end of oct + all of nov

hey hey ya'll! long time no updates. after a several nudges from my mom another blog post is here! (although i think she is the only one who reads this and she already knows what goes down here in nagoya but i digress...) the fall in japan has been rather nice. the weather went from hot to cool, the rains are rare, i had two wonderful visitors, i turned 27 and celebrated my first thanksgiving away from family. 

towards the end of october my old roomie/bestie sara came to visit me in nagoya after completing an acupuncture program in china. it was so fun to have a good friend with me. i got to show her around the city. we shopped and ate lots of good food. she was here over halloween so we got to celebrate together as hello kitty and a nerdy librarian. good times had by all. the apartment is definitely not designed for two but we had some great fun reliving some of our fun pdx times! 

sara and i out for halloween!

on sara's last night in town, my boyfriend charles arrived in nagoya. let's just say the apartment is definitely NOT designed for three! ha ha, i kid, we got along just fine for the one night but all the suitcases really did make for a tight fit, that is for sure! charles' arrival was a few days after his birthday so i made him a donut cake as a late birthday present and i got to give him his birthday presents in person which was fun. we spent a lot of time relaxing, looking around the city and trying new restaurants. we also visited the aquarium, went shopping for electronics and japanese toys and squeezed in a little bit of birthday celebrating. 

charles and i out in nagoya!

charles was here on my actual b-day (i had planned to take the day off from work but that didn't work out...) and we went to outback for my birthday dinner. it was nice and i got lots of potatoes so i was definitely a happy camper. it was also great because my wonderful fam sent me birthday packages that i got to open with them over skype. i had fun and it wasn't so bad being far from home on my birthday.

charles and i at the nagoya port aquarium with our buddy, the groper fish! look at that face!!

when charles was here i experienced my first real sickness in japan and it was bad. the "new flu" (as it's called at my school) has been passing around and wiping out whole classes at a time so i guess i was lucky to not get any kind of flu. i woke up one morning with an extremely sore throat, so sore that i was unable to swallow even water. it was absolutely miserable and it felt as severe as when i had tonsillitis several years ago. i had to call in sick for the first time and visit the doctor. after a long wait and about 5 seconds of examination i was told i had a common cold. well boy, it was sure some common cold! i have never felt like that from a cold before. i ended up taking two days off work and felt crappy for nearly two weeks. it was not fun! i have heard the colds in asia effect foreigners differently than the kind we are used to and i for sure agree with that. here's to staying healthy for the rest of the year!

things at school have been... boring as usual. i rarely am given anything to do but i manage to pass each day somehow (thank you internet and trash magazines sent from home!). in the beginning of november quite suddenly it got extremely cold. and by extremely cold i mean like 55 degrees which feels freezing especially when all the buildings here my apartment included, have zero insulation. i would say the standard construction here is similar to what a warehouse or almost shed like structure would be made of in america. the school is basically a frame of concrete with very thin partition like walls and single pane glass windows on metal sliders (with no sort of seal). the school gets incredibly cold and drafty (and they LOVE to keep the windows open). at my desk in the teachers room it is 62 degrees. after sitting idle for a while, i get extremely chilled, uncomfortably so. my standard outfit is two layers on the legs and four layers on top, often times topped off with a scarf. i wear a red northface fleece pretty much everyday over the top of whatever i wear to work. when the temperature first dropped i asked one of my teachers if there was a heating system (because there are visible no vents or ducts). she said they have portable space heaters they move into the classrooms but not until december (no matter the conditions) and that it was a "test of tolerance" for the students to basically suffer through the cold. keep in mind, the girl students are required to wear skirts and knee high socks compared to my 6-something layers i don't know how they manage. i feel so bad for them and i wonder how they can concentrate on school when they are freezing! my apartment is usually only a few degrees warmer that outside. i often wake up to my room being 55-59 degrees, which is darn cold. after a few weeks of these cooler temperatures i am getting used to it a bit and know how to keep myself more comfortable but the whole no heat and inadequate insulation thing is one of those things i will never get about japan. it's a developed country, i do not understand why a public building like a school would not have modern equipment, especially since nagoya does has climate extremes. it just seems like this is how it's always been and no one is going to make a stand to change it. tradition i guess...blahhh.

new scarf and beanie to help combat the japanese cold!

thanksgiving was rather uneventful. i was a little bummed out being alone on it but i made myself a make-shift dinner of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. i had to use chicken cause turkey is pretty unheard of over here. my potatoes were super tasty so all in all it wasn't so sad. i will never take another family holiday for granted though that is for sure. i will always have a different appreciation for family celebrations from now on! 

check out my gourmet kitchen! LOL!

dinner for one! 

the official countdown until my christmas oregon return is on. in 21 days i time travel (fly) home on saturday, december 19th. i leave nagoya at noon and arrive in portland at 8 am on the same day. weird, huh? let's just say this trip could not come soon enough. i miss everything about home very much and i miss everyone at home even more. i am so looking forward to being with my people and my city! =D it will be grand. until then i am keeping warm and doing lots of shopping so i can bring home some nice christmas gifts for everyone from japan. 

miss everyone. xoxo!