Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Week 5 Part 2: Jeri Learns To Snowboard

Alright, guys. So you already know that Week 5 was a double whammy. Assuming that you all love me and have read the posts before this, we shall pick up where we left off.


A short recap for all of those who are not cool enough to read EVERYTHING I write:


One fine day in Furano, I went up in a hot air balloon for the first time. And it was awesome. And then I decided to learn how to snowboard the same day because apparently 1 first wasn’t enough.


Okay, you caught up? Good.


So I returned to my hotel room after ballooning to take a short nap. I hadn’t actually planned on snowboarding that day, and I was really tired because during all the pre-balloon anticipation, I kind of... umm... forgot to sleep.So yeah. naptime. I settled down into my bed in the cheap hotel, got all snug and cozy, when I was jolted back to reality by the violent buzzing of my cell phone. Seriously, whoever says that vibrate = silent is a liar. But I digress. I had received a phone call from none other than my friend Cian, who you will all remember from the morning.


“I just walked up to the ski hill to check on rental prices and it’s only 3500 yen for the boots and board, you down?”


“Hngh... grumble grumble call you in a few.”


And then I dropped the phone and promptly went back to sleep. Not too much later, I was once again roused, this time by my roommate Andromeda, who had returned from whatever she was doing. At this point, I gave up on sleep, and replaced it with conversation.


“Hey, how’s it going? What are you up to today?”


“Oh, I have no real plans, what about you? What are you up to?”


“I think I might go snowboarding with Cian. Wanna come?”


“Can you snowboard?”


“Nope.”


“Me neither! Sure, I’m down!”


That story is not entirely accurate. It took a bit more persuading to get Andromeda to come with, since she didn’t want to spend money on equipment rental, but eventually we wore her down. Because we’re awesome like that.


With the decision to go ahead and learn to snowboard having been made, the three of us trudged up the hill to the rental place and got fitted for boards. Look how awesome Andromeda and my boards look! We’re pretty much pros already, guys.






Unfortunately, Andromeda lacked the proper clothing and was too cheap to rent it, so Cian gallantly lent her his jacket, claiming that it was warm enough to teach us in just a t-shirt. We will call question to this theory later. Andromeda and I were both only in jeans as well. SUPER PREPARED for this, obviously.






We then grabbed our boards, quickly scarfed down our conbini lunches and hit the slopes! (Is that the correct terminology? Snowboarding pros, help me out). We started by strapping one foot to the board and walking around like that for a bit, getting a feel for how it felt under us. It was relatively unexciting. We kept seeing people we knew from the meeting flying down the hill and stopping just short of us at the bottom to say hi. I know they were just enjoying themselves, but I’m pretty sure they were subconsciously rubbing it in our faces that we were babies. :)






Eventually, Cian, still clad only in a t-shirt and his snowpants, decided it was time for us to walk up the hill a little, strap both feet to the board and fall down the hill. We walked up, sat down, got our butts wet, and strapped ourselves into our boards. It took me a little while to figure out how the straps worked, but once I got it I was super ready. Cian then took turns guiding us down the hill, helping us to work out how to control the board. Because of this, we didn’t actually fall for the first little bit!
It was only after Cian decided that we were ready to try to go down the hill on our own that things started to fall apart. “Alright!” he said. “Now just push yourselves in and dig in with your heels!” We did as told, and promptly ended up with our butts back in the snow. We did this painstakingly over and over again until we reached the bottom. At that point, we were really cold so we went in for some hot chocolate to warm up. We were joined by a couple of other ALTs and spent an hour or so getting warm and dry.






Eventually, we headed back into the cold, but before we did that, we managed to convince Cian to go down and get a jacket and gloves. He was pretty cold. He came back clad in a beautiful purple number and we resumed our lesson. At this point, he just told us to go up and down and he’d watch us and try to help out.






We climbed the hill together, and I set off like a bird! I gained speed, I lost speed, I leaned back like he told me to, and this time it actually worked! I was controlling the board! I was on my feet! All of a sudden, I had reached the bottom of the hill, and I hadn’t fallen once!


I was elated!


“Come on Andromeda come on come on I want to to do it again this is awesome!!!!” I called, before running back up the hill to do it again. I managed to make it up and down the hill a few times without falling too much, and I knew I was hooked. The time passed quickly and before I knew it, we were going up the hill for the last time.


We’d decided to go up a little further and make the last time a good one, so we climbed and climbed until my legs were sore. We then strapped on our boards for the last time of the day, and headed down the hill. I was confident, and I decided that I could go a little faster. I gained more and more speed, until I couldn’t slow down anymore and then I did a bit of a flip and landed right on my butt. Hard. Really hard. It hurt. But it’s okay, because Andromeda and Cian were already at the bottom so no one saw. I got up, and continued back down the hill more slowly, with both my pride and my rear end newly wounded.


Cian wearing my hat. :D


That said, I was still elated!


All things considered, it was a great new experience. I can’t wait to try it again when I’m back in Canada! Also, mad props to Cian who not only gave up a day of actual snowboarding to teach two beginners how to do it, but he also gave up his jacket and gloves for Andromeda, then ended up spending his own money on replacements when he got too cold. What a gentleman.


After snowboarding, my band gave its first performance together, but that’s a story for another time. Maybe on my other blog, http://jeriandjapan.blogspot.com/. Go check it out, then wait anxiously by your computer until I write about next week’s exciting thing!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Week 5: DOUBLE TIME part 1: Jeri Goes in a Hot Air Balloon

So I accidentally did 2 new things this week, so instead of choosing one to write about, since they are equally awesome, I decided to write about BOTH of them. Not only that, but I will be doing this every 5th week, so there will be not 1 but 3 DOUBLE TIMES!!!!! I know. You're about as excited about this as something that's not very excited. I have a superiority complex, thinking you want to read about this. BUT hey, I've lived with my head in the clouds for long enough, so now is no time to stop. Without further ado, I present "Jeri goes up in a hot air balloon and learns to snowboard".

Once upon a time, on a weekend a few weeks ago, I went to Furano for the HAJET winter meeting. This basically means that a bunch of ALTs have an excuse to rent hotel rooms and get drunk together. As much as I love that kind of gathering, I had heard that you could go up in a hot air balloon in Furano, and I was super excited to check it out for myself. I booked the trip well in advance, and then set upon the daunting task of asking everybody I knew if they'd be willing to part ways with $150 to spend 20 minutes floating high above the air in a tiny little wicker basket held up by a giant torch and some fabric. Needless to say, it was hard to find any takers. I was at my wit's end, when finally my lovely friend Cian told me that he was so down. GREAT!

I waited and waited, and the morning finally came. The not so exciting part of this adventure is that the flight was scheduled for 7:30 am, with the people calling me at 6:30 am to lets us know whether the weather was conducive to ballooning. I was up at 5:00 am, because I was so excited. I paced around my hotel room, back and forth, back and forth, trying in vain to not wake up Andromeda. It didn't work, but she was understanding about it, and sat up with me as I waited.

Eventually, I got the call. Weather was perfect. It was time to go.

"Take a picture of me on my way to balloon! Take a picture of me! Take a picture of me!" I asked Andromeda, and she obliged as excitedly as she could in her exhausted state. The result was this gem:


Afterwards, I ran downstairs to await the van. The great thing about this company, Asobiya, is that they pick you up from your hotel and drive you straight there. Which is awesome. Because we didn't have any other way there. Cian was waiting for me in the lobby with his 7/11 breakfast and ridiculous yellow snowboarding pants. They had told us to dress warmly. Apparently it's cold up super high in the middle of winter, who'd have thought?

The man with the van showed up, and we hopped in excitedly. We made small talk with the driver for about 1 minute until the two of us had collectively run out of any Japanese we could remember at 7:00 am. Then, we sat excitedly in silence, and I snapped this picture of Cian looking super excited!



We picked up a Japanese couple, then finally made our way over to the balloon. Furano is pretty much all farmland, so we could see the balloon from a mile away, with a backdrop of beautiful, snow-covered mountains. Oh, yes. This was totally going down.


We got out of the van and walked through the snow to where 5 Japanese men were painstakingly holding the balloon down. "Well, hop in," the driver of the van said. Just like that. "Uhh... okay...", I thought, starting to falter a little. The basket was maybe 1 x 1.5 metres, and once I was inside it came up to my waist. No harnesses, no seatbelts, no anything. 



I had it better than Cian, though. At 6'2", the edge of the basket only came up to mid-thigh on him, and his head was at most a foot away from the flame. I'm pretty sure he thought he was going to die, and I can't say that I thought otherwise. My unease was only heightened when the pilot said "Alright, if you're scared, crouch down, and whatever you do, don't get in my way. Let's go!" And with that, we were steadily rising.



The balloon wobbled a little as it got off the ground, but it rose smoothly and quickly. There was no wind, so it felt a lot more serene than I had anticipated. We rose and rose and rose until all of a sudden, the van that dropped us off was no more than a dot in the expanse of white below us.


Even though I was dangling in a basket, I felt at ease, and completely comfortable. Maybe it was the fact that the balloon felt like it was barely moving, or maybe it was the fact that I was stunned by the view, but I was calm, collected, and absolutely in awe. These pictures don't do it justice at all, but it looked a little like this:






About halfway through the 20 minute ride, Cian realized that he felt safer if he stood behind me, using me as a sort of block against his inevitable downfall. I'm glad that I could help him feel at ease, but I'm not sure how I felt about his using me as a human shield. Thanks, man. Thanks.

The trip went by way to quickly, and all of a sudden, we were descending. There was a powerline in our way, and the wind wasn't working with us, so we flew a little bit longer, and amused ourselves by watching the men in the vans down below follow us around, parking where they thought we would land, only to have to move again. Eventually, we landed, and they immediately started deflating the balloon while we were still in the basket. How many Japanese men does it take to deflate a hot air balloon? Apparently, the answer is four.


We were finally let out, and I quickly snapped this photo of the deflating balloon before I headed back to the van, my heart and mind content with a completely unique experience. 


The man drove us back to the hotel, and the drive was long and solemn. The only thing I could think of to express my utter contentment was "楽しかった!" and somehow, that just didn't seem to be enough. "I had fun". That's it. We paid, and headed back to the hotel to gear up for the next adventure of the day: SNOWBOARDING!

But more on that later. Have you ever been in a hot air balloon? Would you? Let me know!


Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Week 4: Online Dating

When I decided to start this project, I told myself that no matter what popped into my head, I'd give it a try. I have been sticking to that, and after week 3 was highly slacking, I figured I'd better come up with something extra special to write about for all three of you who read my blog.

So I was reading an article on xojane.com the other day about someone who was dating a guy that they had met online because some algorithm had said they were meant for each other. Apparently, the site was way off, and they had nothing in common. This wasn't the point of the article I had read, but it got me thinking. What kind of people would some online dating website say were perfect for me? My curiosity was piqued, and I was really bored at work, so I decided to find out. Also, I had always held this idea that people who used online dating were somehow different than everyone else, because they couldn't start relationships the normal way. I was a bit prejudiced, and after learning about a few couples I knew that had found each other this way and were happy, I decided to put my prejudices to the test.




I set up my profile at work on okcupid on my cell phone because the website was free and they had a mobile app. I couldn't actually go to the site at school, so I answered all the questions and set up my profile. I added a photo of myself where you couldn't really tell it was me (because to be honest, I was still a little bit embarrassed that I was doing this). Eventually, I ended up with something that looked sort of like this:


Then, all I had to do was sit back and wait for the messages to start coming in. I had given myself a couple of rules for this experiment, and they were as follows:

1. Even though I set my location to Saint John, NB, I had to promise to meet at least one of the people in person when I got home. Otherwise, it wouldn't be like real online dating.
2. No matter what shitty messages I got sent, I had to reply at least once. Maybe they had a reason they sent a message that said "heyy sexy, wut u up2???". If I didn't ask, I wouldn't know!
3. I had to choose at least one or two profiles I found interesting and start conversations with them.
4. I had to hold back the attempt to be witty and sarcastic to the people mentioned in 2. I'm not doing this to make fun of the people that are, I had to keep telling myself.

Then, all of a sudden, I started receiving messages. I quickly realized that there was a problem with being a certain age and a certain type of person in a small city like Saint John. This problem was that inevitably, you realize that you already know half the people on the site. Amusingly enough, however, they didn't recognise me, and I exchanged messages with a couple of men who were treating me like they'd never met me before. Don't worry guys, your secret is safe with me, but you know who you are. :)

That being said, I also received a huge range of emails. Some looked like this:


I did give this guy a chance, but I can't say he really impressed me. After all, we were only a 55% match!

I also got messages like this, feeding my ego with the knowledge that I am "so fine". :D




And my personal favourite, this guy. I tried my best not to be sarcastic with him, but I just couldn't help it at some points. He wanted proof that I lived in Japan, he thought I was making that up so that I didn't have to have coffee with him. As if I couldn't have come up with a better excuse.


So far so good, guy! Your spelling is atrocious, but you seem nice enough. I'm glad I gave you a shot. "apposed" still gets me, though. Apposed! See? I'm being nice so far! We talked about our jobs for a while, then he asked me the dreaded question.


Oh, I've got him now!



That was pretty much how that conversation ended up crashing and burning.

That being said, for all the ridiculousness I entertained on this site, I might have met a few creepers. This guy seems to be really great, and we've been talking back and forth for the last little while! Who knows, maybe he'll be the one I meet up with for coffee once I get back to the port city!




In conclusion, online dating isn't the horrible thing I imagined it to be, and I have learned not to judge anybody for using the service. I don't think I'll be continuing it, but I could actually see myself meeting somebody this way and maybe forming a relationship with them? It's not what I'm looking for right now, but who knows what will happen in the future?

Also, I've decided that match percentages are complete and utter crap. There were people I was a 90% match with who turned me off almost immediately, and people who seemed to be nice enough that I was 99% supposed to be enemies with. 

The final thing I took from this experience is that people need to learn how to spell. Seriously.

Have you tried online dating? Has it worked for you? Do you think I should go out with any of these guys? Let me know. :)

Week 3: Jeri Gets Oral (Surgery) in Japan

I need to get my wisdom teeth taken out. Unfortunately, this is no longer an option for me, but more of a necessity. My straight teeth are slowly becoming less straight as my back molars grow in, and this is starting to bother me.

I know, I know, it’s not what you look like on the outside that matters, but who you are on the inside. Seriously, though, screw that. I want straight teeth.

So with that in mind, when I heard that one of my ALT friends had gotten all four of her teeth taken out in Japan for ONLY $100 DOLLARS, I knew that I would get it done here. It was now or never.

Also, I’m kind of a lazy person, so while it’s not something particularly exciting, it is something that I’ve never done before so I guess it kind of counts as week 3.

ANYWAY.

I had my first appointment a few weeks ago. I got my supervisor to call and get me an appointment. She spouted out a bunch of words that I didn’t understand, and let me know that I had an appointment with Dr. Saito on at Omni Dentix on Friday, February 3rd.

I don’t particularly like going to the dentist, or any medical professional for that matter, so when that Friday rolled around and Jessica drove me in for my appointment, I begged and pleaded with her to stick around until I was done.

“Stop being a little baby about it,” she said. “I’m going shopping, act like a grown up.”

She didn’t really say that, but I’m sure she would have if she wasn’t so ridiculously nice. Instead, I put on my big girl face all by myself, and told her to have fun shopping. I’d call her when I was done.

I sat down in the waiting room, filled out the forms, and waited for them to call my name. When I was finally called, I was brought into an impeccably clean, stylish room, with about 8 dental workspaces separated by chic barriers. Seriously, the most posh dentist I’ve ever been to. I was greeted by a dental hygienist who spoke no English, and when I gestured to the chair to ask whether I should sit down, she shook her head, and pointed at a tiny little stool thing.

“That’s a little weird,” I thought. “Oh well.” And I sat down on the tiny little stool. Immediately, she ran towards me, and shook her head, pointing at one of the tiny stools that was in a different dental area. It was occupied not by a human, but by a purse, scarf and jacket.

Oh. Oops.

I sheepishly climbed off the place I was supposed to put my stuff, and did things the right way. Go me.

The doctor then came in, told me I needed an x-ray, and made me take out all 7 of my earrings. One of them just wouldn’t come out, so after about 10 minutes of effort, Dr. Saito just told me that it was fine, and that it shouldn’t make that much of a difference. Great. So I go in, get my teeth x-rayed, and come out relatively unscathed. I go to put my earrings back in, and drop one on the ground. Dr. Saito comes back in and looks really confused when he sees me crawling around, muttering to myself in English with my little dental bib still on.

And we wonder why the Japanese people think foreigners are strange.

I straightened up, gave another sheepish smile (I think I’m getting quite good at it) and sat back down in the dental chair, accepting the fact that my earring was forever lost. He then went into an explanation about wisdom tooth removal, and how the roots of my bottom teeth were dangerously close to the nerve that runs across my jaw, which meant that I could end up numb for days, weeks, or possibly permanently.

“I see,” I said, trying not to openly panic. “And approximately how common is that?”

“Well, it’s happened twice and we’ve been open for over seven years,” he replied. “No need to worry. Also, your roots curve in, so we might have to saw your teeth in two to be able to take them out. And you’re only getting local anaesthetics. But don’t worry, it will be fine.”

He then left while I got my top teeth cleaned. Apparently, according to Japanese insurance policy, they are not allowed to clean all your teeth at once, so they must clean your top teeth during one appointment and your bottom teeth during another. Don’t ask, I don’t know.

Then, I grabbed my card, paid for my appointment (only $17!!) and went to meet Jessica, a new appointment made for extraction 2 weeks later.

I fretted and worried for the next two weeks, but my next appointment came way too soon.I was practically crying as Jessica drove me into Sapporo for my appointment, scared to death that something would go wrong. “BUT YOU ARE GOING TO BE THERE THE WHOLE TIME, RIGHT?” I asked Jessica. “Yes, dear. I’ll be right outside waiting for you.”

Seriously, Jessica, you rock. I can’t sing your praises enough.

Once again, they called my name, and this time led me into the room where it would all go down. The oral surgeon came in, and with surprisingly good English, told me exactly what was going to happen. I admitted that I was a little nervous, and he assured me that it was all going to be okay. I liked this guy already.

He wasted no time, putting some numbing cream on the spot, and leaving for a few minutes while it worked its magic. When it was done, he came back in with a giant scary needle, and quickly assured me that it would be over before I knew it. I opened my mouth, and he shoved the needle into my skin about 2395846 times, making sure the entire area was numb. I was holding my breath the entire time, and halfway through he had to tell me to breathe, because I was too tense for him to put the needle in again. Oops.

After the anaesthesia, he left for a little bit longer so it could become effective, then came back. He mentioned that there was going to be a bit of pressure, but if I felt any pain I should raise my left hand.

And then he put a giant set of pliers in my mouth and yanked out my tooth. I mean, not quite, but almost! He put a lot of pressure on my tooth, and I raised my left arm in pain, then he injected more anaesthesia in, and all of a sudden he was waving my tooth in front of me!

That was it! No having to cut it, no anything!

I was all excited that it didn’t even hurt and ready to have the next three teeth pulled out, when he said “Well, that’s it for today!”

“What? I thought I was going to get them all taken out?”

“No, we only do one at a time! Otherwise, you’d never be able to eat anything!”

“Oh, so I have to come back three more times?”

“Yep!”

Great.

He gave me a piece of gauze to stick in the area and keep there for 30 minutes, and with that, I was done. I paid, picked up my prescription of antibiotics and painkillers and hopped back into the car with Jessica.  On the way home, the anaesthesia started to wear off, and man did my mouth hurt. I popped 2 of the heavy-duty painkillers, and my mouth went back to it’s previously painless state.

Pretty sure the painkillers I was given were just like extra strength tylenol, but they did the trick, and I managed to get to sleep immediately when I went home.

The next day, I was feeling fine, so  I took the drugs as prescribed and went out to sing karaoke with Jessica and some other friends. We also drove all the way back into the city for a check-up, which Jessica was more than happy to do. Have I mentioned how much she rocks recently? Well, she does.

Anyway, one week later I had my stitches taken out and I made an appointment for my next one. I’m left with just a hole where the tooth used to be and no pain whatsoever!

Here’s hoping that it will be equally easy when I go to get the next 3 taken out!