July 2010
1 post
January 2010
5 posts
Launch and lunch
Generally, not a day goes by where I don’t thank my lucky stars for this gift (generously bestowed after much soul searching by both the other half and myself), of not working. And, to balance that gratitude, not a day goes by that I don’t miss (with a gale force 10, or 7.8 on the richter scale of intensity) my former hectic world of work. The hilariously unmanageable quantity of tasks has gone...
Omisoka/Hogmanay & Oshogatsu/New Year
New year, in comparison to Christmas, is a definite holiday in Japan. At the shipyard, every single member of staff was out contributing to a big tidy up (known as osouji) to end the year well. Whether your work apparel was a boiler suit or smart suit, no difference. Gloves were donned, brooms were lifted and a close to fastidious tidy was undertaken. I made a similar effort at home, but no doubt...
Our far flung festive frolics
Christmas was pretty much a day like any other in Tamano. People went to work, shops were open, cars were on the road in usual numbers, cyclists pedalled their way to wherever they were going. Our numbers were swelled though, by the arrival of Yvette (the Project Manager’s wife) and her two daughters. The first female company for four weeks!
The ladies are all well seasoned travellers, even...
December 2009
6 posts
More about Naoshima - Art Island →
The art islands website (click on the white letters above) with a super zoom-in map as introduction. We’re off to the north of the island.
A shared language
I am far from mastering Japanese, my mouth is merely nibbling at its edges. But thanks to the super Collins Gem, I can – when I know what I want to say - prepare a sentence and deliver it. Successfully – thanks to the wee book. There is instant understanding from the other party, but then a stream of words in response, like a line being cast out and I have no idea how to unravel it. What are...
Jet lagged of Japan
Perhaps it is a very standard response to being somewhere entirely new and definitely far from home – or perhaps it is just me. In the rush of all the things that are so very different, I grasp on to the things that are the same. Though I disapprove, verging on hate MacDonalds, seeing their M on a sign brings a smile to my face. So much else is indecipherable. I am not planning on purchasing a...
November 2009
3 posts
Decisions, decisions . . .
Bag has capacity of 72 litres. If only all my belongings were liquid, I could perhaps take everything on my list. As it is, must start making serious decisions over which books not to take and how often I am prepared not to change clothes in Japan. Apparently they’re very up on cleanliness over there, so I suppose I’d better take more than one change of outfit.
Have misplaced passport...
Countdown
Flights are booked, departure date now set in stone. Or rather set by purchase of rather expensive tickets. Settle petal, it is just a metal bird. Lists a-plenty in my pad. How reassuring.
Doing lots of squeezing in of visits, I think this may be part rehersal for the squeezing in of belongings to one bag … yes bag, the first receptical for belongings that is not a rucksack. Or a home.