commuter-cise, nose tampons (surgical mask optional), and a bowl of tonjiru

MIND - So I've been listening to Japanesepod 101 podcasts on my ipod on the way home from work everyday. I leave work at 6-ish and ride a company bike about 10 minutes to the subway station. Then, it's a 5 minute walk from the street to the platform. The first subway ride (Midosuji line Shinkanaoka Station to Doubutsuenmae station) takes about 15 minutes. Then I have to walk 5 minutes to the other line (Sakaisuji) and ride that subway to my home station (Kitahama). That takes about 15 minutes. THEN, I ride my own bike home which takes another 5 minutes and walk from the parking area to the elevator to reach my apartment an hour from clock-out time.

I always seem to fall asleep while listening. It reminds me of college...reading the same page in a chapter before entering lala land. I keep hoping that I will subconsciously retain some of the podcast, but I usually listen a second or third time. What is it with this language? From what I've read regarding language study, 10-15 minutes a day should help, but when co-workers talk to one another, I have no idea what they're saying. It's pretty ironic considering we're an English school. My Japanese teacher tells me I should keep a Japanese journal and my boyfriend is convinced I need to write in Japanese and study kanji. I'm sure they are both right, but it's hard to keep "studying" when I can't see the fruits of my labor. Realistically though, I know I'm not really studying...especially when my writing practice notebook has 30-45 days between entries.

I watch Japanese TV (no subtitles), Japanese movies and sitcoms (with subtitles--much more interesting) and listen to podcasts and watch video vocabulary quizzes on the ipod, but I guess without heart, I'm not fooling anyone. I know I'm on the verge of finding the method that will work for me, and I feel the weight of its importance on a daily basis, but since I survived Samoa without Samoan, I guess I'm okay with being illiterate most of the time. Shopping, web surfing, and trying to decide what to eat is when I get irritated about not knowing the lingo. Oh, and when I meet all these foreigners whose Japanese rolls of their tongues like butter, I get a twinge of jealousy right before I become overwhelmed with admiration.

My students (both toddler and adult) inspire me, though. They are doing it--speaking English--against the odds. English really is useless here, but they show up day after day, with their homework done (or tuition paid for the toddlers) all to attain bilingual status. Pretty cool, huh? So がんばります！(I'll do my best.)

BODY - I've been getting menstrual symptoms in my old age. I never used to have cramps, bloating, or get super moody (I used to be moody all the time) in my teen and 20's, but now, it seems like a second adolescence or something. So I hope I find a father for the child(ren) I may want to have soon before my scrambled eggs stop dropping.

WORK - One of my toddlers had a bloody nose for two days last week. Her mother mentioned yesterday that she noticed an odor and took the girl to the doctor to discover that a piece of tissue had gotten lodged in her nasal cavity. The mother was angry and thought a teacher put it up there. My Japanese co-teacher and I were insulted that she would think we would be stupid enough to do something like that. The office manager posed the question to the teachers in a way that could be construed as insulting and mentioned that we would take responsibility for not watching her closely enough.

Mind you, in Japan, they sell nose tampons for allergies and runny noses in general, which as an allergy sufferer I think is great. (People wear them with surgical masks....another post to explain...so you don't "see" the nose tampons if they have them in.) Culturally, this practice of inserting absorbent material into nostrils is well-known AND said toddler has a grandmother in the house. Mind you #2, this toddler is in don't-touch-me-i-can-do-it-myself phase so we barely get to wipe her nose during the day. Mind you #3, I stuck a screw up my nose at 3 1/2 years old and almost had to go to the hospital, but my mom (hardcore as she is) used a bobby pin in the doctor's office parking lot to remove it because she didn't want to pay money for something so crazy. Bottom line, learn cultural health practices when dealing with children!

TODAY - I made tonjiru. Man said it was good. I like miso anything, so it was easy for me to like. I really dig the youtube channel I found it on "Cooking with Dog." The cook makes it look so easy! I keep wondering who the narrator is, though. If you have any easy recipes that don't involve regular oven cooking or lots of prep space, let me know. I also prefer recipes with less than 8 ingredients and less than two cooking methods (e.g. frying and boiling but not frying, boiling, and kneading lol)...FYI.