I’ve officially lived in Japan for six months! Here’s what’s been happening around here since my last post…
Back to school… kind of 9/1
Since summer school was cancelled, I hadn’t seen my students in months! As soon as the students returned, we needed to start practicing for ‘field day’, an event a few weeks later that required a lot of repetitive rehearsals.
Practice practice practice 9/2
Every day from now until Field Day, we started the day with an exercise dance, broke up our English lessons with parachute dance practices, and ended the day running through relay races. Each of these activities would come together for a half-day event which also included events for parents, grandparents, siblings, and future kindergarteners. Work days became even more exhausting.
Art Museum 9/3
After a very long week of back to school/field day preparations, I decided to take myself to the Miyagi Museum of Art on Saturday. It was surprisingly hard to navigate the museum, mainly because I could not read any signs or ask for help (language barrier). After wandering around for quite some time, I finally located the foyer and explored the museum for a few hours.
Phone calls 9/4
I woke up to 4 missed calls from my mom and 2 missed calls from my brother. My dad had a heart attack while I was sleeping but was recovering in the hospital by the time I got an update. My mom told me 40% of his heart was 100% blocked and that scared me pretty bad. Luckily, the doctors took good care of him and said he should be able to leave the hospital after a couple days of monitoring and tests. I unlocked a new level of homesickness as I sat so far away from my family during a medical emergency. Wish there was a nonstop bullet train to Oregon.
A not-so-awesome monday 9/5
In all of the histories of Mondays, this had to be one of the worst. I barely slept, woke up with a sniffly nose, and had to prepare for a formal observation by my supervisor. My brain was foggy from a combination of sleep-deprivation and the stress about my dad, so my teaching was a bit off. My sniffly nose grew worse as the day went on and I was feeling quite sick by the end of the day. My supervisor noticed and recommended a COVID test since two of my students had tested positive over the weekend. I took two rapid tests on my lunch break and both failed to produce a result, so I scheduled a PCR COVID test at the hospital Tuesday morning. At this point, I had a nauseous feeling in my chest and congestion in my head and nose, but I really thought it was just a seasonal cold.
Covid testing 9/6
I took a taxi to the hopsital at 8:30am with a coworker who was also feeling sick. After the challenging task of translating medical paperwork and an hour of waiting, a lady pulled me aside to tickle my brain via my nasal passage. It hurt pretty bad actually. More waiting. Was brought to a room inside where we waited some more. Finally, a doctor called my name (Meria Bentsu) and showed me my test results. 5000.0+. My coworker’s test came back 0.01+. I officially had COVID. Since I tested positive and was not allowed to take public transit home, we walked 49 minutes back to the apartment complex. It was not an enjoyable walk haha. Laid in bed for the rest of the day.
Quarantining + impulsivity
Let the quarantine begin. 10 days of isolation and medicated rest. The doctors at the hospital sent me home with a paper bag of confusing medicines. There were seven medicines total to be taken 3 times a day with a meal. Five of the seven medications were packets of powder and I struggled to get them down. I was told to pour them into the back of my throat, pour water into the back of my throat, and swallow. NOT EASY and definitely not tasty. I spent my days watching movies, cleaning (when I had the energy), journaling, and talking to friends and family on the phone. By day 5, I was restless. So I bought hair dye and bleached a portion of my hair. Oops.
Back to school… again 9/15
Finally reunited with my students! I was so happy to see them and vice versa. Brain fog though… it’s real.
Black Day 9/20
We celebrated the color black with another color day! My kids came to school in such cute outfits: ninjas, princess dresses, dalmations, witches, pirates, and Minnie Mouses. We had Oreos as a special snack and did show-and-tell with toys from home. So much fun!
Michinoku park 9/21
Two special days in a row? Today we took a field trip to one of the most beautiful parks in our prefecture: Michinoku park. When we arrived, we ate a snack, played on a structure called the “jumping donut”, slid down the big blue roller slide, and sat down in the grass for a picnic lunch. I noticed every single one of my kids took off their shoes before sitting down on their picnic mats… without me saying a word… Yet another example of attentive parenting. Here’s the problem with eating lunch on grass: bugs. I was so busy rescuing my students from ants and bees that I had barely any time to open my chopsticks. After lunch, it was time to head back to school and most of my kids fell asleep on the ride back. I could use a nap too.
Oktoberfest and pizza 9/23
A German festival in Japan? Interesting. I partook in the festivities by ordering a mango beer and a pretzel. There was a live band and big German flags. My friends and I went for pizza afterwards downtown. I’m a big fan of the classic Margherita pizza. I laughed thinking about how I had acknowledged all three of my ethnicities in one evening. Cheers.
Baseball game 9/24
Baseball is a big deal in Japan and I was happy to go to one more game before the season ended. No free jerseys this time, but I did order octopus again. It was pouring on the walk to the stadium, but the rain stopped as soon as we found our seats and held off for the rest of the day. Lucky us! The Eagles did not win, but I had a great time.
Church in Sendai 9/25
Today I went to church in Japan for the first time. We walked into a building and took an elevator to the fifth floor where we gathered in a small room. Worship was in Japanese and the message was translated from English to Japanese (and vice versa at times). Many people from my work also attended and we went to brunch afterwards. There aren’t many Christian churches in Japan, but I’m glad I have access to at least a couple.
This post was supposed to be published in September… I’m a little behind. Forgive me.