Preparing for Winter

Always, always, I keep having the same realization... which is not a good thing, as I obviously am not learning from it!

Sunday I took my first sick day of the year, and stayed home from a leaf viewing trip to sit under the kotatsu with the cat and watch South Park.  I christened our bath tub with a hot bath, drank some wine (I'm sure it has some medicinal properties) and sat at home alone for the first time in months.

I came here to slow down, find a happier, more reasonably paced type of life.  It sure is difficult to switch gears, as I find we've been living our lives here like tourists, rather than people who are settling in for the long haul.  Every moment we have free, we feel we have to fill with "meaningful" trips and interactions, leaving us with no time to sit and contemplate our experiences, reflect on what we've learned.

So on Sunday, as a reward for taking some time to be still, I literally watched the fog roll in to Ikusaka.

I had never understood that phrase before, but I stood at our living room window and watched the first creeping tendrils inch into the village, followed by a massive bank of clouds from the river.  It was amazing.

At the risk of making everyone reading this roll their eyes halfway out of their heads, I have to say our lives here are like the fog.  We are slowly creeping our way into our community, and finding our path.

We have had, strangely enough, good luck with elderly Japanese men.  We are headed to dinner again tonight with our first older couple who live in the next town over, Akashina.  The husband enjoys speaking English with us, and I enjoy practicing my Japanese with his wife. We were also privileged to attend a sightseeing trip put on by an English club, and impressed an older man there who paid us the most gracious compliments for our simple expressions of thanks for his help on our trip.  It seems like just when things dip the lowest, the scales balance out, and you're given something wonderful.

We hope to start iaido soon, and I am looking for shodo ( Japanese calligraphy) classes.  I may end up calling a Japanese teacher as well, as though she is expensive, we could desperately use the conversation practice.  I tried to start working on my yukata, but Akari decided the pattern paper was hers.

Switching gears, we are wintered up for the Nagano winter.  Our friends not in Japan have been slightly confused about our preparations, so just to clarify: we do not have central heating.  So, we have several wonderful devices aimed to keep us warm.  We are also taking donations of Snuggies, as though I mocked them in the U.S., now I desperately want several to allow me to move from one room to the other.

In no particular order, the stars of winter in Japan!

A cat and a kotatsu!

A kotatsu is a heated table with a blanket under the table top.  A cat is a small mammal that stays remarkably warm despite very cold temperatures.  Combined, warmth can be attained easily and enjoyably.

A kerosene heater

Less enjoyable, but very effective, a kerosene heater.  We were very proud of ourselves to be able to buy the kerosene ourselves, and with a little help, we learned how to use the battery powered kerosene filler upper thingy.  Questionable fumes, but delicious heat.

Our pirate covered hot water bottle

A hot water bottle.  Useful for keeping the futons nice and toasty, and heating up cold clothes in the morning.  The cat likes it too!

So as the weather gets cooler, we look forward to being forced to spend more time at home, working on the long list of things we have always meant to do... and never have.