I thought maybe the title might draw a few of you back to my blog!! I need to start being more consistent with my entries or else I need to start making stuff up!
So… The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY
This describes my time in Japan since returning from my Canada visit in May - for sure!
I don’t have photos for all the good... but here it goes!
GOOD
My wonderful Canadian friends and family! Those who chat weekly like clockwork AND send parcels (Lori)...
Those who take care of my family (Michelle and Lexi)
Donna for REGULARLY sharing funny memes and videos so that I know she is thinking of me...
Those who get me hooked on a new hobby that DOES NOT require a sewing machine (Kerry) and can I say Mark says thank you and also curses you! He loves that I don’t have to invest in a sewing machine but he is cursing all the threads he now finds around the house!!
And everyone else who checks in occasionally - even though for teacher types it has been sooo crazy busy (JUNE)!!
FINALLY meeting our adorable Japanese granddaughter Aoba (it means blue leaf)!
NICKY!!! Period - Full Stop!! We could NOT live here without her friendship and support!
Visits with old friends I met on prior trips to Japan!!
AND upcoming visits from CANADIAN FRIENDS (CANNOT WAIT)
Weekends away whenever we want!
A job that I mostly like and allows us the opportunity to travel wherever we want!!
Sharing it all with this guy!! (celebrating 32 years)
BAD
Ha!! Or hilarious??? I left town office and went to my acupuncture appointment last week after sneaking away to the women’s restroom to deposit my garbage! You see - at some point many of our garbage cans disappeared - I often bring a plastic bag to work and then stuff it in the garbage can in the women’s washroom (easier than asking where I should be putting said garbage).
But I didn’t have a bag so I stuffed my computer case full of laminating cuts and paper and proceeded to dump it! On the way to acupuncture I had a funny feeling about my airpods (yes the ones that my hubby just grabbed from Vietnam). I had no time to worry about it before my appointment but I did voice text Mark and ask him to locate them at our place - I got a thumbs up back. Phew! They were at home! Or so I thought!
Apparently a thumbs up means that Mark received the text - he did not locate my airpods…BUT - after checking my apps etc - reassured me that they were in town office so off I went.
And YES people!!!! They WERE in the garbage can! They had been in the outside zipper (unzipped) pocket of my computer case!! Did you know that the new airpods make a sound to help you locate them? I NEED A GARBAGE CAN!!
Not so hilarious… after doing a full year of Canadian Cooking I finally botched one - which to those who know me (and my children) is NOT a surprise! It all started because I went from 4 participants to 12 and had to change the recipe on my handout and slides - which involved math…
In the end - after polite but puzzled comments and looks, I figured out what I did.
First - I only provided half the seasoning that my chilli required. I had promised SPICY - not so much…
Second - I COMPLETELY messed up the maths in my biscuit recipe!! When someone mentioned that the complete fail biscuits seemed salty, I realised that I converted the salt to 1 TBSP instead of 1 TSP!! Yuck!
I did not discover my second mistake at first - not even when the dough was sooooo sticky and goopy!! Once they were cooked - didn’t rise - and looked like hockey pucks - I realised that I had measured out only HALF of the required flour!! Arghhhh! Needless to say, I am crossing my fingers that someone will sign up next month!!
And now for the UGLY…
Yes indeed… I traveled to Japan 3 times before moving here and spent an entire summer here last year but I have NEVER experienced what I did over the past month!! I am terribly allergic to bug bites - mosquitos included. But these were NOT mosquito bites!! In the end - a friend of mine thought maybe gnats? Sure - if they take a GIANT chunk out of your body - swell up BEYOND belief and DON’T STOP ITCHING OR BURNING for DAYS…. OKAY!!
I have NEVER been so bothered by bites! Mark went to the pharmacy lady and using many gestures tried to explain - she gave him STRONG ointment to help - HA!! I mean it did help a bit - but now I am terrified to sit outside in the evenings!
My first bites were 2 weeks ago at an outdoor restaurant near our house and the really horrible ones came about 10 days ago when I walked into the woods with a colleague to see a project and basically walked out again….
The worst for last… truly! I have been inconvenienced and frustrated at times with some of the rules and expectations in Japan. But for the most part, we deal with them and even laugh about them on occasion! NOT this time!
In order to drive in Japan you need an international driver's permit! Easy - grabbed it from AMA before leaving for Japan. Chatted with others who dealt with the issue and we were sure it would be an easy transition to a Japanese licence a year in. NOT so… we started hearing that the process had changed and was not as easy as it once was. So - we had our friend Nicky make us an appointment to get our new licences - in March. BTW - you must be accompanied by a Japanese speaker when you attend your appointment. I have Japanese speaking (not fluent) coworkers who were sent away with a laugh (YEESH).
My licence (IDP) was set to expire mid April. Nicky was told that we would get a call in 3 MONTHS for our initial appointment!! 3 MONTHS!! WTF????? To be clear - this is ONLY in Asahikawa where we are required to get our driver’s licence because of where we live!
It’s also worth noting that you are not supposed to use an International Driver's Permit a second year - OH WELL - I got a new one in Canada while visiting in May! Just - In - Case.
3 and a half months later, Nicky received a call on a Friday that we had an appointment on Monday.
Honestly - Mark is the master at preparation and research for anything we do (or have done). And we just were not expecting what happened. He scoured every website that he could. On the morning of our appointment he discovered that we needed a more current resident certificate and I grabbed them at work! I have a Japanese friend that is not from the area and she went with an older one and was sent away!!
We were excited but terrified. A Canadian colleague has been in this hell for almost 6 months!!
But - we were organised with all our ducks in a row!
Our Japanese friends had NO idea how difficult this process was and were quite surprised and disappointed.
At 1pm (our appt time) we carefully handed over all our documents, and crossed our fingers.
At 3PM!!!!!!!!!!!! We were both interviewed individually. Questions included the score we received on our written test…. In the 1980’s!!!!!
And OF COURSE we were missing a piece of paper and were declined! I have never felt so unwanted or experienced such inhospitable treatment!
Basically - we needed 12 months worth of SOMETHING!! Utility payments (in Mark’s name), paystubs (locked out of WRSD access)! And a driver's abstract. Let me now say that this is NOWHERE on any website. Why on earth is there not a list to make this process easier?? Also - unlike Canada where RMH has a branch - there is only ONE PLACE in Asahikawa (an hour away) to do this!
So we have driver abstracts (CHECK) and Mark has utility bills BUT I am waiting to hear back from WRSD about earnings statements (fingers crossed). When all is in order - will we wait another 3 months JUST to get an appointment?
Because after that - you can’t have a temporary licence like Canada and NO - your licence is NOT mailed to you… you need to make ANOTHER appointment to pick up your licence….
ARGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Did you read at the beginning of this entry how grateful I am to be here and how I like my job??? All still true but this experience reallllllly took a toll….
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