I'm finding it hard going today. Thirteen days behind schedule, I'm trying to give up caffeine.
I've never been a coffee drinker. I've tried, I love the smell of coffee but have never grown to like the taste. My preferred source of caffeine has always been tea and chocolate.
I have been attempting to give up chocolate for the last 13 days and with only a few minor stumbles, I've done pretty well. I needed some emergency M&Ms when I was stressed the other night. Today, I'm trying the switch from lovely caffeine containing black tea to herbal. I can tell you, my organically grown, fair trade, peppermint tea just isn't cutting it. Don't get me wrong, it tastes great, it's just not giving me the kick I need right now.
My throbbing headache may or may not be because I haven't had my hit but regardless, I gave up chemical substances on the first of September as well, so no painkillers for me. Gone too are peanuts, Diet Coke and marshmallows. It's hopefully all in a good cause though. I'm attempting to stop my future children (no, not pregnant now...) inheriting my pain-in-the-butt food allergies and basically give them a good start in life.
I did have a lovely perk-up today though. I got my student feedback of my teaching back. I did well I'm happy to say. My favourite two comments were;
"Her body is full of kindness" and "Her smile is very good, her English is pretty good." They help take the headache away.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Some nice feedback
Getting dressed this morning I put on my favourite pair of work pants and they almost fell off!
Then today in class, one of my students wrote me a note on her worksheet that she showed to me as I was going around the room checking everyone's progress. It said "Did you get thin?"
I knew I had lost a little weight, but am happy to hear (and see) that it's starting to show. The work at the gym and the cutting out (OK - down) of chocolate is starting to pay off.
Then today in class, one of my students wrote me a note on her worksheet that she showed to me as I was going around the room checking everyone's progress. It said "Did you get thin?"
I knew I had lost a little weight, but am happy to hear (and see) that it's starting to show. The work at the gym and the cutting out (OK - down) of chocolate is starting to pay off.
Friday, September 07, 2007
My Husband's Third Nipple
Well, Wayne doesn't acually have a third nipple, but I think that may be the rumor that will be going around town soon.
Wayne joined my gym the other day. He's wanted to join it for a while, but was "forbidden" to do so because he has a tattoo. It's a rather large tattoo, taking up most of his rather large chest. Tattoos are frowned upon in Japan because of their connection to yakuza. Even though it's quite doubtful that a foreigner would be yakuza, ink-work can still make many Japanese feel uncomfortable. For this reason, Wayne can't enter many of the wonderful Japanese hotsprings.
So for a while now, he's been attending the city gym, but the weights there are very light and he doesn't get the workout that he wants. We went to the gym last weekend to ask for special permission for him to join. I (my Japanese is much better than Wayne's so it is almost always me that asks things in Japanese) asked very nicely that if no-one ever gets to actually see his tattoo, could he join.
They hummed, and hahhed then reiterated that no-one could ever see it, then it would be ok. And I mean ever! We also had to agree that no-one would see it outside of the gym either! They justified that if he was in another public place and his tattoo was visible, another gym member might see it and get scared.
At the gym he can't use the pool or the public bath. He also has to be careful when going to the shower. So in a country where people are quite comfortable with public nudity (in certain sex segregated envirnoments that is), Wayne has to walk to the shower fully covered up with a t-shirt on top. He takes his clean t-shirt to change into in the shower cubicle which he makes more private by hanging his towel over a rail so that nothing can be seen above the door either. I'm sure people are going to start wondering and then talking about why this large, strange foreigner is so shy about his chest. "Hey, maybe he has a third nipple", is my guess to what they might think.
It's a pity in a way, because to be honest, I think it's a chest worth showing off.
Over the last week, I've discovered that there are pros and cons to having my personal trainer husband at the gym with me. The main advantage is that I work harder. The main disadvantage is that I work harder. Boy am I sore today!
Wayne joined my gym the other day. He's wanted to join it for a while, but was "forbidden" to do so because he has a tattoo. It's a rather large tattoo, taking up most of his rather large chest. Tattoos are frowned upon in Japan because of their connection to yakuza. Even though it's quite doubtful that a foreigner would be yakuza, ink-work can still make many Japanese feel uncomfortable. For this reason, Wayne can't enter many of the wonderful Japanese hotsprings.
So for a while now, he's been attending the city gym, but the weights there are very light and he doesn't get the workout that he wants. We went to the gym last weekend to ask for special permission for him to join. I (my Japanese is much better than Wayne's so it is almost always me that asks things in Japanese) asked very nicely that if no-one ever gets to actually see his tattoo, could he join.
They hummed, and hahhed then reiterated that no-one could ever see it, then it would be ok. And I mean ever! We also had to agree that no-one would see it outside of the gym either! They justified that if he was in another public place and his tattoo was visible, another gym member might see it and get scared.
At the gym he can't use the pool or the public bath. He also has to be careful when going to the shower. So in a country where people are quite comfortable with public nudity (in certain sex segregated envirnoments that is), Wayne has to walk to the shower fully covered up with a t-shirt on top. He takes his clean t-shirt to change into in the shower cubicle which he makes more private by hanging his towel over a rail so that nothing can be seen above the door either. I'm sure people are going to start wondering and then talking about why this large, strange foreigner is so shy about his chest. "Hey, maybe he has a third nipple", is my guess to what they might think.
It's a pity in a way, because to be honest, I think it's a chest worth showing off.
Over the last week, I've discovered that there are pros and cons to having my personal trainer husband at the gym with me. The main advantage is that I work harder. The main disadvantage is that I work harder. Boy am I sore today!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Dancing in the Street
Wow! That holiday went fast!
We had timed our return from the trip to be back in time for a festival in a friend's village. We had missed many of the summer festivals this year, but luckily caught a few at the end.
I wrote about the Obon Festival last year and one of the dances we went to. I really enjoy the atmosphere at the Bon-Odori (Obon Dances), I love the way everyone dances together, often dressed in yukata (summer kimono). It's an unabashed celebration of life and traditional culture, something you rarely see in Australia unless it involves a beer or two.
We had timed our return from the trip to be back in time for a festival in a friend's village. We had missed many of the summer festivals this year, but luckily caught a few at the end.
I wrote about the Obon Festival last year and one of the dances we went to. I really enjoy the atmosphere at the Bon-Odori (Obon Dances), I love the way everyone dances together, often dressed in yukata (summer kimono). It's an unabashed celebration of life and traditional culture, something you rarely see in Australia unless it involves a beer or two.
This summer I also went to the Nagoya Do Matsuri. This is another dance festival, but many teams compete against each other. We went to watch it on the Saturday in Sakae when the teams were dancing their way down the street. The day was stinking hot. I felt terribly sorry for the dancers out in the sun, in hot looking costumes. The energy they exuded however was really impressive.
Again, I've only got a few photos up into my Flickr account so far, but more will gradually be added.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
A quick question, what do you think of the slide show style in the blog?
Vietnam & Cambodia
No, I didn't forget to come back from my trip as someone suggested, I've just had trouble focussing on one thing at a time since I got back, so hense I haven't been blogging. They always say that you are busier on your holidays and boy is that true for me! I had so many plans for the remaining days off after we returned, but feel like I have only achieved little bits of most of them. Anyway...
The trip was amazing! Exhausting at times, but amazing.
We started off in Vietnam and our first impression of the country was the traffic. All bikes and lots of noise. Bikes with three or four people, bikes piled high with all sorts and shapes of things, bikes weaving in and out within inches of crashing into one another, but never doing so, bikes with horns and riders not afraid to use them. The only road rule I could determine after a couple of weeks in Vietnam is that you can drive whichever side of the road you like, through whatever colour light you like, just as long as you use your horn.
After a very hot and humid day in Hanoi, we began the first part of our trip in Sapa, a small region in Vietnam's northern mountains. The cooler air and the awe-inspiring scenery was a welcoming break from the chaos of Hanoi. Sapa is the home to a number of hilltribes and I was particularly interested in the indigo textiles of the Black Hmong people. I've written a bit about them on my Kimono Reincarnate blog.
In Sapa we did a two day trek. In hindsight, we were so glad we did this at the beginning of the trip. I don't think I could have summoned up the energy for it at the end. The trek was my heaven and hell and our guide was my angel. In the dry season, the trek would raise your heartbeat a little. In the wet, which was when we were trekking, the steep slopes became mudslides and every step had to be thought out. By me anyway. The Black Hmong girls how had nominated themselves as our guides happily bounced down the hill like mountain goats, catching any big, inexperienced tourist on their way.
The night in the middle of the trek we did a homestay in a Day (pronounced Zay) village. The family were lovely and we had a lot of fun playing cards with the kids all night. The house was simple, but clean. It had a bare cement floor, the kitchen had a wood fire on that floor, there were a couple of bare electric bulbs in the building and the only water to the house was brought by a piece of hosing that had been inserted into the creek near the house. This creek was the same one that all the toilets of the village emptied into, so I was very glad we were further upstream than many others.
A rooster's crow woke us in the morning while we were comfortable under the rafters encased in mosquito nets. I found the second day of the trek harder than the first. It had rained heavily the night before and the slippery clay had now become a sucking bog. While in the middle of a beautiful bamboo forest, all I could think about was any movie about the Vietnamese War (or American War as it is referred to there). I could feel the heat and humidly, I could hear the insects, I could feel the pain, I could hear the sounds of gunfire. OK, maybe no gunfire. For all its difficulty though, I loved it. Each time we stopped, I was blessed by an amazing scenery. Our guide carved steps into the mountain slopes for me to climb down and was a fountain of interesting knowledge. By the end of the day I was covered in thick mud, exhausted but somehow, spiritually revived.
It's at this point that I remember why I haven't written about the trip until now. I am in great danger of never stopping. I'll try to make it brief from here...
The food in Vietnam was delicious! I lived for days on different spring rolls and over the weeks delighted in the fish, the prawns and the sauted morning glory. Everything was so cheap and the heat meant that beer was a perfect partner with many meals.
The people we travelled with were just as entertaining as the trip itself. We had many Aussies, a couple of Norwegians, a Welsh and an American, to be later joined by a number of Brits. On the first night we met the group, Wayne warned the only other Aussie guy that he had been starved for native speaking males for the past year and a half and he would probably talk his ear off. And that he did over the next few weeks. Sorry John!
We travelled from the north to the south stopping at Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Saigon and finally Chau Doc.
The waters of Halong Bay were magical. We stayed on a gorgeous boat and there were just as many staff as there were guests. Swimming in the calm, warm ocean waters, I had a boat row up to me, a convenience store on water if you like, and ask me if I wanted to buy some wine. I laughed and told the woman that as I was in my swimmers, I could honestly say I had no money on me.
In Hue we went on a fabulous motorbike ride through the backstreets and into the country. We lunched (and then napped) at a Buddhist nunnery, I had my fortune told and I was given two flowers by two different men, neither my husband. Our wonderful drivers held our helmets out for us, so that we could step in underneath it while they did up our straps. We felt about 4 years old. It was the most delightful day!
I got a major clothes shopping fix in Hoi An. It is famous for its tailoring and I had so many pieces custom made as well as four pairs of custom made shoes!
Saigon was where I started to get tired. Really tired. Other than visiting the harrowing War Museum, a spot of shopping and a wonderful High Tea at the Rex Hotel, I didn't do too much.
I will be slowly putting more photos up on Flikr, but for the time being, here are a few...
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
A stay in the not-so pleasant Chau Doc was the beginning of a few bad days for me. The morning we left there to cross the border into Cambodia, I came down with a nasty bug. Wayne and I had been sick earlier, though I hadn't been hit too bad at that stage. I did however have some medicine from it which was handy, or so I thought. It wasn't until days later that I realised what was making me throw up was actually the medicine that was stopping, well, things at the other end. The six hour boat ride was my personal hell. I felt so ill, had a fever and just couldn't wait to get to the hotel. Luckily, our hotel room had a wonderful view of the river, so once the fever broke, I was able to enjoy it from the window. There was a "Kiwi Bakery" up the road, so Wayne managed to ply me with a tiny taste of lamingtons and fish and chips. Those few bites were close to all I ate for days.So, I didn't see much in Phnom Penh. I did go for a walk on my own to the Royal Palace, a quite stroll on my own was just what I needed that day. Out the front of the palace I saw three young monks in their draped garments. I asked them if I could take a picture of them. They shyly said yes. Then one of them said to me, in very good English, "Now, I would like a picture with you," to which out of the folds in his saffron robe he pulled out a small, silver digital camera. The moment had me smiling for the rest of the day.
Finally, we made it to Siem Reap. I was still feeling ill and tired, but I wasn't going to let that spoil this part of the trip that I had so looked forward to. With many cans of 7up and the occassional mento, I kept myself sugared up while being unable to stomach much else. Angkor Wat didn't impress me as much as I had expected, but I still enjoyed an afternoon of exploring taking photos. Watching the sun rise behind the temple the next day was a magical moment. We temple tramped for a full day taking in the Bayon, which is famous for carved heads on all for sides of numerous towers and other temples. Our funny little guide with the most wicked laugh I've ever heard, then took us through the jungle. We stumbled across ruins of walls, buddhas and crumbling temples. I felt the way that I had the first time I had seen a documentry on Cambodia when I was a kid. I remembered seeing a piece on the discovery of these very temples in that very jungle. I thought it was so exciting, so exotic. I never imagined that I would be standing on that very soil. Through the insect-ridden jungle we came to Ta Prohm, an amazing ruin with large fig trees overtaking the stone temple, reclaiming its place. It was here that Tomb Raider was filmed. I held my breath, taking in the scene before me. This is what I had come for.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
The three week trip was way too short to do justice to these two amazing countries. I want much more time to soak it all in, to stay in one place for longer and get to know it better. That will be next time... just have to start saving for that now....
The trip was amazing! Exhausting at times, but amazing.
We started off in Vietnam and our first impression of the country was the traffic. All bikes and lots of noise. Bikes with three or four people, bikes piled high with all sorts and shapes of things, bikes weaving in and out within inches of crashing into one another, but never doing so, bikes with horns and riders not afraid to use them. The only road rule I could determine after a couple of weeks in Vietnam is that you can drive whichever side of the road you like, through whatever colour light you like, just as long as you use your horn.
After a very hot and humid day in Hanoi, we began the first part of our trip in Sapa, a small region in Vietnam's northern mountains. The cooler air and the awe-inspiring scenery was a welcoming break from the chaos of Hanoi. Sapa is the home to a number of hilltribes and I was particularly interested in the indigo textiles of the Black Hmong people. I've written a bit about them on my Kimono Reincarnate blog.
In Sapa we did a two day trek. In hindsight, we were so glad we did this at the beginning of the trip. I don't think I could have summoned up the energy for it at the end. The trek was my heaven and hell and our guide was my angel. In the dry season, the trek would raise your heartbeat a little. In the wet, which was when we were trekking, the steep slopes became mudslides and every step had to be thought out. By me anyway. The Black Hmong girls how had nominated themselves as our guides happily bounced down the hill like mountain goats, catching any big, inexperienced tourist on their way.
The night in the middle of the trek we did a homestay in a Day (pronounced Zay) village. The family were lovely and we had a lot of fun playing cards with the kids all night. The house was simple, but clean. It had a bare cement floor, the kitchen had a wood fire on that floor, there were a couple of bare electric bulbs in the building and the only water to the house was brought by a piece of hosing that had been inserted into the creek near the house. This creek was the same one that all the toilets of the village emptied into, so I was very glad we were further upstream than many others.
A rooster's crow woke us in the morning while we were comfortable under the rafters encased in mosquito nets. I found the second day of the trek harder than the first. It had rained heavily the night before and the slippery clay had now become a sucking bog. While in the middle of a beautiful bamboo forest, all I could think about was any movie about the Vietnamese War (or American War as it is referred to there). I could feel the heat and humidly, I could hear the insects, I could feel the pain, I could hear the sounds of gunfire. OK, maybe no gunfire. For all its difficulty though, I loved it. Each time we stopped, I was blessed by an amazing scenery. Our guide carved steps into the mountain slopes for me to climb down and was a fountain of interesting knowledge. By the end of the day I was covered in thick mud, exhausted but somehow, spiritually revived.
It's at this point that I remember why I haven't written about the trip until now. I am in great danger of never stopping. I'll try to make it brief from here...
The food in Vietnam was delicious! I lived for days on different spring rolls and over the weeks delighted in the fish, the prawns and the sauted morning glory. Everything was so cheap and the heat meant that beer was a perfect partner with many meals.
The people we travelled with were just as entertaining as the trip itself. We had many Aussies, a couple of Norwegians, a Welsh and an American, to be later joined by a number of Brits. On the first night we met the group, Wayne warned the only other Aussie guy that he had been starved for native speaking males for the past year and a half and he would probably talk his ear off. And that he did over the next few weeks. Sorry John!
We travelled from the north to the south stopping at Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Saigon and finally Chau Doc.
The waters of Halong Bay were magical. We stayed on a gorgeous boat and there were just as many staff as there were guests. Swimming in the calm, warm ocean waters, I had a boat row up to me, a convenience store on water if you like, and ask me if I wanted to buy some wine. I laughed and told the woman that as I was in my swimmers, I could honestly say I had no money on me.
In Hue we went on a fabulous motorbike ride through the backstreets and into the country. We lunched (and then napped) at a Buddhist nunnery, I had my fortune told and I was given two flowers by two different men, neither my husband. Our wonderful drivers held our helmets out for us, so that we could step in underneath it while they did up our straps. We felt about 4 years old. It was the most delightful day!
I got a major clothes shopping fix in Hoi An. It is famous for its tailoring and I had so many pieces custom made as well as four pairs of custom made shoes!
Saigon was where I started to get tired. Really tired. Other than visiting the harrowing War Museum, a spot of shopping and a wonderful High Tea at the Rex Hotel, I didn't do too much.
I will be slowly putting more photos up on Flikr, but for the time being, here are a few...
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
A stay in the not-so pleasant Chau Doc was the beginning of a few bad days for me. The morning we left there to cross the border into Cambodia, I came down with a nasty bug. Wayne and I had been sick earlier, though I hadn't been hit too bad at that stage. I did however have some medicine from it which was handy, or so I thought. It wasn't until days later that I realised what was making me throw up was actually the medicine that was stopping, well, things at the other end. The six hour boat ride was my personal hell. I felt so ill, had a fever and just couldn't wait to get to the hotel. Luckily, our hotel room had a wonderful view of the river, so once the fever broke, I was able to enjoy it from the window. There was a "Kiwi Bakery" up the road, so Wayne managed to ply me with a tiny taste of lamingtons and fish and chips. Those few bites were close to all I ate for days.So, I didn't see much in Phnom Penh. I did go for a walk on my own to the Royal Palace, a quite stroll on my own was just what I needed that day. Out the front of the palace I saw three young monks in their draped garments. I asked them if I could take a picture of them. They shyly said yes. Then one of them said to me, in very good English, "Now, I would like a picture with you," to which out of the folds in his saffron robe he pulled out a small, silver digital camera. The moment had me smiling for the rest of the day.
Finally, we made it to Siem Reap. I was still feeling ill and tired, but I wasn't going to let that spoil this part of the trip that I had so looked forward to. With many cans of 7up and the occassional mento, I kept myself sugared up while being unable to stomach much else. Angkor Wat didn't impress me as much as I had expected, but I still enjoyed an afternoon of exploring taking photos. Watching the sun rise behind the temple the next day was a magical moment. We temple tramped for a full day taking in the Bayon, which is famous for carved heads on all for sides of numerous towers and other temples. Our funny little guide with the most wicked laugh I've ever heard, then took us through the jungle. We stumbled across ruins of walls, buddhas and crumbling temples. I felt the way that I had the first time I had seen a documentry on Cambodia when I was a kid. I remembered seeing a piece on the discovery of these very temples in that very jungle. I thought it was so exciting, so exotic. I never imagined that I would be standing on that very soil. Through the insect-ridden jungle we came to Ta Prohm, an amazing ruin with large fig trees overtaking the stone temple, reclaiming its place. It was here that Tomb Raider was filmed. I held my breath, taking in the scene before me. This is what I had come for.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
The three week trip was way too short to do justice to these two amazing countries. I want much more time to soak it all in, to stay in one place for longer and get to know it better. That will be next time... just have to start saving for that now....
Thursday, August 23, 2007
My First Bag Is On Sale - Wish Me Luck!
If you've looked at my Kimono Reincarnate blog lately, you'd know that my latest obsession is bag making. Making bags from recycled vintage kimono obi fabric to be exact. I just love kimono and especially obi textiles, but sadly my curvy shape doesn't lend well to the straight kimono form. I wanted to employ the fabrics in some way that they could be used everyday.
I have wanted to make bags for a very long time now and have been collecting the fabrics to do so, but I was always too scared to cut into these gorgeous works of art. I finally took the plunge a few months ago and have been addicted ever since. It took me a while to get them to where I wanted them to be, and now I'm very happy with the outcome.
I've started lining the bags with kimono fabric. I felt that was the perfect marriage, the fabrics reunited once again. I also wanted the inside of the bag to be just as fun as the outside and for it to be a secret little world just for its owner.
So what do you think? I've put this one up for auction on eBay here. Please send it some good luck vibes!Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Quick update from Vietnam
I've been in Vietnam for a bit over a week now and what a week it's been! The time has just flown but we have managed to see (and eat) so much in that time.
I'm now in Hue and it is stinking hot, but then again, it has been stinking hot everywhere we've been. I will write more details later, but so far some excerts from my travel diary are;
Day 1 - Four Currencies in One Day and Lost in Transit
I had so much trouble getting my head around all the zeros from different currencies and could work out if things were costing me $1.20 or $12. We got an unexpected night tour of Hanoi when our booked transfer didn't arrive and then our taxi got very lost taking us to the hotel.
Day 2 - I See Dead People
We went to visit Uncle Ho in his Sleeping Beauty case and then wandered around the old quarter trying not to get run over by one of the millions of scooters in Hanoi.
Day 3 - Mee and See, my new H'Mong friends
The landscape in Sapa gives off such an amazing old energy. I could have just watched the mountains for hours with it continual dancing behind mist and clouds. Met many H'mong girls, a tribe that live in extreme poverty and continue to wear their traditional indigo dyed and embroidered costumes. We were adopted by a couple of the girls who told us a bit about their lives and showed us around the town.
Day 4 - It's a good thing my husband is not a jealous man...
I spent much of the day holding the hand of a man who wasn't my husband. We trekked from the township of Sapa into a couple of the villages. What is usually a good walk in the dry season was very hard in the wet, sliding down slippery clay slopes. We visited a Black H'Mong village and saw the poverty that these happy friendly people live in. We stayed overnight in a Day (pronounced Zay) village in a farmhouse.
Day 5 - Heaven, Hell and my Vietnamese Angel
The trek was harder than the day before due to more heavy rain and the fact that I had twisted my knee. The view was breathtaking but the hike was hell. My fabulous guide literally cared out mountains for me so that I could make it down the steep slippery clay slopes without getting covered from head to toe in mud. By the end, I was only covered on one side. We visited a Dao (pronounced Zao) village.
Day 6 - The Day that Wouldn't
One of those days when things just didn't go right......
Day 7 - Heaven on Earth
Halong Bay was truly amazing. We stayed on a luxury junk (is that an oxymoron?) and swam surrounded by ancient limestone pillars. The food was to die for.
Day 8 - Back to the noise
We woke up in Halong Bay and said goodbye to it as we ate our last meal on the boat. We headed back into the noise and craziness of Hanoi for a final time.
Day 9 - Hue
I had little sleep on the overnight train that brought us to Hue. We are about to head off and visit the old citadel
So that's all for now. Off to see more of this amazing country.
I'm now in Hue and it is stinking hot, but then again, it has been stinking hot everywhere we've been. I will write more details later, but so far some excerts from my travel diary are;
Day 1 - Four Currencies in One Day and Lost in Transit
I had so much trouble getting my head around all the zeros from different currencies and could work out if things were costing me $1.20 or $12. We got an unexpected night tour of Hanoi when our booked transfer didn't arrive and then our taxi got very lost taking us to the hotel.
Day 2 - I See Dead People
We went to visit Uncle Ho in his Sleeping Beauty case and then wandered around the old quarter trying not to get run over by one of the millions of scooters in Hanoi.
Day 3 - Mee and See, my new H'Mong friends
The landscape in Sapa gives off such an amazing old energy. I could have just watched the mountains for hours with it continual dancing behind mist and clouds. Met many H'mong girls, a tribe that live in extreme poverty and continue to wear their traditional indigo dyed and embroidered costumes. We were adopted by a couple of the girls who told us a bit about their lives and showed us around the town.
Day 4 - It's a good thing my husband is not a jealous man...
I spent much of the day holding the hand of a man who wasn't my husband. We trekked from the township of Sapa into a couple of the villages. What is usually a good walk in the dry season was very hard in the wet, sliding down slippery clay slopes. We visited a Black H'Mong village and saw the poverty that these happy friendly people live in. We stayed overnight in a Day (pronounced Zay) village in a farmhouse.
Day 5 - Heaven, Hell and my Vietnamese Angel
The trek was harder than the day before due to more heavy rain and the fact that I had twisted my knee. The view was breathtaking but the hike was hell. My fabulous guide literally cared out mountains for me so that I could make it down the steep slippery clay slopes without getting covered from head to toe in mud. By the end, I was only covered on one side. We visited a Dao (pronounced Zao) village.
Day 6 - The Day that Wouldn't
One of those days when things just didn't go right......
Day 7 - Heaven on Earth
Halong Bay was truly amazing. We stayed on a luxury junk (is that an oxymoron?) and swam surrounded by ancient limestone pillars. The food was to die for.
Day 8 - Back to the noise
We woke up in Halong Bay and said goodbye to it as we ate our last meal on the boat. We headed back into the noise and craziness of Hanoi for a final time.
Day 9 - Hue
I had little sleep on the overnight train that brought us to Hue. We are about to head off and visit the old citadel
So that's all for now. Off to see more of this amazing country.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Only One More Sleep!
.... or half of one at this rate.... We fly out to Vietnam in the morning!
I did have good intentions of writing a nice long blog tonight, but packing took longer than I thought. Wayne is trying to enforce a "pack light" rule. I've taken that to mean "pack a little lighter than usual, but stuff it all into a much smaller bag".... mmm... My bag is already overflowing and I haven't even started shopping yet.....
I'll have little internet access while away and will probably be busy absorbing all the new sights, sounds and foods, so I may not get a chance to blog. So, with that in mind, see you when I get back in about 3 weeks!
I did have good intentions of writing a nice long blog tonight, but packing took longer than I thought. Wayne is trying to enforce a "pack light" rule. I've taken that to mean "pack a little lighter than usual, but stuff it all into a much smaller bag".... mmm... My bag is already overflowing and I haven't even started shopping yet.....
I'll have little internet access while away and will probably be busy absorbing all the new sights, sounds and foods, so I may not get a chance to blog. So, with that in mind, see you when I get back in about 3 weeks!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Henna Gaijin
OK, I promise I will stop playing on Blogthings soon....
But in the meantime, the latest quiz I did was "What's your Japanese Subculture?"... and surprise, surprise... I got.....
In case you don't speak Japanese, "henna" is not what I colour my hair with, but rather the Japanese for "strange".
But in the meantime, the latest quiz I did was "What's your Japanese Subculture?"... and surprise, surprise... I got.....
| You Are a Henna Gaijin! |
 You're not Japanese, but you wish you were! You can use chopsticks with your eyes closed, and you've memorized hundreds of Kanji. You even answer your phone "moshi moshi." While the number of anime videos you've seen is way higher than the number of dates you've been on, there's hope. Play the sexy, mysterous gaijin, and you'll have plenty of Japanese meat. |
In case you don't speak Japanese, "henna" is not what I colour my hair with, but rather the Japanese for "strange".
What is Pocky?
It was pointed out to by the lovely Leigh, that I didn't explain what Pocky was in my What flavour Pocky are you? post, for those not-knowing-what-Pocky-is people.
Pocky (rhymes with rocky) is a thin stick of biscuit with a flavoured coating. The basic version is chocolate but there are and have been many different flavours. Wikipeidia lists;
Fruit/Nut flavors
Almond
Chocolate Almond Crush
White Chocolate Almond Crush
White Chocolate/Chocolate Almond Crush
Café au Lait Almond Crush
Mild Milk Almond Crush
Honey White Almond Crush
Anglaise Almond Crush
Banana
Choco Banana
Coconut
Coconut Milk
Cinnamon Apple
Green Apple
Mango
Melon
Pine Cream
Strawberry
Tsubu Tsubu Strawberry
Tsubu Tsubu Giant Strawberry
Mousse flavors
Azuki
Black & Latte
Blueberry Yogurt
Choco
Chocolate
Creamy
Extra Chocolate
Mild Chocolate
Hazelnut Milk Chocolate
Custard
Green Tea
Hokkaido White
Royal Milk Tea
Strawberry
Tiramisu
White
New White
Decorer flavors
Berry Chocolate
Grape Mild Chocolate
Lemon Chocolate
Mont-Blanc White Chocolate
Peach & Strawberry Chocolate
White Wedding Chocolate
Apple Cream Custard
Bananu Semi-Sucrée
Chocolat de Caramel
Fraise au Chocolat
Gateau Chocolat
Strawberry Gâteau
Seasonal flavors
Special Pocky flavors available only during certain seasons.
Winter - Fuyuno Kuchidoke (Winter Melt-in-Mouth)
Winter - Murasaki Imo (Sweet Potato)
Spring - Honey
Summer - Kiwi Mango
Cocoa Powder
Regional flavors
Special Pocky flavors available only in certain regions of Japan.
Nagano - Grape
Hokkaido - Yubari Melon
Kyushu - Kyushu Giant Mikan
Kyoto - Kyoto Powdered Tea Azuki Bean
Kobe - Kobe Wine
Reverse
Reverse
White
Strawberry
Fortune Telling Pocky
Honey & Milk
Grape
Strawberry
Pocky G
Pocky G
Berry
Neil
Five Flavor Combination
Pocky with a combination of five flavors. Limited edition 2006.
Kurogo (Five Black) - black pine nut, black soybean, black karin, black sesame seed, unpolished black rice
Goka (Five Fruit) - peach, apricot, jujube, plum, chestnut
Crush
Almond
Cookie
Strawberry
Special Occasion flavors
2001 Giant Rainbow (Contains Giant Cider, Giant Green Tea, Giant Custard, Giant Blueberry, Giant Orange, Giant Chocolate)
European Pocky (Mikado)
Milchschokolade (Milk Chocolate)
Zartherb (Bittersweet Chocolate)
Other Pocky flavors
Caramel
Cereal Almond
Kinako (Soybean)
Kurogoma (Black Sesame)
Lemon Cheesecake
Milk
Milk Chocolate Whole Wheat
Pudding
Pumpkin
Yogurt
There is a Pocky Gallery where you can see the packaging of many of the flavours listed above.
While Pocky isn't my favourite Japanese snack (that place is reserved for Kinokonoyama), it's up there. What I do love though, is their commercials. Just for fun, I mean research purposes, he's an ad featuring Morning Musume.
Pocky (rhymes with rocky) is a thin stick of biscuit with a flavoured coating. The basic version is chocolate but there are and have been many different flavours. Wikipeidia lists;
Chocolate flavors
Anime Pocky
Chocolate
Giant Chocolate
Giant Double Choco
Gokuboso Pocky (Superfine Pocky)
Little Pocky
Marble Pocky Chocolate
Marble Royal Milk Tea
Men’s Pocky
Chocolate
Giant Chocolate
Giant Double Choco
Gokuboso Pocky (Superfine Pocky)
Little Pocky
Marble Pocky Chocolate
Marble Royal Milk Tea
Men’s Pocky
Fruit/Nut flavors
Almond
Chocolate Almond Crush
White Chocolate Almond Crush
White Chocolate/Chocolate Almond Crush
Café au Lait Almond Crush
Mild Milk Almond Crush
Honey White Almond Crush
Anglaise Almond Crush
Banana
Choco Banana
Coconut
Coconut Milk
Cinnamon Apple
Green Apple
Mango
Melon
Pine Cream
Strawberry
Tsubu Tsubu Strawberry
Tsubu Tsubu Giant Strawberry
Mousse flavors
Azuki
Black & Latte
Blueberry Yogurt
Choco
Chocolate
Creamy
Extra Chocolate
Mild Chocolate
Hazelnut Milk Chocolate
Custard
Green Tea
Hokkaido White
Royal Milk Tea
Strawberry
Tiramisu
White
New White
Decorer flavors
Berry Chocolate
Grape Mild Chocolate
Lemon Chocolate
Mont-Blanc White Chocolate
Peach & Strawberry Chocolate
White Wedding Chocolate
Apple Cream Custard
Bananu Semi-Sucrée
Chocolat de Caramel
Fraise au Chocolat
Gateau Chocolat
Strawberry Gâteau
Seasonal flavors
Special Pocky flavors available only during certain seasons.
Winter - Fuyuno Kuchidoke (Winter Melt-in-Mouth)
Winter - Murasaki Imo (Sweet Potato)
Spring - Honey
Summer - Kiwi Mango
Cocoa Powder
Regional flavors
Special Pocky flavors available only in certain regions of Japan.
Nagano - Grape
Hokkaido - Yubari Melon
Kyushu - Kyushu Giant Mikan
Kyoto - Kyoto Powdered Tea Azuki Bean
Kobe - Kobe Wine
Reverse
Reverse
White
Strawberry
Fortune Telling Pocky
Honey & Milk
Grape
Strawberry
Pocky G
Pocky G
Berry
Neil
Five Flavor Combination
Pocky with a combination of five flavors. Limited edition 2006.
Kurogo (Five Black) - black pine nut, black soybean, black karin, black sesame seed, unpolished black rice
Goka (Five Fruit) - peach, apricot, jujube, plum, chestnut
Crush
Almond
Cookie
Strawberry
Special Occasion flavors
2001 Giant Rainbow (Contains Giant Cider, Giant Green Tea, Giant Custard, Giant Blueberry, Giant Orange, Giant Chocolate)
European Pocky (Mikado)
Milchschokolade (Milk Chocolate)
Zartherb (Bittersweet Chocolate)
Other Pocky flavors
Caramel
Cereal Almond
Kinako (Soybean)
Kurogoma (Black Sesame)
Lemon Cheesecake
Milk
Milk Chocolate Whole Wheat
Pudding
Pumpkin
Yogurt
My personal favourites are Almond Crush, Coconut and the good old plain chocolate Pocky.
Unfortunately, you can't just go into a store and have all of those flavour choices. Japan giveth flavours and snacks and just as quickly taketh away. Just when you finally decide that you do like Soybean flavoured Pocky, you head down to your local Circle K and find that it is no longer sold. Wayne and I make a point of going to the convenience stores every now and then just to see what new snacks have been released and which have dissappeared.
While Pocky isn't my favourite Japanese snack (that place is reserved for Kinokonoyama), it's up there. What I do love though, is their commercials. Just for fun, I mean research purposes, he's an ad featuring Morning Musume.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Time for another four-some
Yep, it's definitely time for another. Time to go to the hairdressers.
Last time I went to the hairdressers I really wanted a cut and colour. The cut is no problem, the colour however is a little more difficult. I can only use semi-permanent dyes, which are very rare over here. It makes sense, as most of the population have black hair, so if they are going to colour their hair brown, or the red that I desired, for example, it needs to be bleached first. The lightened hair is then dyed the desired colour. There is no real point in getting bleached hair dyed with a semi-permanent.
I thought I would try though. It took a lot of broken Japanese to get my point across, but once they understood, I was told that no, they didn't have such a dye. "Oh well," I thought, I'd just get a cut.
The hairdressers in Japan lavish their customers with attention. The particular salon I had chosen was run purely by men. Male hairdressers don't have the same gay stigma they do back home and are usually straight. Straight and very funky. I was treated to a lovely scalp massage while having my hair washed, but the best was yet to come. While cutting my damp hair, my attendant played with it. With each snip, my tresses were caressed with great tenderness. I melted in this man's hands. Now, I should point out here, that this isn't an isolated experience, but rather one I have come to expect from hairdressers in Japan, male or female.
While drifting in bliss (can you drift in bliss?) in the back of my mind was the small regret that I would then have to go home and colour my own hair. I had brought a number of boxes of dye back from Australia on my previous trip. Tentatively, I asked the delightfully funky man playing with my hair, "If I bring in my own dye, would you put it in my hair for me?" After thinking for a little bit and consulting with the manager, he said that would be no problem. He finished cutting and I raced home with wet hair.
The box contained two bottles of chemical that needed to be mixed and instructions in English. The hairdresser had never seen this sort of dye and asked me lots of questions. Once confident that he knew what to do, he mixed it and started to apply it. Curious, the manager came over. The dye was more liquid than the paste they were accustomed to. He took a comb and started applying it on the opposite side to the first hairdresser. Ahh... it was heaven, not one, but two cute funky men playing with my hair. The third guy in the salon had no customers, so came and joined the other two. I had two applying the colour and one combing it through, but all three playing with it at once.
Once the colour had been rinsed out, I was treated to another four-some, this time, two with hairdryers, one with a brush. Upon paying I was presented with a large bottle of treatment all beautifully wrapped with a bow.
I floated across the road to the shopping centre where I ran into my husband in a book store.
"Your hair looks great" he told me.
I smiled and told him "I had a four-some."
He laughed and said "That's good. You look like you enjoyed it."
Last time I went to the hairdressers I really wanted a cut and colour. The cut is no problem, the colour however is a little more difficult. I can only use semi-permanent dyes, which are very rare over here. It makes sense, as most of the population have black hair, so if they are going to colour their hair brown, or the red that I desired, for example, it needs to be bleached first. The lightened hair is then dyed the desired colour. There is no real point in getting bleached hair dyed with a semi-permanent.
I thought I would try though. It took a lot of broken Japanese to get my point across, but once they understood, I was told that no, they didn't have such a dye. "Oh well," I thought, I'd just get a cut.
The hairdressers in Japan lavish their customers with attention. The particular salon I had chosen was run purely by men. Male hairdressers don't have the same gay stigma they do back home and are usually straight. Straight and very funky. I was treated to a lovely scalp massage while having my hair washed, but the best was yet to come. While cutting my damp hair, my attendant played with it. With each snip, my tresses were caressed with great tenderness. I melted in this man's hands. Now, I should point out here, that this isn't an isolated experience, but rather one I have come to expect from hairdressers in Japan, male or female.
While drifting in bliss (can you drift in bliss?) in the back of my mind was the small regret that I would then have to go home and colour my own hair. I had brought a number of boxes of dye back from Australia on my previous trip. Tentatively, I asked the delightfully funky man playing with my hair, "If I bring in my own dye, would you put it in my hair for me?" After thinking for a little bit and consulting with the manager, he said that would be no problem. He finished cutting and I raced home with wet hair.
The box contained two bottles of chemical that needed to be mixed and instructions in English. The hairdresser had never seen this sort of dye and asked me lots of questions. Once confident that he knew what to do, he mixed it and started to apply it. Curious, the manager came over. The dye was more liquid than the paste they were accustomed to. He took a comb and started applying it on the opposite side to the first hairdresser. Ahh... it was heaven, not one, but two cute funky men playing with my hair. The third guy in the salon had no customers, so came and joined the other two. I had two applying the colour and one combing it through, but all three playing with it at once.
Once the colour had been rinsed out, I was treated to another four-some, this time, two with hairdryers, one with a brush. Upon paying I was presented with a large bottle of treatment all beautifully wrapped with a bow.
I floated across the road to the shopping centre where I ran into my husband in a book store.
"Your hair looks great" he told me.
I smiled and told him "I had a four-some."
He laughed and said "That's good. You look like you enjoyed it."
Monday, July 09, 2007
What flavour Pocky are you?
Still sick... it's been more than two weeks now... so I needed something to cheer me up...
| You Are Flan Pocky |
 Your attitude: modern and offbeat East meets west... sweet meets salty. You're a pro at bringing unusual combos together! |
So, what flavour are you? Leave me a note in the comments to cheer me up...
Friday, July 06, 2007
13 more sleeps and the one that won't go away..
It's only one week until I start taking my malaria tablets, which means it's only two weeks until I go on my summer trip! We're off to Vietnam, Cambodia and doing a couple days in Thailand before we head home. We're so looking forward to it!
On the other hand, I still need to get over this darn cold. I start to feel better for a day, and then it gets worse again... today is a feeling-worse day. I spent last night coughing so hard that I seriously thought a lung was going to come out of my mouth. It was violent! When I did finally get some sleep, I know I was snoring loudly, as I was snoring so loudly I woke myself up! Poor Wayne is a bit worse for wear, as sleeping in the same bed as me, well he's not getting much sleeping done.
On the other hand, I still need to get over this darn cold. I start to feel better for a day, and then it gets worse again... today is a feeling-worse day. I spent last night coughing so hard that I seriously thought a lung was going to come out of my mouth. It was violent! When I did finally get some sleep, I know I was snoring loudly, as I was snoring so loudly I woke myself up! Poor Wayne is a bit worse for wear, as sleeping in the same bed as me, well he's not getting much sleeping done.
I've just spent the day at work, stuggling to speak, with my ears blocked so badly that I feel like I'm underwater and going through packets of tissues. Not fun! Not fun at all!
I took drugs for a week, but they don't seemed to have done much.
The last few days have been so busy at work, we had a huge pile of tests to mark and then today, I did about ten practice interview tests after classes. So wish I could just go home and recover from this, but have a busy weekend ahead preparing work for while I'm away... ahh... my kingdom for some sleep.....
Friday, June 29, 2007
Drugged up
Yesterday I discovered a way of getting to see a doctor without having to wait. Be a stupid gaijin!
You see, what started out as a little cold on Sunday, has worsened day-by-day until I could take it no more yesterday. I told Wayne I would go and see a doctor. He knew I was really sick then, I never see doctors over here. I had too many bad experiences my first time living here that it has scared me off. I even had one medical professional tell me I had cancer (in his defence, he never thought I had cancer, but didn't know the English word for cyst but did know the word "cancer", so just told me I had something like cancer, that it grew like cancer, that they had to cut it out like cancer... - all I was hearing was cancer... cancer... cancer). Wayne and I have only really had to deal with doctors once since we've been here together and other than him being told that he was "diseased in the head" the doctors were great.
Wayne talked to his supervisor and got off work early to take me to a doctor. We first went to our local clinic which on a quick glance was closed until 5pm. Wayne then decided to take me to the hospital. Once we got there, I chickened out. Going to a local clinic was one thing, but having to fill in all the forms and work out where to go when I was feeling like death was another. I told Wayne we'd wait the two hours until the clinic opened.
Wayne wanted to get there just before 5 in the hope that the wait wouldn't be too long. Another think I hate about going to the doctor, is waiting rooms. The last thing I want to do when I'm sick is sit and wait in a room full of people with germs. I'm sick, I don't need more germs around me. I'm sick, I want to be lying down in my own comfortable bed, not sitting in an uncomfortable chair for hours. Of course we have waiting rooms back in Australia, but we also have appointments, so hopefully, the wait isn't too long. In Japan, there are no appointments for doctors, you just turn up during the opening hours and sit and wait.
Mmm.. yes... turn up during opening hours... that would help....
We got to the clinic just before 5 and surprisingly the clinic's car park was empty. I was a bit suspicious then, but too sick to really care. Then one guy (how by the way turned out to be a cleaner), who didn't look sick at all, walked in the surgery door. "OK" we thought, he's Japanese, he knows what he's doing, we'll just follow him (I operate on the Dirk Gently navigation technique in Japan). When we entered the foyer, the doctor came out of his office looking very surprised and asked me what was wrong. With my head heavy with all the germs I was confused as to why the doctor would be greeting his patients at the door and in a pathetic voice simply replied "I have a bad cold".
He quickly ushered Wayne and myself upstairs where the reception was dark and there was an obvious lack of nurses and patients. Kindly, he looked at my throat, listened to my chest, asked about allergies and then ran off to his pharmacy in the building next door. Following him, Wayne and I read the sign on the door and realised that he was in actual fact closed on Thursday afternoons. Closed, but still kind enough to see the lost and confused gaijin.
Another reason I usually resist seeing doctors in this country is the amount of medicines they prescribe - lots of them! I was given, all in little white paper bags with a cute cartoon character in the bottom corner; antibiotics, something for my stomach to stop the antibiotics from making me sick, an anti-inflamitary painkiller, some tablets for my throat, some gargle for my throat and some cough medicine. All little blister packs in paper bags with the number of times a day I am to take them. No side-effect information, nothing. Just cute little paper bags. But right now, I don't care - give me drugs and lots of them!
I did, but the way, get through the interview tests, but not easily, not comfortably. I interviewed 61 students for about 2 minutes each. My voice lasted for the first one and a half interviews. After that, it was a raspy yell to try to get anything out. To make things worse, over the noise of the old air conditioner and the construction happening outside, the students couldn't hear what I said, so I'd have to repeat it a number of times. With each syllable I uttered it felt like a cheese grater was being scraped across my throat. As the interviews wore on, salt and lime was following each cheese grating motion. With each interview, I averaged about 100 syllables... 100 syllables multiplied by 61 students makes a hell of a lot of cheese grating. Once I got home that night, I almost cried with each question Wayne asked me.
Luckily, the students now have tests, so I have a few days off from school. It's so frustrating though being sick on days off. I had been so excited about having a day off coincide with my favourite flea market, but instead, I had to spend the day in bed, my body would punish me with shooting pains in the head and I'd be bent over coughing if I tried to move. I'm now drugged up, taking a OTC cold medicine on top of all the other prescriptions, but that only lasts for about an hour at a time, I then have to wait a few hours until I can take the next one. Actually, the effect is wearing off now.. so I'm off to bed until it's time for the next dose.
You see, what started out as a little cold on Sunday, has worsened day-by-day until I could take it no more yesterday. I told Wayne I would go and see a doctor. He knew I was really sick then, I never see doctors over here. I had too many bad experiences my first time living here that it has scared me off. I even had one medical professional tell me I had cancer (in his defence, he never thought I had cancer, but didn't know the English word for cyst but did know the word "cancer", so just told me I had something like cancer, that it grew like cancer, that they had to cut it out like cancer... - all I was hearing was cancer... cancer... cancer). Wayne and I have only really had to deal with doctors once since we've been here together and other than him being told that he was "diseased in the head" the doctors were great.
Wayne talked to his supervisor and got off work early to take me to a doctor. We first went to our local clinic which on a quick glance was closed until 5pm. Wayne then decided to take me to the hospital. Once we got there, I chickened out. Going to a local clinic was one thing, but having to fill in all the forms and work out where to go when I was feeling like death was another. I told Wayne we'd wait the two hours until the clinic opened.
Wayne wanted to get there just before 5 in the hope that the wait wouldn't be too long. Another think I hate about going to the doctor, is waiting rooms. The last thing I want to do when I'm sick is sit and wait in a room full of people with germs. I'm sick, I don't need more germs around me. I'm sick, I want to be lying down in my own comfortable bed, not sitting in an uncomfortable chair for hours. Of course we have waiting rooms back in Australia, but we also have appointments, so hopefully, the wait isn't too long. In Japan, there are no appointments for doctors, you just turn up during the opening hours and sit and wait.
Mmm.. yes... turn up during opening hours... that would help....
We got to the clinic just before 5 and surprisingly the clinic's car park was empty. I was a bit suspicious then, but too sick to really care. Then one guy (how by the way turned out to be a cleaner), who didn't look sick at all, walked in the surgery door. "OK" we thought, he's Japanese, he knows what he's doing, we'll just follow him (I operate on the Dirk Gently navigation technique in Japan). When we entered the foyer, the doctor came out of his office looking very surprised and asked me what was wrong. With my head heavy with all the germs I was confused as to why the doctor would be greeting his patients at the door and in a pathetic voice simply replied "I have a bad cold".
He quickly ushered Wayne and myself upstairs where the reception was dark and there was an obvious lack of nurses and patients. Kindly, he looked at my throat, listened to my chest, asked about allergies and then ran off to his pharmacy in the building next door. Following him, Wayne and I read the sign on the door and realised that he was in actual fact closed on Thursday afternoons. Closed, but still kind enough to see the lost and confused gaijin.
Another reason I usually resist seeing doctors in this country is the amount of medicines they prescribe - lots of them! I was given, all in little white paper bags with a cute cartoon character in the bottom corner; antibiotics, something for my stomach to stop the antibiotics from making me sick, an anti-inflamitary painkiller, some tablets for my throat, some gargle for my throat and some cough medicine. All little blister packs in paper bags with the number of times a day I am to take them. No side-effect information, nothing. Just cute little paper bags. But right now, I don't care - give me drugs and lots of them!
I did, but the way, get through the interview tests, but not easily, not comfortably. I interviewed 61 students for about 2 minutes each. My voice lasted for the first one and a half interviews. After that, it was a raspy yell to try to get anything out. To make things worse, over the noise of the old air conditioner and the construction happening outside, the students couldn't hear what I said, so I'd have to repeat it a number of times. With each syllable I uttered it felt like a cheese grater was being scraped across my throat. As the interviews wore on, salt and lime was following each cheese grating motion. With each interview, I averaged about 100 syllables... 100 syllables multiplied by 61 students makes a hell of a lot of cheese grating. Once I got home that night, I almost cried with each question Wayne asked me.
Luckily, the students now have tests, so I have a few days off from school. It's so frustrating though being sick on days off. I had been so excited about having a day off coincide with my favourite flea market, but instead, I had to spend the day in bed, my body would punish me with shooting pains in the head and I'd be bent over coughing if I tried to move. I'm now drugged up, taking a OTC cold medicine on top of all the other prescriptions, but that only lasts for about an hour at a time, I then have to wait a few hours until I can take the next one. Actually, the effect is wearing off now.. so I'm off to bed until it's time for the next dose.
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