Respite

I just had a most wonderful evening.

And I know I haven't blogged in a week, but there's good reason for that...

I was on VACATION!

In Sapporo!

In a winter wonderland of SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But more on that later...

Tonight, I met up with a new Japanese friend for the first time. Now we know each other from work, exchanged emails, and two months later finally found a day that worked for both of us to hang out. Satoshi's a university student out in Chiba so he really only works at Disney on Sundays, but he actually didn't work today since it is such a slow season.

But I was really nervous because he speaks VERY little English, and as was reinforced for me in Sapporo, I speak VERY little conversational Japanese.

And surprise, surprise! We had a great afternoon talking over coffee, looking at pictures from Sapporo, making pasta for dinner in my apartment, and watching Japanese high school volleyball games on TV. And it was just really nice. Really nice to hang out with someone from a different culture, get completely confused and lost in translation at times, and remarkable to figure it out enough to learn more about him and his life.

And that's the part of Japan I'm going to miss. The part of me that is unafraid and patient enough to make new friends with someone I'd never otherwise have the chance to spend time with. Who is incredibly different than me.

Other than that? I'm ready to go home.

Vacation really hammered that point home for me. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my job and I LOVE the money. But unlike normal people, I don't get a 3-day weekend here or there. I work EVERY national holiday, both Japanese and American. I work on weekends, and when I do switch to have longer weekends, I have to work a 6-day week to make up for it.

Basically, I'm burnt out.

I still love performing and I love working here, but the little things in life, the favors and the BS and the scheduling crap I've been dealing with at work are getting under my skin and unleashing the Mr. Hyde side of me.

And I don't like that.

So I'm looking forward to going home. I'm looking forward to having visitors. I'm looking forward to NOT working a 45 hour week doing the same show 5 times a day. I ran away from repetitive office work for a reason.

This has been an amazing experience, and one I'm sure I might very possibly repeat. But I'm ready for a break. REALLY ready.

If only I could take my new Japanese friends (and food) home with me!

A Japanese Dinner Party

So last night my friend Nikki held a wonderful little party in her room. And even though we got kicked out of the downstairs lounge because we hadn't filled out the proper party application (since we had Japanese guests and food), we had a great time.

Some of Nikki's friends from church brought a bunch of food and their families and made mochi and gyoza for us! Mochi is special rice that is pounded into a sticky dough and then topped or filled with just about anything. Gyoza are dumplings that the Japanese stole from China and absolutely adore. They're usually filled with ground pork or beef or shrimp and dipped in a soy/vinegar sauce. And I love them.

It was really fun to make them, like when you're a kid helping mom make Christmas cookies!

But the BEST part of the evening was when the little girls made us origami cranes and wrote our names and favorite words in Japanese calligraphy. It was AWESOME! We each got to leave with our own personal souvenir of Japan. Words cannot express how much that truly touched me.

And, even though the girls were completely intimidated by the gaijin, their parents could speak English, and they couldn't understand why we didn't like nato (fermented soybeans)... they absolutely went NUTS over the frozen berries Nikki pulled out of the freezer. They ate like you had to at my house if wanted seconds. And it was the first time I've seen ornery Japanese children fight like siblings. Made me proud!

And though that was simple and I didn't take any pictures... I'm sure it will be one of my favorite memories from Japan!