smaLL taLK

has this blog always looked like a scrapbook? where are the normal day-to-day things that annoy me, scare me, and confuse me? truth is, those things pale in comparison to the lights of the big cities and intrigue of new countries. guess i just assumed no one wants to hear me drag on about the more mundane aspects of village life.

so you DO want to hear about it?!

ok, let's start with small talk starter number one:

"Uh,...so how's the weather?"

1. today was the first day i woke up and could NOT see my breath in my bedroom. it's been unbearably cold for so long now, my body was accustomed to condensing my morning routine into 36 minutes---the time it takes to shower (while the heater warms my bedroom) in which i can get dressed and primped/pampered for the day--all in about 3 feet of space---the maximum distance from which one can feel the effects of the heater. it's been a long winter, but i can now say that the worse is behind us. today's high was 45!

2. NEWEST realization of the day: while cooking dinner this evening, i noticed that when i opened the fridge, cold air came OUT of it. yes--that would lead one to conclude that the air INside my fridge is now COLDER than the air in my house!

3. i have retired my snow boots for the winter. They have been useful and appreciated (thanks Ciara!!) but I think that if I put them in storage, out of sight/out of mind, it just might make winter in Iwate go away too?

out went the boots and in came the galoshes. these hideous orange and green boots set me back about $9, but what proved to be the biggest selling feature was the way in which it doubles as boots used by mountain climbers on icy slopes. you know the ones with the metal spikes on the ends of them...yeah, these galoshes have spikes. they are all-terrain and perfect for this super slushy start of spring.

4. it's 9:40 pM and i am currently using only ONE of my 3 heat sources.

NO kerosene heater: cancer-free tonite baby!

No kotatsu/heated table: which means the blood in my legs is finally circulating once more and risks of any blood clotting significantly diminished.

The heated carpet is my way to warmth and it's sufficient.

I feel so FREE, not being restricted to 'my spot' under the kotatsu/next to the heater...sitting in the same 1 square foot of space for 2 months is only ONE of the many alibis I have for acting the way I do over here.

5. Lastly, I was able to throw my futon outside this morning. I haven't performed this standard practice of cleanliness since October. and doesn't that say something about my standard of cleanliness. Hanging laundry on the line made me think of the good ol' days of summer. back when i first got here and was like a kid in a candy store--learning all sorts of inconvenient, inefficient and unorthodox ways of doing the simplest tasks that back home would require absolutely no planning/thinking or questioning.

amazingly enough, after 7 months, i still have some candy store moments. Think that's why I still like being here. Well, until June, when the rainy season hits...