I have signed the papers, handed them all in and it is confirmed; I will be heading back to the UK this year. The decision to leave my job was not too difficult actually. I have learned a lot and mostly enjoyed my work but I feel it is time to try something new. The decision to leave Japan was harder considering I have so many personal connections to and things I love about Japan and of course Kochi Prefecture. However, what helped me make the decision was something one of the Prefectural Advisors said about imagining a situation and working out how you feel about it.

So, now I know there is a limit to my time here I am more aware of making every moment count. I am aware of living life to the full and not letting things pass me by. I have a tendency to make lists so “here is one I made earlier”.

Things I want to do before I leave Japan.

• Pass JLPT N4

• See a Kyudo tournament or ceremonial shooting.

• Take my Shodan grading in Kyudo.

• Get my Hakama embroidered with my name in Kanji.

• Wear a Kimono, preferably a Furisode, with all the added extras.

• At least try on a “Lolita”-style dress.

• Visit Hokkaido

• Visit Korea. (It will be easier to go from Japan than from the UK.)

• Visit Places in Kochi,

  • • Kagami for the plum blossoms in Spring.

    • Tengu Plateau.

    • Muroto Geopark.

    • Waterfalls

    • Whale-watching

• See places in Kyoto and Tokyo I have not seen before.

  • • Recommendations would be appreciated!

• Eat Kobe beef.

• Watch a Takarazuka performance.

• Watch the Tosaben Musical.

• Buy summer geta to go with my Yukata.

• Buy wooden saucers for my blue and white tea-set.

• Buy a pair of really beautiful traditional-style bowls, tea bowls or cups.

Most importantly though, I want to spend time with the people I love. I have great friends here, both Japanese and non-Japanese. I have some pretty awesome acquaintances too. I want to appreciate them all and let them know how important they are to me.

That is a quote from a textbook I use at work. Last month I team-taught classes about health problems and this was one of the key phrases,

“I have _________” (a cold/ a headache/ a runny nose/ a backache/ THE flu.”

Unfortunately, those phrases became far too necessary. Students and teachers at my school have been falling sick left, right and centre. In some places, the numbers of people who are sick have caused lesson cancellations and also class closures.

According to the map in the following link, Kochi is in the red zone!

http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/94527.php

Hand-washing has once again become standard practice in the staffroom when teachers finish class. So has gargling (and therefore spitting) into the sink in the corner. I no longer react with disgust to this and my anthropology professor did say that cultural ideas of cleanliness and pollution are very strong. At least now I know the reasons why, and as I didn't get the last bout of flu from gargling teachers, I cannot fault them for doing so.

I found the following flu and health-related articles interesting too.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120205003292.htm

http://experiencelife.com/article/grant-yourself-immunity-2/

http://kent.academia.edu/AdamBurgess/Papers/931573/Risk_Ritual_and_Health_Responsibilisation_Japans_Safety_Blanket_of_Surgical_Face_Mask_Wearing

So, although I may not gargle in public, I will try my best not to get the flu this time round.

Stay healthy, everyone!

This entry continues straight on from part 1.

It has taken far too long to tell you about my trip.  My explorations were only some of the highlights and I know that there are plenty more places to visit and many more things to do in New Zealand and I really do want to return some day.

There and Back Again: A Pobbit's Tale of Adventure

(Obviously my title has been inspired by Tolkein's works and the Lord of the Rings films. I do have a few geeky tendencies after all.)

I spent only 11 days in New Zealand, but I fell completely in love with the country.  All I knew about New Zealand before I visited was a combination of what my friend from school had told me, the landscapes that were shown in Lord of the Rings and explanations written in the guidebooks.  Even after visiting, I know there is so much more to see, do, experience and understand if I choose to go back one day.

http://www.newzealand.com/uk/

 
I will upload more in part 2...

1. Fashion and Shoes.
      I haven’t read a fashion magazine that I understood in SO long! I haven’t looked at a fashion magazine featuring fashions from the UK, Europe or North America since the summer and I am curious. Are fashions in Japan at the moment totally different? Are they similar? I think I just want an “Ooh! Shiny!” moment without being tempted to buy anything. Magazines give me that.
     I went to Kyoto for the weekend on 19^th and 20^th November and on the Saturday evening, K and I wandered into one of the department stores. We headed for the shoe department and I found myself fascinated. I had not been in a department store like that in what felt like forever. Kochi has a shopping centre and one department store, but nothing on the same scale. There was so much…glitter. Everything was shiny and attractive and completely out of my price range. I discovered that sometimes designer items really are a step above the rest when I was left starry-eyed in front of a pair of red high-heels that just looked heavenly. Obviously they would have been completely impractical and considering my ability to twist my ankles merely by standing up, I contented myself with looking.
     That ability to twist my ankles by doing nothing is the reason why I have been in need of a pair of good quality (hopefully long-lasting) black, smart shoes I can wear to a conference this week. I ruined two pairs of shoes, a trousers and my right knee all because of my ankles. The thing is, I haven’t always been this bad. When I went regularly to Kyudo or to Tae-Kwon-Do before that, I had no ankle issues at all!
     I went shoe-shopping last Monday with A (or rather I dragged him into the shop with me) and bought a lovely pair that at the time seemed perfect. I was wrong. I wore them last Wednesday for the first time outside and within 3 hours they had changed shape and were falling off at the back and pinching at the front. I still have blisters as well. So, unfortunately I had to buy yet another pair of shoes. Ugh, what a waste as I can't return the first pair. The second pair are lovely though.

2. Evaluating, re-starting and planning.

     I had a good three months with a personal trainer this year and as I said at the time, it was fantastic and made me feel fantastic. Things got more difficult when I no longer had someone to hold me accountable. Things got even more difficult when I got a really bad cold this term and I was coughing for a full 3 weeks! There was no way I was doing anything the first week, and even doing simple things like walking, cycling and climbing stairs were difficult for the last two weeks. And 3 weeks of very little exercise, more work-stress and less sleep than I would like has left me feeling like I am back at the beginning again.

I have been following the updates on www.movnat.com because it inspires me and it has led me to a series of other interesting links.
http://www.experiencelifemag.com/

3. Christmas in Japan

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fs20111129a4.html

Keeping the homesickness at bay is not as hard this year as it was last year. This year, I feel more positive, and much more relaxed. Thank goodness, there are no more work-related stresses to worry about before Christmas. I have things I need to do, and more than enough to keep me busy during working hours but I won’t have to stay after 5pm (which is already 45 minutes after my official home-time)! I have friends (and one in particular) to help me stay chilled out and positive and I have things to look forward to.

There are other, bigger questions to worry about next year but for the moment I seem to be doing a good job of researching them and yet not panicking.

What are you interested in at the moment?

Wherever you are in the world this advent, I hope it is a relaxing and positive time for you.

My experiment with the Paleo Diet has come to an end. I have reached day 30 and now it is time to reflect on things.

Confessions
I did not manage to stick to the strict diet!

• There were a few occasions when I ate out and there was white rice with the meal. I did notice that the rice made me more bloated than usual, but there were no other effects.

• There was one “paleo-fail” weekend, as I have named it, during which I went to Hiroshima to stay with a friend, drank a fair bit of alcohol, ate rice, potatoes (in the form of chips), pasta, bread and peanut butter. I also re-discovered the perils of eating out in Japan. MSG-laden food at one restaurant sent me running to the bathroom almost as soon as I had finished eating. The Monday (technically still part of that weekend in Japan) and Tuesday following the break in the diet were not fun at all. I felt like I had a post-MacDonald's kind of hang-over. No, I did not drink enough alcohol to get a 2-day hangover from that! I felt slow, bloated and...greasy – rather like the food I had eaten. I realised I had chosen my friend over a diet plan and honestly, I am fine with that. My friends are important to me and a lot of my social life involves food.

• I had a birthday cake, 2 cookies and a bite of pumpkin pie. Once again, I chose my friends over the diet.

What Changed during the 30 Days?

• My skin is clearer.

• My weight and other dimensions decreased a little within the first few days. There have been no changes since.

• My general feeling of bloating disappeared within the first few days (but did reappear when I ate grains).

• My attitude towards food. I used to see cooking for myself as a chore but now I am quite keen to try new recipes, use herbs and spices and discover combinations for myself. I am more aware of the fruits and vegetables that are in season ( I love autumn foods!). I no longer eat dinner in front of my computer, slouched over – I sit up and actually pay attention to my food.

• I eat way more than my 5-a-day of fruit and vegetables.

• I drink more water.

• I no longer crave foods! I no longer need cake with my tea in the afternoon, or sugar in my coffee. I haven't felt the need for fatty, salty, sugary foods since about day 10. Day 10 was hard! After that though, things have been easier. I have not had the feeling that I really need red meat or green vegetables that I sometimes used to get.

• I feel fuller for longer and don't feel a desperate need for a snack in the mornings and afternoons. I sometimes do snack if I get hungry and need to be especially alert, but the hunger appears slower and doesn't leave me feeling cranky.

• The sugar highs were higher in that I actually noticed them. I quite enjoyed them but it was a bit change from not really noticing them.

• I really should not drink full-fat milk or eat creamy things.
  

  Unfortunately I have caught far too many minor illnesses during this experiment. I had a strange week or so when I felt completely exhausted the entire time, I caught a minor cold and now I have a full-on head-cold which I can feel slowly
  trying to turn itself into some form of chest infection. Normally when I feel unwell I crave sugary and starchy foods. This time, I
  want more vegetables. I am of course eating citrus fruits and drinking plenty of water too.

  
  

  What now?

  Now, I could let life return to how it was before. However, I don't want to do that. I have learned more about my body in the last 30 days and I know that I feel happier when eating healthily. The only thing that will change is that eating non-paleo won't be a guilt-trip for me. I will cook and eat “paleo-style” whenever I can but when I can't, I won't worry about it.

  There is something else that needs to change. One very important part of the “Solution” that I did not manage to follow: SLEEP! I recon that a prolonged lack of sleep is a big part of why I am still getting a lot of these minor illnesses. This week I have been sleeping more than usual and I mean to continue this trend whenever possible.

  All in all, I am glad I tried this. The benefits make it all worth-while.
  
  
  It turned out that I didn't do as much blogging as I had hoped, once again. Sorry!
  

  
  

  
  

I am going on a diet. Before you freak out or call me crazy, read my reasons why. Have you ever heard of the Paleo Diet? If you have not, read on and follow the links.

What is Paleo?

It is a kind of diet modeled on that of hunter-gatherer populations. It focuses on meats, fish, seafood, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds (with lots of herbs and spices to help everything taste great) and takes out grains, dairy and legumes.
There are plenty of internet resources and a fair bit of scientific research to back up the ideas too. The argument that swayed me most was an anthropological one, which suggests that in the few thousand years since humans developed agriculture, our bodies have not evolved sufficiently to digest the amount of grains, sugar and dairy we consume daily.

Here are a few links if you are interested in finding out more:

http://www.freefitguy.com/free-to-eat/

http://robbwolf.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet

Why bother?

My aim is simply to be healthier. I want to feel awake when I get up in the mornings, to not feel bloated, slow and sleepy after a meal, to have more energy for the things I love and (on a more superficial note) to get rid of the
these damn spots I keep getting. If a simple change in the food I eat can reduce the number of colds I catch or digestion issues I have, that would be a major improvement too.

I don’t want to lose weight on this diet. I am a slim person and have a disturbing tendency to lose weight when stressed anyway. Last year I got stressed, lost quite a bit of weight and got quite sick as a result. I have no intention of
doing that again.

I plan to stick to a No Grains, No Dairy, No legume version of paleo for 30 days. After 30 days I will try adding various items back in, and see how I feel. I don’t like the idea of long-term restrictive diets so if something tastes great and doesn’t make me feel bad then I will eat it. Food makes me happy so I want to enjoy my food and make sure that the food I eat allows me to enjoy my life.

Why blog about it?

“I can resist everything except temptation.” – Oscar Wilde.

I need a way to keep myself accountable, record how I feel and give people access to great tasting recipes when I find them. I started eating paleo on Monday so I am a few days behind with this blog already.

The English Camp in mid August was highly successful.The ALT(s) and teachers from that school had taken great care when choosing which group to put with which ALT. The two scone making sessions at the weekend were fantastic. I was certainly nervous before the first one on Saturday afternoon.Everyone was really friendly and the scones were delicious. I had bought a pack of conversation starter cards on the plane on the way back to Japan and we turned it into a game. It worked really well.

I tried a yoga session after finishing my classes on Sunday. It was so good. I am badly out of practice though. I could not even touch my toes! I may have gained strength but I have lost flexibility! Something to work on this year – find a balance that works for me. The summer issue of dramatic head-rushes only surfaced once during the session (although it was bad enough to make my vision grey-out for a second before I recovered). The advice from the teacher was simply to take things slow. Thankfully it has only happened once since I returned to Japan.

The week after the scone and yoga-filled weekend was spent at work slowly planning lessons.  Presentation skills! I hope the presentations will be fun (as fun as school work can be at least). I want to give my students a chance to talk about something they like. The first part of the plan involves me making a presentation in Japanese about something I like. I chose “Merlin” 「魔術師マーリン」　because
it is fun, available in both languages and I am a (crazy?) fan-girl.  Writing my speech was harder than I thought and I still have a long way to go with my language study. Wish me luck and I will let you know how it goes.

I enjoyed last weekend. I slept in until nearly lunch-time on both Saturday and Sunday and I caught up on most of my necessary housework (hated and yet satisfying). On Saturday evening I went to an enkai (party) with my kyudo group. We had dinner at a hotel in the city and the food was amazing! Once the beer started flowing and people were comfortably full, all those invisible awkward barriers between people who know each other only by sight but not by name broke down. I had a really great time and went to the nijikai (2^nd party) at a karaoke bar as well.

On Sunday, I went to the fireworks festival in a local town. I met friends and a new ALT as well. We had dinner together and then walked to the river to find a place to sit on the bank. I couldn’t get comfy at all. The fireworks were amazing. The first one scared the living daylights out of me though. I had forgotten about the echoes! The whole thing lasted about an hour. I love summer festivals.

This week after work, I am looking for an electronic dictionary, a new TV (the country switched to Digital when I was back in the UK and my poor ancient CRT-TV has had its time) and a bed. This might be a bit expensive.

Ooh, also, my amazon order arrived!