Cherry Blossom Adventures

• Dot points are great for when you have nothing of substance to say, but still a lot to say!
• I realized today that I can (still!!!) ride a bike while it is raining, holding an umbrella and talking on my phone. I thought I had lost this talent when I was a student living here but I guess I still have it. I only almost fell off once!!!
• Talking about rain, I am sick of the stupid weather here recently. I swear global warming will be the end of me (or of all of us!). It is hot one day, cold the next, then really hot and it rains, out of the blue. Like today, the weather was nice all day then all of a sudden, without warning, the clouds moved in and it started pouring. I know Spring brings rain, but seriously the weather is getting out of hand. It is so hard to decide what to wear in the mornings, or whether I will need a jacket.
• Only 2 and a half weeks until I go to Australia (with Shun this time). I am getting very excited. Oh and only four months until I go to China. By then it will be 18 months since I have last traveled overseas (apart from between Australia and Japan)…I really can`t wait. My mum and I have obviously traveled together before (Bali, NZ, Thailand) but it has been awhile so I am looking forward to that too!!! Next year I plan to do Korea and Vietnam as well…any hints on places I should see in China, (or for future knowledge…Korea or Vietnam?)
• I am slowly adding more and more to the`foods that I can eat` list going on in my head. I am not a huge fan of a lot of Japanese foods…in fact I only seem to like the unhealthy ones which is a big waste of time!!! For example I never used to drink miso soup…now I could actually say I like it (although I like homemade more than the instant stuff) Even daikon is growing on me…Although I still hate the grated daikon you put on fish!!! Uckkk….
• I planted my new garden yesterday for spring. Not sure if it will work because some days my little window area doesn`t get much sun but this year I plan to grow sunflowers, pansies, some other purple flower which I don`t know the name of in English, and these little heart plants that I got from shumpei ages ago. I also cleaned up two plants I got for my birthday and set them up outside, they weren`t doing so well in my apartment. In the vegetable pot I have shallots, asparagus, basil and tomato’s. Most of it is all seeds so not sure if it will work but hopefully we will be having some fresh vegetables late June early July! Will eventually get around to taking a photo and posting it!!!
• Japanese TV is addictive. No matter how stupid some of it is I can`t help but watch it.
• Two new students at preschool. A German boy and an Indonesian girl. The German boy started last week during Spring school. He tends to speak to us in German and we just sort of guess at what he saying…but apparently he went home and told his mum that he doesn`t need to learn English because we understand all of his German…and sometimes speak it back to him. We have never spoken German to him (OK except for I love you and Good morning…the only German phrases we know!). The Indonesian girl started today ( age 3) and her mum said when she dropped her off `She`s a little shy now but she should be fine` after one word answers all morning she just started talking and did not stop. Her parents speak only English to her so her English is very good…and she just talked and talked and talked. Washing her hands went like this ` First the soap right?` `Then water, wash wash wash wash` `Turn tap off right?` `This towel is for tables right? And this one is for my hands…OK I understand…are you going to wash your hands too?` And it went on and on and on…she talked to herself, to us, to her friends, to the toys…I was so surprised since in the morning she had seemed so quiet. She was a real cutie though…I think her talking was partly nervous talking anyway…hence always asking me if it was `Right?`…. I had no idea that even children did nervous talking. I am a nervous talker…if there are silences or if I don`t know people real well I just talk and talk and talk and don`t stop. I wonder if I was the same as her when I was a child?
• I have another cold. Yes another one. I am always sick. I am still waiting for the fantastic immune system I had last time I was teaching kids…It took three months to build up and then I never got sick. I guess being out of the business for awhile meant that I lost that. It`s been almost three months now since I started teaching again so I hope this is my last cold. (I also hope that the cough I have had for six weeks, which is mostly from asthma I think, goes away soon. I went back to the doctor and he just gave me THE EXACT SAME MEDICINE I HAD TAKEN BEFORE…I don` think it works.
• Had a lovely weekend…Had mexican food on Friday night to celebrate Cat`s new job. Actually Catherine was here the whole weekend actually…James stayed Friday and Mai stayed Saturday night so the apartment has been busy I guess. Saturday just hung around here, oh and searched for easter eggs at the shop but no luck. Then Saturday night I went to a park near Tsukiji (The fish market) which had all the trees lit up for the change of seasons. It was lovely! Sunday had coffee with Mai, lunch with Shumpei and then Shun and I just cleaned the apartment and lazed around for the rest of the day. Oh and I am happy to report that Shumpei finally had a haircut (After months and months and months)!!! (I know you will be happy to hear this mum!)

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