A Normal Weekend

This weekends isn't over, but it's been very normal so far. I think it's a signal that I've been living here for a while when things start to become normal. Normal isn't bad though, this was a very good weekend. A good week too. Normal can be a very good thing. It's comforting and relaxing and puts my mind at ease.

Saturday I woke up with track practice. Things take a lot more time here than at home. Practice was only an hour and a half long but I was out of the house from eight till one. It takes a while to get to school. I have to bike to the train station, take the train, and then walk to school from that train station. Usually I bike but my bike is currently going through some serious repair. The rear tube is shot as well as the tire. Stupid bike. Plus the rear will is impossible to take off, so I couldn't replace the tire on my own. The bike is a single gear and the chain is protected by a metal casing. The wheel is essentially sealed in. So I had to bring it to a bike shop near the train station. Hopefully they'll be able to fix it. I pick it up today.

I really enjoyed track practice. Running rebuilds my confidence. When I'm on the road and thinking about life I say to myself, "Okay Scott, if you can run these next 10 kilometers (6.2m) in under 40 minutes then you can get through Japan no problem. " Then I run as hard as I can and leave all my loneliness, homesickness, fear, and any other bad feelings behind. When I'm done I feel satisfied and accomplished. It's like a daily cleanser. I always come away from a hard workout feeling good. My earlier frustrations with the kids on track are starting to fade too. I spend a lot of time with them in the track room afterward. I realized that this is when they hang out. They may not get together on the weekends except for at practice. So often they'll spend several hours playing Yugioh in the track room. I sit with them and talk or read comics. Just hanging out. Yesterday evening I had to go get my bike fixed. I probably could buy another bike, or a least half a bike, with all the money I've spend getting this tire fixed. Really really annoying. But at least now I know how and have all the tools to fix things in the future. I'm sure there will be more problems. I ride my two bikes almost every day. That kinds of use demands upkeep.

Today's been good so far. I went to a Lutheran Church this morning. It was an interesting experience, because I've never been to a Lutheran service. Well, maybe I have. But I don't remmber going. It is quite different from a Catholic service. Some of you may be wondering, "Why would you bike 15 mintues to a Lutheran service when there is a Catholic Church 5 mintues away?" I went because the service was at 10:30, where as the Catholic mass is at 9. So I got to sleep in significantly. I need my sleep on the weekends because I barely get by during the week. I usually get almost 8 hours which would be fine in the the States but being surrounded by Japanese is exhausting. So a nice 10 hours on Sunday is a perfect way to get me recharged for the upcoming week.

I knew about the Church from the wife of the minister who is in my Thursday Japanese class. She is very nice and their family had been here for 8 years. She invited me to Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday. I almost died with happiness. Thanksgiving dinner! I missed Thanksgiving last year because I was in Japan. I was not looking forward to another year without turkey. The holidays are always harder because it's a reminder of what I missing in America. I'm really excited and it's three weeks away. So I thought I should meet their family before I show up at their house for dinner. I liked the service, but I like Catholic Mass more. But I like getting up late. So I imagine I'll split my time between the two services. Church is nice because everyone is friendly and talkative. I feel a sense of belonging, which has been hard to find here. Plus the whole God thing. I don't want to get preachy, but praying to God has really helped me through my tough feelings and problems. It brings back a sense of humility and I am refeshed every week to attempt to see my problems through someone else's eyes. Whether it be my host mother, my local coodianator, or kids at school. It brings prespective and I can let go of any anger or frustration. It's a very soothing activity. Plus the song books are great practice. I cannot read Japanese very fast, and I can't read very many kanji. But the songs are slow and in Hiragana (phonetic) so I can sing along.

So Obama was elected president. The reaction here was a bit less extatic than at home. My family has almost zero interest in politics. My host father doesn't care about Japanese or American politics. My host mother didn't think Obama would change anything. "America likes war," she said. I have to admit she's probably right. It was interesting to see the Obama victory through the filter of the Japanese media. I bet not once article in the Tribune talked about the effects of Obama on the Japanese ecomomy. Or that there's a town in Japan called Obama, or that Obama called the Japanese Prime Minster Aso Taro on the phone to assure him they would work together to maintain Japanese American relations. I read all those. The papers said that Obama's victory was great but not much would happen to Japan. If anything, Obama will hurt Japan's economy when he "retools" the auto industry. Good American cars mean bad news for Japanese car companies. I did see that the whole world is rejoicing. Even Fidel Castro rooted for Obama. It seems like he's not only going to bring America together, but the world. It's a pretty incredible time. I'm glad I participated. It's cool so be a part of something bigger than yourself.

I recently began keeping a dream journal. I keep a small moleskin notebook (thanks Becky) next to my bed and write in in every morning when I wake up. Even if I can't remember anything I write I can't remember anything. I would recomend that everyone do this. Dreams are hilarious. I was reading it last night and cracked up. I'm all disoriented when I wake up, so the writing is funny, and the dreams are wild. For example: "11/06/08 McDonald's reinvented the McFlurry. I was there for the whole thing. Then I applied to college. I had to send in all this stuff. They sent it back to me with $1 Monopoly bills put in between the pages of pamphlets and my wallet. Then suddenly I was in college but the course setup was werid and I didn't like it. Chicago's 24hour CTA was never used." What?! That's nuts! But hilarious. It's crazy that I don't remember a lick of it. Japan shows up in a few of my dreams, my family and friends are all in there. Crazy dreams. This journal is really fun. I feel like this is something I going to do for the rest of my life.