ingrid

I can’t seem to quit waking up at 6am.  It’s ironic too as I sort of expected that coming to Japan would allow me all this excellent, unbroken sleep.  Anne asked me the other day if the kids slept through the night and I didn’t really know what to say.  I mean, technically, everyone sleeps through the night, but when you take the combined needs of three small children, I would say that I wake up from 2 to 3 times all together.  Inez drops her comfort object (the lamb) out of the crib and cries like someone has died (or wandered off as the case may be), Zephyr wakes all distraught and confused because he needs to go to the bathroom, Francis THINKS she has wet her bed (I swear this has happened 5 times where she comes crying to me because she has wet her bed and I truly can not find where the sheet is wet).  Last week Zephyr went into a crazy fit seemingly running into the closet. When I picked him up to comfort him, I seriously got peed on.  The guy was trying to find the bathroom and wasn’t awake enough to pick the right door. All told, I can’t remember the last full night of sleep.  And now I am here in Japan where I should be able to make it from 11pm to 8 or so, and I am waking up ready to go at 6am. Oh well.  The body clock is mysterious.

Anne and I had a fun day yesterday eating street food in China town and then going to her school for a few classes.  She had students interview me, which was fun but sort of exhausting. I am sure that she feels this way at the end of the day—-listening so hard and trying to understand another person is super tiring.  Last night we ate fantastic sushi at this tiny little hole in the wall place.  Then we hoofed it up the hill to her friend’s place.  Japanese people are funny socially.  It isn’t so strange to me that they are excited about drinking, but man, they sit down to drink and go for both quantity and variation of alcohol.  Twice now I have ended up at parties where people have just continued opening bottles of wide-ranging beverages, none of which are water.  Last night it was beer, then shoju, then wine, “where’s that sake?”…I can’t do that.  That is a sure recipe for sick, sick, sick.  I was handed a glass of wine and I gasped, “Oh no, I CAN’T!”, which was confusing to my hostess.  ”Can’t?” she asked.  Yes, can’t.

Today we go for a run with Anne’s American girlfriend, then hopefully to the onsen by the beach.  I am campaigning for massages as I am still totally creaky from the plane ride and just generally being old.  After Anne finishes teaching, we hop a train to Kyoto where we are staying at a monastery. I can’t wait.

Well it is now officially morning as the crossing guard who stand below Anne’s window has started his chorus of “Oh-hi-o!” to the children on their way to school.  Anne had told me that kids go by her window every morning, and I had at first thought that sounded charming.  They are LOUD though.  Who knew that Japanese elementary kids could yell so loud?  Besides the kids’ “Azakabaaaaaaakkarisoooooon!” (just a word I made up), the crossing guard keeps up a steady stream of greetings.  This dude is cheerful…and a little repetitive.  I think Anne will miss waking up to him when she leaves Japan.  I won’t though.

In: on the road again | | #