Category Archives: Life In Japan

Morning Walks

Life In Japan, Random Thoughts

Ever since we’ve moved into our new abode, we have grown fond of walking in the mornings (on weekends), as long as the weather permits it. And every time we go out for walks, the more I affirm to myself that moving to our current place is indeed a wise choice. I have two critical conditions for me to qualify a place as an ideal place to live: CLEAN, and GREEN. The city of Tsukuba boasts of being such a place, but arguably some places are better than others. Our previous place was near the main road, and we lived at the first floor – you can’t believe how incredibly dusty it could get inside the house! (Of course, my mom would chastise me by telling me that I don’t clean often enough. Ahm, hello? Working mom here! Of course the house will be a mess. 🙂 )

Of course, no house is ever free from dust, but I swear that our new place doesn’t have as much dust as before (and I’ve not changed my cleaning schedule at that). And this being a residential neighborhood, it is also very quiet at nights. The park is also nearby and we can just go for a relaxing walk early in the morning and enjoy the day. And oh the trees – should I tell you about the trees? They’re everywhere! This is as green a place as you can get.

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Our green path: located just a few minutes away from our place.

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Disturbing

Life In Japan, On The Serious Side

By now the rest of the world has probably heard about the latest stabbing spree in Akihabara. It’s the very nature of the place, its popularity, that makes it worthy of worldwide attention. As of this writing, there have been seven confirmed dead. Supposedly killed by a man who indiscriminately stabbed people because he “was tired of life.” The suspect is only 25 years old.

This brings to mind another incident about two months ago. In almost the same manner, someone ran amuck ala Rambo at Arakawaoki Station (Joban line). So, no, it’s not as popular as Akihabara, and it didn’t get covered much except for the local news. But just the same, it was where 8 people were tragically killed stabbed at random by a man, and at least one person died. That station is just about five kilometers from where we live, but when that incident actually happened, we were just 5 minutes away from the station. When we heard the news, it sent shivers down our spines.

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Our Little Pianist

Growing Pains, Life In Japan,

It has been a while since I last posted a video of Aya playing the piano. She is now in Primary 4, thankfully. Just six more months to go before she moves on to the Junior course. She has improved a lot since last year. She still enjoys playing and learning how to play the piano. What is more important for me at this stage is that she is having fun while learning, and appreciating music at such a young age. Well, I guess in a way I’m learning, too, because there is no one else in the house who can supervise her. But the truth is that it’s not easy for me, because I don’t really play the piano (just trying hard!). In a way I’m being forced to learn with her. Yan kasi. 🙂

Anyway, I’ve uploaded a couple of videos to YouTube. The first video is where she played “Kawaii Hanataba.” (Go figure what it means in Japanese…kawaii is cute, and hanataba means…uh, I dunno.) The second video is where she played three short songs which she learned in Primary 3: Aoi tori, Ohayou, Koguma no Ma-chi, and Rondon Bashi (London Bridge).

Do forgive the mistakes. After all, perfection is not achieved overnight. 🙂

Singkil, the FAST Way

Life In Japan,

I just want to share the photos and video taken during the Tsukuba Festival held last May 10-11, 2008. Take note, the dance performers are students and researchers here in Tsukuba, and they have no professional training whatsoever in folk dancing. But every year, members of the Association of Filipino Scholars in Tsukuba (FAST) never fail to deliver dance numbers that always delights the audience. They all lend their time and talent in order to make sure that Filipinos will be visible in the festival. Their participation in the festival is a way to share the rich and unique culture of our country to the international community here in Tsukuba. (And contrary to what you may probably think, they don’t receive any kind of remuneration for their performance in the program!)

This year, FAST presented Singkil, another famous folk dance in the Philippines which employs bamboos. As far as I know, the only other time Singkil was performed by FAST was in 2002. Compared to the Tinikling, Singkil is much more elaborate, and involves more performers. And yes, more bamboos.

I’m not good in dancing, and I never perform in these FAST presentations at the Tsukuba Festival. But I do get tapped for emceeing once in a while (like once every three years har har har). I’m not that good in Japanese, and for sure I read and pronounce some of the words in the wrong way…but it seems that I am the only one gutsy enough to do it. You’ll find me as one of the emcees in the video, where I gave the Japanese introduction of Singkil and the song Ako ay Pilipino. 🙂

Without further ado, here’s the performance of the FAST members in the recently held Tsukuba Festival 2008. Kudos to everyone! Yoku gambarimashita ne! 🙂

For photos, check out the FAST website at http://fast.bagarinao.com

Those Nasty Spam* Callers

Life In Japan

Almost nobody we know calls us on our landline phone nowadays. It’s the cellphones, sweetheart. And with the free unlimited calls available to Softbank’s White Plan subscribers, it’s much economical to call cellphones than landlines nowadays. Unless of course you’re calling to another NTT line.

However, if the phone rings, 90% of the time it would be one of those persistent callers from our dear motherland who are forever hawking their products, or trying to sweet-talk us into subscribing to Filipino channels on cable TV.

Sometimes they would speak in Japanese, asking if there were any Firipin-jins at home. When I’m in a playful mood, I’d go along and speak to them as if I were Japanese, not Filipino. It amused me to no end to hear the caller struggle in Japanese, not knowing that they were actually talking to a kababayan.

*Spam = unsolicited email. In the same spirit, I now refer to telemarketers as spam callers.

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Taking Time Out

Life In Japan

I could barely enjoy the outdoors nowadays because of my allergies, and believe it or not, we’re seeing more of rain than sunshine these days. What a bummer! But last weekend we actually got lucky – we were blessed with sunshine and clear skies, and it was warm enough to just wear a shirt outside. We hied off to Doho Park – for the first time in months. If there’s one thing I’m grateful for living here in Tsukuba, it’s the accessibility to parks. We all need time to unwind. For me, parks will do the trick quite easily. Just roll out the mat, soak in the sun (within reasonable time limits), jog around, play.

And so we did exactly just that.

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Daycare Issues

Growing Pains, Life In Japan

I’ve just received a copy of the city-issued newsletter, Tsukuba no Ko (Issue 61, 2008 03 18). This issue is interesting for me because it reports on the results of a survey conducted last year among parents who use the public daycare system in Tsukuba. I participated in that survey, if only to contribute positively, in my own little way, to the improvement of this very important system. Why? If you were to ask me if there was one single thing that has allowed me to work all these years, it would be the hoikusho, or daycare. Aya has been enrolled in the daycare since zero-sai, or "zero" years old (a convenient way of referring to children’s age below 1 year old). I love the daycare because it is well-structured, organized, and dependable. It has allowed me to work without worrying about my daughter. Aya loves the daycare too, for it is where she enjoys playing and gets taken care of for the most part of the day, and she has developed really nice relationships with the kids in her class.

I’ve heard of the moves to privatize the daycare system across Japan, but I couldn’t really say that I understood well the reasons for it. Why? Because despite the fact that there are a number of foreigners like us who use the daycare system, there has been virtually no effort to communicate to us these things in a language that we understand. Personally, I would very much like to know the issues related to this very important aspect of our life here, because it affects us directly. But how? It is already complicated as it is. I think I’ve gotten some handouts at one time or the other about the privatization move, but I have a feeling that it is just stashed away somewhere in my growing pile of papers. Gomen ne, zenzen wakarimasen.

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Health-Conscious Moi

Life In Japan, Random Thoughts,

lola

Health-conscious na…ang Lola n’yo!

I used to take Nature Made vitamin supplements, for the simple reason that it’s the only familiar brand amongst the other brands available on the drug store’s shelf. However, the tablets are just too large. I feel like I’m being punished everytime I shoved one into my mouth! I begrudgingly took my vitamins anyway, in an effort to make good use for the money I spent.

But somehow, it still took a lot of effort to take those vitamins on a regular basis. Halfway through the bottle, I just gave up. I discovered recently the half-empty bottle and found that it has expired. To the trash bin!

So I went to the nearest drug store and decided to try something new. I found those two Meiji bottles shown above. The purple bottle is Multivitamins, grape flavor, whereas the blue bottle is Calcium, yogurt flavor! And yes, they’re chewable, so no more choking on any ultra-large Mama tablets! And because of the added flavor, it is like eating candy. Sweet.

But there’s something else. The brand name attracted my curiosity, which found me smiling from ear to ear as I bought it at the drugstore: Lola actually means Grandma in Filipino.

LOL. My granny pills. Aw, my back!

Lola, don’t forget to take your vitamins and minerals! 🙂

Quo Vadis, PhD Graduate? (Practical Advice to New PhDs in Japan)

Life In Japan, On The Serious Side, ,

It’s graduation season once again. To those who are completing their course requirements and who will be receiving their coveted degrees at the end of this month, congratulations! It’s time to relax and bask in the glory of your PhD. Bring out the champagne! Have a blast at karaoke! Give yourself that well-deserved break.

Someone wrote me a couple of weeks back, asking me for advice on how one should go about on choosing a postdoctoral position. As a PhD candidate, that person is naturally anxious on how to proceed next. It reminded me of how fraught with anxiety I was when I was nearing the completion of my degree. I was very relieved to know that I had endured and would soon be receiving the fruit of my labor. However, at the same, I couldn’t help but feel so confused. Where do I go next?

As a new PhD graduate, the choices that one makes can and will ultimately determine the fate of one’s career. Don’t even think that having a PhD is an end; rather, it is a beginning to a brand new adventure. The question is, how does one begin the long trek?

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Spring is Here

Life In Japan

Finally, I don’t have to wear that thick overcoat whenever I go outside. I don’t even need to wear a boshi (hat) because the temperature is getting warmer by the day. Yay! It is such a relief to be rid of those layers. Unfortunately, judging by the way my jeans fit me these days, there are other bulges that I need to be more worried about. Don’t you just hate it when you pack on the pounds during the winter season? Not to mention the ravenous appetite!

Picture 20 Practically everyone celebrates the end of winter, and the accompanying start of spring. When you see so many flowers in full bloom, you couldn’t help but feel giddy with happiness. I wish I could, but like the millions of kafunsho (pollen allergy, or pollinosis) sufferers in this country, I welcome the start of spring with much wheezing and sneezing. Not to mention the clogged nostrils and the itchy red eyes. In other words, hell.

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