Great Distances

It's cold here.

2012-02-02T17:31:00.000+01:00

Really cold. Up until this month, the winter in Denmark had been quite mild. But for the last 2 weeks, the temperature has barely gotten above freezing, with most days well below 0 C.

This morning it was -7C/19F when I left with Woody for the day. The verdict is still out on what's worse in my opinion: staying indoors with a busy baby or getting a busy baby dressed to leave the house in this weather. This completed winter look took about 30 minutes of chasing and dressing, one layer at a time. In between layers, he speedily crawls away from me laughing at my growing frustration. Here he is wearing long underwear, wool pants, a onesie, two long sleeve shirts, two pair of socks, a fleece suit and a baby balaclava. It's hard work living in a cold climate.

All of that dressing for an hour or two at an indoor playground. At least he is too tired to fight me after all that play when I dress him for the way home.

I've been saving the topic of babies and prams in Denmark for a whole separate post, but this seems like a good time to talk about sleeping in the cold. Did you know that babies in Denmark sleep outside for naps? All year round? The Danish health authority encourages moms to bundle up their babies, rock them in their prams, and leave them in the protected courtyard to sleep up until -10C. After -10, they finally come inside. Some moms leave a baby monitor in the pram (complete with temperature gauge!) so they can tell when their baby has awakened. My jaw dropped when I first heard this, but Woody does actually sleep very well in the cold. Unfortunately our courtyard is more like a trash heap, so he sleeps inside where it's warm.

Christmas in Rome

2012-01-15T17:34:00.000+01:00

A few, unsorted, photos of our trip to Rome this December. It was a good trip, not a spectacular trip. I think it was probably 5 days too long. If it were just James and I, our days might have been a little more relaxed, a little more dolce vita, if you'll accept the cliche. But, with a baby in tow, we had to spend more time seeking out play options instead of the best cappuccino. Ancient Roman cobblestones aren't kind on strollers and drafty, tile-floored Roman apartments aren't kind on knees and elbows just learning to walk. Throw in a culture that is literally dying because of it's extremely low birth rate, and you won't find a changing table, playground or high chair in the entire city. It's all a recipe for parental exhaustion and one of us inevitably muttering: I need a vacation from my vacation.

But lest we lead you to believe we were miserable for 10 days, let me tell you about the great things.

Like the glorious sunshine!

Oh sunshine, how we had missed you in our lives and we didn't even know it! Thanks to Italy, we missed the shortest day of the year in Denmark (a mere 7 hours, 1 minute and 12 seconds of daylight).

Exploring an ancient city with a cute little baby strapped to our backs ain't half bad.

(Trevi Fountain, washed out)

As we had remembered and anticipated, the food and drink were phenomenal. Pumpkin and rosemary ravioli, wood oven Roman pizza, un cafe at the bar, carafes of vino della casa, pistachio gelato. There was also a fantastic open food market near our apartment where we could pick up fresh buffalo mozzarella, olives, focaccia bread and handmade ravioli. We ate in more nights than not because it was tough to eat out with the babe.

Learning to walk on cobblestones isn't for the faint of heart.

Nor is climbing the steps to the top of Vittorio d'Emanuele. Even robo-kid needs a breather.

Roman Forum

A big highlight of the trip was Christmas Eve mass at the Vatican. Even with tickets in hand, we didn't expect to be seated inside the cathedral. But, luck (and having a baby who doesn't do well with lines) was on our side and we not only got seats, but also stood 3 feet from the Pope as he was wheeled in during the processional. Woody played it cool. James may or may not have asked for an autograph.

We didn't have our camera at the mass, but took a few photos at a different visit to the basilica.

Michelangelo's Pieta

This guy is pretty well preserved for being a couple hundred years old. I can't remember his name. Maybe St. Jerome?

Woody garnered quite a crowd crawling around the floor in the basilica. Despite (or maybe due to) the fact that there are no babies in Italy, Italians love babies. They cooed, giggled, hugged and fed our child. It was lovely to be in a place where babies are treated as everyone's little love (being a baby is nothing special in Denmark).

Roof view from our apartment

Christmas morning was somewhat unmemorable, but Woody sure loved his stocking full of clackers, maracas, harmonicas and race cars. Santa brought me some olio piccante for my pizza and an espresso percolator!

creche scene in St. Peter's square

The refrigerator in our apartment was way too easy to open and this scene was repeated more times than we would like to admit.

Italian islands below

Even though it's a budget airline, Norwegian Air was still a nice, smooth and easy flight. They even had free wi-fi!

Making friends

And there you have it. Nothing too exciting, but some good family time and a change of pace that ultimately made us miss the comforts of home. Probably just what we needed.

An International Thanksgiving by the Numbers

2011-12-07T21:21:00.000+01:00

1: Number of Thanksgiving meals made by an American and a Japanese, shared with a Chilean and Spaniard, one week before Thanksgiving.

25 kroner/$5: cost of one bag of fresh cranberries

2: Number of delicious chickens made by a Brit and a Dane, enjoyed and eaten on Thanksgiving day in Denmark

6: number of stores scoured for canned pumpkin

0: cans of pumpkin resulting from search

14 kilos/30 pounds: weight of fresh, still-feathery turkey we purchased from a farm south of Copenhagen

0: number of turkey necks James had previously chopped off

1: number of turkey necks James has now (and ever will) chopped off

2: number of phone calls made to our vegetarian friend who knows a thing or two about turkey dressing (thanks Charity!)

588 kroner/$105: cost of turkey (holy shnikes!)

4.5: hours it took to cook the bird, which barely fit in our oven

5 kilos/11 pounds: difference between the baby and the bird. The bird wins.

30+: number of people the bird could have fed, if we had not all been sick with colds

5: minutes it would take Woody to eat this giganto leg--he loves this stuff

18: number of weeks it will probably take us to get through all this turkey in the form of pot pies, sandwiches, soups, casseroles...you get the picture

2036: the next time we unwittingly buy a colossal turkey!

Tivoli Russian Christmas

2011-11-26T21:24:00.001+01:00

Tivoli has reopened for Christmas--what I've most been waiting for--and it didn't disappoint! I've always wanted to experience the spirit of a Scandinavian Christmas--the red and white folk art decorations, the little forest creatures, Christmas markets, things made of wool, and lots of glögg.

Reindeer, finally not far from home.

This year's theme is Russian Christmas. Amazing to see this transformed after the 15,000 pumpkins that were here just a few weeks ago.

The little shops are maximum hygge. I would love one of these wool knit sweaters, but $200 is a bit too much for a baby. At least $190 too much.

Father Frost was there to scare the kiddos.

Baby Felix loved playing on the giant xylophones. He loves banging on anything these days, though.

Not really Christmas related, but I'd never seen brussel sprouts growing before!

All sorts of decorations, candles, ornaments and warm slippers for sale.

We were told it's best to visit at night because the lights are magnificent. It's not the grandest of light displays (this one in Tokyo still takes the cake), but it definitely upped the holiday atmosphere.

Nyhavn

2011-11-26T19:56:00.000+01:00

A few photos of Nyhavn, the old port for which Copenhagen is famous. Just a tip if you ever visit: Nyhavn looks like it's pronounced nie-haven, but it's really pronounced new-houn. Danish is a vowel happy language.

The colorful houses and store fronts make for a nice place to have a coffee and watch the tourists amble by. The food must be some of the most expensive in the city, with smørrebrød (open face sandwiches) topping 25 Euros.

Expensive, trendy real estate today, but in the time of Hans Christian Anderson, I imagine this port was hard living and full of rough characters.

Bike Tripping

2011-11-20T22:19:00.002+01:00

We were giddy when we found out about the extensive network of cycling routes across Denmark. Over James's Fall break from school, we tried out the route from Hillerod to Gilleleje on the northern coast of Zealand.

This route started in Hillerod, just a 20 minute train ride north of Copenhagen, at the entrance to Frederiksborg Slot (castle). Normally we would ride out that 20 minute train ride, but we've learned not to push our luck when it comes to how long an active 9 month old will happily stay strapped down, so we put all three bikes on the train.

We felt we didn't earn a bike photo as we traveled less than half a click -- but not many routes run through the courtyard of a castle.

Ambling through the kings forest on national bicycle route 33.

Foraging for nuts and berries yields a peanut butter and jelly bounty.

The island of Sjælland, prounonced "Zeeland" (I think), feels as if time is standing still. This area, known as Kongernes Nordsjælland (The North Zealand of the Kings) doesn't appear to have changed much since the various kings carved trails for hunting and running the hounds. I suppose the trail is a bit wider now.

It is no surprise this area has been nominated to be a national park. Am told, the idea of a national park is a new one in Denmark. The first national park was dedicated in 2008. To date, the park total is three.

A web search reveals that in the 16th century the vassal of Kronborg made a list of the taxes that the fishermen should pay. This was one or a half barrel of cod. Perhaps subjects would have paid the cod tax to the last inhabitant at this "borg" (another word for castle) known as Søborg (lake castle). Apparently, this area was a fjord -- drained in the industrial era long after the castle had seen its heyday in the middle ages. In its day it was the mightiest fortress in Denmark complete with a requisite dank dungeon. It once housed the Roman Catholic Archbishop, Jens Grand, who was imprisoned because of his opposition to royal power. On December 14th, 1295, with the help of an assistant, he broke loose from the stone to which he was tethered.

The only opposition we faced was a stiff wind and Felix's frightening encounter with a dressage horse and its friendly rider.

It's Getting Pretty Hygge in Here

2011-11-16T20:36:00.000+01:00

Hygge was the first word of Danish we learned, which says a lot about how important it is to the Danish culture. Directly translated, hygge means "socialize", but it's mostly used to describe a pleasant, cozy or comfortable place or time. Candles, good friends, music, comfort food and drinks all add to a feeling of hygge.

The sun set at 4:02 p.m. today, November 16. The shortest days are still to come and we are trying to adjust to the long nights. It's rumored that Danes use the most candles in the world (who keeps these stats?), and in trying to assimilate to our new culture (ha!), we have already whipped through an entire package of IKEA tea lights trying to add a touch of hygge to our house in the long, dark evenings.

Christmas, or Jul in Danish, is a big hygge time. The jul season seems to start earlier than the Christmas season in the US, with people eagerly beginning crafts, attending jul brunches and browsing julemarkeds for just the right ornaments in early November. The julemarkeds are what I've most been looking forward to. I loved the Christmas markets of Vienna and Germany, with their gluhwein and marzipan cookies. So far, these Christmas markets seem to be on a smaller scale, but I've yet to see Tivoli in all its Christmas glory. Yesterday, the baby and I made good use of the waning sunshine and wandered through the Nyhavn Christmas market.

Christmas ornaments and advent calendars for sale at the stalls.

I grew up loving the anticipation of adding a new ornament to our homemade advent calendar each day in December, but after seeing the advent calendars here, I realize I was being shorted! Who knew that kids across the world from me were getting toys each day! The stores are flooded with all types of advent calendars, from Haribo gummy candies to chocolate to even Lego advent calendars! Holy cow, my 8 year old self really wishes I'd spent Christmases in Denmark.

Despite the cold temperatures, outdoor seating at Nyhavn is still the best for a hygge time. The Danes do it up with candles, heat lamps, Irish coffee and blankets on every chair.

Gorgeous knit sweaters and mittens at a julemarked stall.

One thing we missed in Japan that we are getting plenty of here in Denmark is good microbrews. There are lots of small batch beers that remind us of home in Oregon. For Christmas, the Danish julebryg (pronounced yool brew) goes on sale in November. To kick off the julebryg season, the last day in October is a national celebration known as J Day, where Tuborg employees drive around singing Christmas beer songs and deliver free julebryg to bar patrons. Very hygge. Unfortunately, some celebrations you have to sacrifice when you have a baby.

And finally, what says hygge better than a baby in a fleece suit in a cute wood hut?

The Library (or, how I sorta began to appreciate the 45% tax rate)

2011-11-05T22:40:00.002+01:00

I think you can tell a lot about a how a society cares for its citizens by its libraries. Do the libraries play a central role in the community? Do they offer access to not only the culture's past (genealogy, biographies, the greats), but also to its present and future (graphic novels, magazines, technology)? Do they create a comfortable space for people of all ages? Do they value many forms of media or just dusty old books?

As strangers in strange lands, our access to public libraries is usually limited to one or two English periodicals. Not because we aren't welcome, but because our language skills limit our ability to fully enjoy the offerings. But here in Copenhagen the libraries set a stay-at-home-mom's heart aflutter. These libraries offer more "amenities," if you will, than any other library system I've seen (America, you may have caught up since my last library visit, but honestly, it's been a while).

Modern, sleek, and comfortable, the central library near Norreport station was obviously designed with its people in mind. It's a place you want to be, young or old or somewhere in between, and a place that makes you feel just a bit smarter.

The Danes are considered to be the happiest people in the world and I bet the libraries have something to do with it. One can happily wile away an afternoon here, and we do, little Felix and I.

When the dark and rain settle in, the library is a terrific play place. Need to ride a ladybug or add on a giant* abacus? The library's got your ticket. The selection of English children's books is pretty good, too. Dress up clothes, computers, kids music, push cars and homework desks are also available.

*(that is, if your measurements are taken in cm)

Want to try out your musical skills? Guitars and keyboards are yours for the asking.

Racks and racks, almost an entire floor, of current (!) dvds and cds from around the world are yours for the borrowing. There is also a vast online database of on-demand films that require only a library card number to watch.

You can even test it out before you take it home.

If the library had been this cool when I was a kid, I might have visited more often.

And for when the little one is all worn out after playing and takes a nap in the stroller, there are shelves of newspapers and magazines from around the world in English!

There is even a cafe with real coffee and cool Danish design chairs. So hip.

But what I love most is that the library gave our 8 month old babe the opportunity to take his first (assisted) steps today.

Ahhh socialism, I know as an American I'm supposed to think you are vile, but secretly sometimes your cycle routes, free health care, gorgeous parks, free museums and modern libraries make me swoon. Now, if we could work out the painfully slow administrative processes and the 45% tax rate, we might have a deal. Seriously, I took a number at the immigration office last week. My number was 109. They were on 27. The wait was over 2.5 hours. The office is only open for 3 hours a day. I gave up and went to the park. Still a few kinks to work out.

Kongens Have (The King's Park)

2011-11-05T21:21:00.000+01:00

One of the three large city parks near our house is Kongens Have, or the King's Park. It's one of the most popular parks in the city, and always full of tourists. Copenhageners don't see much sun, so when it does make an appearance, these gardens are covered in sunbathers. But no matter the weather, it always seems used. You know the saying, "there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes"? It's definitely true in Denmark.

Inside the park is Rosenborg Castle, originally built in 1606 as a summer house, then used as a royal residence until the 1700s.

Just a little summer home fixer-upper.

Romantic and all, but these cobblestone sidewalks that cover the city begin to wreak havoc on stroller wheels.

Fall has been particularly beautiful in this park. The long tree lined alleys turned bright orange. In the mornings, as Woody and I walk to play groups or run errands, we often see groups of children in daycare all dressed in their winter clothes playing in the leaves. So precious.

Already preparing for winter, draining the fountain.

Move Over Jeff Tweedy

2011-11-03T23:15:00.001+01:00

There's a new rockstar in town.

RockStar from Jesse Foss on Vimeo.

More Shepard Fairey

2011-11-03T22:06:00.000+01:00

Found in Kongens Nytorv

Halloween

2011-11-01T10:00:00.001+01:00

We've noticed over the years that Halloween is slowly creeping into the hearts of holiday-makers in countries around the world. My first year in Switzerland it was hardly a blip on the map for the locals. I remember an Italian parent of one of my kindergartners asking me what a pumpkin was. That was one of my first realizations that I wasn't in America anymore. In Bosnia, the students dressed up and paraded around the school, but there was no evidence of national understanding, let alone trick-or-treating. In Japan, always eager to join in the fun, the students at school dressed up as witches, witches and more witches and decorations were up in department stores.

Here in Denmark, Tivoli is the center of Halloween. They opened their doors for 10 days to show off over 15,000 pumpkins, booths, gluhwein stalls, and costume contests. We took baby Felix dressed in his homemade Yoda costume (sorry baby, you will be the kid who will never get the store-bought costume). I've never been a big costume person, but I wouldn't miss a chance to put the littlest one in something funny. My friend, Azusa, taught me how to knit so I could make this hat for the baby. James found the perfect stick on a bicycle ride for Yoda's staff, and I did a very rough stitch to make his little hooded robe.

We entered him in the costume contest, which, as you can see, was dominated by witches. In fact, three store-bought witch costumes beat out the cutest homemade Yoda baby. A travesty of justice, in my opinion, but I'll chalk it up to being lost in the translation of the meaning of Halloween. I have to blame it on that, because if I don't, I'm just another crazy competitor in the mom-petion.

We also celebrated James's 36th birthday on Halloween.

What better way to honor dad than with a mini-me? Complete with plaid shirt, cardigan and goatee.

Woody played with the streamers and balloons while I made a chocolate gingerbread tart.

Happy Birthday!

The Lakes

2011-10-29T22:48:00.000+02:00

At any given time of the week, you can usually find a steady parade of prams and lycra-clad joggers going around the lakes in central Copenhagen.

The five lakes are just a block from our house and part of our weekly walking.

We aren't alone. Especially on a sunny day, Copenhageners come out to sun themselves just like lizards on a rock.

Cafes and restaurants line the lakes, beckoning tired moms pushing sleeping babies in prams to stop in and warm up with a hot drink.

The lakes aren't really more than shallow ponds filled with goose poop, algae, and stray trash, but strangely, they are a beautiful attraction within the hustle and bustle of the city.

Geese, swans and ducks thrive here. The rare heron also makes an appearance.

At sunset, the light settles on the windows of the surrounding apartments buildings, then fades to the glistening lakes. It's a beautiful sight.

Airwalker

2011-10-19T12:16:00.000+02:00

And one more that never fails to amaze.

Starting Early

2011-10-19T12:14:00.000+02:00

We have a hard time keeping him away from the bikes these days. I can picture this as part of his video montage after he claims his Olympic gold medal for cycling.

Bikelover from Jesse Foss on Vimeo.

The Strange Country

2011-10-16T11:50:00.000+02:00

Really interesting video about Japan.

Japan is currently offering 10,000 free tickets to visit and share your experiences. I'm thinking I'll have to do something about that. Baby's return to his birthplace? Does that tug at the heartstrings of those handing out tickets?

World Cycling Championships

2011-10-08T14:57:00.000+02:00

Copenhagen played host to the World Cycling Championships at the end of September. The city center closed down to traffic as residents, school kids and guests cheered on their countrymen rounding the city streets. The time trials went right by our house, so Woody and I snuck out to capture a few shots.

This awesome shot was a total fluke. I took James's camera with me and I know nothing about the features and settings of anything other than a point-and-shoot, but somehow managed to get one sweet shot. That's Denmark's rider in the Under-23 time trials.

Most of my shots turned out like this. These guys were fast--but my photog skills are poor.

These school kids were let out of class to cheer on Denmark. They also took to chanting "USA! USA!" when the red, white and blue sped past.

The top riders were followed by motorcycles and cameramen. Each rider had his/her coach riding behind in a team Skoda, many yelling things like "Alle! Alle!" or "looking good, looking relaxed," or something along those lines in many different languages.

Swedish rider

Woody was inspired to train for the 2031 World Cycling Championships (he'll be 20 then).

On a separate note, I bought this cozy stroller sleeping bag thing to use this winter when we we are out and about. I never thought I'd be using it daily in August and September.

Except for car traffic, commuters were mostly able to go about their way on the bike paths.

Making New Friends

2011-10-07T21:13:00.001+02:00

Goofball

Rush Hour in Copenhagen

2011-10-07T21:10:00.000+02:00

Copenhagen's morning commute:

Bike congestion has become such a problem that the city actually took away a car lane on one of the busiest thoroughfares in order to widen the cycle route! Three cheers for forward thinking!

Christianshavn and Christiania

2011-10-07T20:58:00.000+02:00

Photos from a bike ride to Christianshavn, an island within Copenhagen, home to quaint canal-side brick homes, beautiful parks and free-town Christiania, a sort of autonomous commune that operates free from the Danish authorities.

The irony of Christiania is that squatters took over a former military site so they could create a peace-loving, yoga-doing, meditating, art-going free-town. They set their own rules in the city, among them: no stealing, no violence, no hard drugs, no gang colors, and no bulletproof vests. Oh yeah, and no photos taken inside.

A small hippy cafe in Christiania that felt like it could be anywhere in Oregon.

National Opera House

The Binky Tree

2011-09-22T10:00:00.000+02:00

One of the great things about living in Copenhagen is the abundance of green space. Woody and I are able to to stroll through a park at least once each day, often just as a pass through onto somewhere else. A few weeks ago, the three of us packed a picnic and rode out to Fredericksberg Have. Fredericksberg is an autonomous city within Copenhagen that is family and expat friendly (read: wealthy).

The park is actually former castle grounds with very traditional English gardens, like something out of a Jane Austen book (aside from this Chinese bridge). The Copenhagen Zoo is also within the park and you can even view the elephants without having to pay admission.

I never before thought a swan could be commonplace until I came to Copenhagen. They are everywhere.

Can you tell what this?

In Denmark, the pacifier doesn't seem to hold the same taboo as it does in the U.S. Every baby shamelessly sucks on one at any given time. It's not uncommon to see toddlers riding bikes and playing while sucking on a piece of plastic in their mouth. Dropped binkies litter the streets and parks (each lost binky, in my mind, represents a very unhappy baby and frantic parents looking for a way to soothe their child). I'm not anti-pacifier (little Felix uses one to help him sleep at night), but I think by the time you can walk you shouldn't be sucking on plastic.

We first came across a binky tree in the park across from our house. At the time, I thought the tree had become a sort of 'home' for lost binkies. The tree screamed, "come take me back home!" But this tree in Fredericksberg had a lot more binkies and even notes and pictures. Turns out, the binky tree is like a tangible version of the binky fairy. When it's time to give up the nipple, kids ceremoniously hand it over to the tree.

Dear Sucker,

It is hereby time to say goodbye.

You have followed me through thick and thin,

and I'll miss you.

Many hugs,

Johannes

So sweet! I'm sure Woody's binkies will also come to rest in one of these trees in the future.

New Ride

2011-09-22T09:12:00.000+02:00

You may have already noticed from the header, but there is something following behind my bike these days. Woody now has his own chariot!

I really, really want a Danish-style cargo bike, but at over $1,000 for used ones, this trailer is a perfect compromise for our little addition. It's easy to get around town, the paths are wide enough, no one is concerned by how much space you take up, and I hardly even know it's behind me it glides so smoothly. It's a Burley trailer (Go Ducks!) and will be great for longer distance touring, too.

my little grape protector

In the city, it's perfect for hauling large grocery runs. Woody likes to play with the food on the way home.

Shepard Fairey in Copenhagen

2011-09-20T16:57:00.001+02:00

US street artist Shepard Fairey put up 5 murals around Copenhagen in early August. Big fans, we went on a bike hunt for his work.

We found the first one at Baisikeli Cafe, a new bike cafe that rents, repairs, and sells used bikes in Vesterbro.

Love this cargo bike turned speaker system!

It's an amazing piece of work. The details are small and everywhere.

We found the second one in Nørrebro, the neighborhood across the lakes from us.

Within days of this mural going up, it was defaced by people unhappy about the perceived message and placement after a long battle over the demolition of a youth center that previously occupied this space. I don't know enough of the history to write about it with authority, but you can read about it here. Apparently he caused enough of a raucous that Fairey was beat up at a party in Copenhagen.

I stumbled upon the third piece but didn't have a camera with me, so we'll have to go back.

Copenhagen Scenes

2011-09-20T16:15:00.000+02:00

No real category for any of these shots, and some aren't much to look at, but a few scenes from around Copenhagen our first few weeks here.

Empire Bio--a very cozy movie theater that offers movies for moms and babies on weekday mornings. You can leave your pram with sleeping baby downstairs and a theater attendant will come get you if your baby wakes!

Tourists under the spell of the Little Mermaid.

The Carlsberg horses delivering beer in town.

House music festival on the grounds of the park across the street from us. We were able to open the windows and enjoy live music all day. Nice city perk.

The view from James's classroom in Hellerup.

Elephant Parade

2011-09-16T08:35:00.000+02:00

We'd hoped these elephants would call our street "home" permanently.

Techno

DJ Ella

But, alas, off to another city they went to continue their parade.

Another New Home

2011-09-15T09:46:00.000+02:00

A few photos of our new home. We live in the Østerbro neighborhood of Copenhagen. Our apartment was beautifully renovated before we moved in, with newly polished floors and fresh white paint on the walls. We haven't figured out how old the building is yet, but we think its probably late 1800's to early 1900's.

via

Our little home is nestled between the three large parks toward the top of the map, just off Sølvgade. Østre Analæg is my favorite park for wildlife viewing and natural landscaping. Botanisk Have (botanical Gardens) looks like a Monet painting. Copenhagen does parks very well. We are a 10 minute walk from shopping areas and tourist hotspots like the Little Mermaid and a 20 minute walk from Tivoli Gardens.

Our living room before our shipment arrived. I always like a place better before we clutter it up with stuff. So clean, so full of potential.

Ornamentation around the ceiling light fixtures.

Other side of the living room.

Looking toward the park and the Danish National Art Gallery.

Bathroom, obviously. How does a country that is notoriously cold and dark not make
a bathtub standard? I do love the heated towel racks, though.

My favorite room. This is the kitchen of a queen (hmmm...queens don't usually cook) compared to our tiny little workspace in Tokyo. I love the window, the full size built-in oven, plenty of cabinets and the bright wood counters! And a dishwasher!

A huge refrigerator and freezer. And an annoyingly slow and inefficient washer/dryer combo. Glad we don't have to share a laundry room, but, really, 3.5 hours for a load?

View from the kitchen window. Most buildings in Copenhagen have a shared courtyard with other apartments. Many have picnic areas, playgrounds for kids and clotheslines. Ours has a dilapidated bike storage shed (with no room for our bikes) and a large trash pile that hasn't been removed in over a month. Each apartment is also supposed to have pram storage (nope) and basement storage (still waiting on that). Our rental agency isn't the most efficient, but one bonus is knowing that in the Great Storm of Summer 2011, our basement didn't get even an inch of water.

The apartment is 77 square meters (roughly 800 square feet), about 50% bigger than our home in Tokyo. Still small by American standards, but considerably more living space than before. I forgot to take a picture of the bedroom, but it basically looks like the living room, only smaller. Woody sleeps in the living room. There are no closets and storage is a challenge, but we love the natural light and the watching the trees through the windows. It's a lovely home. Once it's all in place, I'll give you a tour of the "after" look.

The Summer That Never Was

2011-09-14T09:56:00.001+02:00

Our time spent in Oregon and South Dakota with family and friends was the happiest of the summer. We were travel weary and ready to see some familiar and welcoming faces. Neither of us wanted to spend our short 6 week summer in and out of countries, on and off planes and lugging around bags, but somehow that's just what we ended up doing. It's not that we don't love travel and all the experiences, but it's gotten tremendously harder with a baby and after the earthquake and subsequent move around the world, we were tired. What we wanted was just to relax, as a family, preferably in a beautiful place, with people we loved. America was perfect and waaaay too short of a visit for us. Blame it on the fact that August weather in Copenhagen has been anything less than desirable and the impending 7 months of dark and cold I'm told is arriving shortly, but I feel like summer just didn't happen. I'm still craving the smell of the pine needles under the Central Oregon sun, the taste of fresh berries and delicious beer, and the ease of being around people you love. These photos are just a few of the great times and great people we encountered on our trip.

I think I have a bit of a produce fetish. Gorgeous shots from the Portland State Farmers Market.

We saw our dear friend, Marc, marry the lovely Dawn.

Woody partied like a rockstar at the wedding in his three piece tux. (thanks Lisa & George!)

We met new friend Louisa, of Ben and Celia fame.

Woody got a skateboard ride from Uncle Mike.

We watched gorgeous alpenglow in central Oregon and longed to live here again.

Longboarding in Bend.

The cutest performance ever by the cutest cousins ever: Avery, Ryan, Opal and Lila.

Reunited

Got some good papa time in South Dakota.

Tracked down ancestors homesteads in Wasta, South Dakota.

5.5 months!

Went swimming in the Niobrara River in Nebraska with cousins Ashlyn, Gabriella, and Joseph.

First creek experience!

Baby jogging with Anthony in the hot, hot sun.

And saying "see you soon!" to Nana at the airport.

Sunny Sweden (and cloudy Copenhagen)

2011-09-12T09:28:00.003+02:00

Our arrival into Copenhagen on the first of July was less than welcoming. A bad flight, a dodgy hotel and rainy weather greeted us. We intended to look for an apartment in the two weeks time we had before traveling further west to Oregon, but by the time we arrived, our apartment was already found for us. Good thing we liked it, but we still had two homeless weeks to kill.

We were struck with huge sticker shock when we arrived--$6 for a Coke or cup of coffee? $40 for a 'cheap' meal for 2?! It was harsh even for us coming from Tokyo, one of the world's most expensive cities. We tried to remain optimistic while wandering around like tourists in our new home. A new friend from the school met up with us and helped us get our bearings of the downtown area. We watched the changing of the guard, a sort of non-event I'm sure is done just for the sake of the hoards of tourists coming off the cruise ships.

We wandered through beautiful parks and cemeteries, like this one close to our new home. Europe does tree lined alleys very well. It's one of my favorite features. I love that probably 100 years ago, someone thought, "I'd love to plant a row of trees for people in the future to enjoy walking through." That person probably never got to enjoy it's splendor.

And then the storm struck. Around 9:00 on our second night in town, the rain came. And came. And came. For hours it rained harder than we've ever seen. We thought maybe this was a normal thing for a summer storm in Scandinavia, but we soon learned that this was a big deal even for Denmark.

This is the lobby in our dirty "Comfort Hotel." The rain came through the windows and doors and short circuited the electrical systems. The fire alarms went off at midnight and 4 a.m., and bleary eyed travelers filled the hallways wondering if they needed to evacuate. An ear-piercing alarm capable of doing damage to young ears is not what you want for your jet-lagged sleeping baby in the middle of the night.

Turns out, that storm was the biggest Copenhagen had seen in 30 years (and some claim it was a 1-in-1000 years storm!). The next morning the train systems were shut down and flooded, power was out all over the city, and everywhere, people in Copenhagen were waking up to find their basement storage flooded as high as 1.5 meters. Most of these old buildings in Copenhagen have a level that is half way below the street and many businesses had lots of water damage. The city just couldn't handle the amount of water that fell that night. The storm is still being talked about today and building superintendents are still cleaning out basements.

We were definitely beginning to wonder if bad luck and natural disasters followed us and we were tired of wandering homeless around a very expensive city and paying top dollar for dodgy hotels. So, we bought a few rail passes and hightailed it for the land of milk and honey (and at least a better exchange rate): Sweden.

sweet little porch in Malmø

Our first stop was Malmø, a pleasant little town, just across the Øresund bridge from Copenhagen. It's just a 20 minute train ride to nice beaches, quieter streets and slightly cheaper prices. With hotels and inns still expensive, we turned to AirBnB to rent a gorgeous flat from Josefin and Daniel. We stayed there 6 nights at a fraction of the price of a regular hotel and we had the whole place to ourselves, with a kitchen to cook in! It was dreamy.

love these old style Kronan bikes

We would definitely go back to Malmø again. It's quaint, but lively, with cool architecture and beautiful parks.

After Malmø, the train took us north through spectacular lakes and forests. We had hoped to travel the whole length of Sweden and even make it to Finland, but we underestimated just how vast this country is (probably the equivalent of traveling to the south of Italy by train from Denmark). Woody was a champ on the trains, sleeping pretty much every time the train moved forward.

We stayed a few nights in a rented "cabin" in the town of Jönköping on the edge of Lake Vättern. The cabin wasn't much more than a room with bunk beds, but we were happy to be out of the city.

In our next stop, Rättvik, Woody showed us his new tricks! We stayed in these cute little cabins by Lake Siljan for a few days, eating lax and drinking low-alcohol beer from the grocery store (you can only buy the full strength stuff from a liquor store in Sweden.)

We rented bikes one day and road up into the hills and found these sweet little cabins with grass roofs!

Also in Rattvik, we stayed in Stiftsgården and enjoyed one of the best breakfast smörgåsbord ever.

The hotel had it's own private dock and beach on the lake and the sun came out, if only for a short while.

chapel at Stiftsgården

Woody is a good partner to have when playing petanque.

Beautiful flowers and paths along Lake Siljan. We saw deer, elk, and lots of rabbits.

At one point our train met a problem on the tracks and we had to go backwards to the next station to catch a bus instead. No matter, because wherever we went in Sweden, we were greeted with picturesque scenery and perfect little cottages waving Swedish flags. Sweden is as beautiful as we imagined and next time we hope to encounter some (pleasant) drunken moose while riding our bikes.

Glimpses of Chiang Mai

2011-09-11T20:22:00.001+02:00

It was oodles cheaper to fly the long way around the world to Oregon than it was to fly directly across the Pacific, so we booked our flight to Copenhagen with a stop-over in Thailand. Guy, a friend from Japan, married Pia in Chiang Mai and we were honored to be invited to the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony full of family, tradition, symbols and delicious Thai food.

Before the ceremony, the bride and groom, and Pia's daughter, greeted everyone with champagne and drinks.

The ceremony was held at the Yaang Come boutique hotel in the center of the city, where we also stayed for a few nights. The bride and groom sat in the center while select people spoke about marrige and commitment. Both sets of parents also joined the bride and groom on stage (off to the right in this picture) and were also thanked ceremoniously. There was no pronunciation of "man and wife," but rather wishes and sentiments for their life together.

After the speeches, each guest of the party was invited to share his/her own words of wisdom with the couple by whispering into their ears while simultaneously tying a piece of string around their wrists as a reminder of the commitment.

The wedding stage was decorated with beautiful shrines, flowers and food, all Thai symbols of marriage.

Woody was a hit with the ladies, naturally. Thai people absolutely adore children. We couldn't go anywhere without someone wanting to stop to say hi, touch his feet and just oggle him. I even had a Thai woman at the airport follow me into the bathroom stall to play with him while I changed his diaper! It was a little awkward asking her to leave when I then needed to use the facilities.

Noriko and adorable Sebby-chan also came from Japan for the wedding. We visited the monkeys at the zoo together. Sebastian loved them, Woody didn't seem to notice.

First swim!

The pool at the Yaang Come. A peaceful oasis, despite being in the center of the city.

I like this picture because if you look closely, you can see 3 young monks off in the distance. Chiang Mai is a Buddhist spiritual center and monks fill the streets. These particular youngsters got very giddy and red-faced when they said hello to me. It was quite funny.

First tuk-tuk ride. Do you think they recommend this in the baby books? In America, I'm sure I'd be called a bad mom and possibly put in jail for child neglect. But for the rest of the world, extreme safety laws are non-existent and instead prudent caution is the norm. As we traveled with a 3 month old through these different countries this summer, we encountered many different cultural norms and expectations. What is ok in one country, is unacceptable in another. It's interesting to note how societies determine what it means to protect and love your children. I love the documentary, Babies, because it illustrates that idea so perfectly through the storytelling and cinematography.

Delicious and inexpensive Thai food. James got spice Thai style and I think he finally met his match. His mouth is still watering for more.

Bathing in Thailand! Just my size.

Thai Cooking in Chiang Mai

2011-09-11T07:03:00.000+02:00

A few more photos from our cooking class and market tour in Chiang Mai.

We are happily gorging ourselves on delicious, cheap Thai food here in Chiang Mai. Matt and I took a cooking class earlier this week that included a market tour, lessons on herbs and all ingredients and teaching to make 3 dishes. I think I can now expertly prepare a Thai green curry, sweet and sour, and mango with sticky rice for dessert. Oishii!!

Enjoying our dishes with classmates from Boston and Belgium.

While I cooked, the Thai ladies played with Woody. I thought the Japanese loved babies, but man-oh-man, the Thai people adore them! Everyone stops to see him, pet him, play with him. James even got a few offers of daughters for marriage from fathers in the market after seeing him walk through with Woody strapped to his chest.

Sayonara Japan

2011-09-07T10:38:00.005+02:00

In the middle of the madness that became our lives after we decided to move to Copenhagen (caring for a 4 month old, adjusting to being a mom, packing up a house of 3 in just 3 weeks to move across the world, just to name a few major events), we wanted to take one final trip to enjoy the things that make Japan so special.

June is hydrangea season (あじさい) in Japan. I've mentioned it before, but the Japanese are so organized that they go even as far as to plant flowers so there will always be something in season to celebrate (ume, sakura, azaleas, hydrangeas, to name a few). Hakone, Tokyo's playground and area surrounding Mt. Fuji, is famous for their hydrangeas so we went in search of the big blooms.

And of course, we had to take Woody on his first shinkansen ride. Technically, this wasn't the shinkansen. It's called the ロマンセカ or Romance Car and it actually moves pretty slowly, but it's a direct train from Shinjuku to Hakone.

Power saving measures were obvious everywhere we went. June begins the rainy season and with that comes high temperatures and insane humidity. With the crippled Fukushima plants, the Japanese are concerned with reducing energy usage to prevent rolling blackouts. Air conditioners and escalators were turned off, and salarymen were encouraged to swap out their black suits for Cool Biz attire (think Japan meets Hawaii meets Casual Friday).

Aside from it's natural beauty, the main attraction in Hakone is the many forms of transportation you can take to get to Lake Ashi and back again. After your arrival on the Romance Car, you then transfer to a narrow gauge railway, a funicular, a cable car that stretches high above the mountains and sulfur spewing holes of the volcanic landscape, and finally, these horrifically gaudy pirate ships ferry you across the lake. Yes, it is all very campy. But, the views are spectacular, even on a hazy day like we encountered.

Along the way, you can stop to visit a bajillion "special" sites which are mostly non-events, but this one is worth the visit. The Hakone Open Air Museum is an outdoor sculpture museum in a park like setting. The coolest part is this giant hammock play structure for kids.

We spent a couple hours just lounging, taking pictures and wishing Woody were big enough to run around.

The next coolest part is the onsen foot bath with yuzu fruit floating in it. So nice on a rainy day.

Somehow we lucked out and got a top floor tatami room in our ryokan that night. We lounged in our yukata and ate 10 course meals in our room brought to us by sweet women in kimono. It was pretty amazing.

As for hydrangeas, we found a few, but there were more in Tokyo at that point in time. I think we were 2 weeks too early.

Sayonara, Japan. We miss you already.

Down to the wire

2011-06-11T17:19:00.008+02:00

Who gave him the microphone? Matt giving a speech for James at our end-of-the-year party at school.

Just 5 more days left of our lives (at least for now) in Japan. The movers packed up our belongings on Wednesday and we are camping on the wood floors of our empty apartment with thermarest mats and sweaters under our heads as pillows. Oh, the glamour that is moving. From now until Thursday, we are having dinners with friends, cleaning out classrooms, doing laundry, watching Cirque du Soleil, buying last minute must-have Japanese items and taking one last trip to Hakone on the Romance Car (we've always wanted to do this...just never thought we would do it with a 4 month old in tow). On Thursday we fly to Chiang Mai, Thailand for 2 weeks for a friends wedding and some much needed relaxation. I'm amazed at the incredible changes our tiny family has gone through in 4 months: the birth of a baby, a major disaster, a return to Oregon for weeks in April, fears of radiation, the decision to move to Copenhagen, and then actually moving our entire lives across the world in 3 weeks flat.

James and his mini-me at a Tokyo park

There are a million things running through my head as we prepare to leave our home of 3 years under such circumstances. Japan is a place like none other I've ever been. It gets under your skin and becomes a part of your being. It didn't take us long to begin unconsciously adapting Japanese customs into our everyday lives: bowing as you say thank you, finding it rude when someone speaks loudly on the train, gesturing politely with your hand instead of pointing, or even yelling across the restaurant to get your servers attention. Like no other place, the nuances of Japanese culture inadvertently become your own.

Moegi and Woody-chan on a sunny rooftop near the Tamagawa

But mostly, it's sad to leave at a time when I've reached a point of true comfort, mobility and ease. I can communicate enough to carry a conversation with my taxi driver about his brush with fame with Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaki. I can find my way to pretty much anywhere on the train system and even make sure I get on the train car that will allow me the quickest transfer. We have trusted doctors, favorite restaurants and shops, weekly food delivery service and convenience stores near our house that fulfill all of our banking, bill paying and late-night ice cream cravings. Japan is easy in so many ways.

last day of school

But of course, it is most sad to leave such amazing people in a time of uncertainty. Maybe it's because I'm a mother now and know that we are making this world a little worse every day for the next generation, but the nuclear situation and it's subsequent destruction of food supplies, livelihoods, environments and possibly lives, makes me quite sick to my stomach. I want to stay and be supportive, but I can't risk subjecting poor little Woody's growing cells to radiation. Why should anyone have to make such a decision? And why do I feel such guilt that I have the ability to choose whether I stay or go, when I know many families at our school do not.

dinner with Kathi, Greg, Craig and Charity

The friends we've made here are extra-ordinary. Leaving here is just a bit harder than the other places we've left. Our family essentially started out here in Japan--from engagement to the birth of our little one. And throughout those milestones, our friends have supported and encouraged us. It's hard to say goodbye. But, if we've learned anything from all this moving around, it's that the good friends do stay good friends and we do see them again. That's one advantage of the world's expanding borders.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to put up any photos for a while as my camera was lost? stolen? misplaced? last week.

One Last Game

2011-06-11T16:59:00.003+02:00

We'll be missing Yomiuri Giants games at Tokyo Dome next year. One last game to send us on our way.

Woody makes people smile. We love that.

An umbrella vending machine!

Sea Tangle for Radiation

2011-06-11T16:55:00.004+02:00

A sign of the times in Japan, when a 7 year old student writes you a sweet letter and includes packages of Korean sea tangle "for protection from the radiation." Sea tangle turned out to be little pellets of some sort of seaweed or kelp. Tough to swallow.

Brunch over Shinjuku

2011-05-18T02:15:00.005+02:00

Another brunch, with the same hooligans. This time, on a sunny Mother's Day on the top floor of a skyscraper in Shinjuku.

The Dutch creperie is definitely worth another visit: crepes with reblochon, potatoes, bacon and greens. yum.

It was a scorcher.

No stop in Shinjuku is complete without a visit to Krispy Kreme. Woody's first post-womb trip! Look at that proud papa showing his son the wonders of the world.

Meiji Shrine Wedding and Festival

2011-05-18T02:04:00.003+02:00

A wedding procession at Meiji Shrine during Golden Week

Buddhist priests and officiants

wedding attendees

There was also a Buddhist festival going on at the same time. This is an ornate drum that sounded every so often for the dancers below.

Brunch in the Sun

2011-05-18T01:59:00.002+02:00

A few photos from brunch on our porch with Craig and Charity and Matt.

An Easter treat for James. Carried across the Pacific as gently as I carried Woody.

A quiet trip to Kamakura

2011-05-10T03:45:00.004+02:00

On the Sunday after the earthquake, we thought things were slowly returning to normal in Tokyo, with trains resuming service and food easily accessible. We took a trip to Kamakura to enjoy the sunny spring day and the lack of crowds. This was before we knew of the severity of the nuclear disaster and that plumes of radiation would hit Tokyo 24 hours later.

Woody rubbed the tummy of Hotei, the god of happiness.

And was oggled by many a Japanese grandmother. He's a hit with the over 70 crowd. Without fail, every Japanese person who meets Woody comments on his nose: "Hana no takai desu! Kawaii!" He has a tall nose compared to his Japanese counterparts.

A nice nursing break on the grounds of a shrine in the hills.

Daibutsu, or Big Buddha. In a cruel coincidence, the shelter that once held Big Buddha was washed away by a tsunami over a thousand years ago.

And the sea. It seemed so calm and welcoming, just days after reclaiming what once belonged to it just 150 miles away.

Post Earthquake Tokyo

2011-05-04T13:56:00.003+02:00

I know it's 2 months after the fact, but I find these pictures a fascinating record of what Tokyo was like after the earthquake.

This is Takeshita Street in Harajuku on any given day.

Here is Takeshita Street 5 days after the earthquake.

The shelves of the 7-11 near our house were empty for days following the earthquake.

No fresh food on the shelves and definitely no bottled water.

Exodus

2011-03-17T03:45:00.007+01:00

As the concerns over the nuclear plants become even more grave, we have decided to take little Woody to Oregon to breathe some fresh air. The levels of radiation in Tokyo are by no means high enough to cause harm to humans--they are in fact way lower than the amount transferred on a long haul flight--but, the situation is worsening and nothing seems to be secure. We've been keeping him safe in the house for the last few days to prevent his little developing lungs from being exposed. I'm going stir crazy.

The US government finally came through with an emergency passport for Woody. Our sister-in-law, Claudia, was able to make some connections from her work at government offices in D.C. to get us bumped up on the list. We'll be leaving for Oregon on Saturday. James is coming until his spring break is over and I'll be there with the little babe through April 22nd, or until things settle down.
James's brother, Gary, sent this photo to us from Narita airport this morning. They visited for 3 days--shortest trip ever!--before deciding to return home because it was a difficult time to be a tourist in Tokyo. Looks like long lines will be greeting us on Saturday.

In 5 years of living overseas, we've never had to depend on the US embassy for any kind of support. Through this entire situation what has become transparent is how politics and diplomacy plays a role in a crisis like this. Many Americans live in Japan and rely on the embassy for information in English when a situation like this occurs. We'd like to believe that our safety is their number one concern, as the ambassador has stated in numerous press releases, but the truth is, we know that politics is more important. Japan and America have a strong relationship and the US government can't afford to put it in jeopardy. To recommend the evacuation of US citizens living in Tokyo, like many European embassies have done, would undermine the Japanese authority. All week, statements from the embassy only say that we should heed the advisories of the Japanese government, giving little more advice or information about what to do. However, it became clear that the situation was more dangerous than we have been hearing when we learned that the US has recommended the evacuation zone be moved to 50-75 km radius around the nuclear plants and that the navy will begin testing radiation levels across Japan. It's a sign that they are carefully stepping around the Japanese government and taking matters into their own hands.

We feel a sense of sadness and disloyalty by leaving Japan. All the Japanese office and support staff at our school are still there. In a way, they have also become like family to us. They aren't leaving, but they have watched the entire international community flee. That spreads fear among them where maybe there doesn't need to be fear. We pray that they will be safe in the coming weeks.

I could post a picture of the apocalypse, based on the tone of this blog post, but I think we can all use some baby-bath-time-love instead. I hate that James won't be able to see this awesome little guy for a few weeks.

On Fear

2011-03-15T05:45:00.004+01:00

This updated map shows 452 earthquakes in the last week. Aftershocks continue all up and down the seaboard. The earth is truly readjusting itself. This morning at 4:45 we first heard a deep grumbling that sounded like a freight train. It was almost as if we heard the plates themselves moving as the vibrations worked their way up our building and jolted us. Friends in other parts of Tokyo heard the same noise.

When there is a lack of clear information, fear and misinformation spread rampant. For the international group of Tokyoites, it's the fear of the unknown: more aftershocks? the REALLY big one still to come? nuclear radiation spreading to Tokyo? food shortages? trains to the airport cut? rolling blackouts until the end of April?

The Japanese seem to be the picture of calm and stoicism. At least that is what is shown in their poised demeanor. News reports show those Japanese most affected by the tsunami calmly waiting in straight lines for necessary supplies and walking instead of taking overcrowded transportation. They wait patiently for news from the government and help each other as needed. It's just what they have to do at this point in time. Japan is a country that is supremely organized and prepared. But I believe it is also a culture of sacrifice. Self-indulgent panic does nothing for the greater good of their country or humanity. When it was announced that blackouts would ensue in order to conserve energy, citizens voluntarily cut enough energy usage that there was no need for mandatory electricity outages. Not many societies would be so quick to react.

But the international community? Everyone wants to get the hell out of dodge. Starting on the Saturday post-quake, teachers, families and other expats started heading for the airport and shinkansen to take them away from Tokyo. For those of us who do not speak Japanese, there is always a fear that we don't know the whole truth, that we might miss something in translation. There is also a lack of trust in government. People want to be rational, but the initial response is to flee. Because we can. The international community is not rooted in Japan like the Japanese are. At the slightest disconcerting soundbite, people are ready to jump into the comforting arms of a home-country, or any country with a nice beach, that is not facing nuclear fallout. Seisen closed for the entire week because all the other Tokyo international schools did. 1/4 of James's class left the country over the weekend. Fathers are sending their wives and children to stay with family in the south. Out of a group of friends 15 or so deep, only 4 people still remain in Tokyo with us. And they aren't sure they are going to stay, either.

The truth at this point is that we aren't in immediate danger here in Tokyo. The people to the north are in danger. Our egos make us think that we are the most important people on earth and that our personal safety is of the utmost concern. Honestly, it's tough to fight that ego sometimes... I'd be lying if I said that fear didn't poison us from time to time. So, we monitor the news and also try to go about our daily lives. We don't panic because we know it won't help. We have a newborn boy who can't risk even the slightest amount of radiation in his developing body. We'll be ready and we'll be smart, but we won't panic. If it comes down to it, we'll leave for the safety of our son. But first, we have to work on getting his passport expedited...

The Big One

2011-03-12T12:31:00.005+01:00

We no doubt feel our mortality this weekend. The map above shows 238 earthquakes in the last week in our area. Not to mention the massive 8.9 that hit 230km away on Friday afternoon at 2:46 p.m.

Woody and I were home together and James was at work. I had just walked downstairs to check on our sleeping babe. He was in his bouncy chair in the bathroom (I shower anyway I can these days) and I was confused as to how it was bouncing freely while he was sleeping. I quickly realized that the earth below me was moving and I grabbed him out and braced us against the wall. The shaking wasn't violent, but rather was a strong sensation of swaying, like being on a boat. It almost made me seasick to watch the walls as they moved. Woody slept through the whole thing. I, however, was yelling expletives (sorry, son). We shook for 2 minutes before I felt safe to move from the wall. After something like that, its tough to tell if the earth is still moving of if it's just your nerves. Amazingly, nothing fell around our house except for an already precariously placed horn on the wall.

The Seisen buildings, however, are over 60 years old. The earthquake struck about 35 minutes before the end of the school day. James had the girls get under their desks like they have practiced many times.
Once the shaking stopped, the girls grabbed their zukins (the head covering pictured above) and emergency food bags and evacuated to the tennis courts. They waited it out until the building was cleared. Everyone was fine and was able to go home, but due to the halting of the trains and the gridlocked traffic, many students were stuck at school until 8:00. All the cell phone servers went down and it was nearly impossible to get in touch with families. James finally left school at 8:30 p.m., still waiting to hear from one family.

I was meant to have a "meet the baby" shower at 4:00 at a friend's house, but since everyone was stuck at school, no one was able to make it. My friend, Allison, and I sat around with our baby boys watching the coverage of the aftermath on BBC. James, Woody and I walked home at 9:00 after realizing that there was no chance of catching a cab. The streets were lined with people walking home from work. Imagine very crowded train cars, that leave a station every 3 minutes, dumped on the sidewalk. Usually quiet streets were packed with men in black suits and briefcases walking in the opposite direction of the city's core. It was a very unique scene.

The aftershocks came constantly, every 5 minutes or so, until midnight. We've felt about 10 today. They were unnerving at first, but you become accustomed to them after awhile. Now the big scare is Japan's nuclear reactors. The reactors in concern are 260 km north of Tokyo. The media is portraying the worst possible scenarios, but from what we hear, we are in no harm. The winds are pushing to the sea and beyond a 10-20 km radius is supposed to be ensured to be safe. I won't lie, it's still unsettling. But panic won't help me. We are, however, preparing for a blackout tonight. We've been told to expect a 3 hour block with out electricity. We just cooked a bunch of food, filled the bathtub, and poured ourselves a drink to enjoy while watching movies. I think Star Wars is about to be queued up.

We feel great sadness for the people to the north in Sendai and the surrounding regions. Our sense of uneasiness is nothing compared to the grief and aftermath they are grappling to make sense of today.

Ume in Full Bloom

2011-02-12T23:22:00.000+01:00

Every February, the plum blossoms arrive in Japan in all their splendor. In the same way football and fresh new yellow pencils signal the beginning of Fall in America, Setsubun and the ume blossoms alert Japan that spring is just around the corner.

A rather large park down our train line, in Umegaoka, held an omatsuri (festival) this weekend to show off the blossoms. Three days past due, and feeling a bit stir crazy in the house, James helped me muster the energy on Sunday to eat a spicy curry lunch in Roppongi and visit the park on our way home.

James wanted to take his new camera lens for a drive before baby arrived. Nature's colors often leave me speechless. I'm not one with words, but I imagine a poet can wax eloquently about these blossoms.

Not only are they beautiful, but their fragrance is intoxicating, too. I wish I could bottle it up.

Last June, I wrote about making my own ume-shu. What we didn't announce on that post was that I literally found out I was pregnant while making that jug of plum wine. Coincidentally, the ume-shu requires 9 months to a year to marinate, just like our little akachan. We nicknamed that batch "babyshu" and looked forward to toasting the birth of our baby in February, the same month the blossoms make their appearance.

At the festival, men ladled out shots of ume-shu and drunken plums for 300 yen. We bought a mini ume bonsai and swore we wouldn't let this one go the way of our other poor houseplants.

At about 5:30 we headed home by train. Little did we know it would be just 12 more hours before our own little plum would be ready to bloom.

Pomelo

2011-02-12T00:07:00.000+01:00

I have a thing for fruit. Like persimmons and kinkan and watermelons and cantaloupes. When James brought home this fruit the size of my overdue belly, we thought it was just another giant, well-bred, Japanese grapefruit. Turns out it looks, smells, and tastes similar to a grapefruit (just a bit sweeter with a lot more white stuff protecting the juicy parts), but its actually a pomelo. A famous pregnancy book compares each week of the fetus's growth to a fruit. Last week, before the 10th, I was a watermelon. This week, overdue, the baby cheekily turned into a pumpkin. I think pomelo is also pretty fitting.

Showered Again

2011-01-27T07:45:00.002+01:00

I love that my families at school threw me a baby shower even though it is totally out of custom to do so. In fact, most people don't even know what a baby shower is here! Nonetheless, the parents put together a really sweet party filled with games, food, and gifts. I think I was bright red the whole time.

Skype Love From Afar

2011-01-13T12:38:00.006+01:00

My friends are amazing.

I may be thousands of miles away from my dear friends, but last weekend, it was like I was in the room.

I sat on my couch in Tokyo, while they gathered around the dining table in Portland.
I ate french toast, they noshed on Asian cuisine.
It was 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning for me, 6:00 p.m. Friday night for them.
I had decaf, wine for the girls.
They opened my gifts, but I still got to ooooh and awwww.
We even played shower games.
It was a like a giant, virtual hug for me and baby.

Pictures of how it went down on Heather's blog.

Thanks for saving me a spot at the dinner table, ladies!
I love you!

New Year's 2011

2011-01-12T12:18:00.000+01:00

2011 is the year of the rabbit!

Jetlag got the better of us on New Year's Eve and we were both asleep by 10:00 back in Japan. New Years Day we went for a stroll and ended up on the train to Meiji-Jingu Mae shrine in Harajuku. Thinking we'd saunter up to the shrine, we started in on the long walk through the park. When we turned the corner, we were greeted with this scene:

And that's not even the shrine up ahead! That's just a TV screen telling you how much further you have to go to get to the shrine...From where we stood, it would have still been well over an hour of waiting in line. Needless to say, we looked for the escape route and turned around and beelined for a much, much shorter line....

mmmm....who needs new year's resolutions when your pregnant?

Hawaii at Christmas

2011-01-11T11:21:00.000+01:00

Our trip to Hawaii was 10 days in a tropical paradise and we didn't want to come home.

We landed to torrential downpours in Honolulu, and if it wasn't for our friends, Emi and Andre, who happened to be staying in Waikiki at the same time, we would have been miserable in the tourist infested town. But, we made the best of the deserted beaches at night and enjoyed the warm sand and sweet smells in the air.

Maui was more our style. Our condo was bigger than our apartment (that's not really saying much) and more good friends, the Kelly Family, joined us in Lahaina. We spent 8 days on the beach in the sun. We saw some amazing fish underwater, James surfed, and we rented a tandem cruiser for a couple of days to get us around town. One day we visited a cute little hippie town called Pa'ia and spotted whales off the coast. I imagine everyone who visits Hawaii dreams, as we did, of selling it all and moving to paradise. One day...

Diamond Head and Waikiki Beach

Emi and Andre in Honolulu

wooden outrigger in Lahaina

incredible hundred year old Banyan tree that spawned at least 6 more trees

Christmas Eve in Lahaina

what we did most days

stand-up paddle boarding

midnight mass on Christmas Eve in Lahaina

the stockings were hung by the pool...or something like that...

James is in the middle about to dive - Jim is contemplating - Vivian wants nothing to do with it - Ryan is already in

biking to the beach...the life

good friends to play with

no tummy laying on the beach for me

nothing keeps some people out of the water

stenciling in Pa'ia

we loved our cruiser

frolicking like my whale friends

かきKaki Persimmon

2010-11-09T13:19:00.004+01:00

Persimmons are not a fruit I grew up with in Oregon. In fact, I'm not sure I'd even laid eyes on one until we arrived in Japan. I avoided them through my first year in Japan because they looked strange and I didn't know what to do with them. Then, someone gave me a slice. They are sort of an acquired taste because they aren't super sweet or juicy, at least this variety anyway, but they've grown on me. James took a bite a while back and couldn't stomach it because he expected it to be a tomato (being color blind has it's drawbacks).

I love the starfish-like design on the inside. And the way they hang heavy on all the trees around Tokyo right now. My Japanese teacher plucked a couple off her tree for me this week. Who knew a rose (or kaki) could grow from concrete?

Nikko

2010-11-08T12:46:00.004+01:00

Starving for nature, James and I made an overnight trek to Nikko during our Fall Break. Nikko has been the Japanese center for Buddhist and Shinto mountain worship since before 1600. The national park holds hiking trails, onsen, and wild monkeys. But I didn't have the stamina for any of those adventures this time around, so we just ambled among the narrow alleyways and mountain paths enjoying the scenery.

I don't know what this purple berry is, but it's so beautiful against the red shed.

Mossy old trees that beckon you to hug them...

The trees were just beginning to change into their autumn coats.

Beautiful Japanese Maple (もみじ）

"Honey, what should I wear for our weekend in the countryside?"
"I hear all the country folk wear hot pants, stripper boots and a hair weave."

I stealthily took the picture of James above just to get the girl in the hotpants. A nice couple noticed me taking James's picture and offered to take our picture for us. The train station doesn't usually get the tourist love!

International Schools

2010-11-05T13:39:00.000+01:00

Not my photo of Kobe

Something we rarely talk about on here is our work life and the international-ness of it. I guess it's become the only way we know after nearly 5 years of living overseas and teaching in international schools. After a while, you forget to notice that people are from different cultures, or that you just might stick out a bit.

A few weeks back, my school sent me and 4 co-workers to Kobe for a 3-day language arts conference. Our school uses the International Baccalaureate Organization's Primary Years Programme, a world renown curriculum that focuses on inquiry based instruction and global responsibility. The program is used in hundreds of schools in developing and advanced countries. The conference was a meeting of educators who work in countries across Asia but hail from around the world--New Zealand, China, South Africa, Australia, Canada, America, Holland, Germany, and many more. I didn't think much of it at first, but as the conference progressed, I was struck by the notion that so many people, with vastly different experiences and depths of knowledge, can come together in one room to talk about the best way to educate the world's children.

As the economy has changed around the world, so too, has the makeup of our school. International schools are usually know for diverse populations, but as companies seem to be reducing their number of overseas workers, the enrollment of our schools change. In prosperous times, our school is widely diverse. In times of economic uncertainty, our school accepts greater numbers of Japanese and Korean students to keep the numbers steady. But even with the changing enrollment, my class of 24 students still represents 13 countries including Botswana, Pakistan, India, Finland, Italy, Norway, Germany and South Korea. The girls are amazing in their willingness to accept each other, similarities and differences included, with open arms. One of my little girls wrote recently in her journal about our newest student who arrived from Thailand: "Emmi seemed a bit shy at first. My goal is to make her feel welcome at Seisen. I will talk to her to make her feel comfortable. And I can collect more information about her culture." Was anyone else thinking like this as a seven year old? Wow.

Anyway, that's all I really have to say about that. We feel pretty blown away sometimes.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T13:26:00.001+01:00

Talking about Button

2010-10-19T14:30:00.004+02:00

The baby bump definitely gets a lot of love at school. The girls are infatuated with my growing belly and make sure to say good morning and goodbye to the baby each day. Last weekend I went to Kobe for a conference and missed school on Friday. When I returned on Monday, this note was on our "discovery table".

Button is the unofficial name for the little babe, coined by the girls in my class.
Vampire anyone?
When you add up the tally marks, it seems I have 60 kids in my class....curious....seems we need to do a little work on data handling.

Neighborhood Matsuri

2010-09-26T05:47:00.004+02:00

On a lazy Sunday morning, the beating of a large drum came down our little road.

The neighborhood matsuri (festival) parade was making its way to the temple to deliver the shrine. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the video of them carrying the shrine in uniform rhythm to load. Maybe next time.

The weather has finally changed, thanks to a typhoon off the coast, so we are no longer in sweltering heat. We tried to motivate for a hike outside the city, but we woke up a little too late. School is wearing us out. The baby is not even here yet and he/she wakes me up most nights. Last night was cook-your-own yakinikku and a screening of Iron Man 2. It takes about 3 takes for me to get through a movie these days.

Pregnancy in Japan

2010-09-14T15:10:00.006+02:00

A few cultural differences I've noticed so far....

Despite the cute little "akachan" badge on my purse, no one gives up their seat on the train for me.
No food, except alcohol and cigarettes, is off limits here. Caffeine in moderation is ok. Sushi? Of course. Soft cheese...well, they don't really understand cheese anyway.
People look at me sideways for still riding my bike.
I'm treated with very delicate words and hands by Japanese women: "oh, please be so careful" are usually the first words out of their mouths. Pregnancy is a very special time here.
Prenatal vitamins are not regularly used because it is assumed that the Japanese diet is already healthy and varied enough.
It will cost an extra $100 to have James in the delivery room with me. I'm sure he would prefer to pinch pennies...
I get an ultrasound at every check up. I'm currently 19 weeks and have had 3 ultrasounds.
Japanese women are strictly discouraged from gaining more than 7 kilos (about 15 pounds). My doctor has told me to gain about 12 kilos (about 25 pounds) because of my height, and, as he says, he knows better. Epidurals are not, by default, done in Japan. Smaller babies = less painful natural births.
The government pays up to $85 for each of my prenatal checkups. My insurance is *$#%.
The "safe" mark for a pregnancy in Japan is the 5 month, whereas in America, you are considered in the clear after 3 months.
In Japan, you are considered pregnant for 10 months, not 9. It seems to make more sense, really: 40 weeks / 4 weeks per month = 10 months. In the US, they count some months as having 5. The lunar calendar changes things a bit.
Women are discouraged from making noise during labor. A friend of mine was repeatedly asked to quiet down so she would not disturb the other people in the hospital.

Summer of America

2010-08-28T08:26:00.010+02:00

This summer was full of goodness, too much to narrate or list. Instead, a few photos (not in any sort of order) will have to do. Goodbye summer....you were too short and so wonderful.

We met our new nephew, Easton, in Utah.

Reunited with old friends and new additions in Portland

made the best of a missed connection in Minneapolis by renting bikes at a nearby park and seeing old friends

James got in some good mountain riding in Utah

Saw another nephew, John, in Colorado. I was so much faster than him.

Picked up a new friend at the beach in Hampton, New Hampshire.

Later we made friends with his cousin when he rambled into our Utah campspot

Saw Blues Traveler with good friends in Portsmouth, New Hampshire at the Red Hook Brewery

Enjoyed being a tourist in Boston while James went to school

Had a lobster with Cory's family in New Hampshire

Celebrated Hilary's engagement with good college friends in Portland

Enjoyed a Red Sox win at Fenway Park from the cheap seats

Even walked to Maine!

Spent the night at a great cabin on a peaceful lake in New Hampshire

Did a little kayaking on that lake

Found the yummiest country store in New Hampshire

Tasted delicious small batch soda at a New Hampshire bottling company

Had mediocre food at a true New England diner with Ude

Visited 90+ year old grandparents in McMinnville

and cousins and aunts and uncles

Saw friends leaving for big trips

and met new friends

James helped salvage a bird nest hurt by fireworks

Basked in Oregon's beauty

Visited friends in Montana (and wrote my thesis where ever I could find a chair and internet connection)

Watched the 4th of July fireworks over Whitefish Lake in Montana

Viewed gorgeous early morning alpenglow in Glacier National Park

oggled wind farms in Montana

loved camping in our truck

and enjoyed the prairies in South Dakota.

June in Tokyo

2010-06-23T21:51:00.004+02:00

We had a few visitors to our tiny apartment in June and we enjoyed seeing Tokyo through a newcomers eyes once again.

I was almost sad to stop riding my bike to work each morning because the hydrangeas on this nice garden path were just about to bloom. Almost, but not totally. A break from the race is a good thing.

My brother Dirck, sister-in-law, Jill and James's friend, Kevin, came to visit. We took another yakatabune ride on Tokyo Bay, this time at night.

Baseball at Tokyo Dome

Sneaking a picture of a wedding at Meiji-Jingu shrine in Harajuku. I love the look of the little boy on the right. Get me out of here and these clothes!

We even took a short trip to Hiroshima and Miyajima. The tide was out this time, leaving the torii to be surrounded by visitors and people clamming.

Beautiful sake barrels at the shrine on Miyajima.

Homemade Umeshu

2010-06-23T21:41:00.004+02:00

In May and June, Japanese apricots cover the ume (うめ ) trees and are for sale in grocery stores all around Tokyo. It's the season of homemade fruit liquor. James and I are big fans of umeshu, the sweet, fruity liqueur that is called "plum wine" but is actually made from these Japanese apricots. I've yet to figure out why we call these apricots, plums. Before we left for America for the summer, I looked up a recipe for homemade umeshu and I tried my hand at a simple recipe.

Start with freshly cleaned and stemmed green apricots.

Rock sugar, white liquor and a big glass jug are the only other ingredients.

Layer apricots and sugar until you are about tw0-thirds full and then pour the white liquor over the top.
Voila!
We'll let you know how it tastes in about a year.

**Or maybe you could taste it yourself when you come to visit?**

Yakatabune Birthday Party

2010-06-13T04:12:00.005+02:00

School finished on Friday, June 4th and the days since have been a whirlwind of Sayonara parties, birthday parties and visitors. Last Sunday, we took a party cruise on a Yakatabune for friends Moegi and Kuniyo's birthday. The cruise lasted about 2 hours and drops anchor for a while in Tokyo Bay just near Odaiba and the Rainbow Bridge. We lucked out with gorgeous weather.

Lots of other boats were out partying with us that day. This is a great spot to be for the August O-Bon fireworks.

This trip was a nomihodai/tabehodai which means all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink in 2 hours. The girls are making okonomiyaki and monjyayaki. Monjyayki is a cabbage, egg, seafood, mochi and meat based pancake which you finely chop and then spread out over the grill until sticky and browned. At first glance it looks unappetizing but tastes pretty good.

We also had yakisoba and garlic rice. Cooking is half the fun.

View of Odaiba and the futuristic Fuji TV building from the roof of the boat.

Moegi and Kuniyo

What Color Do You Want?

2010-05-27T01:59:00.002+02:00

It must be getting close to summer season! Multiple cuts of blue lycra for little boys and girls during swim lessons marks the arrival of summer. Remember, the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.

You Blink and They've Graduated...

2010-05-26T08:39:00.002+02:00

This is my neice Avery. She just graduated from pre-school. That means she is 5 and going on to Kindergarten. That also means she's not the little bumpkin I used to hold in my lap and play with back in Oregon. I still clearly remember the day she was born and now she is going to school?

Seoul: Short and Sweet

2010-05-25T16:41:00.005+02:00

The end of the school year is bad timing for travel, especially on a short weekend to another country when the closest airport is over an hour away from your home. But, for Cory, we'll do anything. We flew from Haneda Airport to Seoul, South Korea on Friday night and were back in our apartment by 7:30 on Sunday night. A whirlwind, to say the least. These are just a few random and non-chronological pictures of our short-sided perspective of the city in 36 hours.

foreign language meant utter reliance on Cory

Insadong: rare to see Starbucks written in another alphabet.

Buddhist Vegetarian Korean dinner: kimchi, bibinba, lettuce wraps

can you call their bluff? pretty sure Gwenyth Paltrow isn't vegetarian.

rice sweets

traditional crafts and tea shops

calligraphy brushes

oh! I wanted a picture of these Korean newlyweds, easily identifiable by their matching ensembles.

rows of beautiful bonsai on James's bike ride

bunkers which had once been unnecessary now seem to be revitalizing as tensions with North Korea rise

more evidence of fear: lockers filled with gas masks in Seoul train stations

hmmm

Jesus and the cross light the way to Cory's house--neon crosses light up the cityscape at night

Eat Your Vegetables?

2010-05-25T16:35:00.002+02:00

It's easy to become desensitized to our environment. Fresh sushi, fancy toilet seats, and orderly lines are things unique to Japan that I sometimes take for granted. But, the ridiculousness of individually wrapped veggies and fruit in Japan is one thing I can never seem to forget. This is just a small sampling of the fruits and veg I had on hand. Everything comes in it's own neat little wrapper. Sometimes I wonder which is more harmful, the plastic chemicals seeping into the food or the dirt that could possibly touch an errant lemon?

Rush Hour in Tokyo

2010-05-14T02:46:00.002+02:00

via Japan Today

So very real. Thank goodness for bicycles to get us to work.

Kodomo no hi

2010-05-06T00:14:00.003+02:00

May 5th is Kodomo-no-hi in Japan, a day to celebrate boys and all children. These beautiful flags, called koi-no-bori, are flying all over our neighborhood. The koi are supposed to represent the boys of the house and their symbolic struggle upstream in life. I love seeing them wave around in the breezes, a sure sign of spring.

Cycling Izu Oshima

2010-05-05T11:55:00.010+02:00

Most of Japan is celebrating Golden Week now. A series of back-to-back holidays to celebrate Greenery Day, Children's Day, the emperor's birthday and Showa Day gives the Japanese a straight week off from work and a chance to travel. When we first moved here, I read a small piece of advice in a book for foreigners: When it comes to Golden Week, ask your Japanese friends where they are going, and then go the other way. The crowds and 25 hours of backlog on the freeways are what that piece of advice is hinting at. Fortunately for us, we had a 3 day weekend and not too many other Japanese had the same idea to go to Izu Oshima.

(not our picture)

Oshima is the first island in a string of seven volcanic islands off the Izu Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean. The volcano, Mt. Mihara, last exploded in 1986.

We took this high speed jet foil from Odaiba to the Okata Port on Oshima. It was just a 90 minute ride on this super fast ferry that lifts up on ski-like legs and cruises at 80 kmph.

We took our bicycles with us and enjoyed some of the most peaceful cycling we've encountered since our camping/cycling trip in Holland 2 years ago. The weather was sunny and warm and the roads were quiet, hilly and challenging. The coast line reminded me of the jagged Oregon coast just across the ocean. But the beaches were full of black sand and volcanic rock pounded smooth by the waves.

We overtook a camp spot near the coast. This was a free family camping ground, which meant that you didn't even have to bring your own tent, sleeping bag, or food. Everything you need to camp could be provided for a nominal fee.

The island was so pristine, so beautiful that it felt like an affordable version of Hawaii. Palm trees, cactus and camellias thrive here.

The first day we did about 60 km up and down steep mountain grades. Riding 20 minutes to work each day on flats does not prepare you for climbing volcanoes with panniers filled with camping gear.

Mt. Mihara looms over James.

This fault line is extraordinary. The earth has actually pushed up and over 90 layers of the earth's stratum are visible along this section of road. Really stunning to come across and think about the fact that we were riding around on top of the fault line which is believed to be the epicenter of the predicted Great Tokai earthquake of 20??. It happens every 100 years or so and is long overdue now. We didn't get the chance to go the rim of the volcano, but read that it is lined with concrete volcano shelters. The coast line has tsunami warning signs all around.

Tourism has treated this island well. Not a piece of trash was out of place, not a person was rude and not a car honked. I wonder why this road is red, but I can't imagine it's cheap?

We met these cute kids, and their camp counselor, along the road. They were cycling up hill on bikes that couldn't have made the job too easy. We cheered them on by yelling "ganbatte!" and they enjoyed attention from 2 very white people. At a pit stop, the little boy next to me gave me the chance to practice my Japanese when he asked: あなたわすしが好きですか？　Which translates to: Do you like sushi? He was pretty darn cute.

The story of a glorious weekend of bikes and sun goes a little sour when we returned to the port to catch our ferry home on Sunday evening at 5:00. We waited patiently, but thought it a bit strange that no one else was showing up for the ferry. And then the ferry itself didn't show up. And we all know everything Japanese is on time. Panic began to sink in: we already knew this ferry was the last one of the day and that all boats on Monday were filled. I ran across the street to the nearest gift shop and found a nice man who spoke English and kindly asked the shop keeper to call the ferry company for us. Turns out, the ferry goes to different ports each day depending on the ocean conditions. Our boat went to Motomachi. We were standing in Okata, 7 km away.

The shop keeper told us to come see her at 9 a.m. the next morning and she would tell us which port to be at for the 11:00 boat on which she had so graciously booked reservations for us.

After I nearly broke into tears from the exhaustion of steep hills and the disappointment of not making it back to spend Monday relaxing and sleeping, we decided to ride to Motomachi and find some food and a place to stay, thinking that we would be well positioned for the 11:00 boat. We'd also heard rumor of a great little outdoor onsen in Motomachi that would be a nice soak for our weary bones.

Hana-no-yu onsen softened the blow of missing our ferry with it's gorgeous views of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean, Hakone and Mt. Fuji. Japanese onsen are a treasure for tired cyclists.

But, we couldn't stay there all night. And, not wanting to pay $150 or more for lodging, we unraveled our camp gear for another night under the stars. Only this time, there was no camp ground to hijack. So we slept off to the side of a walking trail in a park next to the ocean. We got a few startled looks from walkers on their early morning stroll, but we were otherwise un-bothered.

Of course, the ocean conditions changed, which meant our port also did. The next morning we saddled up and road the short 7km up hill back to Okata to catch our 11:00 a.m. ferry back to Tokyo. We were happy to see so many people milling about, a good sign we were at the right place. The boat ride home was relaxing, but the stress of carrying our bikes and loaded panniers through the crowded subways was almost enough to drown out the good memories. Fortunately for us, time takes away the bad memories and leaves us only with thoughts of open roads, nights under the stars, the sound of birds chirping and the waves lapping. Tokyo is cool, but goodness, I miss the country.

Curry Cat

2010-04-27T11:09:00.000+02:00

Love this.

Wilco Musings

2010-04-24T04:21:00.005+02:00

Wilco played to a sold out crowd on Tokyo's Odaiba Island last night.

We first saw Wilco four years ago at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, when we were just young whipper snappers living in different European countries. Maybe it was the last minute meeting in Holland for 2 people tired of living thousands of miles apart, the bicycles flanking the streets or the romantic light coming in the stained glass windows of the converted church, but I think that may have been the best show we've seen.

Fast forward to last night, and we found ourselves on a man-made island (built on top of a landfill) at Palette Town's concert venue Zepp Tokyo. The scene of concert goers changed from flannel shirted-pot smoking-bike riders to young hipsters in suits just getting off work and the train. At concerts in Japan, the audience is ever so respectful---no one crowds to the front and sumimasens pepper the air as people politely jostle for a spot. Dancers quietly knee bob in their individual square foot of space. It's an audience that I'm sure must phase musicians at their first show. What, no hecklers? No fights? No moshing?

This particular crowd was probably made up of 15% foreigners. A good hour into the show, between songs, someone yelled out "Say something!" to which Jeff Tweedy replied, "shut-up." After a few songs he apologized to the Japanese crowd saying that "shut-up" wasn't for them, but for all the Americans in the crowd. Apparently, Americans at his shows want to make a connection from the audience and seem to think he is speaking directly to them. Charming.

The show was incredible. The music sounded even better than on the records and we loved all 2 hours of it. They are great musicians. It's a little bit disheartnening to watch your favorite band start to show the slow and eventual spread of the bellies and loosening of the hair. Rock stars aren't supposed to be mere aging mortals like us, but comparing the band member's physiques to that of 4 years ago makes me realize we are all growing up (and/or out).

The flannel shirts, shaggy hair and acoustic guitars made me homesick for Oregon. I know where my roots are and they seem to be calling me back home more and more these days.

Glimpses of Japan from the iPhone

2010-04-22T12:03:00.006+02:00

James's iPhone captures great images on the fly that we might otherwise be too shy to snap. Every once in a while I remember to pull them off his phone. Here are a few shots of the strange, the bizarre, and maybe even the unimaginable (ok, probably not).

Deep vein thrombosis (economy class syndrome)
This was on a health card at Nagoya airport. As if we poor commoners didn't already have it bad enough back in coach!

I'll never get over outrageously priced fruit. The front 3 melons go from about $100 down to $60.

An $18 bunch of grapes.

At the check in counter for our Air Philippines flight to leave Boracay, we had to step on the scale WITH our baggage! That was when we knew we were dealing with a top notch organization.
*That is not James's hairy arm. I do not know this poor unsuspecting and possibly over-his-weight-limit man.*

Costco Japan: Looks pretty much the same with the exception of the SUSHI counter replacing the deli counter and that young boys run around in pajama pants and Uggs. James got cold in the freezer section and stole my scarf.

I was thinking just a piece---Matt suggested the whole American pie. We've never felt so collectively sick after a meal. Bleh.

Who isn't attracted to a giant fish head in the grocery store?

Adventures in Cooking

2010-04-20T11:34:00.005+02:00

I learned about mirin the hard way tonight.

Never having used mirin in my cooking, I googled it before I started cooking the recipe for salmon, soba noodles and miso dressing. Trusty Google told me it was Japanese rice wine commonly used in cooking. Perfect, had some of that in the cupboard. So, I added the mirin to the sauce pan and let it simmer while I got the fish grill and another gas burner going.

When the fish grill didn't light, I figured I was overloading the oven. Ever impatient and hungry, I tried again instead of backing off. Instantly the most piercing alarm I've ever heard went off. Flashbacks of my mom baking chocolate chip cookies came into my mind as I quickly fanned what I thought was the smoke detector on the kitchen ceiling. But, it didn't work. I fanned some more, turned off all the burners, opened doors...nothing.

Instead of abating, the front door monitor started yelling at me in Japanese and flashing a picture of water spigot and the characters ガス (gas). After about 4 minutes of incessant beeping, James finally climbed up and took the sensor off the base. The beeping stopped. I pushed all the buttons I could make out on the monitor and it finally stopped flashing impending doom at me.

Problem solved. Sat down to a yummy dinner.

Doorbell rings, Japanese man on the speaker, but no more video. I fumbled with the monitor and realized I somehow screwed up the buttons during my earlier debacle.

I've had Japanese men in security uniforms at our door in the past. I knew what to expect and thankfully I started my Japanese lessons yesterday, so I'm already fluent. Our conversation went something like this:

Jesse: Sumimasen! (excuse me)
Security: Did you set off an alarm you crazy gaijin? (paraphrased)
Jesse: Gomennasai (sorry)
Security: Ryori desu ka? (Are you cooking?)
Jesse: Hai. Ryori desu. (Yes. Cooking.)
Security: Mirin desu ka? (Mirin is it?)
Jesse: Hai...mirin desu. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, so desu ka? (Is that so?)
Security: New to this cooking game are you? (paraphrased)
Jesse: Hai, hai. Gomennasai. (Yes, yes, sorry.)
Security: Namae wa, nan desu ka? (What is your name?)
Jesse: Watashi wa, ジェシ desu. (This translates directly to: As for me, Jieshi it is.)
Security: Sayonara you silly girl (paraphrased again)
Jesse: Gomennasai!!!

My Japanese teacher will be so proud and it seems I won't be cooking with mirin again any time soon. James came up the stairs and asked me how the security guard knew I was cooking with mirin. I said, either it happens often, or it's the empty bottles in the doorway. Does anyone know about this? Does alcohol come off as a gas when it is cooked?

More from Boracay

2010-04-17T03:55:00.005+02:00

I stole a few pictures from Craig and Charity. I think their photos better capture the beauty of the island than mine do.

These kids are gorgeous.

Land is on your right, James.

Being away from Tokyo makes us realize how vibrantly colorful the rest of the world is.

Island living is tough work.

The highest viewpoint on Boracay.

ugh. I still don't know why I voluntarily suited up in lycra for most of my holiday.

Oh, I want to go back! Reports say this is the coldest April on record in Japan in 50 years.

Ferry from Caticlan to Boracay.

Trikes on at the ferry dock. I want a mango shake!

Meet Easton

2010-04-12T02:37:00.002+02:00

My newest nephew was born to Emma and Beau this week. His name is Easton and he is the picture of perfection. Dang, sometimes it's hard being so far away.

They're Back!

2010-04-04T08:53:00.006+02:00

The sakura blossoms bloomed 6 days earlier this year. Shocking, since its been such a long, cold winter in Tokyo. It's Easter Sunday today and it feels cold enough to snow.

We had Good Friday off and did a little wandering with our cameras and bikes. Unicycles are really popular with little girls. I can't imagine a school in the States stocking unicycles for recess.

Entering through a stone torii at a temple.

These are Maneki Neko (fortune cats) on a 4 story shelf at a neighborhood temple. Cats with their left paw up in a welcoming fashion are found in stores and are supposed to beckon new customers to the shop. Cats with their right paw up welcome good fortune or wealth.

These are James's favorite fresh baked メロンのパン (melon pan) at a shop in our neighborhood. They are soft balls of dough shaped like melon, but usually topped with cinnamon, chocolate or maple syrup.

The clouds parted long enough on Saturday to have a hanami in Kinuta Koen with friends. This park was more family friendly and less rambunctious than last year's hanami in Yoyogi Koen.

4 month old baby Natalee kept me warm when the sun tucked behind the clouds. She belongs to proud mama Ingrid and daddy Montani, but I think I would like to take her home.

Lucky to Be Alive

2010-04-01T01:34:00.004+02:00

When Craig and Charity's flight from Boracay to Manila was delayed last year while the ground crew duct-taped the wing, we should have been warned. When our plane landed in Boracay and James grabbed my hand and said "hold on, honey" because the plane landed sideways, we should have been warned. And when the dive instructor told us about a plane that crashed at the Boracay airport and was going to be sunk soon for underwater exploration, we should have been warned. But now Europe has warned us about Air Philippines, Philippine Airlines, Zest Air, and Cebu Air, all flown by all 5 of us at some point on this trip.

I'd say we are lucky to be alive, and yet, I'd probably fly them again just because Boracay is that amazing. And if you know me, and my fear of flying, you know that's pretty much near a miracle.

Boracay Island, The Philippines

2010-03-27T11:31:00.009+01:00

Spring Break on Boracay:

Tropical islands, mango shakes, palm trees, snorkeling, scuba diving, white sand, crystal clear water, sailboats, cheap rum, friendly locals, sunshine, good friends and a dream to go back.

The island of Boracay. Our villas and where we spent most of our time is toward the top of the picture.

I love these little tricycles. Similar to the tuk-tuks in Thailand, they take you around the island for about a dollar's fare.

Our typical day...

and a typical night. Most everyone speaks English in The Philippines and we had a lot of fun hanging out with the locals and playing with their kids.

I don't think I could rate the food in The Philippines higher than the spicy tastes of Thailand, but these mango shakes were a little slice of heaven. Fresh mango and ice in the blender. Every night we dined on fresh fish while watching the waves crash and the stars come out. Food and drinks were cheap. Massages about $8 for an hour.

James, Craig and Charity did a lot of sunbathing and a little diving. Cory and I took an Open Water Divers course, which Cory successfully completed. After day 2 I opted for more time above water and the occasional snorkel swim.

The glass bottom boat behind us is painted like Nemo. We found clown fish, spiny sea urchins and humongous sand dollars just from the surface of the sea. My favorite line from our dive theory books: "If it's really pretty, really ugly or doesn't run away from you, don't touch it!" So true in all of life.

Even the cats were on island time.

Kids ran free around the island. No hyper-attentive parents, no orange arm floaties, no sunscreen---just child-like play with wild abandon at the beach. They were gorgeous.

Sunsets were strictly observed. We left the beach one time for a sunset ride on a sailboat. Flying fish and big box jellyfish cruised with us.

Our perfect jungle villas for $33 per night. Just a 3 minute walk from the beach. Monkeys, toads, geckos and birds all inclusive.

Our tricycle ride back to catch the ferry to catch the plane to get us back to...

Manila. A city with a "captivating energy and electricity in the air."* Here's Cory on our final Philippine evening in one of the many outdoor malls in Manila. Fake environments are an oasis in the middle of a crazy city like this. Cory is on country #9 with us. We look forward to making South Korea #10 in May.

*Read: Travel code words for a messy, disorganized, in-your-face city with air pollution, honking cars, zero traffic laws, and guards with guns on every street corner and convenience store.

Our Wedding Story by Riko

2010-03-19T05:21:00.006+01:00

I have a rather precocious student in my class who is always interested in the love lives of adults. It must be her older sister's influence because normally second graders don't care much about love lives except to be grossed out by their parents kissing. But this little one was so inspired by her teacher getting married that she very enthusiastically wrote a story about it. Everyday she asked for more writing time. Like any good budding author, she was very dutiful in her research, asking such important questions as, "what did you do next?" and "did you ever go to his house?" Read on:

Mr. Foss and Ms. Latter
Realistic Fiction
"They Are Going to Marry"
By: Riko

Realistic fiction! She realized she didn't have all the details since she has only known me for 7 months and had to fill some in herself.

There is a man called Mr. Foss. He is realy strong and handsome.

Love those bulging biceps!

He went to ropongi and he saw just right person called Ms. Latter. And Ms. Latter thought that he is cute and handsome. Mr. Foss thought...

The Roppongi sentence is funny on so many levels. Roppongi is the foreigner neighborhood of Tokyo filled with American friendly restaurants, grocery stores and bars. But Roppongi is also an area filled with gentleman's clubs and where "less-reputable" women hang out, if you know what I mean. How did she come up with Roppongi?

...he is funny and cute. A butifull women called Ms. Latter said hi! He said hey! They be came friend for a long long...

While I like to think she is commenting on James's narcissism here, she often has trouble with he/she. Mind you she has only been speaking English for 2 years. Apparently I'm not only a less-reputable women, but I'm also very forward.

...time. Mr. Foss said could you come to my house? She said "of course!" Ms. Latter went to Mr. Foss house. They went to church.

Floozy! Everyone knows you don't go to a man's house when you meet in Roppongi! Go to church and repent!
**I also always say "of course" in class.

And the priest was talking to Mr. Foss said "I will mary with Ms. Latter." They disaited (decided) to marry! It was the day to marry and Ms. Latter...

Okay, we have redeemed ourselves, we are getting married. I love James's goatee and spiky hair. She was kind to give him some.

...wore a butifull dress. Sparkling and had a veil. And the priest said to Ms. Latter will you marry and she said yes! He said it to Mr. Foss...

Japanese brides wear very bright princess like ball gowns, so the polka-dots don't surprise me.

...too he said "of course." And she got a butiful ring shaped like a heart. Ms. Latter became Mrs. Foss. Mr. Foss and Mrs. Foss kiss on a lip. And they...

This one had me in stitches! Look at those lips!

...went to a nother house. On December they sleep to gather shaped like a star and they lived happily ever after.

As she was doing her research for this book, she asked me, "Do you and Mr. Foss sleep in the same bed?" I responded by asking if her parents did. She said "sometimes." I think in traditional Japanese homes you usually have your own futon, that's why we are in separate beds on the star bed.

I like Snoopy. I love 2B and 1A.

2B is my class and 1A was her class last year. It's the best About the Author blurb ever. Watch out Kristin, this one's jostling for that book sale in the future.

You know your in Asia when...

2010-03-07T13:12:00.001+01:00

Buddha is on the nightstand in your hotel room.

On staleness

2010-02-23T13:05:00.004+01:00

I'm afraid, my friends, this blog is stale. Blah. Boring. Tired. Or those could be words to describe our lives in the winter, but for fear of being very narcissistic (I'm sure that line has been crossed a dozen too many times), there just isn't much exciting for others to read. We've been in Japan for almost 2 years now and we've settled into the ins and outs of daily life, just as life might be in Oregon, or anywhere else in the world you choose to let your roots grow. If you are a die hard follower, or you just love us, read on. If you choose to spend your time on more rewarding pursuits (curling, making moonshine, whittling), we understand. I suppose we'll still put up pictures (see below) if something exciting happens, but in between those times you can just imagine us enjoying the warmth of our house, the company of good friends, writing papers for school and teaching little ones how to properly pronounce 'again' (hint: it does not rhyme with pain, my Canadian friends). We can't complain, but we can't write much about it, either. If you want to write an email or call us on skype, we love to make contact.

On that note, we had a 4 day break this last weekend. James went snowboarding with some friends back to Hakuba and I went skiing in Echigo Yuzawa. 8 of us stayed in a cabin right on the mountain and enjoyed the drone of grooming machines all night long (what James would call the greatest travesty to a snowboarder in Japan: grooming). This particular resort was full of beginner trails, perfect for me to gain my skiing legs. We skied all day and soaked in the onsen at night.

view from the lodge

With Charity at the top of the hill. First time I've ever been able to get to the top of the mountain and get down with all my limbs intact.

All I've wanted for the last 10 days is to watch the olympics! NBC blocked all content outside of the US. Not even our 100 yen per hour TV in the lodge was playing the olympics! Drat! But, we did get to watch women's curling Japan vs. Canada on our last night. I read an article recently touting the Japanese team as the "darlings of curling." The funny thing is, the team looked like all other Japanese women---well kept and groomed, without a hair out of place. While I like that the women take pride in their appearance, I don't like how much attention the media pays to athletes who "look good."

And finally, in other news, it feels like spring is in the air in Tokyo. Even though it snowed a week ago (the first snow for us in Tokyo), the temperatures are back up to the teens this week and it makes the ride to school so much more pleasant. The ume trees are blooming, too. I hope the sakura blossoms aren't far behind. Following Japanese protocol today, I went to the Setagaya Ward Office to officially change my name on my alien registration card to FOSS and to file a change in family status. The ward office is a scene out of the 50's. Each resident of the ward has a card with his/her family information stored in large metal cabinets. When any of your stats change (name, birth, move, marriage, etc.), you fill out reams of paperwork and someone pulls out your card and hand-writes in your new information. It's a trip. On top of that, my new alien card is required to list James's name as my "head of household." While my mom's generation might roll their eyes and clench their fists at such a proclamation, I laughed it off and celebrated by buying a bottle of Erath Pinot Noir (!) and some brie cheese from a nice little cheese monger. It's not everyday you are transported back to 1950.

The Part of Living Overseas You Don't Often See

2010-02-07T12:47:00.005+01:00

We may show you glossy pictures of festivals, beautiful vistas and exotic foods and locales on our blog, but, honestly, we aren't always living it up. Those are just the highpoints of being overseas. The day-to-day is far less pretty and less worthy of the time it would take to read about it.

The truth is, when we are home, we spend way too much time on our computers trying to connect with the outside English speaking world. I spent an hour talking to my 5 year old niece on Skype today. Or rather, Walter the Monkey talked to her. Those are the moments that are so much more special in person, but we have to settle for cyber hugs.

And this is what is normally going on--both of us studying away way too much. James is juggling talking to a friend in Korea on Skype, watching the only free English show we get online (Colbert Report) and reading articles for his doctoral classes. I'm usually somewhere in the background fiddling around in the kitchen. That's the real life in a foreign country.

It's been desperately cold here this week (below freezing) and we got our first snow in Tokyo! Snow doesn't stop the school girls from wearing their pleated mini-skirts and knee high socks without any tights. Every time I ride passed them on my bike, with my scarf wrapped around me up to my eyes and my heavy snow mittens, I wonder if it's a patriarchal society that keeps them in these ill-suited uniforms, or a sort of right of passage--toughen up or be different. I'm not sure. But they don't even act cold. There is no insulation or central heating in Japanese buildings and homes and our house hovers around 55 degrees without the heater on. Each morning my classroom is 32 degrees and takes at least an hour to warm up to room temperature.

Most Memorable Wedding Gift Ever (for us and our neighbors)

2010-01-20T12:13:00.011+01:00

Our friends Charity & Craig were sure they couldn't find the perfect wedding gift for us until their recent travels to Nepal. Obviously, they know us well enough not to buy us crystal candy dishes, but we never expected this:

In Nepal, the Narsingha is a traditional celebration horn. They are played in pairs at weddings. Charity & Craig were so taken with their tradition and sound, that they bought not just one, but two, narsingha and a special handmade carrying case to bring them back to Tokyo.

Charity and Craig with the shop owner in Kathmandu

This is their inaugural Tokyo performance. The horns echoed all the way to Shibuya and back, waking the neighbors, who yelled at us (in English) to quiet down.