When S is finished working 12-hr days and making rich people richer on the market, he wants to open his own momiji shop-- a noble undertaking, though not exactly lucrative. He will have to marry rich or convince his best friend to buy him one... I offered to buy him one with the rewards (yet to be received) from my award-winning novel (yet to be written), but we can't quite decide which non-lucrative career to adopt first-- S's momiji raising or my book writing...
So, the innocent version of this story is that we ended up reading, bathing, eating and sleeping our night away in this guesthouse perfect for momiji and Japanese literature lovers.

The next day, after we were graciously removed from the ryokan at 10am-- I say "removed," because we were definitely not ready to leave, particularly at 10am-- we headed to the Open Air Museum, which ended up being the perfect way to spend the day. The weather was gorgeous, and the museum is definitely seated at the top of my list of favorites, just because what could be more majestic than art and nature together on a beautiful day? I am almost afraid to ever go back because I have such an ideal memory of it.

So, the lesson learned from this weekend is that living in Tokyo isn't bad at all if you can get away every once in a while for a quiet weekend. Time to start planning the next trip.... where should I go?

The gray of Tokyo...

On the flipside of the general convenience and responsibility-free lifestyle of the Tokyo ex-pat lurks a certain piece of soul that one gives up to live such a carefree existence. Like sides of an equation, they cancel each other out, leaving nothing but an intangible representation of the giving and taking of ... time, money, quality of life, self...

Tokyo has a pulse, but the spirit of it was lost ages ago. Perhaps it was swallowed up by a tsunami and carried out to sea where some lucky kamisama greedily snatched it for herself. Or maybe it's buried somewhere beneath the concrete ground and, with a quake here and there, musters its last bit of strength to try and tell everyone it's still there.

I don't know where Tokyo gets its power-- enough to bring strong people to their knees and make weak people think they're strong. The pace of life rushes on, pushing you to work harder and longer, party harder and longer, and drink more faster so that when your body breaks, all you can do is sleep, sparing yourself from having to think about where your life has gone. Finally, when a moment's peace does come, one can't help but wonder if it's really peace or just filler until the last train.

Tokyo can build you-- open your eyes to the world and all of its many people. It can show you success, happiness, even love. It can fulfill dreams, and it can help you find what you want and don't want. But let's not forget for a moment that this city can break you, too. And it's not because you're weak. It's because you're human. And even humans in Tokyo are entitled to some rest and peace.

Spring fever...

has hit Tokyo. The cherry blossoms had come and were soon gone with a few gusty days and two days of frigid cold. Now, as I sit at my desk wishing away the glass separating me from some healthy sunlight, it feels like Springtime again.

It's my first Spring in Tokyo, and I ask myself why I hadn't traded a hot, sticky month of June for an April or May here before. Ah, right, the academic calendar... glad for that to be over, though for how long remains the question... How difficult do you think it is for one to make the switch from the working world back to the academic? The opportunity costs of leaving my office space for further academic pursuit-- a good salary, free nights & weekends, in my case a life less stressful (I put too much pressure on myself in school), a job I like... and for what? More knowledge [doesn't that come with life experience]? The potential for a better job [could get that by working more]? Greater discipline [I think a loss of discipline has done me well in fact]? Because you feel you should push yourself to the most of your ability [this is the one that always gets me]?

I once thought that there was no other place for me but the top. And it was inevitable that I would always aim there. I was the persona of the ultimate career woman, even "most likely to succeed"-- but succeed at what? At finding the best, most coveted job? Now that I have a job, all I've realized is that work is overrated. I spend 70% of my time working working working, when there are 10,000 other things I'd much rather be doing for 70% of the rest of my life. And I even like my job! I'm just beginning to realize now that maybe what I should be striving for and succeeding at isn't so tangible. Things like contentment, happiness, peace. And the good news is, I really am happy right now. That's why I'm just not so sure about grasping for other opportunities that may indeed be helping me to succeed at realizing my "utmost academic potential," but may not guarantee the genuine smile on my face that I sport so often here (this one is open- mouthed but you get the picture... )

Hanami...

Sakura sakura...
Not the cherry blossom princess, or ahem, Goodwill Ambassador of the cherry blossom festival this year, but almost the queen of hanami... went to at least 4 and ate myself silly.
Shinjuku-gyoen was the place to be this year...

Play for Peace...

April 7-9, 2005
Play for Peace...

Is about my busy bizzy work life. "Bizzy" because for about a week, my job transformed from straight, dry corporate and finance-related communications to all the glamour and glitz of show biz. Long before I came to Tokyo I was a huge fan of the Coach brand (I own 4 bags, 2 change purses and 2 key chains), and now I am assigned to Coach Japan Inc.'s corporate communications. This doesn't always entail high profile celebrities and the big names in fashion, but this week it did. The new face of Coach in Japan is Mandy Moore, and this past week 60 people from Coach NY and Mandy Moore were in Tokyo for their Play for Peace benefit concert to support victims of the tsunami through UNICEF. The first big event was a large-scale press conference featuring Mandy Moore, Japanese pop star Mika Nakashima, and hip hop group N.E.R.D., followed by a more intimate press briefing with the Chairman & CEO. We were in charge of handling the press briefing, which was oriented toward Coach's soaring business, rather than the star-studded conference, but I still got to attend and see what the fuss was all about.

On Saturday we were then invited to the concert and a VIP after-party at Roppongi Hills' French Kitchen. I took Becca as my guest, since she worked as a fashion designer in NYC, and we quickly changed from hanami attire to proper "I'm going to a very posh party" attire. Leaving the concert and boarding the private VIP bus to the party is where a taste of the NY celebrity life first greeted me...in the form of little bottles of champagne to entertain us on our 15 minute ride to the party. 15 minutes later, I was teetering to the party on my very high heels. I should have known that would foreshadow my night.

It was a real, full-blown NY celebrity party. Looking around at all of the models and gorgeous people around me, I was feeling something between "God I don't belong here" and "God I definitely belong here!" I glanced to my right and sitting at a booth next to me is none other than Macaulay Culkin, the little dude from Home Alone who apparently grew up, though not particularly in stature. He is no taller than I and looks about 15 yrs old. I pondered asking him to make the Home Alone face but figured he's been through enough agony. Didn't Michael Jackson molest him at some point? Anyway, the night went on according to the amount of white wine I drank. The President of Vogue magazine complimented Becca's outfit, which she had actually designed herself (how cool!), but unfortunately didn't offer her a position (yet). We chatted with Mandy, and actually spent most of the evening with her band--some very cool guys. And finally, to top the night off, I -- because I am Jo-chan and therefore have to have a mortifying moment-- just had to make my mark. This needs a new paragraph.

Picture this. We were hanging outside on the balcony chatting with my boss and "Mme. Vogue," and were heading back inside for a drink. Yours truly was dressed in new Diesel jeans and a sparkly turquoise very cute top that I borrowed from Becca, and high black heels. I was nonchalantly holding a glass of white wine in my right hand while gracefully making my way back inside. Heading for the sliding glass door, all of a sudden, I'm no longer on my feet. I'm on my face. And WET. The culprit? Around the perimeter of the balcony sat a very VERY badly designed recessed pool of water lurking in the dark, and I FELL IN IT. Honestly, I was not THAT drunk... it was very deceiving and looked EXACTLY like the floor. I was lucky with the choice of jeans-- pretty much my right leg only got wet, so for the rest of the night it wasn't obvious. But the act of it did draw some attention. I dropped my glass of wine (which broke of course), and within seconds had a waiter at my side holding a white bath towel. Along with my pride, I bruised my knee pretty badly and can't walk up or down steps normally. So, as I am judging the scale of mortification of this catastrophe, I notice that I'm not the only one who appears to be wet. In fact, there are waiters standing all around with bath towels and appetizers floating in the pool. "Join the 'I fell in the fountain club'" says a voice behind me belonging to Mandy Moore's drummer. Apparently the waiter showed up with the towel so quickly because almost 20% of the party had fallen in the water! In the end this absolutely mortifying event was none other than the "usual thing" to do at this party. The next morning I was informed that my boss stepped in it and another colleague had to go home because she had gotten so drenched. So, I stick to my first assertion--it really really was badly designed! And that was what I will remember about my first celebrity party.