Shoe Steps

Leaving my roots to meet my Seoul-mates!

2006-11-23T15:35:00.000-08:00

Saturday Sept.30th....It was raining this day. Got up insanely early (5 am.) to get ready to go to the airport. Said goodbye to my bed.

Poor Eway was so tired! She had done a great job translating for the whole week. I could tell she was starting to tire the last couple of days. She was starting to speak to me in chinese and speak to other people in english. Another sure sign of her fatigue was in the car. I was asking her to thank her parents for their hospitality in allowing me to stay in their home, for their graciousness, for their generosity, and spending time with me. Her translation was...."Rachel says, thanks!". I said, wasn't that a little short? She just said, "I'm tired! Ohhh, all right!". Then she translated everything. It was very funny!

We got to the airport and Eway saw me to the check in counter. Then I said goodbye to her and her parents. I had some breakfast at McD's in the airport.

I was getting anxious when I was on the plane. We waited over an hour to take off! I thought I was going to burst. I was worried about arriving late and for those who were waiting to pick me up. When we finally land and it takes me forever to get through immigration. I must have picked the slowest line up. It takes a long long long time for me to get through.

The frustration was incredible after I made it through immigration. I couldn't figure out what baggage carousel I was supposed to go to. Some really nice Korean girl helped me out. She escorted me to the luggage claim area and waited with me until I got all my stuff. She was supposed to be going to another baggage area. She was another angel sent to help me.

I was probably the last last laaaaast person to get my luggage. I was ready to burst with excitement to see friends and I was ready to burst with anxiety from being so late! I think God was definitely teaching me patience and self control throughout this whole travel thing between China and Korea. I was hoping that Jay was still waiting and not too worried!

I finally make it through the doors and Cho Long is there to greet me!!!!! She is taller than I remember and looks great! Jay had gone to check her email to see if I left her a message. Cho Long calls her on the cell phone to tell her that I've arrived and she eventually shows up. We drop everything for a long overdue hug! I couldn't help but cry. It had been 3 years since we last saw each other. It was so good to see her. She looked fantastic with her new hairstyle and such. Then I met up with Ben (Cho Long's boyfriend). I was really glad to meet him. He's really nice. I like him. Cho Long has my approval!!!! (Not that she asked for my approval)

We had a lunch in a Korean restaurant in the airport. You could tell I just came from China (it's also part of my Canadian blood!). We put my luggage to the side, but it was around the corner where we couldn't see it. I didn't like not having it within eyesight because someone could take it!!!! But, things I see are different in Korea. And you know what? They were right. Nothing happened. My luggage was fine.

Ben had an SUV and we put my luggage into the back and headed to Seoul! It was so good to see everyone. Ben and Cho Long drop Jay and I off at Jay's place. I really appreciated Ben's help with my stuff. Jay's place was small and cozy, very comfortable and clean. It was good to finally arrive and relax after all of that anxiousness.

Jay made dinner while I rested and got settled. She made Korean food and it was delicious! I have been waiting to have her cooking these last 3 years. It was still really really Ma She Saw Yo! We talked and crashed for the night!

The Shanghai attitude kicks in!

2006-11-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

Friday Sept.2th......We started out shopping early today. This time I was primed, ready, and determined to buy something before I left Shanghai. Monday and Tuesday got me really mad. Especially when a few sales ladies were giving Eway a hard time.

It's weird first thing in the morning when the mall opens. The sales people all stand outside the boundaries of their stores to wait for the morning greeting announcements. It was really spooky walking through with them all watching and staring quietly! Very unnerving!

I thought it was interesting to find a black mannequin (I don't think I spelled that correctly) in a Chinese department store. Now that I'm writing this. I don't think I saw an Asian one! Oh well!

This day was a different shopping experience. I was on fire. I actually enjoyed shopping. I liked this game of bargaining with the sales people. It was kind of a dance. We approach with a price, they act insulted and ticked off at the offer. Then they offer a price, I come up a little in price, flash them a smile, nudge the elbow a bit. I didn't go as far as to wink at the sales people though. I was actually joking around with these people. I was so uptight and offended at the beginning of the week and now I was loving it! Go figure! I started to adjust and then I have to leave the next day. I liked it sooo much that I started hugging people after the transaction was over. There was lots of laughing!

I bought some purses, shoes, and ipod accessories. Lots of fun. No clothes though! I'm a big girl in Asia. However, I felt very successful.

After shopping, we met with Tiana and Gas for dinner. Gas is a DJ they met at a nightclub. Dinner was great and I enjoyed meeting with Gas. I think we hit it off ok! His english was good and I liked teasing him. We went to Hagen Daz for ice cream and headed home. I needed to pack bad!

I packed until super late and had a hard time sleeping because I was really excited knowing I was going to be in Korea the next day!!!!!!

Getting Back to my Roots!

2006-11-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Sept. 28th... We got up fairly early this day. Eway had to get up earlier because she had a driving lesson. It's crazy! Her instructor has her driving in traffic and he yells, screams, swears, and curses at her while she's driving. That's definitely driving under stress. I guess it's all preparation for driving in Shanghai! Another part of her training is to be able to drive a car between 2 laser beams with 2 inches of clearance on either side of the car. If she touches them, then she fails. Poor Eway she was so tired when she got home. She needed a shower and a nap after her lesson.

Eway and her parents take me to Zhu Jia Jiao. It's a very old place along the water. Eway's father's painting teacher lived here. We went to his place to visit.

It was built in the Ching dynasty over one hundred years ago.

One particular place reminded me of grandpa (Gung Gung) and grandma (Poa Poa). I couldn't hold back my tears.

The place reminded me of dad and what Gung gung and Poa poa had to go through as foreigners in a country that was unhospitable. Canada was not that friendly to my family not that long ago. Eway's parents were laughing at my crying. They understood the connection to my heritage hitting my heart.

Eway's dad arranged a boat ride for us to go down the river. It was really nice and again made me feel my heritage.

There were a lot of neat places to buy souveniers. While shopping, Eway's mom gave me a Chinese popsicle. It was frozen sugar cane juice with green beans in it. Interesting.

It was interesting to see the market place. How the people live. Little bit of cards.

And.... a little bit of Mah Jong. Those are Mah Jong tables.

Then Eway's parents dropped us off at an outlet mall. Very American. I was tired and we didn't buy anything.

We returned home to dinner and fresh crabs. Very tastey, but lots of hard work to get meat out. It took me forever to eat my crabs. We had two each. It was so good. We washed it down with plum wine. It was a very nice family day.

A Little Japanese in Shanghai!

2006-11-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

Wednesday Sept.27th....Slept in again.

We took off to shop and that proved to be unsuccessful. I'm a big girl in Asia.

We met with Tiana for dinner. Miwa also joined us. She was in Shanghai for a tea conference. We all went to Papa Jon's for pizza and greasy food.

We took photos in one of the Japanese booths. Lots of fun.

Then it was massage time again. This time we had essential oil massages. We were two to a room. Tiana and I in one and Eway and Miwa in the other. We did it that way for translation purposes.

We had to shower first, so there was a shower stall in the rooms. Then we got onto the tables. They gave us tea and slices of watermelon. It was the best massage yet. I was a little sore from the massage from the night before, but this was by far the best. No beating. It was great!

The rooms were dimly lit and there was music playing. Then the Backstreet Boys came on. Tiana and I started singing louder and louder. "Tell me why! Ohhhhh! Tell me why! 'Cause I want it that way!". We were all laughing. Miwa and Eway could hear us singing from their room and we could hear them laughing too and echoing the singing. Fun!

I liked the massage so much that I offered my masseuse a short massage. All 8 of us were in the room watching me. It felt like I was teaching a class. My masseuse really liked it and learned a couple of new techniques from me.

It was a great evening. We dropped Miwa off at her hotel and went home very happy.

Interesting pampered life in Shanghai!

2006-11-21T09:36:00.000-08:00

Tuesday Sept.26th.... We slept in again really late. Had lunch at home. Eway's parents were getting me to drink this interesting vegetable/fruit drink to start the day. I think it had bitter melon, carrots, and apple in it. Eway didn't like it, but I didn't mind it. She started giving me her's to drink. We then took off to downtown to check out the other side of the river. The Pink Pearl Tower side of town. We just did some window shopping and then met Ken for dinner.

Ken is an old old friend of Rebecca, Voy, and Wes'. I think he's known them since I was 6 years old. That's what I mean by old old friend. But, he's still youthful! I thought I should add that in for Rebecca.

Anyways, Ken takes us to this crazy "all you can eat" place. It's huge and yummy!!!!!! I definitely needed maternitiy pants to eat here. The counter holding all the food is enormous and is not just one counter. The counter winds around and around. It's a lot of walking, but that's good to walk so much because you are just eating so much. If there wasn't so much variety of food, I would have eaten raw oysters all night!

I tried the Duck tongue. There's not much to eat and it reminds me of cartilage. Nothing to write home about, but just on this blog.

Tiana joins us late for dinner. Ken treats us all to dinner and then gives us his membership card to his spa. Woooo hooo! So, we plan on using his card for massages after dinner.

We get to the spa around 10pm. Huge place and really fancy! Interesting experience. I was glad to get to spend time with Eway and Tiana and to get to know them better on this trip, BUT, I wasn't expecting to get to know them this much better. We got to know each other well, it was definitely a bonding experience.

The stations at the spa went like this.... We went in and were instructed to remove all our clothes and put them into the lockers. We were then given toothbrushes and go to the showers to shower and brush our teeth.

The next station were the baths... there were 5 to choose from. One was a milk bath, there was a red (rose I think) bath, 2 green baths that were bubbly and 1 more green bath that was shallow and you were supposed to lie down in it. They all had various temperatures also.

Then we went into the steam room (there was also a sauna room). I didn't want to sit down without a towel. After that laid down on some table (like a massage table) and were scrubbed down. Totally exfoliated. Totally! I had sooooo much skin removed from me, I was a little raw. However, I felt quite clean after because we had another shower to remove all the dead skin that was taken off. It was like going through a car wash. Wash, soak, steam, scrub/buff (wax job), wash again! Then we were given disposable underwear, pajamas, and slippers and sent upstairs for our massages. (I'm sorry I don't have any pictures, but this is a family friendly blog!)

We passed by a restaurant/lounge area to get to the massage rooms. This massage was very interesting. This was probably my most least favourite massage experience I've ever had. We were escorted into a very large dimly lit room. There were many beds with matresses within this room. Each bed was surrounded by meshy, draped, white curtains. So you could see people getting massaged, but you couldn't recognize who is getting massaged. Now, that I'm thinking about it. We didn't get the beds with the curtains. We were wondering if we were in a "special room" because I know that Ken brought his wife and kids here for a massage also. It's supposed to be a family friendly place. We were wondering what they had experienced.

The masseuses were barely wearing clothes. They had these skimpy short dresses on. Tiana didn't want a massage because she didn't like what they were wearing. But, we continued on with the massages anyways, because the 3 of us were all next to each other. I have to admit it was quite uncomfortable. I was glad that Tiana and Eway were close by, not just for comfort, but for translating.

They massaged us over our clothes, but some of the positions that they put us and themselves in were far too intimate. I was the only one who was walked on. However, I am larger than Eway and Tiana. My masseuse was using her heels and toes to work on my back. There were bars in the ceiling for her to hang onto. This wasn't a massage. It was a beating. I was pummeled. I think Tiana, Eway, and myself were the only girls in the massage area. There were lots of men. I can see why they liked this place. If you are tired, they have rooms that you can sleep in there. It was open 24 hours/7 days a week.

It was a very interesting place. Apparently, there's a workout room and some live shows there. We didn't check it out. We just went downstairs, got changed, and left. The service was good in the place though. They greeted you when you arrived and said goodbye when you left. Got your slippers/towels for you when you needed. It's a little shocking though, because they shout at you when they greet you and when you leave. Really loud!

I think we got back home around 2 or 3 am. I crawled into bed with my poor bruised body from the "health spa" and crashed.

First Relaxed day in Shanghai!

2006-11-21T08:18:00.000-08:00

Monday Sept 25th... Eway and I completely sleep in late. We had lunch at home. Eway has a Dog named Ivy.

She also has a bird, that speaks in Mandarin. The bird always is saying over and over..."you're so annoying, you're so annoying!". Very funny and annoying! It says it in Mandarin. It can also call her dad in her mom's voice. It has fooled him several times. Spooky and funny!

Her grandma lives with them and she does the laundry with their housemaid. The housemaid also cooks really well. I really enjoyed the dishes that were made.

We went into town to shop. Later, we meet with Tiana for dinner. It was soooo good. I had pig's tongue, sweet shrimp, Shao-lin Bow, and Hot pot.

We then leave to go for a foot massage. We soaked our feet and they massage over your clothes everywhere before concentrating on your feet. They gave us hot green tea while we are having our massages. The cost was about $8 Canadian for the hour! What a great day!!

Shanghai Noon! Well....10minutes after noon!

2006-11-21T07:15:00.000-08:00

Sunday Sept.24th.... I woke early to find that I had to take a shower in the dark because the bathroom light was broken in the hotel. I did fine. I didn't break anything, including myself. Took the 7 am. shuttle bus to the Narita airport and had a McD's breakfast there waiting for my flight.

I took the 10am. JAL plane to China! I arrived at around 12: 10 pm. Not quited Shanghai noon!!

It took awhile to get my luggage and then Eway and her dad came to pick me up at the Pu Dong airport in China. I was so glad to finish carrying her text books!

We immediately went to 'old town' to tour around the gardens. It was very crowded, but the gardens were very beautiful. There were lots of German tourists around. We ate McD's for dinner and I had a Taro pie. It was awesome!!! The pies in Japan and China McD's are great! I thought the McD's in Asia are awesome! So far the McD's furnishing has been best in Japan. They have leather chairs there and wireless for internet there.

I had a bit of a culture shock trying to take in my surroundings. Shanghai is very different from Japan. Shanghai was very dirty. People (men) spit on the ground. Bathrooms are difficult to find and very dirty. You are fortunate to find toilet paper to wipe with in these bathrooms. It's good to carry stuff with you all the time. Japan is a very polite society and the manners in China are quite different. It's "every man for themself". "Get out of my way!". I found myself in Japan excusing myself if I bumped someone or stepping aside for someone else. Then, in China, no one steps aside for anyone. They were bumping me all the time. Then, this Big Chinese Girl from Canada raised on steroid, hormone injected meat, decided to stand strong and then anyone who bumped me would bounce off of me. I decided I would not move for anyone!!! The Shanghai spirit took over and I got back to my Chinese roots! The old aggressive Rachel was back!!!

The traffic is extremely different. In Japan, pedestrians have the right of way and in Shanghai, the traffic will cut you off, even if you have a green light to cross. A car will squish his way through. There are bicycles, scooter, and motorbikes on the sidewalks. I've noticed with traffic that if someone wants to pass another car, they will honk at you to let them in. In a weird way, amongst this chaos there is a system of traffic rules. People will actually let them in! Amazing! Now I know why they are bad drivers in Canada. Because they have different aggressive rules that they bring with them here. They are actually good drivers in China. Now I understand!

I know there is a God too!!! Intersections are filled with cars going all different directions and coming very close to hitting each other and yet no one hits and they come so close. Amongst this chaos there are no accidents. That, my friends, is a miracle! An act of God!!!! A huge example that we have a God!!! I should have seen an accident or someone get hurt! But, I didn't!

Anyways, after the gardens, Eway and I take a cab to go downtown to the river to look at the view of the Pink Pearl tower. We waited as the sun set to see this section of the city to light up. We got impatient and left. We found this tunnel exhibit with 4 different shows. It was cheap and something to do. Each exhibit was about 10-15 minutes long.

The first was a light show. It was a glass car that takes you into a tunnel with lots of lights with a couple of balloon people in the tunnel. The second, was an underwater exhibit. This consisted of various aquarium tanks with animals. Not too exotic. The third, was a sound exhibit with us sitting in a medieval-ish decorated room. We sat with earphones (I'm not sure if I wanted to put them on my head! Yuck!) and they turned the lights off. They tried to make it scary, but I couldn't understand any of the whispering. It was all in Mandarin. Eway was really scared. We were holding each others' hands the whole time! The 4th and last exhibit was a sex exhibit. It was supposed to be about sex in China five thousand years ago. They showed old scrolls of nude people and sex poses. I just think it was some of the earliest recordings of pornography that they found!

I was really tired when we finished this whole exhibition thing. It was about 9 or 9:30pm. Eway's parents were both playing MaJong until midnight or later and were not ready to pick us up yet. I was so tired I just wanted to go home. I didn't care how much a taxi cost at this point. It ended up about $10 Canadian to go home.

Eway was also tired. I couldn't shower because my stuff was in the Eway's dad's car still. Eway had a snack before crashing. She's addicted to these packaged Duck wings and feet. She's such a poser!!!

After the snacks, Eway went to bed. I just laid on my bed and fell asleep. I woke up at about 3 am., when Eway's parents got home with my stuff. I got changed and went into bed!

Last day of Tokyo!

2006-11-18T03:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday Sept. 23rd....Miki made me breakfast. I packed up my stuff and left for Shinjuku station to meet with Kanako. We hung out having drinks and then parted with Miki. Kanako and I left for Tokyo station and we checked in my luggage at the station. We then went around to Ginza, another main downtown of Tokyo. (Did I mention that there are about 6 main downtowns and then other smaller downtowns in Tokyo?). Wild!!

We went to a traditional Japanese live theatre place. We missed the show that we were planning on attending. So, we went for a snack and hung out outside the theatre. The fast food was neat. The straw was retractable on my juice box. The food was rice wrapped in bean curd. It was very cool!

In Ginza, there were so many people around. They closed off the street and put lawn chairs out to sit. Very neat. I sat in the middle of the street amongst a sea of people. I really enjoyed just "people watching".

We then went into a mall and Kanako showed me that usually in malls the lower floors have much food! It was beautiful!!! Everything was so nicely packaged. Kanako and I both have a love of food! God did a great thing blessing us with taste buds!!

She took me to her work. She's currently working at a bank and going to jewelry making classes in the evenings. She made this ring and necklace.

We went for my last dinner in Japan. Guess where? Izakaya!!

Then she saw me off at the Tokyo station. I took a Shinkansen to the Narita airport to get a shuttle bus to my hotel for the evening.

Divine appointment stuff happened again. I met a girl on the train (her name was Shi Ho). We had a great conversation. She was Japanese and had been to Calgary for a couple of months and loved it there. I found that interesting that Calgary was her favourite out of all the places she has visited. She had been to Mexico and Europe. Yet, Calgary is her city of choice!

Shi Ho was a student of Hula dancing and was on her way to Hawaii for 10 days. She was very kind and when we got off at the airport station she helped me with my luggage. (It was sooooo heavy because I had Eway's textbooks). Shi Ho even helped me to get a cart and get to the level I needed to go to. She helped me until she had to leave for her flight. I was very grateful for her help indeed!

I finally made it to my hotel and crashed! My last night in Japan!

Akihabara with Kanako and Humi!

2006-11-18T03:12:00.000-08:00

Friday Sept.22nd.... Miki left for work early in the morning. Mr. and Mrs. K were supposed to leave the house at 9am. They delayed their departure for their trip to give me breakfast and a ride to the train station. I was really touched. Mrs. K really enjoyed my visit and wants me to come visit again. I really enjoyed her too. We parted at the train station and I gave her a big hug!

I met with Kanako at Shinjuku station. We went to have a drink at a coffee shop where Humi met with us. We then went for lunch at a place in Akihabara. Fried Japanese food! Yum! The sauce was really good! (Kanako is holding up the sauce!)

My nephew's would have loved Akihabara! Every store was an electronics store or they sold anything related to electronics, gadgets, and toys. It was loud and overwhelming. I didn't buy anything, but there was a lot of nice stuff.

Take a good look at this sushi! Take a good close look at them and see what you find!

We had some fun checking out some massage chairs and an abdominal machine that are supposed to improve your waist. I took a video recording of that, but, unfortunately I don't know how to put videos on this thing!

We went back to Shinjuku to meet up with Shino. We met at McD's. I ordered the Merron pie (which you can't get in Canada! Shino's holding the pie container! I emptied it!) It was awesome! It had some custard in it. Anyways, Shino could only meet for 20 minutes until her next appointment. I really appreciated her efforts to see me before I left. She brought even more rice crackers with her.

After Shino left, Kanako, Humi, and I hung out awhile longer chatting. Humi left after a while and Kanako and I went to another Izakaya place for dinner and Miki met us there. I really liked the music there. They were playing tons of old 80's songs. Miki and I were playing "name that tune".

What I enjoyed the most out of all the dishes was the wasabi octopus and the green tea creme brulee! Wonderful!

Tokyo Downtown!

2006-11-18T02:26:00.000-08:00

Thursday Sept.21st....We woke up late and met with Miki at the Tokyo station. We had a lunch of traditional Japanese noodles and soup. The spoons were so cute! (Great hand modelling Miki!). The restaurant was in this huge building/mall. This building had a really cool bathroom with amazing hand dryers!!! I love gadgets!!! (Akiko is demonstrating!)

We looked for Akiko's shoes in a store within the same place after lunch. Then we walked around the downtown area of Tokyo. We got tired after awhile and decided to have some drinks at a cafe outside. It was a beautiful day! I think what made it extra nice, was that we were enjoying it while people all around us were working.

We just sat and chatted. Miki bought a cool hat that morning that folds up nicely. Those Japanese really know how to make things. I borrowed it to take a nap.

We walked to the emperor's palace and toured around a bit. It was nice to have that space and beauty in the centre of such a busy city. It used to be inhabited by the samurai before the emperor took it over.

Later, we hung out at an Italian department store called Muji. Great bathroom! Then it was sushi for dinner. I had the biggest bowl of miso soup ever.

Miki and I parted ways with Akiko and left for the Kobayashi home. I was able to make it back to Miki's house without her help!!!! This Canadian Chinese girl has some sense of direction! When we got home, I had a nice chat and visit with Mrs.K. Then Miki booked my hotel reservation for Saturday night near the airport. It took a long time, but Miki was determined to book it online because it was cheaper. She was successful and very patient! Far more patient than me!

Back to Tokyo

2006-11-18T02:13:00.000-08:00

Wednesday Sept. 20th.... Lydia is off to work again. I pretty much did pretty much the same thing this day. I was a little nervous this day because it was going to be the first time taking the train alone and I needed to make a transfer. I think Lydia was nervous for me too. By the time I was ready to leave, my nervousness left me. Lydia got home at 430pm and drove me to the train station. She was making me nervous because she wanted me to remind her to keep to the left on the road. (The Japanese drive on the opposite side of the street, like England).

Lydia waited with me at the station until my train arrived. She wanted to see me actually get on the train. It was neat to have Lydia look after me. It was a different to see her in this role. Very cool!

Anyways, I did it. I made the transfer and met with Miki and Akiko at the Shinjuku station. Miki said I looked more confident and relaxed compared to last week when I first arrived. We went for dinner. At another Izakaya!!! Wooo hoooo! This time it was also a Japanese BBQ! It was great! The plum wine was fantastic! Then we parted with Miki. Akiko and I went to Tokyo station because she lives near there. I stayed at her apartment. It's very nice. It's 2 years old and very modern. Loved the toilet. We stayed up chatting a bit.

Kyoto to Kanuma, Tochigi! The new home of Lydia!

2006-11-18T01:10:00.000-08:00

Monday Sept. 18th.... We woke and had prayer time together again. That was great! That morning we went to McD's again for breakfast and this time bought extra sandwiches to take with us for lunch on the train. We bought some bottled water and had lots of Japanese rice crackers supplied by Shino from Friday. We met up with Barry and Miwa and they escorted us to the train station. They ended up waiting on the platform with us until our train arrived. The Japanese transit is so punctual! Amazingly punctual!!! We are very fortunate to find seats to ourselves in one of the non-reserve cars. There are reserved seat cars, non-reserve seat cars, and smoking cars. This time we were far away from the smokers, which was very nice. The smoke was really strong on the way to Kyoto.

It took us about 6 hours to get to Kanuma, Tochigi. We transfered about 3-4 times. The 2nd to last train ride, it was very obvious we were in the country. There were few people on the train and there were less buildings around. There was this middle aged lady on the train who kept looking at me. I should say, staring at me. I would look at her and she would continue to stare. Then I would hold her gaze and she would still stare. It was as if we were having a staring contest. I hadn't done that since I was a kid. I remembered in the past, in order to win a staring contest you needed to make a face at your opponent. So, I flashed her a huge, toothy smile! She was stunned and gave me an uncomfortable smirk and looked quickly away! How satisfying for me! I would look away and see her from the corner of my eye looking back at me. Then I would look back at her and she would look away fast! It was hilarious! I was smiling (with my mouth closed) now constantly! She wouldn't look at me again the rest of the train ride. Hilarious!!!! What a fun game!!!!!

We finally get to Lydia's. Her place is super close to the train station. The crickets are exceptionally loud out in the country. I was surprised to hear them in the heart of downtown Tokyo, but out in the country, they are extremely loud. I have to yell over them forLydia to hear me.

Anyways, we drop off our stuff and go to Lydia's favourite Raman noodles restaurant. It was really really good. Then we grocery shop, come home, check emails, chat with Karen Bishop online, listen to the rehearsal Grace van cd, and then crash! Lydia gave me some Mosquito stuff to help with my bites. The same stuff that Miki gave me. called Kayumi bye-bye. Kayumi means mosquito! Bye bye!!

Tuesday Sept. 19th.... Heck I'm going to do 2 days in one blog post. Why not! I'm a crazy blog poster!!!! Watch out!!! I'm going crazy on this thing!!! ok, I need to focus!

Ahem! As I was saying.... Tuesday Sept. 19th.....Lydia goes to work and I totally sleep in. My monthly friend was visiting me and I was really tired and glad to rest at Lydia's. I just spent the day catching up on emails, chatting online, doing my laundry, and watchng superman cartoons on the net. I did very little reading, which is what I was intending to do.

I had cereal for breakfast and made dinner for Lydia. I made steak and spaghetti. I thought I was melting butter and it turned out to be cheese. I can't read the labels! I just saw cows on the box. Anyways, I ate the cheese and everything turned out alright. The sunset from Lydia's balcony was very beautiful. It's a nice country town. Nice view eh?

We just chilled for the rest of the night. Then Lydia started screaming and running at me! She really scared me! She can really shriek! There was a cockroach in the kitchen! She was freaking out! It was big and the flying type! I took a photo of it and she was getting really mad at me for not killing it immediately. She was screaming, "you're wasting time! He's gonna get away and I won't sleep if he gets away! Kill it! KILL IT!!! WILL YOU JUST KILL IT????!!!!". I think Lydia's screaming scared me more than the bug! I tried slamming the door on it, but it flew out, which caused Lydia to scream further!!! She gave me some bug spray because all I had in my hand was an empty milk carton. I don't think that would have been strong enough. So, I sprayed it and it took off flying around the cabinet and finally landed on its back wriggling. We decided to let it die there and close of the room. We wanted that part of the apartment to air out with all that bug spray.

Lydia goes back in later to check on it and screams again! Sigh.. because it was still alive and wriggling. She really scared me more than the cockroach. If I had hair on my neck, it would have been standing up. Karen Bishop is online with me the whole time during this killing thing. I wasn't going to repeat what she was saying. She was saying that once you find one cockroach there are about 20 more! Yikes!

Lydia decides to finish him off. and she gets rid of him. Then she's tearing the sheets off her bed checking for things. I'm the one who has to sleep on the floor!! Then I feel this squiggly thing on my leg and it's a bug that looks like an ear wig. It takes some effort to kill it. It's very strong. Now, I'm freaked out about going to sleep. That night I slept with cotton stuffed in my ears.

Day 2 of Kyoto

2006-11-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

Sunday Sept.17th... It was good to have Lydia's company Sunday morning. We woke and had some time for worship. We read a psalm, prayed over it, and then did some singing. We walked down the street singing worship songs and had breakfast at McD's. We head back to the hostel to be picked up by Barry and Miwa with their car. We took off to the Golden Temple. (Really made of all gold!).

Then had lunch at an "all you can eat" western style Japanese food place. Lot's of fried stuff. The place has a great view. We walk after lunch towards a Shrine, but on the way we came across a Kobudo!! I was built in 1987. It's a place where many different martial arts clubs come together to demonstrate their skills and do testing. There were Aikido, Karate, Judo, Kendo, Archery, and many others. It was really inspiring and fascinating to watch. I need to get back into Aikido. They had many weapon demonstrations also. It finished at 3pm and so we continued to the large Shrine, which was close by. It was very large. I think Lydia and I were templed out! That was enough.

We then headed to Miwa's tea store and bought tea. We had a chance to test out many different teas and became tea educated. It was very serious business. You sit down at the counter to have a tea consultation. They educate you and bring out different teas for you. Lydia and I decided to invest in some Japanese tea. Because it was Lydia's birthday, Barry and Miwa gave her a Ma-Cha set. Lydia was squealing with pleasure and delight!

It had started raining at this point. We ended up going to a street market that was covered. It was huge with lots and lots of covered streets and tons of people. It was called Teramachi. What was really weird was I bumped into Charissa from Australia again. Amongst this sea of people. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of her. Weird! Lydia keeps calling this stuff "divine appointment"! I'm thinking, she might be right about that.

We headed back to Miwa's work for something and have tea and sweets. Then off to another Izakaya for dinner. Lydia and I are really tired and can't wait to get home. When we get home and settle down for the night. I end up waking again because of the wind storm. It was worse this second night. The sound of the wind is more frequent and my bed is shaking that much more. I'm a little scared. And then....... Bah!!!! It was Lydia this whole time. Typhoon Lydia! Swoosher of Sheets!!!!! Everytime she moved, her sheets would make a "swooshing" sound. And.... because she was on the top bunk, she would make the whole bed sway! Then I started worrying about how strong the bunk bed was made. It didn't seem very strong. I was glad that Lydia was small.

The Kyoto visitation!

2006-11-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

Saturday Sept.16th.... Lydia and I got up early. Miki drove us to the Higashi Murayama station and we travelled to the Tokyo station to catch a Shinkansen (bullet train) to Kyoto. While on the train, Lydia started up a conversation with the lady sitting next to her. (I had the window seat). Her name was Emiko Konishi. She's a nurse who has her PhD and also has an honourary professorship. She was on her way to Nagoya to give a speech on care for palliative patients. We started talking about the difference of approach to health care between eastern and western methods. It was very interesting. We talked about the subjectivity of pain, compassion, the culture of pain, and psycho-social factors in patient attitude and compliance. Very neat lady. Lydia thinks it was divine appointment that we met. Emiko and I ended up exchanging email addresses.

We finally arrive at Kyoto station and meet up with my cousin Barry, his wife Miwa, and son Shawn. We go for Soba noodles for lunch and then drop our stuff off at the Backpacker's hostel. We go to a really large buddhist temple and it is a long walk uphill. We saw some sort of Dragon dance going up the hill into the temple. It's really busy because it's a long weekend. The Japanese are honouring their elders this weekend. Kyoto is a very ancient city with much traditional Japanese things and practices. It used to be the captal city of Japan until about 200 years ago. The special thing about this temple was that there were no nails holding it together. I didn't like hearing that when I was standing on the most sloped part of it. It's built on the slope of hill/mountain. Another interesting fact is that the large temples here have little shrines within them for the Shintoists and the large shrines here have little temple areas within them for the Buddhists.

We bumped into a lady and her family from Australia. Charissa is Malaysian Chinese. We met because I offered to take their family photo. (That's how you can meet people around here!). I thought she might know someone related to Susan Ting. She knew a Carol Ting who is a endocrinologist. Oh well!

We went for dinner and had Izakaya. I was sooooo tired. I was having a hard time lifting my head off the table and Lydia was full of energy and hyper. Poor Lydia. I was really grumpy. I started to wake a little. Especially, after Lydia ran to get me a coke. The Japanese don't do sweet very much it seems. I was starting to understand this salty and sweet thing that Karen Bishop has with Japanese food.

After dinner we head to Kyoto tower and part ways with my family at Starbucks. Lydia doesn't have much shopping in her area. So, she convinces me to go with her to the Gap to buy pants. She buys two pairs of pants in 10 minutes. That was the most decisive I have ever been with feed back for someone. "NO! doesn't look good". "YES! Get it!". "Let's go!". We head back to the hostel for the evening. I was a little concerned because there was supposed to be a typhoon heading our way. Throughout the evening I could hear the wind pick up and occasionally was shakened awake. Another concern was that I wasn't prepared with the proper clothing for this kind of weather.

Big Bugs, Gardening, and Friends!

2006-11-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

Friday Sept.15th...I woke @ 430am and took a gravol and went back to sleep @ 6am. My sleep patterns hadn't adjusted yet. Eventually @ 1030am. I got up and hung out with Miki at home. I had a very lazy day and stayed in my pajamas all afternoon. Mrs. Kobayashi is a very busy lady. She also had the day off. She did some gardening. I went to take pictures of her gardening when I saw a huge Praying Mantis. As I was taking a photo of it, I was attacked by several mosquitos who apparently liked Canadian blood. Miki was swatting at them and thus, was swatting me!! Interesting bugs in Japan!

Later, Miki and I made rice crispy squares. They like it. I hung out at the kitchen table with Mrs. K and Miki. Mr. and Mrs. K were going swimming later that day and she had planned to make me a traditional Japanese dinner. However, Miki and I had plans for dinner already.

Miki and I went downtown to Shinjuku to meet Shino, Humi, Kanako, and Lydia for dinner. We went to Izakaya for dinner. Kanako and Humi were there already waiting for us. Shino was late because she gets off work late. The girls treated Lydia and I for dinner. I was very touched. Because it was Friday night, we were only allowed to stay for 2 hours. We left and continued the evening having tea nearby. Shino had brought a polaroid camera and we had fun taking pictures. I felt like a princess! So much loving attention!

Lydia came home with Miki and I. We crashed at around 1am or so.

Waking up to Japan!

2006-11-15T10:47:00.000-08:00

Thursday Sept.14th.... I had about 8 hours of sleep. My stomach was still hurting a bit. I lay awak a couple of hours and eventually got up @ 1130am. Miki had gone to work and Mrs. Kobayashi made me breakfast. I ate with Miki's parents, then cleaned up and did some reading. Prayed a lot that morning. Something felt wrong with me. I was feeling ARGH! Homesick! I felt like a big baby! I was waiting for my sense of adventure to kick in, yet I was feeling old, set in my ways, and just missing people. Missed my phone, email, (made me realize my addictions quickly!). Also, people in Vancouver made it really difficult to leave with their outpouring of love for me. This was certainly an interesting beginning to my trip.

There is this feeling of helplessness that hits me. I felt bad that my host has to worry about me while at work. I wondered if this feeling would change later in my trip during Japan, or China, or Korea. I thought of my worries the night before and how brave the internationals are in travelling to foreign countries for education. Very interesting! I had a whole new appreciation for my international friends who had come to Vancouver. *sigh*! I missed Vancouver. Yet, this homesick feeling I sometimes felt at home in Vancouver. The only thing I could think of was this was a longing to be in the house of the Lord!

Later, Miki comes home and I get a chance to check my email. Wooo Hooo! One addiction satisfied! We sat and chatted for a bit, then we were off to downtown Tokyo to meet with Akiko. My first train ride from Tokorozawa. The station I love the most, especially to pronounce is... "Takodanobaba"! I love saying it! Try it!

The thing that kept coming out of my mouth repeatdly was "wow, Wow, WOW!". I think Miki was quite amused!

Miki dropped me with Akiko in Roppongi. Akiko showed me around the "hillside" of Roppongi. There were lots of foreigners here. Fancy shops, huge business buildings and lots of "Bling!". I wore my track pants and sandals in these fancy, upscale stores and their service to me is incredible! Great service!

Then I realize... I'm a total City Girl! I felt really comfortable in the downtown area. The amazing thing is that Tokyo has several downtowns. There are about 6 main downtowns and several smaller ones.

Akiko then treated me to a great dinner. My first Izakaya. Oh my goodness! Yum! Oh-ishee!! Deee-licious! Very tastey and great with plum wine.

After dinner she took me to her work place. She had to endure 7 interviews for this job with an american company. We went up to the 48th floor of this building and the sight was amazing looking over the different downtowns of Tokyo. Spectacular!

The number of staff on just that floor was amazingly huge! I was in shock when Akiko took me around that floor to discover that this one floor of the building had it's own Starbucks! Incredible!!

We then headed back to meet Miki in Shinjuku (another downtown area). Then Miki and I went home. I took a shower and hit my bed hard!

Meeting with Miki!

2006-11-15T08:52:00.000-08:00

I had lost a day in my travelling time to Japan. They are 16 hours ahead of Vancouver time. So! I arrived on Wednesday Sept.13th. I was a little stressed and anxious because I was late in arriving and late to catch my bus to meet Miki. It was raining in Japan, but very warm and humid. I finally got on a bus for Tokyo and fell asleep for an hour or so. My destination was Tokorozawa station. I took the 17:00 bus and I was supposed to meet Miki at 19:00. I was about a half hour late in my meeting time with Miki (Panic!). There was this nice Japanese couple on the bus that spoke english. The woman worked for Japan airlines (another plug for them!). The leant me their cell phone so I could call Miki. She was home and would meet me at the station. Woooo Hoooo! The couple again were soooo nice. They stayed with me at the station until Miki arrived and met me! She drove me home and we sat and ate some dinner. I met her mom (who teaches english to junior high school students). Very nice lady. Kind of reminds me of Akemi! They sound similiar. We chatted for a bit, I gave them gifts, took a shower, and tried to sleep. I couldn't sleep. I was too wired and my stomach hurt. I too a gravol and immodium and finally slept. I had been awake for over 24 hours. Should have slept on the plane instead of playing!

Leaving Vancouver! Japan here I come!

2006-11-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

It was a great warm, sunny morning on Tuesday, Sept.12th. I had phoned Polly to wish her a happy birthday before leaving the house. Jonah and Susy were staying with Rebecca. They came early from Calgary to catch me before I left for Asia (which was really sweet). Mom and Rebecca took me to the airport and 'lo' and behold! Grace, Trinity and Peter showed up to see me off! What a great departure team! I eventually parted from them after snacking on fries and orange juice that mom supplied and boarded the plane.

Japan Airlines rocks! (They should give me a little something something for advertising for them on this blog!) Anyways, I had a great seat for the whole flight. I had a window seat and no one was sitting beside me. There was my very own TV monitor in front of my face built into the back of the seat in front of me. There was a remote control built into my armrest that could come out and retract into the armrest. They had about 12 movie selections, 12 videos games, several audio channels for music, and video footage of our flight progression. There were actual cameras on the outside of the plane, so passengers could see what was going on outside!!!! The remote was not only a remote. It was a game controller and a phone! Amazing!!! Loved it!

My movie of interest was Chariots of Fire. I watched it a couple of times. It was a great movie to send me off on my travels. "Oh!... to feel God's pleasure!". Then, of course there was "Xmen 3". I didn't get any sleep on this 10 hour plane ride. I also met the woman sitting next to me on the aisle seat. Guess what? I ended up talking with her. Her name was Iris Lee. She is from Seoul, Korea and is stopping off in Japan before continuing to South Korea. She is a free lance english translator in her early 40's, with a 12 year old daughter, who just spent the month in Vancouver working on her english. We hit it off well. I showed her some pictures of Rebecca, mom, and the boys from my camera. She thought Rebecca was very beautiful (which is the photo above!) and that our family has "good noses"! How 'bout that Beck! When we disembarked from the plane, we continued to talk and walk until we had to part ways. What a blessing to meet her. I took her email address down with the intentions of hooking up with her when I reached Seoul. I was late in arriving to Japan because of turbulence, but I was in Japan!!!! I made it without any incidents!!!

Here Goes the First Try!

2006-11-15T07:28:00.000-08:00

Well... Here I am finally. I have summoned up the courage to try my hand at blogging. I have been strongly encouraged to put one of these pages together from a number of people here in Vancouver and in Asia. Apparently, "Everyone has a blog", so I'm told. Now, I have joined "Everyone".

I thought that I would start my blog with recordings of the last two months of my travels to Japan, China, and South Korea. I have a lot of work to do in putting this together. There is so much to share. Hopefully, when I finally finish my journal entries of my trip, my blog will just be a "normal" blogging of what's going on in my life. We shall see. So, here goes....