So, think about a very large city with shops and restaurants everywhere. Picture billboards, and signs everywhere. You got that? Now picture about, oh I don't know, 2 million people? 2.264 to be exact. And picture all these people walking in large, humongous, gargantuan groups. And see them all speaking a foreign language and see this foreign language everywhere. Wait did you picture this city of 2.264 million with English? WRONG! It's all a foreign language. And do you see bikers all around you? Yes, yes you do. On the street? On bike paths? WRONG AGAIN! They are all headed towards you on the sidewalk and narrowly missing you. This is Nagoya.
Okay, I'm being slightly dramatic but there's people everywhere! I swear if you aren't completely focused you will get hit. I almost died. This guy was coming at me with his bike and I had to jump outta the way. One second less and I'd be dog food. Watch out! So, my point is that it's very hard to navigate and it's hard to walk anywhere. Now I've been doing this for about a week and I'm still about 23.465% adjusted to the streets and, well, everywhere. So, for the past two days since it's the weekend and there's no school, (you may think this is obvious but who knows? They could've made school here from Saturday to Wednesday I don't know) we've been perusing the streets and found some pretty cool stuff. Yesterday we went on the galaxy tower, and no it's not an actual galaxy coloured structure Shane Dawson, (you either get this joke or you don't, now move on!) it just has that name I'm guessing because of its shape of twisty glass walkways. We climbed to the top to find a giant water basin floating on the glass at the top. There were also these kids in some dance competition, way cooler than me, and way better dancers. I'm uh, let's just say I'm a very unconventional dancer. Then we went to Los Angeles. Yeah we saw the walk of fame and the Chinese Theatre handprints and footprints. HAAAAA! Nah we went to the LA replica. Yeah apparently Nagoya and LA are sister cities? Dunno what that means really but they had a cool replica. And they also have an Aztec calendar. Not too sure why it's here but it's a giant, circle, stoney-thingy and looked pretty cool. Then we had THE BEST NOODLES I'VE EVER HAD. I swear it was like two unicorns made it then asked a wizard to bless the thing. I'm not kidding it was god like. Solid gold, baby! Today we went to Nagoya castle, and it's something my friends. There are a bunch of buildings and then a main palace and a tower for making battle plans or something. It was built by this really cool dude named Ieyasu Tokugawa. He was this thing called a Shogun and he ruled like a lot of stuff. Anyways the palace was so beautiful. There were hand painted walls on gold leaf which you have to be very wealthy to have. And the ceilings and floors were so cool I swear if I could live in a place like that... The main tower had these gold dolphins on top and I mean, they look like fish to me but I guess they're 'dolphins'. We also had this fried rice on a stick. Not bad. Then we came home. Correction: Owen and I came home on the subway. No clue where the parentals are. One day I'll have to buy a leash for those two, always wandering off. All I can hope is a Samurai or a ninja doesn't eat them. Who knows? Oh yeah did I mention we saw some Samurais and ninjas?!?! Yeah! They were so cool. Flinging their battle swords around and flipping like pancakes. Oh now I'm hungry. Really hungry. Uh, I gotta go do some... taxes. Yeah, um not going to eat some Halloween candy or anything hehe...he... Peace out alien mammoths, Olivia xxx
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Once there was a girl who lived with her mother, father and brother in a large house made of marble. Everyday the girl would wake up to the marble walls and she would see the wondrous marble staircase that led down to her gargantuan marble living room. She lived in a house of white. The couch was white, the window frames were white, even the family cat was a white Persian with almost black eyes to match the black mixed in with the white marble. The girl had nice, white clothes and went to a nice, fancy, school, but she was never really happy. But she never let anyone else know that. To everyone at her nice, fancy, school, she always bragged about her father's law firm and the big bucks he brought home. She talked about how her mother always let her buy enormous amounts of chocolate after school. The girl made everyone jealous and had a bucket load of admirers, but no real friends. But she didn't let anyone know how lonely she was, and was cold and mean to everyone around her. One day, there was a strange new girl at the big, fancy, school. She didn't wear nice clothes, or have her own driver to take her to school, and she was certainly not the kind of kid to go to a fancy school. She was weird. She liked patched, old, coloured clothes. Even more strange, she always seemed very happy and no matter how much the girl teased the new girl, she always had a smile on her face. The girl was very jealous and very lonely, but she didn't let anyone know that. For weeks and weeks, the girl tormented and loathed the new girl. But the girl never wavered in her kindness or her smile. So after two months the girl had had enough. Why couldn't she wipe that smile off that wretched new girl's face??? She went over and confronted the new girl. "Why do you smile so much? You'll never get anywhere with those homeless rags. Why doesn't your poor father get a job? Is he just so stupid that no one wants him?" "Hello." "Answer the question! Or are you so dim you can't understand me?" "I smile because I have all the reasons to. The world is a colourful place with happiness waiting around every corner. Even for you. If you let me I could help you. I see how sad you are." "Oh shut up! What do you know anyways? The world is a sad, monochromatic, place. Deal with it. And I'm not sad! What do you know?!" And she walked away. She felt more lonely than before but she didn't let the new girl know that. For the entire next week, the new girl tried to help the girl feel happier. She tried to talk to her and let her help but she just turned away. She wouldn't listen. So one day after school, the new girl went over to the other girl's house, to which she answered the door. "What on earth are you doing here? How DARE you show up here at my house!" "I just came for you to hear me out. I want to help you." "I don't need help, and especially not your help." "Well you don't even need to speak to me. I just want to try something. Please. It's just a gift. I have something for you." Out from her rugged backpack she pulled out a bright, yellow, sweater with butterflies on it. "This is my favourite sweater. I thought it could bring you some happiness when you're feeling grey." She handed it to the girl and she swatted her hand away. "I don't want your weird homeless clothes! Go away!" And she slammed the door. She felt sadder than ever, but of course, she didn't let anyone know this. That night as the girl lay in bed she couldn't sleep. So she went downstairs to get some water and spotted something out the window. The yellow sweater. She moved closer. The new girl must have left it. She didn't know why but she steeped outside, and the girl took the sweater out of the cold, and into her room. She buried it in her closet. A week passed and the sweater stayed in her closet. Three weeks and it was still there. After a month the new girl, not new anymore after three months, decided that she might finally give up. The other girl seemed to do nothing and didn't want to change. Then she turned to the front of the class where someone was just arriving. She didn't know who at first but realized the girl was wearing a bright, yellow, sweater, with butterflies on it. Then she realized it was the other girl. It was her. The girl walked in the class to see the new girl. She walked up to her and said, "Im sorry." "That's okay. You were just sad." Then the girl did something for the first time in her life. She let the other girl know just how sad she was. And how equally happy she was now that she could finally tell someone. Hello dear readers. I hope you enjoyed the story. Although it has nothing to do with Japan directly it has everything to do with how I'm feeling. Sometimes everything seems like hard marble and I feel like all the colour and happiness has seeped out of me. Living in a strange place can do that. Everyone sometimes needs a yellow sweater to get past their cold marble mix of emotions. I know that I do. Now I'll leave you with some Phil Collins lyrics because Phil Collins is great :)
Come stop your crying It will be alright Just take my hand Hold it tight I will protect you From all around you I will be here Don't you cry For one so small, You seem so strong My arms will hold you, Keep you safe and warm This bond between us Can't be broken I will be here Don't you cry 'Cause you'll be in my heart Yes, you'll be in my heart From this day on Now and forever more You'll be in my heart No matter what they say You'll be here in my heart, always -You'll be in my heart, Phil Collins Dear Wallace,
It appears that I am missing socks again. I assume it was you my dear Wallace. I remember finding you with a couple of pairs a while ago and I'm fairly certain you have done it again! Okay well I wanted to tell you about my first days in Nagoya, since you can't seem to stop asking about it. So on Friday, (that's Thursday for you!) I had a little tour around the area I'm currently staying in. We went to the ward office to register where we are staying, the bank so we could establish bank accounts and then for lunch at a conveyor belt sushi place. The food was divine and I loved the idea of the conveyor belt. It was so cool and the sushi was inexpensive and good quality! Now after that we had a day where we went shopping at the grocery store and the subway systems. It was really strange with all the weird new food and the writing impossible to understand! I pulled out Google Translate so many times I lost count. In the end we got some really cool food items and a lot of new things so it was certainly a great experience. Now Wallace, you remember how the metro system is back in Montreal? Well the subway here is so much more complicated. It's really not the same! Well okay, maybe a little, but there's so many more people and a lot more underground shopping stores! It was an experience and I have to say I have a new appreciation for the metro back home. Wallace, I know by now you're probably eating this letter because of boredom, (you weirdo) but please stop and read on! Okay so, the day after that we went shopping for basic commodities and a plunger. Yes yes a plunger. They're useful things plungers!!! I know that I usually have to buy these types of things for you because you never remember (you always run out of paper towels!) but we had to get one for our own place. So we bought the plunger, got some school supplies (very chic ones) and some rice and things. Oh and we saw a robot. I think he liked me Wallace. Though I doubt he would've liked you much you're too quiet. And then there's today. The house hunting extravaganza! It was fun and tiring and I got dusty footprints all over the floors! Agh! I had such a good time looking through the apartments and making a pro and cons list for all 10 places we saw! I am so happy that we'll live in one of them :) Thank you so much for listening to me babble, Olivia, your extreme interior house dancing partner and friend P.s. Please note Wallace was created for comical effect. But he thinks he's real so don't offend him by telling him. Thanks. Hey. Hi. Howdy. It's me the one and only Queen of Tacos. Yes yes I know this is all very confusing for you all but everything is now on this site. No information was lost I just couldn't use the other site anymore, but see it's all here. It's all okay. I'm not dead i just couldn't post anything for a while.
So I assume you would like to know how Japan is doing. Japan is doing good. Yep he's a bit too warm for me but you know he has some preeeeetty nice views I must say, so it's all good. Yeah our relationship so far is pretty solid and was founded on the delicious Pocky. Cant really go wrong with Pocky. I'm sure he'll be proposing by May. Okay okay I'm getting off track. So how was the flight? What did I do before the flight? What on earth is a polar bear selfie?! Well this is all still to come my fellows, so hold on to your donkey and prepare for the ride! So my life before the plane was pretty much wake up, pack, eat, pack, pack, eat, pack, pack, sleep. Repeat. It was very tiring and lonesome. Oh the love I had for my bed was very great at the end of the day. Additionally, I am very grateful for bubble wrap you see. It is a very precious commodity that we really need to appreciate more. Also, I have way too much stuff. Honestly, boxes filled to the brim. Suitcases completely full. No space, no space, no space! Yes and that was all bad enough, but I had to buy clothes and necessities and pack at the same time, and even though that was nice it was just soooooo stressful because if you forget something I mean you won't have it. It's not like you'll find it in Japan! Bye bye sistah. Once the stress of packing subsided, it was the sadness that set in. I was leaving behind my whole life. My school. My friends and my house. The only house I'd ever known. Yeah it was tough at first but slowly I got used to it. Then we stayed in a very nice hotel near the airport for two nights and I got room service! Yahhhhhh. The lady even asked me if I wanted some wine and I politely declined. She was very nice. Then 7:30 am BAM! Was I ready for the 24 hour adventure? No. I was not. We boarded the plane tired as pigs, and I, stupidly, did not fall asleep but proceeded to watch as many movies as I could cram in. I watched 'Alice Through The Looking Glass' and 'Now You See Me 2' and after those movies I just decided to sit there and eat. Then Vancouver airport. It was actually one of the prettiest airports I'd ever seen with stores EVERYWHERE. It was crazy! I walked past one store to find an elderly man taking a selfie with a stuffed polar bear being displayed. Then another with a woman who was smelling some maple syrup very perplexed. In the end I settled on The Hudson Bay store, but I had a dilemma. Which pair of gloves. The stripy ones or the Canadian ones? I know it may seem obvious to pick the Canadian ones but I wanted the stripy ones. I kept changing them as I went up to the cash. Finally flight numero deux, was longer but more enjoyable than the first flight. I watched '10 Things I Hate About You', 'Stand By Me' and half of 'Bring It On' while also finishing one book and getting half way through another. ALL while eating delicious Japanese food and sitting comfortably. I also slept for about an hour. Not as much as I should've. Then the Tokyo airport. The only okay part was trying out the toilets. They were so weird! They had a noise to cover up your peeing, a deodorizer, a spray and massage option and more! THE REST WAS NOT FUN. The entire time I thought I might throw up because my stomach was annoyingly bothering me and we had to go through customs and security again. When that fiasco was over, we had flight #3 which I have no pictures of I slept the whole time. And now I'm in Nagoya writing this post. Hope you enjoyed. I'll keep updating you on everything. Check out the photos section for pictures of this experience. Stay tuned my compadres. Xx Olivia One DayOne day I will wake up
In a whole new land The trees and rivers I won't understand One day I will go Where no one can follow With buildings of glass There will be no time to wallow One day I will see A lot more of this planet I'll meet lots of people I'll say "Hello Janet" One day I'll hear The traffic by my window Listen to new birds Singing their crescendo One day I will speak A whole new language It will all be new I must rip off the bandage One day I'll need To carry my head high Forget the sorrows of the past Say "The future is nigh!" One day I'll appreciate The new land that I'll live in I'll learn lots of things And words such as 'acetophenetidin' One day I'll remember My old home and country And I'll feel sad And nostalgic and lonely But one day I'll admit That this was an adventure One that was important One that gave me pleasure One day I'll wake up In a whole new land With mountains and fields I might not understand One day there'll be no doubt I'll just be free I'll be happy in my new home I'll finally just feel like me I wrote this poem because I am hoping I'll learn to appreciate Japan and the adventure I'll go on. Everyone tells me that it's a great opportunity and when I'm older I'll appreciate it. I never want to listen, but I know that this is the truth. One day I will appreciate it. I'll be so thankful for my parents and everything they've done for me. So thank you mom and dad xxx -Olivia Kon'nichiwa or hello my readers! How are you today? This is my first blog post. (Ahhh exciting!) Very honestly, just take some time to think about this. How are you? Are you feeling good, sad, upset, excited, etc.? I wonder how simple it is to change this feeling or increase it by a simple change of mindset or even scenery, beacause that's how I like to think about this trip. It's a change of scenery and a whole new experience that will really give us all something new to be excited for.
Anyways, This is just a small blob of information or a general update on 'the situation'. So I have found out that the new school I will be attending has around only 450 students in all, which for me at my big school, is not that much. So in my new school (Nagoya International School) my class will most likely comprise of around 15 students. And that will be very interesting. The school looks very glassy and futuristic. There could be robot teachers for all I know! Also what is up with Japan and toilets. They have a massage option for goodness sakes! What does that even involve? Moving on, I asked myself today, "When you think Japan, what do you see?" And obviously I answered "Food." because I was hungry. Ok but BESIDES food, I think of Japanese people and temples, and of course packed busy markets and streets. And what do these all have in common??!! Well the language of course! Walls, signs, shops, tags, books, you name it! And I, am in fact, not Japanese so I do not know how to speak it, read it, write it or anything else. And I would just love my life to be easier so I went to the App Store. Yes yes hold on to your horses, of course I'll tell you the amazing apps I found. So first I just wanted to take a picture and scan the Japanese writing and translate it to English. I searched and searched and eventually decided on 'Google Translate'. It works really well I'm telling you! It might seem wierd I didn't think of it first thing, but I didn't. And then I found this app called 'Japanese pocket lingo' that suggests things to say for example 'general conversation' and it gives you choices of things you could put into a conversation. And also a translating-speaker app that pronounces the word outloud very simplistically. So that's basically all I got folks! Woop now you're free. Ok don't worry, I'll be back soon, but I hope you found some of this useful? Probably not as I AM the one moving to Japan not you! But maybe you thought it was cool. I don't know! Sayōnara until our next meeting. ❤️ -Olivia |
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February 2017
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