January 19, 2009

This weekend I celebrated the 1-month anniversary of my new life as well as the arrival of my shipped goods.

I was ecstatic to receive my shipment as you can imagine. I had a blast opening boxes on Saturday. It was like birthday and Christmas together. I was ripping all wrapping paper like a little kid being so excited what turns out from each packet. I was literally talking to my stuff saying “hey, it’s you”, “oh hello there” and “oh I missed you” and I even kissed and hugged some (my duvet, favorite plates and many other things..) I spent half a day decorating my living room with photos and decorative things, which made my place look homey and “filled”. I am fully equipped with kitchen stuff, so I invited a friend (I made a very nice Korean girl friend at work) over for lunch for simple sandwich and salad. I also bought a fridge and a few other house items. Slowly, my life is coming together.

I am trying to meet a new person every weekend. This weekend, I had a lunch with a Japanese lady who heads a NGO here. I had a great time chatting with her and walking around in the neighborhood. She showed me one fruit store where they make freshly squeezed juice (it’s actually everywhere but I just didn’t know). I tried pomegranate (Zakuro in Japanese) and orange mix juice, which was so fresh and delicious.
One more thing I was very happy was that I was able to see the Himalayas. On a clear blue sky, it almost looks like a cloud, floating in bright blue. It is un-describable but so pretty and feels “kokoro ga arawareru” (washes your spirit- Japanese expression). It’s impressive to the extent to almost bring tears to your eyes.

Off course, there are other frustrating things, such as internet doesn’t work after the installation, now 16 hours of power cut, got sinus infection last week, got a low degree frost bite (shimoyake) on my toes (this is since I was in the elementary school!) and no one gets my direction after explaining million times etc. But, I am quite happy, trying to focus on positive sides.

I wrote that there are three things in my life in the previous entry, but there is actually one more: staying touch with people back home. In this department I am slacking. I hope the Internet will be functioning at home soon, so I will be better at communicating soon. I miss you all very much.

I will write about work soon.

Namaste….