heading east...

And we are back in our homeland of Ontario! I suppose it's the homeland - I was born here and my parents were born and raised here. However, I have to say that with family and friends and the mountains and the sea and the seawalls and walks (and being okay with rainy days), BC is the homeland too, at least for me. Anyways, homeland schmomeland; after a great visit with friends and family in the west, we are doing the same in the east. It was a bit sad leaving Vancouver - it was so great to spend time with some of our favourite people, and the 10 days went by sooo fast... but of course we will be back. I feel like I'm always saying that. One thing that we haven't missed (yet) is the weather that was chilling the lower mainland - it was cold when we left Vancouver and it has been HOT here... hot hot hot. Yesterday's temps were record breaking, and Toronto lows are higher than Vancouver highs for the next few days. Sure, maybe it's been a bit too hot BUT I'm not one to complain - flying over the prairies we saw snow on the ground, and according to the Toronto Star, there's supposed to be a high of seven in Calgary today - ugh. Did we make our move at the right time? Perhaps.

So, all has been well besides one too many visits to the dentist and the onset of pregnant-brain. Yup, folks, there you have it... I'm pregnant! I wanted to write a lament about not being able to eat real-deal sushi (Japanese) or drink deliciously dry Japanese beer (Asahi), but alas, that blog was never born. So, here you have it... news is news, and pregnancy brain has hit. As an aside, I just googled 'pregnancy brain' to see if this was an acknowledged thing, and some say it is and some say it isn't. Men are Better Than Women and Wise Geek had some, ummmm, interesting things to say (3rd and 1st in search results - actually), and while BBC says it's a myth, there seems to be a lot of support for the reality theory (perhaps by pregnant women and their spouses and friends, as opposed to lab-coated scientists). In any case, after driving into Oshawa on Wednesday to get a new driver's license, I was told NO not possible by an indifferent overweight blond woman with facial piercings - not without a passport or birth certificate; my wallet full of valid ID was not good enough. My second annoyance came at the pool yesterday: after 30 minutes of swimming I was kicked out by a lifeguard and 20 aqua-fitness aerobicizers, and told that I wasn't even allowed to stay in the pool to stretch... OUT! I would have really appreciated it if the front desk lady had told me that I was paying six dollars for half an hour of pool time. I would also like to be able to tell the difference between AM and PM. ANYWAYS! That's that. As far as the dentist goes, I've been three times in the past 8 days: for a cleaning, for a temporary filling, and then, after the temporary filling fell out/disappeared 24 hours later, I had the hole in my tooth permanently filled - this morning. Ugh... I hate going to the dentist!

I didn't hate going to this doctor - my doc in Tokyo was great - Dr Morita!

SO! Besides the bebe news (due at the end of November) and my filling, not too much is new. We've been visiting with family and friends out here, and are getting ourselves ready for another move - the final one! - back to Gatineau. It will be nice to settle in, unpack (finally) and feel at home after a few weeks on the road and seven months overseas. Also on the agenda is planning the summer; usually, by this time my schedule is full of camps, coaching, weddings and plans for visits and trips, but so far I only have a few things planned. I'm going to coach some vball in Ottawa, and we want to spend some time up at the Brinkman/Tukker cottage on the Crowe; I also want to make it to Denver to visit sisters and friends, and of course plans are in the works to make it back out to Vancouver and Thetis. It feels a bit funny, not having a full timetable... but, people keep telling us that with a babe on the way, we should be sleeping in and enjoying our free time. Can I make that a priority for the summer? I think I just did. Steve's schedule looks pretty full with national team stuff - a trip to Australia, a series in Ontario somewhere (I think) against Cuba, and World Championships this fall in Italy. With his busy schedule and mine sure to fill up, I think we can agree on a few priorities for the summer: volleyball, family, friends, fishing and cottage time. Let's just hope the weather is good, that we enjoy our sleep while we can, and that the babe keeps growing - stay healthy and strong little one!

soon, on the move again

The jet-lag is on its way out and (sigh) so are we. I have no pictures to show for our week in Vancouver, but it has been great. Are we sad to leave? Yes and no. There's never really enough time for catching up when you're visiting, especially with just one or two nights to visit with everyone - most of my friends and (half of my) family live here. Of course we'll be back, we just don't know when. There have been dinners and picnic lunches, brunches and walks, beers and pub drinks, seawall runs and rec center swims, coffee shop visits, easy afternoons and cupboard cleanouts and more and more. It has been a busy week, but a relaxing one as well - I don't feel like we've been all over the place trying to fit it all in.

The cupboard cleanouts: I have been all over the house trying to round up my scattered, stored things and evaluate. My mom has been asking me to go through my stuff (and has been doing so for years, eep) - a bag of sweaters, a trunk of clothes, an overflowing shelf of books and papers - and make some decisions: keep it or PITCH it (be ruthless! I hear her say). And so, finally, I did. I tried on old jeans and too-small, too-short sweaters that prompted comments from Claire "was that just the style? short small things?" and Steve "you've had those forever... you wore those when I met you" and some short ones from me "ugh... ew." Getting rid of clothes was a breeze, and surprisingly enough, it wasn't too difficult weeding out the books that I didn't want to keep. It was fun going through papers and photos - I filled a few recycling bags, but also found some gems, never to be thrown out. I didn't read all of the keepers, but there are quite a few letters that I received when I was little that I've saved. My two favourites are these. When I was seven, I wrote a letter to Mr Christie with a suggestion for a new cookie (Turtle Cookies), and even though he didn't write me back (I thought I was writing a real person) I did get a response. I still have the letter; it's dated April 17, 1986, and the two coupons for free cookies that were included are long gone. I remember going down to Stong's and cashing them in for Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies. So, that's the one. The other is a letter from my Grandpa, dated April 27/82, written on a typewriter:

Dear Heather

Grandma and I enjoyed your letter sent to us last week. We hope that there will be more letters when your writing improves. Paul saw your letter and he made the remarks that it had rain stains on it as it came from Vancouver.

Here the weather is bright and clear. But it is still too cold for comfort. The furnace is still going strong. The snow is now all gone however.. Aunt Ena is here and will be staying with us for a few days. Grandma was at the Granite yesterday and won a beautiful plant at a luncheon. Our Easter Lily has just completed its show in the living room.

It was good to talk with you and your Mother on the phone on Sunday last at Jane's house. You are like your Mother, very good on the phone. Write to us again soon. Give Sarah, your Dad and Mom our very best Wishes.

Grampa Gar.

I was four, and my parents were in their early 30s. Do people write letters anymore? If not, do people keep emails from early times? I have a few folders in my inbox with some oldies... but somehow, it's not the same.

Anyways, so it has been great being here, but I'm looking forward to unpacking my bags. For the last week I've been living out of one bag - the other is bursting at the seams and packed full, and I have no motivation to dig for things that I think lay somewhere under the surface of shoes and miscellany. With the last day on the horizon, though, I shouldn't be thinking about unpacking - I should be getting myself together and out the door. It's not raining, but it is bright and clear... perfect for a last day in Vancouver.

jet-lag blues

Boooo jet lag! Yes we're back and yes we are jet-lagged... up at 4 or 5am after six hours of sleep. Perhaps this is preparing us for something? Or perhaps not. Anyways, it's been - and still is - a struggle to get through the day without hitting a big fat heavy duty wall some time in the afternoon-evening. I would love to be able to say that we've been getting things done and sorted in our extra waking hours, but this is not the case; our brains are also mired in jet-lag sludge. I have gotten myself together enough to go through my stuff - clothes, books, shoes - that still crowd my room at Mom and Dad's house. So, much of that is gone (too short shirts, as wide as they are long university sweatshirts, college textbooks, mile-high-waisted pants) and will hopefully find a new home somewhere.

Otherwise we've been busy seeing friends and catching up with family, which has been amazing! It's probably the best part of our visits back to Vancouver. The worst part so far? I went to the dentist this morning and have a cavity... blech.

SO, I realized that I never posted pics of either of my two little jobs in Tokyo, so finally, here they are. First Run for the Cure...

Our lovely "office" building... a house!

Naoko, Francesca and I - happy we met!

and sad that we are parting ways...

and secondly, Evergreen Language School...

These were my three bratty (but cute) students - they liked to blurt out words like POOP on a regular basis. I bribed them with candy.

The school, just a bike ride away!

Soooo we have five more days in Vancouver, and then we're eastward bound: to Toronto for a week (or so?) and then on to Gatineau and Ottawa. Summer plans are still in the works, but Steve will be with the National Team and I will hopefully be coaching volleyball... and... there will be more, but I'm not sure exactly what that will be yet. For now, our number one job is getting over this jet lag, and sitting here on the bed writing this blog isn't helping much SO! I'm going to drag myself AND Steve down to the gym. Fingers crossed that this will do something to help cure the need for the coma-nap...

we're baaaaaack....

After the longest Thursday ever, we are back in Canada. I have intentions to write a big, long Japan follow-up reflections blog, but haven't really had any non-jet-lagged brain time yet - sooooo hopefully that will happen some time soon (the blog and the non jet-lagged brain time). The trip back was good - fast - and it feels like we time warped in an insta-travel machine that leaves the past far far behind; it's as though our life and time in Tokyo was not something we left two days ago but weeks and weeks ago. Strange. It's strange, the insta-separation, but it's good to be back. We're jet-lagged, but not culture shocked, though there are lots of things that are obvious in a big-difference way: fashion (Japan yes, Canada no), cleanliness (Japan yes, Canada so-so), and big homes, yards, space and nature (Japan no, Canada yes). I've been meaning to make a top ten things I'll miss about Japan list (and a top however-many things I won't miss about Japan list), so here it is... all'improvviso...

Things I will miss about Japan:
1. The people: specifically, our friends - Nao, Marili, Hendrik... and non-specifically, the polite, courteous, friendly and quiet nature of the general populace.
2. The food: the bakeries, the find-anything-anywhere, the convenience store food, the restaurants, the basement of joy, the fruit stand, gyoza, fish cookies, sushi, Salvatore pizza, lunch deals...
3. The convenience of public transportation (trains)... and our bicycles
4. Fashion and style - in Japan, people have these things; there are no sweatpants or oversized hoodies, and women wear heels and skirts and/or creative outfit combos...
5. Nakameguro: I will miss our quiet neighborhood and our apartment. We had so many great memories and meals and get-togethers there...
6. Getting together with my running group: for the first time I ran with a group! It was so fun running with a great group of women, AND I had never ran for so long (an hour)... it was fabulous.

Things I will not miss about Japan:
1. Smoky restaurants
2. Squatter toilets
3. The shrill and sometimes constant "Irashaimaseeeeeeeeeeeei" calls of shopkeepers and store workers, especially when NOT in the mood...

Okay so I didn't make it to ten (that's all I could think of for now), but there you go. I didn't really ask Steve what he will and will not miss, but I'm sure the hour-long commutes and marathon training sessions will go on list #2 - though he may really miss his super fan WHO, by the way, was at the airport to say goodbye to him on Thursday afternoon. Not really that surprising considering her extreme-o superfan status BUT... the airport is a solid hour and a half outside of central Tokyo, and she lives on the other side of the city. This, my friends, is one dedicated fan.

So, Vancouver. It is great to be back and see my family and my friends, and the weather has been amazing. The space and the ocean and mountains with trees - these things are also great, and I know that even though I will miss living in Tokyo, Canada is my home... and as everyone knows, there's no place like it.

Sneaky sneaky Nao had this dessert plate prepared for us at our last dinner at Colosseo, an Italian place in our neighborhood - so sweet. Don't worry missy, we'll be back!!

We'll miss you guys!

lasts

Last day of teaching, last day of work, last train ride, last bike ride, last donut, last basement of joy visit, last run with the running group, last swim, last dinner, last day - this has been a week of lasts. And today will be a day of last things, as we leave this afternoon. Like I said in one of my previous blogs, this year went by so quickly, but was so full and complete at the same time; it was not 100m dash fast but fast-marathon fast. There was so much and there are so many amazing memories, and I know that even though this is the end of our time here, it's just the beginning of some amazing friendships that I hope will last and last and last. I, for one, am happy to be going home, but sad to be leaving. :) :(

catch-up

High school buds on the bullet train, returning to Tokyo from Osaka

This is a catch-up blog - I am posting pictures and short blurbs of moments from the past few (or three?) weeks, from visitor time. The days are really flying by now, and with only four sleeps to go (egad!) we have much to do - people to see, places to go, food to eat, a house to pack up... ugh, it's intimidating. The weather has been amazing, and we have lots of outside-things planned - park visits, walks, bike rides - so I'd best be getting things done around here. Voila, le blog, and I'm off to organize.

This is Sachie, Steve's biggest fan... she is a mega sweetie (she gives us - both of us - presents and cards) and a very dedicated fan; soon after this picture was taken she started crying...

...because she wanted us to come back so much; "fingers crossed!" was all I could say!

An artistic aerial shot, by Anna

We had a gyoza and nanaimo bar making party - an unlikely pair, no? Gyoza is one of Nao's specialties, and under her tutelage, the three of us (Marili, Anna and I) packaged up 90 little suckers before tackling the nanaimo bars. These were a HUGE hit at Christmas, and ever since they have been a top request from Marili's husband and... well, from anyone else that ate them over the holidays. Along with Steve and Hendrik, we ate 86 gyoza and at least half of the nanaimos... GLUTTONS!

Shopping in Nao's neighborhood, Shimokitazawa. Nice shaaaades!

Busy, busy, busy Shibuya.

In Osaks... the weather was amazing!

I went to one of the most amazing museums in Osaka - the Open-air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses... it was incredible! There are 12 original old-style farm houses from the Edo period (17th - 19th century) from different rural areas of Japan, all displayed in near perfect condition in a quiet corner of one of Osaka's biggest parks. Stepping into these homes was like stepping into the past, really and truly. You could feel and sense and imagine what life was like - what people wore, what and how they cooked, where they slept and ate and worked... it was a definite highlight for me - a must if you ever find yourself in Osaka!!




The cherry blossoms on their way out on a gorgeous Spring day - down the block from our apt

Nao and Marili on gyoza duty

When my mom and dad were here we went to Happo-en and meandered in the gardens at this fancy, traditional hotel. There was a small stretch of garden that showed off the fruits of labour of many a gardener - some of these bonsai were 500 years old! Teeny tiny and manicured, they have been many hands that have shaped these small trees.


Cheers boys! Hendrik, Dad and Steve

An azalea garden festival at the Nezu-jinja shrine, one of Tokyo's oldest original structures; the flowers were beautiful!

too much to write about...!

Ouf! The parade of guests is over - over! Two and a half months - poof... gone and finit. These weeks full of visitors feel a bit like the whole seven months that we've been here - they've gone by quickly, but so much has happened, so much has been done that in a way the time seems stretched and compressed at the same time. Hmmm... does this only make sense in my head? Errrr, not sure. I know this next week will be poof gone and finit in no time too; we only have a week left here, which is crazy crazy crazy.

I have a few other things on the crazy list: in Osaka this weekend we saw hundreds of people waiting hours and hours and hours in line (actually they were waiting in TWO lines) for Krispy Kreme donuts. There were numerous security guys doing a whole bunch of different things: directing people from one line to the next, managing the neatness and orderliness of the line, holding signs that told the dozens of donut-crazed citizens where to stand, the wait time (an hour an a half on Saturday morning; according to Steve it was much longer on Friday), the beginning and end of each line and more. It was insanity. I mean, I know that Krispy Kreme donuts are good - but are they worth hours and hours in a line-up? Not so sure on that one. Crazy list item number two: Steve and I went for a bike ride in Komazawa Park yesterday and saw the owners of a stocky little pug changing its diapers and wiping its bum... for real. It was a bit much. And that's all that I have to say about that.

SO! The weekend in Osaka was amazing! It was Golden Week, so it was insanely busy and bustling with people. Golden Week is one of the longest holiday periods of the year for the Japanese, and is made up of three or four (maybe more) holidays: Showa Day (the former Emperor Showa's birthday), Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day and Children's Day. SO! The streets were full and busy, as were the shops and hotels - the picture speaks for itself.


It was great to see some of Steve's last games too. They won on Saturday, but didn't fare so well on Sunday :(, and the long and short of it is that they lost in the quarter-finals on Monday afternoon, and are finished! After seven months of some of the longest volleyball practices ever experienced by a certain Canadian, they are done and done! The team stayed in Osaka on Monday night and partied - Japanese style - before taking the bullet home on Tuesday afternoon. Japanese style? What is? Basically, the Japanese way of partying (I speak only from experience - mine and Steve's) is that any party that involves drinking means drinking... and drinking fast. It's almost as if there's a small window of opportunity (to get wasted), and a start and finish time - participants are expected to get as drunk as possible as fast as possible before the buzzer goes and it's time for bed (perhaps only because capacity has been reached). So despite a language barrier (break it with beer!) Steve stayed, partied and came home on Tuesday.



There's more (and there are more pics), but I'm tired. So... until next time! :)