Gaijin Girl

well hell’s bells; it looks like i’ll be ringing in the new year with a fever and a sore throat.    i am so psyched to be back in the desert with late evening calls for karoke and beers, dinner party invitations, birthday parties in parks, and plans for campouts and other grand adventures.  just as i prepared myself to grab it all by the horns and dig in to this grand life that i plan to live to the fullest, it set in.  the dreaded attack of the evil sinus infection….yellow green slime pouring from my nose that no tiny neti pot can entirely tackle, the persistant scratchy throat that burns and keeps me awake at night yet exhausted during the day, the pounding head that throbs and burns intermittenly, and the general confusion and frustration that accompanies all these bothersome physical symptoms–yup, it has come to conquer me this beautiful sunny last day of the year–a day that i am supposed to spend celebrating with friends, most of whom i haven’t seen in such a very long time but instead am spending it in jamie’s guest bedroom, longingly staring out the window at the ivy-covered sun in between fits of half-sleep and hot/cold flashes.  it’s the type of sickness that has swallowed my whole being; half the things i think and say don’t add up to become complete thoughts, and my actions are slow, clumsy, and cumbersome.  i started the beautiful morning yesterday with a broken coffee cup and frustrated tears in my eyes.  things didn’t really improve after that.  one of the things that still holds true in my bewildered state is the goodness of my friends here in tucson.  thank god for cell phones, the internet, and the physical presence of josh, who has fulfilled countless requests and cooked lots of soup and garlic dishes in hope of curing what ails me.  i’m not well yet, but i’m feeling pretty damn good just thinking of all the people i love in this beautiful town and how one day–ok, so maybe not a traditionally symbolic day like today or tomorrow–but one day i will get to sing and dance and eat and ride bikes and laugh and drink with them again.  yay!

so enough feeling sorry for myself.  remember that time i got to spend almost a week in hokkaido last summer?  well, let me tell you about josh’s and my trip to sapporo; that’s right, the beer town.  here is a shot from the summer-long beer festival in the park that happens every night for two months!

no, josh and i did not drink a giant test tube of beer; we stuck to regular glasses, but if we’d had company and/or hadn’t been so tired, you know i would’ve ordered the shit out of one of those! 

other highlights from the trip included watching bad television in an old-fashioned bar, riding a giant ferris wheel on the roof of a skyscraper, shopping for brand-name bargains, viewing beautiful flowers and visiting green and blue parks, taking long walks, visiting the sapporo factory and museum, and riding the bus around town.

here is a park we found on one of our walks:

sapporo was beautiful, and i’d love to go back there someday!  someday….when this godforsaken infection has left my beaten-down little body!!!  grrrrr….

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Back in Tucson!  sweet!  it’s a little different here than i remember….dustier and with more businesses closing, which is depressing.  but the people are still lovely and loving, and i love them!

speaking of lovely people, i should write more about this summer.  before our dear friends aaron and amber left japan, we went to enoshima near kamakura with them and went to the beach, which was so wonderful–except for the screeching hawks and girls in bikinis and heels. 

after an onion salad and some cocktails, we went to yokohama to see some fireworks.  aside from the millions of other people who were there, it was awesome.  we sat on the grass and had a feast while we watched beautiful scenes explode before our eyes.

before the fireworks show, josh, aaron, and i took a subway to chinatown for the fastest sightseeing experience ever.  we only had about 30 minutes before the show started, so we just walked around before standing in the longest family mart line ever for snacks and beer.

aaron looks much taller than actual size in this photo.    what a great day!

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well, it’s back to non-military time and living in the past! we arrived in seattle yesterday. although it feels like much longer ago. i slept for 20 hours last night, though off and on. i kept waking up and watching movies until i fell back asleep because i knew if i got up then (in the middle of the night), my schedule would be off. well, i kept doing that off and on for 26 hours!! i watched 2 movies and read a magazine on my breaks from sleeping. josh didn’t even wake up during my breaks….he slept for 24 hours straight!! besides sleeping i have done a lot of eating and sifting through piles of clothes, not really accomplishing much.

tomorrow the agenda consists of calling the Arizona MVD, cleaning the mold out of my car floor mats, washing my car and putting air in the tires, exchanging my yen for dollars, and getting a cell phone. tomorrow night we are going to a TRACE BUNDY show! he is a really super awesome musician whom we met in japan. his wife lived in seattle for a while, and we are going to see them with josh’s family and our friend katie, whom we met in alaska. on tuesday i have to pack and get some work done on my car because wednesday-friday we are heading on a mini vacation to birch bay and bellingham!! then saturday i begin the long drive down to the old pueblo. can you believe i already miss japan?? it’s true! i did nothing but miss this place while i was over there; now i would give anything to meet a super-helpful japanese person working at a bank or a store. i had forgotten how rude service workers are here! bleh.

so let me reminisce a little. over the summer i met this really cool funny guy at a vegan dinner. he ended up being my first jewish kosher friend. i learned so many things when groccery shopping with him. one day i went to harajuku with him, blanche, charie, and kjell. we had brunch at fujimama’s and then did tons of shopping, where i got my dear kappibarachan.

after the shopping spree, we headed to meiji shrine, and then we ended the night with a soak in an amazing onsen that included restaurants, stores, and a relax room. it was a wonderful day in tokyo!  other wonderful days spent with yotam included seeing the turner prize exhibit at the mori art museum and eating tapas and finding the cutest kitten ever in yoyogi park.  he went back to new york about a month after i met him.  such is the life of an expat….which i totally miss already!

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