Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Eye Exams in Japan

When I arrived at the hospital for my mandatory medical check last Friday morning, it was cold and wet and early. Undeniably ugly weather for an undeniably ugly activity.

I guess I should back up and explain. I hate doctor's visits. 

Usually, I tend to be upbeat about most new activities I try here in Japan. I go into it with a "can-do" attitude that I like to believe makes everything feel accessible and fun. There aren't many things that can wipe a smile off my face.

However, being poked and prodded and touched by people wearing stethoscopes is one of those few things. I just don't like it. 

Add the whole "not understanding anything your doctor says" into the equation, and things turn downright nightmarish.

But I digress. My really good friend and coworker Haruka and I had our mandatory medical check-up scheduled for the same day last Friday so that she could translate instructions for me (and I suppose, provide moral support). So we arrived to our doctor's appointment at the same time, skipping and hopping through the rain so our shoes wouldn't get wet.

We squeaked into the empty beige hallway and turned in our insurance cards, health questionnaire, and urine samples (which you do at home by yourself here) to a receptionist, and were asked to take a seat to wait.

It was too early and I was apprehensive about the whole situation. Haruka, similarly unhappy about doctor's visits, was fairly quiet. I think at one point we might have discussed breakfast, since we weren't allowed to eat food before our appointment and I would describe us both as voracious eaters. But otherwise, this was a quiet time.

Then a nurse called my name. Or something close to it.

"Kin-ka-do san?"

"Hai!" I shouted, jumping up like a red hot poker had just singed my knee. Haruka followed me into a tiny room with plastic teal curtains. There were several needles on the table.

I realized I was about to have my blood drawn. My mouth creases into an unpleasant grimace.

I sit down. The nurse says something to me, but my panic and fear and sleepiness all culminate in a total loss of my Japanese abilities. Haruka translates.

"First time?"

"Gurp," I say. "I mean, no." I hold up two fingers (I've done it twice before).

"Ohhh," says the nurse, who is all calm and smiles. "Do your best," she says nicely. I appreciate this.

I continue to appreciate it as Haruka runs away and a needle is inserted into my vein, sucking out my red gooey life force. I slam my eyes shut in terror. Still appreciating as hard as I can.

Next, the eye exam. I walk into a new room and I'm told to sit and wait as Haruka goes first, covering one eye and calling out what she sees in front of her. I zone out and check my Instagram.

Then one of the two equally friendly doctors calls for me to take my turn. I sit in the chair and look at the chart in front of me. They tell me to cover my right eye. I do.

But I am confused.

For some reason, I was expecting to see something like this:


I instead found myself confronted with this:


In panic and confusion, I scream out, "THEY'RE ALL C!"

The doctor gapes at me, then double checks the chart. Then she laughs and realizes that I do in fact come from another planet where everything is different and eye exams make no sense. 

She explains to me that what I should be saying is left, right, up and down (in Japanese), depending on where the chunk is removed from the "O." Realizing how crazy I must have sounded, I laugh my way through the entire exam and couldn't read the bottom line of the chart because were crazy-laugh tears flooding my eyeballs.
Yes, it was strange and embarrassing. But there was only one more station to visit after that, and there's no way it could get any worse, right?

Oh ho ho. How wrong you are.

So next, I sat and waited at our final station, not knowing what to expect. Haruka had gone in before me, and didn't leave any sort of clue as to what was coming up next. I assumed it was some sort of lady exam, like maybe a gynocologist. I figured that was the sort of thing that would sneak up on me when I least expected it.

Haruka walked out and the doctor (this time, a man) gestured for me to walk in. On guard, I scooted in quietly. What new experiments could this section hold?

He asked me in a very friendly way (are all Japanese doctors this amazingly friendly?), "Japanese is okay? You understand?"

I said, "Uhhhhhh. Maybe?"

He laughed. He said something in Japanese that I didn't understand. I tilted my head like a confused dog.

He repeated it, this time in broken English. "Clothes? Remove?"

"Oh!" I shouted, as I quickly began to take off my shirt.

"Ah!" he cried, covering his eyes (in a very friendly way). He gestured to a changing room behind me and pointed to a robe.

"Oh!" I shouted again, pulling my shirt back down. "Sorry!" 

I went into the changing room and took off my shirt, and put on the robe. I assumed this was some sort of breast exam, so I didn't bother to tie the straps in the front. I mean, those would just get in the way right?

I awkwardly walked out again and the doctor gestured to my robe. I pulled it apart so he could perform the exam.

"Ah!" he cried again, as he grabbed the robe, tying the straps in the front for me. He pointed to a X-ray machine behind him, saying, "Umm....

It was at that point that I realized the doctor might have thought I was trying to show him my boobs for no reason, when he just wanted me to take an X-ray.

"OH! Ah! Sorry!" I cried, running to the X-ray machine, robe flapping in the breeze.

It was an ordeal, albeit a hilarious one. 

And you'll be delighted to know that I got the results back later that day. Apparently, I'm perfectly healthy. 

So at least there's that.

Monday, September 15, 2014

A Day in Takachiho


Hooray for three day weekends! I wanted to do something really exciting for my birthday, so a bunch of my friends hopped into my car on Sunday to visit the Takachiho Gorge, Miyazaki's most beautiful tourist destination!

Only an hour away from Kadogawa, Takachiho is home to many incredible shrines and cultural activities, but my favorite part by far was boating through the gorge, near waterfalls and volcanic rock formations galore!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of our day: 

たかちほ Gorge! Notice the incredible waterfall, which apparently is among the 100 most beautiful waterfalls in Japan!


Here was a tiny spring towash your hands and (according to a lovely ice cream shop keeper) apparently get a cool drink of water! I'm still not sure if he was just messing with me or if I misinterpreted, but I drank the water anyway! I haven't died yet so I guess all's well that ends well!


Another shot of the gorge. We had to wait four and a half hours to use one of the boats, so there was lots of time for photos.


There was a tiny little tourist area with restaurants, snack booths and a freshwater aquarium near the gorge. Shuttles took the tourists from the boats to their cars (though we just walked because we're young and strong). ちからもち!!!


A shot of our day trip gang! We're the cutest!


While we waited for our boat, we ate at this amazing restaurant! The chef would send Somen noodles down these chutes, and we would catch them with chopsticks and dip them into a delectable sauce! It was a really difficult way to eat, but what a fun experience!


おいしい!!! Delicious!

Then, it was time for the boats! We managed to paddle all the way through the gorge and I took tons of pictures with my new Polaroid camera. It was heaps of fun, even if all the boaters seemed to run into each other at every turn!



































Afterwards, we visited the Ama-no-iwato shrine and Celestial Rock cave, where the Japanese goddess, Amaterasu, was said to have hid for days and days until another god did an obscene dance outside and made Amaterasu curious. Obscene dances make me pretty curious too, so I feel like I really get her.



Everyone leaves little rock towers in this cave. It's beautiful and strangely haunting.



Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner at an amazing noodle shop called Marason-tei (マラソンー亭) and saw a traditional Japanese dance that is performed at  Takachiho shrine every night from 8pm-9.   I really enjoyed seeing it since we had spent the day learning different myths and legends about the gods and goddesses of Japan, and then got to see those myths reenacted on stage!

Takachiho is totally worth a visit, and I had been wanting to come here since I had first googled Miyazaki. The gorge is even more beautiful in real life than on the internet, so if you get a chance, make sure to come on over! 

Thank you so much to Takachiho ALT Ellen for the lovely recommendations on things to do in town! It was an amazing day and I couldn't have been happier!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

On Turning Twenty Two in Japan


So I know I haven't posted things in awhile (forgive me!) but last week I finally got internet so I'll definitely be more on top of things now. Still, I wanted to post a little something since yesterday was my 22nd birthday and it felt important (and a little bit crazy). I wrote this yesterday while I was at the town hall (in between studying Japanese and planning lessons). I promise I'll go back to travel stuff soon but until then...

It’s definitely exciting being twenty two. I’ve now reached the point in my life where I’ve graduated college (and have some AWESOME student debt), moved to Japan and I bought a hamster. Every young adult’s dream.
 Yet it’s difficult to express how it feels to turn twenty two in Japan. I thought that no one would care, since no one really knows me that well yet. I had also heard through the grapevine that Japanese people don't really care that much about birthdays. I was looking forward to a disappointing day, to say the least.
How wrong I was! My friends in town made me cards, gave me gifts (like candied fruits and a sweet t-shirt) and the students in my classes sang for me in almost every period. I also went to dinner at my favorite restaurant with my other JET friends from the next town over, which was wonderful. I was worried that I would feel left out and homesick, but instead I felt very loved. I shouldn't be surprised, since I have only been treated with kindness since arriving to Kadogawa, but there's still a tiny homesick part of me that I think is still really scared of being all alone.
Lately I’m so busy living here and trying new things, the fact that I’m not in California anymore still hasn’t actually sunk in. I miss my friends and my family dearly, but overall, I've just been so enamoured with my new life that when I realised I'm actually living by myself I didn't know how to cope with it. I actually don’t think I’ve ever had a birthday where I didn’t have a little barbecue in the backyard of my parent’s home to celebrate. So I guess the biggest gift I received this year is INDEPENDENCE! 
Though I also bought myself a sweet Polaroid camera, and my mom sent me a package with a bunch of great stuff in it from the whole family (Thanks family! I love you!).
Since I graduated, everything has been such a blur. From the frantic shuffling to move away to my home country, to the psycho craziness that was Tokyo orientation, to actually arriving in Kadogawa and just figuring everything out, I haven’t had time to really stop and think about my life in quite awhile.
Of course, work keeps me really busy too. I work at the Kadogawa Town Hall, as well as four elementary schools, and two junior high schools, which each have their own teachers, dress codes, and expectations. It may sound like a lot, but somehow, it’s totally manageable so far. It helps that, like I said, everyone is insanely friendly and kind.
For instance, today I went to Kadogawa Junior High School where I was expected to deliver a short introduction speech to an assembly of around two hundred students. I was pacing around the teacher’s room all morning, nervously practicing a Japanese phrase I had prepared for my big day. 
Suddenly, one of the teachers I work with came over to me and asked, “Lauren, do you know Katy Perry?”
“Yes!” I responded. I tried to be cool, but it was difficult because I actually love Katy Perry. My friends back home make fun of me for this pretty regularly.
“Oh. Good,” she said, nodding as she walked away.
Twenty minutes later I was dancing through a gymnasium filled with Japanese junior high school students as Katy Perry’s “California Gurls ft. Snoop Dogg” blared over the loudspeaker.
It was surreal and hilarious. I’ll bet the kids think I’m taking crazy pills. They sang me happy birthday during school lunch though, so I assume that means they think I’m at least sort of neat.
All in all, I’m so grateful to be in Japan having this incredible experience, even if it is a bit lonely once in awhile. I’m the only foreigner in my town and there are some days where my brain just can’t translate one more word of Japanese. Those are the days where I have to remind myself that this is my first time living alone, my first time in Japan, my first time working full-time. This is my first time doing any of this stuff, and I’m doing a pretty okay job. 
Besides, those are the days when I can go home after work and watch lots of American romance movies. You’re never really alone if you have Joseph Gordon-Levitt.