Naivety

 Some of the Facebook groups I'm on are for people who want to travel to Japan or want to move here. It's interesting to see the various ideas that people have about Japan and life here.

A few themes that come up over and over again are how safe Japan is, how clean it is, and how polite the people are.

Most of the posts paint Japan as a paradise, and it's a nice place to live but not a perfect place to live.

Is Japan safe?  After the awful stabbings in England last week and the subsequent riots, I would have to say that compared to the UK, at the moment it is safer here. But it isn't crime-free.  There are crimes, petty theft, and shoplifting are on the increase.  Some elderly people who have no family, no money, and very little pension commit crimes so they can go to jail, there they will have a place to sleep, 3 meals a day, and medical care. They'll also have a community to help them.  It's a sad state of society when this happens.

Crimes such as murders seem to be very dramatic and make headline news for days and sometimes weeks.  The other year a young man came to the city where we live, he went to an elderly lady's house killed her, and then went to another prefecture. He had no connection to this city or this lady. he left no real forensic evidence. The police would never have caught him but he turned himself in. He was a young man in his 20s, studying to be a pharmacist. He had his whole life before him, I can't fathom these kinds of crimes. So senseless, the lady's family is destroyed but also the suspect has destroyed his life and his family as well.  There again even when there is some motive I don't understand the taking of life!

Is Japan clean?  Kind of.  I've seen litter, and I've even asked people to take home their obento packages that they left on the ground.  There are a lot of vending machines with small trash boxes that get over full very quickly.  I haven't seen fly-tipping which seems to be a big problem in parts of the UK.  It is difficult and expensive to get rid of trash.  We are still clearing out the other house and one problem is that our IDs are for another city and prefecture, even though it's only a 30-minute drive.  We can't take trash to the local incinerator until we register in that city.  For large items like the fridge and washing machine, we have to contact the city hall and pay for the items to be taken. One good system is that in some stores they will take your old machines or furniture for a small price.  We've had problems with old bikes, I had no idea how to get rid of them, one of my husband's friends told Mikey about a recycle scrap metal place that would take them and pay you.  We made a bit of money from metal things hanging around the houses and yards!

Are people polite?  Again not so straightforward as it seems. Japanese tend to divide others into groups, you are part of my group, on the inside, so I can use speech that is not so polite, and others who are outside my group, therefore I must be polite to you.  My mother-in-law was an expert at this, talking to people outside of her family she was polite and deferential, toward us she was demanding and talked to us in a very impolite way. She never used please or thank you toward family members. If you ask a Japanese person for help, for instance, by asking for directions, they will go out of their way to help as you are outside their group.  The typical Japanese person might also feel that they have to show the best side of Japan, as a representative of the country.  I'm not sure younger people feel this so keenly but middle age people seem to.

What has this to do with naivety?  When I read these posts of how safe, clean, and polite it is in Japan I want to go into keyboard warrior mode and correct these people. I feel they are so stupid for not realizing that there are problems here, maybe better hidden than in other countries but still problems.  One time I decided to look at the profiles of one person who was writing one of these posts.  He was very young and had a fresh outlook on life in general.  I realized that these posts are by younger people who see the best things in Japan.

This led me to remembering my first few years here. I had been in Japan for just over a year when I realized that I hadn't seen a police car. I mentioned this to Hisao. He told me that Japan was so safe that the police didn't have patrol cars, only bicycles!  I believed him until 3 years later I saw a police car!  My husband thought it was very funny that I believed him. This story also gives my kids a good laugh. I think we lose that sense of naivety as we grow older and experience more things. Is it a good thing to always see things clearly or is a sense of wonder and being a bit naive a less stressful way of living?

And of course, cats! This time Sam! He decided to lie in front of the TV. I don't mind but I was watching a travel video of a place near here that I would like to visit. the video was in Japanese with English subtitles. Sam was blocking the subtitles, so I had to try and understand what was being said. I think I understood about 80%.

Sam blocking the subtitles.

New Store Opened

 The company that Christopher worked for has opened a new store near here.  It used to be a supermarket, a little bit bigger than the store Christopher worked at, with a large selection of fruit and vegetables.

The new store has a pharmacy in it.  Christopher said that it would be a pharmacy in a supermarket. That's a very good idea, drop off your prescription, do your shopping, and then pick up your medicines. Most pharmacies in Japan are small shops next to or in hospitals or clinics.  They might sell some health drinks or supplements but that's all. The idea of having a pharmacy in a store is new. I've only seen one other store, a drug store, do that.  

The new store

Yesterday was the opening day, so I went today. I was very disappointed. I thought they would have a pharmacy and some over-the-counter medicines and the rest of the space for the supermarket.  They are selling medicine, baby goods, elderly care goods, beauty products, cleaning goods, all the things that the local drug store sells.

I was hoping for a good choice of meat and fish. They have some but a small selection and a bit expensive. Also, the packs were very small, with two chicken breasts or two small pieces of fish.  Fruits and vegetables were a better choice but a small selection of breads.  

The one thing that I found good was the signs on the freezer doors. They were in Japanese, English, and Korean.

Freezer signs

I was really hoping this would be a good place to shop before we move from here. Maybe for a few bits and pieces but not to do a main shop.  

Summer Holidays

 In Japan, schools finish about the second week of July until the end of August.  Similar to the school holidays I remember many, many years ago.  That is where the similarity ends, in Japan, junior high school kids have club activities and a lot of these are sports clubs, so kids are outside practicing baseball or track and field in over 30C temperatures.  Bit crazy, if you ask me!  Then there is the homework, lots and lots of homework!  There was a quiz show a few years ago, the contestant had to guess a word by clues that were given. One group had the word 'summer', the clue was 'homework', and the contestant got it on the first go!  For all my students and my kids, summer holidays meant homework. Not just read a book and do a book report, there are drill books, prints to fill out, a poster to be made, Japanese calligraphy, a science experiment that you have to think of by yourself, and a book report. The list goes on and on.  When Mikey and David were in elementary school the kids and one parent were supposed to go to the school at 6am to do exercise.  I told the teachers to stuff that idea!  

My memories of my kid's summer holidays were ones of tears and tantrums.  A few times I would go and tell the teacher that they weren't finishing the busy work.  I told the teachers that this holiday was the best chance for me to teach the kids English and they don't have time to write the same kanji character over 100 times!  Also when we had money we would go to England, to meet my family. Having that experience was a lot more important, in my mind, than spending hours doing busy work.

I don't think my summer holidays were that great.  There was nothing to do! The opposite of the Japanese kid's situation!  Every year was the same TV programs, White Horses, and Robin Crusoe are the ones I remember, maybe there were more.  After that just playing or reading. When I was about ten, I think, my Mom worked part-time, so I had to watch my brother. We would fight a lot.  We weren't allowed out on the street, we could play in the garden but I think we spent more time inside.  I'm not sure what we did all day!  I remember lying all the books up on the stairs to make a library one time.  I'm sure my brother has different memories!

Although I feel sorry for my students, having so much homework and the older kids having club activities I think they have a better time than I did. Today's kids have a lot of home entertainment to choose from. But at the same time, they have lost out on being able to play outside. It's almost 5pm and it's 35C!  

Everybody is suffering in this heat. The news shows cities throughout Japan where the temperatures are breaking records.  This year, in the Kanto area, there is the added bonus of heavy rain and thunderstorms, almost every evening, Summer is the time for firework displays, but because of the rain, a lot have been canceled.

Hot cats

Just for attention, a picture of hot cats!  They don't like the air conditioning, so they spend most of the day in the corridors, but come in and out of the living room.

July

 July was hot, very hot. August is going to be hotter!!  

I read an article the other day asking when did summer in Japan get to be so miserable?  The article talked about the fun that was had by everyone a few years ago, trips to the beach or pool, summer festivals or just going to the park. Now those activities are more like an endurance test.  A lot of the summer festivals go on until the evenings, many concluding with spectacular firework shows.   This year, however, a lot were washed out because of sudden thunderstorms or attendance wasn't so high because it stayed hot until very late at night.

I feel sorry for the kids. Summer is hard because they have so much homework but at least they used to be able to play outside with friends. My husband said that when he was in junior high school he and his mates would ride their bikes all day!  That just isn't doable nowadays.  I've noticed the small park near here is very quiet. Until it got hot I could hear kids playing on there, now it's quiet, just the cicadas making a noise!

For myself changing my attitude has helped a lot.  I want to get things done but wasting what bit of energy moaning about things isn't going to help me at all.  I've accepted that summer is hard on my body so I do what I can when I can.  The main living area has air conditioning so I can manage to keep that clean.  The toilet, bathroom, corridors, and stairs are harder. There is so much cat hair everywhere, during the other seasons I sweep every day and mop every other day!  Now I get Christopher to do it.  Toilet and bathroom are early morning jobs.

I've told myself that it's okay to spend most of my day reading or sleeping.  The house isn't too bad. The yard needs doing, maybe early morning I can sweep the walkway and pull a few weeds. The other house will have to wait a bit.  I'm planning on going on Sunday, just to drop off some of the boxes and check that things are alright there. 

My worry is this Saturday and Sunday, according to my weather app it's going to be 39C.  That is crazy. I don't know if it's ever been that hot here!

Cats stretched out in the corridor

I keep putting the cats in the air-conditioned room but they prefer the corridor.  The downstairs corridor, I think upstairs is warmer!

Christopher's Cooking

 Since Christopher finished work he has been helping me around the house.

The rooms with air conditioning in I can manage but the other rooms and areas are difficult for me to do. That's where Christopher comes in.  The entrance and corridors need sweeping every day, so that is one job that Christopher does.

He's also teaching himself how to cook.  He really likes Japanese cuisine.  He finds recipes on the internet, then shops and cooks,

Yesterday he made Inari sushi.  Rice that is flavored with rice vinegar and a little bit of sugar stuffed into fried tofu pockets.  Very simple but very tasty. He served it with leftover fried beef and salad.  Nice, light dinner for a very hot day!

Inari sushi

He had some of the fried tofu pockets left over so this morning he made some more but added pickled ginger to the rice.  That made them very refreshing.

with pickled ginger

I'm glad that he and David can cook, helps a lot.  I don't like instant food or obento, but occasionally is alright.  I find it hard to cook every day because it's so hot.  Having other people to take over when I don't feel up to it really helps.  That way we can avoid instant foods as much as possible!!

Mikey came back with these flashy glasses last night!

flashy glasses

Because his shirt was blue he actually looked blue!

Christopher and Hannah had a go with them.

Having fun with the glasses. 

Of Course

 I write a post about not moaning.

I spent the day trying to find the good, see the funny side, have a happy day! I managed to do the floors, and Hannah helped. David has prepared a few meals, which makes life easier. Christopher cooked dinner because I had to do Mikey's classes.

A good day. I stayed up late, went to bed about midnight.  Went to brush my teeth and found a massive cockroach crawling over the toothbrushes!  I couldn't kill the damn thing but I threw away the toothbrushes.  I found some stuff to kill the cockroaches and put that out this morning.

I still had a good attitude. I was thinking that last year we didn't have so many cockroaches, so that might be why we are having a few this year. I can deal with this, it isn't the end of the world.

Got to bed. Looked at my Google Hub which displays the date, time, and temperature. It was 12:15 at night and still 31C.

After midnight and still over 30C. That is just crazy!  I woke up at 2am and it was 29C.  It didn't cool down at all!

I felt I was being challenged.  Can I keep a good attitude or am I going to start the poor me moaning again? I took a deep breath and told myself, deal with it, you have an air conditioner, you'll be okay!

I really am grateful that we have air conditioning. Also, I'm hoping that moving to the other house will help. We have a lot of green here but this is a city.  Where we are moving to is really countryside, lots of green and slightly elevated!  Even one or two degrees lower might help!  I might buy a kid's pool to hang out in!!!!

Mikey is doing cotton candy today. It's the local summer festival. He is working with somebody so they can take turns going into stores to cool down.

The floats for the summer festival

Hannah took these photos of the floats for the summer festival. These are carried through the streets.  I haven't been to any of the festivals here, it's always too hot and too crowded.

Next month is the big fireworks festival in the next city.  We can see the fireworks from our balcony, which is nice. When the kids were little we tried to go but it was always too crowded! 

Gave Myself A Good Talking Too

 Last night I went to bed feeling rather fed up.  It's hot, too hot and I'm miserable.

Yesterday I moved from in front of the air conditioner to find a book, in the same room so still rather cool and I ended up sweating like crazy.  I washed my face, I sweat a lot on my face, cooled down a bit, and prepared my lesson.  But I felt so miserable, the class was good but all I wanted to do was lie on my bed!

When I went to bed I gave myself a good talking to.  I told myself to deal with the situation.  It's hot and humid and very uncomfortable. But that isn't going to change for a few months. I have to change my attitude or have a very miserable summer.  So I've set myself a few challenges.

1.  To do something every day and be satisfied with that.  I can't clean the whole house, I can't sort and pack up all the rooms but I can sweep/vacuum a floor, sort one drawer or shelf.  I don't have to do everything in one day, one week, or even one month.

2.  Spend time with Hannah.  She's hoping to go to graduate school and will move into her own apartment. I would like to teach her how to cook. Just hanging out together, watching musicals, and chatting would be nice.

3.  Be grateful! Find something every day to be grateful for.  I remember earlier this year India was very hot, so hot that schools had to close. I felt so sorry for the people, there is very little infrastructure, and I think most places don't have air conditioning or even fans.  I'm lucky that here I have air conditioning and fans.  Most places are cool. I don't have to go out, I work from home.  So for today, I'm grateful that I have air conditioning.  

I really want to try to have a better attitude. Moaning around is just making me tired and isn't doing my mental or physical health any good!  

My poor cats are suffering from the heat. But they won't stay in the cooler rooms!

Steve and Mama stretched out in the corridor

Last night Fluffy and Alfie were watching the little lizard on the outside of the window!

Lizard watching