Ahoy stranger. I haven't taken to penning this blog in a while for a few different reasons, all of which are from a knock on effect of this main perpetrator: Being poorly. Any family member who's reading this needn't worry, I'm not in any pain, or in any way life-threatened, but my diagnosis is that I've either picked up some kind of bug, or I have a food intolerance. I get my blood test results back in a day or so, and knowing my recent luck I'll probably be allergic to rice, or oxygen, or something.
I thought about not bothering to write this entry, because I imagined it likely to be viewed as ungrateful in contrast to the fact that I'm in an incredible place, where I meet, and talk to great, interesting people pretty much every day. I knew I couldn't write an entry without mentioning these things, and worried that if my family (particularly my Mam) read that I was unwell, then it would make them worry. But then, I know that I'm O.K, and they don't have to worry, and really I can't ignore this chapter in time, whilst in Japan. Without Winter, there is no Summer, and all that.
So in the last month I've been a bit ill, then I attempted to pull myself together and go to Kyoto to meet some friends, but I couldn't afford it because I'd had to pay bills and all that other really unimportant stuff. Then my laptop broke at the very start of the World Cup, meaning I had to buy a crappy new one just to watch England matches, that then would have been better left unwatched.
If you think this is 'woe is me' just keep reading.
So then I played in a football match with other teachers and students vs some local doctors. I played in defence, everything was going well, we kept a clean sheet in the first match. Then in the second match I was asked if I would go in goal (not because I'm bad outfield, just because I'm the tallest person in Japan) and then disaster! Someone took a shot that was straight at me, at about head height. It hit me in the head, and my full head actually fell off! Nah, I saved it....into the goal. My boss calls it butterfingers, I blame the ball, which I will forever claim was a jubilani. Oh, and the sun was in my eyes, I was distracted by an owl, and someone blew a vuvuzela in my ear. So then, needless to say in the second half I went back into defence, played a back pass too short and they scored. At that point I was almost tempted to leave the field/Japan, but I stayed on and got an assist. We still won, but I'll feel forever emasculated until I atone for it by scoring a Messi special. To make matters worse, I now have an ingrown toenail...lush.
Enough with this Psychiatrist bullsheeeet!
So, the World Cup, absolutely rubbish! Easily the worst World Cup I've seen (I started watching from '94 onwards) in general, and the worst World Cup performance I've seen from England (Even in '94 when we weren't there) Watching matches at 3.30am was a bit of a pain, but that Algeria match actually offended me. I had to go to work 3 hours after it finished, and I was actually angry that the players had got me to stay up to watch it. Everyone's come out with all the negative superlatives to describe it, but I'll keep it simple: Worst.Ever.
On that day I went to work, and there was what is scientifically known as A Fucking Massive Earthquake. It was a 5 on the Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff Scale. It was a bit scary, but a total rush at the same time, it went on for about a minute, and grew and grew. Having had three hours sleep, and already feeling a bit unwell had a kind of motion sickness effect on me, and I thought it was still happening about 3 minutes after it was finished, which had me asking 'Are we still moving?' to a student. I remember being on an earthquake simulator at The Natural History Museum in London last year, and it simulated the Kobe earthquake from a few years ago. At the time I thought 'that's nowt!', but it's a totally different story when it's for real, it's like being on a boat in a storm you can't see. Devotees to my life will know that I'm often guilty of underestimating things; Waltzers, the size of meals/knickerbocker glories etc, but this was something else.
Koriyama was on the NHK (Japan's BBC) News a few days ago, because on Tuesday we had rain of mental proportions. The front of Koriyama station was flooded up to my knees, and many Japanese people had to tread water (ahoooooo!), The following day was pretty bad too, the river next to my house (pictured) has a small island that splits the water flow, well last Wednesday that island wasn't there, the river level had quaffed it, the sign that's on the bridge I cross every day and has arrows with 10m, 20m etc wasn't there. Looking over the bridge, the water was about 5 metres away, when it's usually 15-20. Saying that, it's good to know that my flat is relatively safe from the perils of torrential rain. That's the worst Koriyama has had in years, and my flat was unscathed.
So yes, in all a bit of a strange month of so, illness, injury, poverty, natural disasters, storms and sulking.
I'm aware that this all probably seems a bit ungrateful, but don't for a second think that I'm being overly complacent, or pessimistic. It's merely just what's happened, not so much a don't shoot the messenger, but a don't shoot the receiver, either. I'm still having a brilliant time, in spite of the few negative aspects of this month, and I wouldn't change any of my surroundings one bit. Quite often I say out loud to myself 'you're still in Japan man!', and hopefully with that outlook, the end of rainy season will come with better luck. Over and out.
