2011年3月26日土曜日

I wrote this last week when I was in Cairns. I couldn't sleep so I just got up and put my thoughts down on paper...

To Japan, love letter from foreigners;

People supporting Japan
All of you are here, in some way
We feel your hearts

Some have chosen this country...
by birth,
by roots,
by contract,
by association,
by compassion
but all by choice

We all made a decision to be present
In this country's pain
In it's sacrifice
and in it's recovery

We grieve for those who were lost
We revere those who sacrificed
We unify as if all were natives

To build this beauty again.

We love you Japan!

2011年3月12日土曜日

Rachel Mizukoshi

Rachel Mizukoshi
The last two days have been described by people as a "living hell". Japan has experienced too much hardship. It was terrifying to watch the news, knowing the turmoil was going on so close to me. Just a few hours away people were devastated.

When I first came to Japan I felt quite detached. I was just a foreigner. But 10 years later, I feel like I'm part of the landscape here. Yesterday, I felt the pain in peoples faces as if they were my family. I watched their homes be swallowed up by water and fire, and I cried.

2011年3月9日水曜日

Hello Twitter! And Hamsters!

Ive been twittering the last few days. Something that is very new to me and a bunch of fun! I like having conversations with so many wonderful people at once without having to get dressed up and look presentable! So, in my jeans and daggy sweater, I've also started to blog.

A lot of people twit to catch attention which causes all kinds of random comments to present themselves on the timeline. My favorite so far:

"I hate the situation you wake up and the wheel is still spinning but the hamster is dead".
I laughed out loud when I read this.

When you say "I hate the situation..." it implies that you have been in that situation many times or at least that it is familiar to you.
So I was wondering how many times this happened, and felt fearful for the poor little hamsters whose lives had ended in such a way.

I asked this man "What does it mean?"
I was very relieved to receive the next tweet: "Its a joke @Rachel Mizukoshï, don't take it so serious!"

So all is well and all the dear little hamsters are safe! Hooray!

2011年3月5日土曜日

Living with a foreign language

Living in a foreign country without speaking the language is often a big adventure! Even doing simple things, such as reading the instructions to make a blog and URL are a cause of stress. This is my first blog...! We often can't do even the simplest things due to language!

I remember a story my husband once told me....
I had noticed that lots of Asian people visiting Australia would often seek out restaurants selling their own country's traditional food. Not being a 'foodie' myself, I couldn't understand why they weren't trying some of the local food. When I asked Hiro about it he told me this:

1: People living overseas for a long time (missing home) want to eat familiar food because it makes them feel nostalgic. Or perhaps it is just kinder to their tummies (stomachs)!!

2: It may be very difficult and stressful for them to read an English menu! Perhaps it's safe at fast food places like McDonald's which has picture-menus. But what if you wanted to eat at an expensive place and when you sat down at the table the menu was written in fancy unfamiliar letters that were very hard to read?

I couldn't understand that feeling until I started living in Japan and couldn't read menus... or restaurant names..... or prices (even the numbers are written differently here in traditional places). So I often found myself at places like McDonald's western-looking restaurants with English menus!

So now, I get it!