Everything's Coming Up Milhouse .

I’ve been avoiding my blog for weeks. I haven’t known what to write, or what people would want to read. Do you want to know that for a few days I had that urge to run again? That I was suddenly too aware of how long one day is, and I wasn’t sure I could last another 340? Do you want to know that some days I spend my mornings looking at Skyscanner.com? And that I found a very cheap flight to Manila?

I can think of at least two people who don’t want to read that, mostly because one of them is approaching retirement and can’t afford to support me for the rest of my life.

But don’t worry, friends. I have a hard enough time committing to a beverage at 7-11 (that’s why I buy 3 at a time), never mind a nonrefundable plane ticket. Also, Ned Stark was just decapitated in Game of Thrones, so if I want to see the season finale, I have to stick around at least until Monday.

Seriously though, I’m not going anywhere.

Maybe I’m feeling hyper-aware of what I’ve just done. I’ve committed to something I actually have to stay committed to. I can’t break up with Japan when I lose interest, or quit my job on a day’s notice. I can’t catch the next flight to Nairobi when I get the sudden urge for a change of scenery (...I may or may not have done this before.)

The second I realized this, all of my worries about life in Japan just piled up on top of each other like a massive game of Frustration Jenga just staring me in the face - every piece reminding me of the family and friends I miss, of the chair I left empty in your kitchen where you’re drinking Value Red coffee without me. Of the fact that I’m illiterate, I can communicate with only one person, I break every piece of technology I touch and I’ve set 3 pieces of toast on fire. Cue the violins, please.

But if I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that nothing cures the blues like a bit of exploring. I've discovered places in Hidaka that make me a bit less scared of fact that I've signed my life away to an apartment lease and a real job.

For the last 3 days, the other ALT, Johnny, and I have ventured out on our matching battery-powered Bridgestone Assistas into the hills that surround Hidaka. We've explored the town's backroads, hiked Mt. Hiwada, and yesterday we found a cafe that's like all of my favourite places but better - like Safari Village, but I can get a cookie in less than 3 hours; Karl without the French ennui; Common Ground, but no one is trying to convert me. Yep, just a few cruises around town and everything's coming up Milhouse!


To everyone I’ve woken up and kept up; called in the middle of work, choking on tears, with not much to say; for the 2 hour Skype sessions and much needed laughs: Thank you.

Hidaka. The Beginning.

And so it begins. I’ve been in Hidaka for one week and 2 days. I struck gold here in Hidaka and I have no idea what I did to deserve this.

Dad - you know the way I announce every good deed I do (ie. helping old ladies cross the street, saving the children, etc) in the hopes that you will recognize that I do, in fact, have some kind of moral compass... and that one time I tried to return shoes I’d already worn isn’t such a big deal in light of all the good I do? My placement in Hidaka is proof that some divine force has been watching all of my good deeds and has found favour with me.


I couldn’t have asked for a better placement. Hidaka is a town of 58,000 people located in the Saitama prefecture. She’s a quiet town, where the people buzz about, getting work done so they can go home and tend to their perfectly manicured bonzai gardens.

My job as an ALT (assistant language teacher) is still in its formative stages. The students are on holidays until September, so my days at work are spent going around town getting all of my ducks in a row. A woman at my board of education named Shimada-san, who is an absolute angel, has taken me under her wing this past week to make sure I have everything I need. With work not really being work yet, I have lots of time to admire the place I’m going to call home for the next year... at least.

On one end, I have hiking paths and mountain trails. On the other, I have the Komagowa train station which connects me to temples and shopping in Kawagoe, friends in Kumagaya, and when I’m feeling rich and energetic, Tokyo is less than 2 hours away.


My apartment is further evidence of some divine intervention. I seriously thought that everyone in Japan lived in a shoe box. I mean, let’s be honest. This country is 1/26th the size of Canada with almost 100 million more people. Where do they all live? Shoe boxes, I thought. Shoe boxes stacked on top of one another. Totally logical.

Apparently not. At least not in my case. My shoe box is an absolute palace. I have 2 tatami rooms, a massive kitchen, and my entrance way is big enough for a washing machine, a sink, and bathroom, and a Japanese-style shower and bathtub.

My living room and kitchen flow into each other, with 3 sliding doors separating the two rooms. Très Japanese. I eat breakfast everyday on that cushion on the left, and if I angle myself just right, I can see the mountains behind the neighbouring houses. Quite the novelty for a prairie girl like myself.

My bedroom is your standard Japanese bedroom. I sleep on the futon at night, fold it up and store it during the day and Voilà! Hello second living room!

On a more realistic note, life’s not all roses. My grasp of Japanese language and etiquette is minimal, and I imagine I go about my day offending people for not bowing properly or forgetting how to excuse myself from a room. But thankfully, I have a Japanese-speaking Australian buddy to help me out. Johnny triples as my interpreter, sous-chef and friend, teaching me the appropriate phrases, exploring the Yaoko supermarket and hanging out after work. It's a good thing I can cook, otherwise I would have nothing to contribute to this friendship.

So that is life in Hidaka in a nutshell, so far. More stories to come soon.