Temporarily lost

A very happy New Year to all of you!

I am starting my 1st blog entry of the year with a few pics of snow in Kyoto. I have never seen snow before in my life, so if snow isn't that exciting to you, please humour me for once :o)






I have never been in full realization of the fact that I am now living in a foreign country until very much recently. Being in Japan for the past 9 months had always give me a false illusion that I am back home and that things had never changed at all (except for the freaking language barrier, and weird japanese men talking to himself in the train or the random lewd old men that you have the pleasure to meet every now and then). Almost everyone I see around here is yellow-skinned, I still see the odd headscarf wearing women (mostly Indonesian students) just like I do back home. Everyone talks to me as if I am a local despite the fact that I struggle to find ways of expressing myself in japanese language. And also despite the fact that I am always with gaijins (foreign people in japanese) who speaks better than me, most of whom have been learning this language for years, I am still the one being spoken to! Discrimination at its best but good practice opportunity, I know, but don't you think I should feel very much at home?

That was what I felt like UNTIL............

.... last week, I went to get new prescriptions for my glasses as my eyesight was failing. I handled myself very well, trying my very best to construct decent sentences, polite enough but also friendly as not to alienate the opthalmologist (the japanese language has too much protocol associated to it, and I am supposed to be careful of certain grammar usage). I was doing okay, until when my eyecare professional moved me to this machine (I don't know the name..) which shows rows of alphabets which I was supposed to read outloud as the opthalmologist adjusted the lens to get my prescription perfect. After some small talk, we began the test... and instead of the usual roman alphabets, I had to read hiragana. I burst out laughing, not much about the test, but at myself for finally realizing about where I am after so long, for real.

And at a count down party at our favourite Sam & Daves (new Kyoto branch!) yesterday night (this morning??) what more of a better way to start the year but to countdown in japanese... jyu, kyuu, hachi, nana, roku, go, yon, san, ni.... ichi!

Happy New Year to you fine folks! 明けましておめでとう！