Stuff I Look at Everyday

Stuff on the walls in my apartment...this is what happens when you're sick, I guess

A note from one of my Ookura 1st graders (now a 2nd grader), Aya. It reads: Thank you for teaching us English, Aya (Japanese often refer to themselves in the 3rd person, especially young girls) loves English!

Scroll bought in Korea featuring persimmons

Guinness poster...which is funny, because I rarely drink Guinness over here

Hanshin Tigers hat

Name tag from Non-chan's takoyaki party. Handmade, it reads "Andrew" in hiragana, one of the Japanese alphabets

Map of where the Hyogo JETs were placed with my group...imagine my disappointment when I was one of only about 10 JETs in the upper half of the prefecture. Now I love it up here.

Angels hat and Kuromi-chan mask

Note from folks at Dash, a place I hang out at fairly often. They have darts, billiards, PC games, karaoke, ping pong and a great bunch of folks. You can bring your own drinks/food in, or buy it there, and spending the night is also possible. This note reads "To Andrew, did you sleep well? Yesterday's tab comes to 5,000 yen."

Pictures of parties, Sapporo Yuki Matsuri, and my taiko group.

My shopping bag and a protection charm from Koya-san Temple in Little Tokyo, where I used to play taiko

A stocking ornament that used to have candy in it, ninja stars from the ninja trip to Mie-ken, and a name tag from my buddy Shota's BBQ...it reads Andrew in a different Japanese alphabet and is made of cardboard.

JET calendar...aiming to have one of my pictures in one these guys before I leave :)

Hospital Visit

With all the craziness surrounding the swine flu in Hyogo, I was very hesitant to go to a hospital for a cold because I figured folks would overreact. Well, today I woke up, called in and was basically told to go to the doctor's for my illness and report back whatever it was. I guess my co-workers didn't appreciate me being sick in their presence.

Went to Yanase Hospital, the same place I went when I busted my finger back in August and walked up to the counter. I was sans mask, and the lady (same one who helped me back in August) actually recoiled when I told her I had a cold and didn't have a mask. She quickly provided one, and asked me if I had a fever (no), a sore throat (no), a phlegmy cough (sometimes) and a stuffy nose (hells yes). Then she poured some hand sanitizer into my hands and asked me to sit not in the waiting area, but in the genkan, the part where people take off their shoes between the entrance and the exit. Basically all that's out there are shoe cubbies that aren't being used and wheelchairs.

So I'm out here in this area by myself while old folks are walking in, and the same lady asks if she can take my temperature. I say sure, take it, and it comes out 36.6 C (around 98 F), .1 lower than it was yesterday. She takes the results and goes back inside. 4 mintues later she comes out and asks me a series of questions:

• have you done traveling recently? [Korea, Osaka and Tokyo]
  
• have you come into contact with foreigners ? [Yes, lots of them]
  
• are you hanging out with middle schoolers? [no]
  
• have you been to any big sporting events lately? [no]
  
• did I come by car today? [yes]
  

That last one kind of caught me off guard, but I obviously answered honestly. She then asked me to wait in my car because other patients were coming in and out rather frequently. WTF?

So I'm sitting in my car reading for about 5 minutes before she comes out and tells me it's probably ok to come back inside again...ok...This time a different lady takes my temperature with the same result, and asks me the EXACT SAME questions about my symptoms. After she's done, it's another 5 minute wait before I get called into the doctor's office.

The doctor seems nice and we're talking and I'm trying to describe where I've been, who I've been with, how I feel, and what kind of checks I've been through. I'm struggling to explain the thermal camera at Kansai Airport when he says "eigo no hou ga yokereba, douzo" or if English is better, go ahead. I'm a bit taken aback, but go ahead and describe the camera in English and the guy actually understands me! Apparently he lived in Cincinatti for 6 years and his son is a student at one of my schools. This kid speaks great English (basically the only one who I can have a conversation with) and now it all makes sense. He prescribes me some anti-biotics and sends me on my merry way.

The crazy thing about Japanese medicine is the volume. They give you a LOT of medication:
One of is to stop my cough, one for my nose, one to prevent/lower fever, and I think one to stop the phlegm. In fact, it's all explained here on this handy chart:
I also got an inventory and a cute book that lists all the medication you get in Japan. This is actually a great idea, because you use it not just for one hospital, but any hospital in the country. Good for folks like me who can't remember names of medication or what they were for:

Food from Korea

Pork cooking around kimchi chigae
Kimchi in a convenience store

Spicy rice fingers!

Corn dogs

Chicken n noodles

Kimchi bar

White beef soup w/ rice

Ramyun

Spicy chicken sandwich

Pork n veggies

Seafood chijimi

Waffle w/ butter and apple syrup

Spam n sausage

Sausage

"Together waffle"

Rice cakes n 5 taste tea

Bulgogi

Cold noodle soup

Current Ailments

My body hates me right now...here's what's going on with me:

Sore throat, tight lungs & stuffed nose from too much clubbing in Tokyo
Scab on left knee and bruised hip from a fall during Ultimate practice
Left knee pain from wrenching it on a slide about a month ago
Sore neck, lower right area...no idea why
General lack of sleep since my Korea trip

On the good side, that horrible stomach condition I suffered from the last day or so of Korea seems to be gone and I'm pretty sure I don't have pig flu.

Quick Trip to Osaka

Went down to Osaka to see my friend Shiho off at the airport (she's moving to Canada for 8 months, then possibly San Diego) and hang out with my friend Tsukasa. Before we met up, hung out in Umeda's Yodobashi Camera and picked up a new strap for my camera bag as well as some pretty darn good ramen at Chabuton. If you're from LA and have heard of Chabuya, this is the same people.



When I hung out with Tsukasa, we didn't do much, just lots of walking, talking and eating. Here's some pictures of food :)

Korea - Day 1

Wow, a whirlwind 5 day trip in Korea resulted in some new clothes, some fantastic new friends, about 1000 pictures and a stomachache. Here's some highlights and some pictures

Day 1: arrived sporting the surgical mask that's all the rage in Asia because of the flu. Met up with Mark's friend Nancy at the airport and she escorted us into town and to dinner with her friend Mary (both of these girls are from Cali, btw, Nancy is someone Mark knew since HS and Mary is from Tustin, just a short drive from my parents' house). We had some damn good pork, self-serve but best eaten when thrown into a lettuce wrap, topped with some kimchi and hot sauce, and random other side dishes. We started drinking pretty much right off the bat, starting with a bottle of soju. Damn that stuff is smooth. Great food, and freakin' Nancy ended up picking up the check. Something about Korean custom to treat the first meal.

Headed back to Nancy's place to drop off our stuff and change, then it was off to the clubs. Unfortunately there were no cameras allowed in the first spotk, Q-Vo, but it was I think 10 bucks to get in, and that came with 2 drinks. Drinks were cheaper than the typical club in the western world (or Japan for that matter), with a beer available for under $5. Shots were the same price, and cocktails were maybe $6. Got fairly tipsy and danced our asses off. I'm pretty sure when we left, people were sad :)

First food stop of the night, around 3 maybe?, at a stall that served what I call "spicy rice fingers." They're basically mochi-like strips floating in a burning red sauce. One or two are good enough to get an idea of the taste, but I ended up eating way too many because I didn't want to waste them. Had a corn dog too.
Club number two, S Club, did allow cameras and that's where these shots are from. The first spot was apparently a white theme, so that's why you see everyone with white on...I didn't have white and it was hot, so I rocked the wife beater. Again, much dancing, and this time when we left, a guy actually asked if he could follow us to the next spot. Told him we were going home.

Second food stop, maybe 6 am, definitely after sunrise. Chicken noodle, which is basically exactly what it sounds like, provided something to soak up the last of the alcohol and get us ready for that drive home. There was a weird guy in there who kept saying how crazy he is, but we just chalked it up to the beer and took off.

Taxis in Korea are cheap. Less than half the price of Japan. You can get all over the place for little money, especially when you cram 5 people into one. I think the taxi ride that night was like 20 minutes and only cost about $4 total. The won is something like 1200 to 100 yen, and $1 is less than 100 yen.

I passed out in the cab. I drooled on myself. I snored. I feel like I really provided an accurate picture to Nancy and her friends of what being my friend is all about. Alcohol, food, dancing, dumb jokes, and passing out.

Lack of Updates

Man, I've been busy lately. Here's a list of stuff I hope to have posts up about in the next couple of weeks

Weekend trip to Shikoku
Hanshin Tigers baseball game
My impending 5 day trip to Seoul
More food
Frisbee politics
Money

I would probably have a had another few posts in April if it weren't for my ill-advised decision to download Heroes of Might & Magic 2, a game that consumed countless hours of my youth as a teenager...and now is doing the same when I'm chilling at home after a long day. Instead of Facebook, blogs, and sports, I'm running around maps with mythical creatures, casting spells and claiming resources. Man, I haven't felt this nerdy in a while...feels kinda good :)

Anyway, I'll do my best to stay away from the swine/whatever flu and come back with pictures, stories, and a bigger belly.