Border crossings: Western Sahara

The most problematic section of our trip was crossing borders from Morocco, Mauritania and to Senegal. The southern part of Morocco is a disputed territory of "Western Sahara" where a referendum to be independent or not is overdue and being monitored by an UN mission. Moroccan government is trying to control the area by sending lots of people to live there and is extremely sensitive with foreign journalists. There is a military presence.

TanTan Beach (there was no turning back at this point. I read a few MoFA
travel advisories about Mauritania and got really scared and second guessing
mydecision to tag along this part of the trip....)

After spending a few days in Sidi Wazek, we embarked on this unknown territory. The farther we went, the less vegetation we saw. It is the beginning of Sahara Dessert. Making a one-night brief stop at Tan Tan beach, we took an over-night long distance bus to the last major city before entering Mauritania, which is Dakhla. We packed some snacks and bottles of water (that we hardly sipped to avoid urges to go to a bathroom) and were prepared for notorious numerous police checks along the way by making many photocopies of our passport and basic information. What we had to be careful was our profession. The government probably doesn't like UN or aid workers especially human rights lawyer like M.FR. So, we decided to keep it vague enough but not totally a lie by saying I was "analyst" and he was "consultant." We were a bit nervous, as it appeared that we were the only tourists/ foreigners on this packed bus. We also didn't get to sit together on the bus.

We had a bathroom break in a city called Laayoune where the UN operation was (and is still) on-going. Until then it was not eventful. Shortly after this stop, a fist-fight broke up on the bus between Arab looking (Moroccan probably) bus driver and a guy who could be Saharawi (ethnic group native to this region which is trying to be independent.) They were both yelling quite emotionally and hitting each other on a narrow aisle on the bus right next to me. By then a kind Moroccan government official man gave me a seat so that I could sit next to M. FR. It was escalating and some by-standers on the bus were trying to break up the fight. We were getting nervous as we thought they could use weapons on the bus, which could involve other passengers. Mr. FR and I were ready to jump off the bus if it got worse. Finally police came and brought them out for questioning. It looked like it was resolved after a while and we thought we were ready to continue with our trip. Then the police started checking everyone's paper. They collected foreign passports (ours and there turned out to be Turkish guy also on board) and asked only M. FR to get off for "interrogation." I was nervously waiting. They apparently didn't like his job title of "consultant." They were asking if he was a journalist and if he worked with an "institution." Waiting seemed very long to me. The police chief guy was not so happy but M. FR managed with his small talk ability in French by being extremely friendly and polite to him.

We arrived at our destination of Dakhala in early morning around 4 and checked in a three star hotel.          

Parenting Class

今週末は、お世話になっているサミティベート病院で、出産前講習を受けてきました。FR氏もこのため、仕事が多忙な中２週連続でこちらにきてくれました。

私達を入れて６組のカップルとで、みんなBKK住まいの外国人。私の職場の同じフロアで働いている、バングラディシュ人の男性の奥さんも、実は３月出産予定だということで、たまたま同じクラスにきていました。講師はタイ人の看護師、出産と授乳コンサルタントの優しそうな女性。

まずは、実際に出産するお部屋の見学。病室と言うよりは、バスタブ付きのリビングルームみたいな感じです。真ん中に大きいタブがあり、周りに、ソファーとかデイベット（休憩用）、壁に付いたはしご、天井からぶら下がったロープ、バランスボールなどが置いてある。自分で持ちこんだ音楽を聴けるステレオやシャワーも付いてる。ここで、出産前から赤ちゃんが産まれてからの数時間までずっと過ごすらしい、フリースタイルの出産のお部屋。病人のベッドはないのだけど、緊急の時はすぐに対応できるようになってる。兎に角、妊婦さんがどれだけリラックスできるか、が肝心らしく、それで薬の使用量も６０％少なくできるそう。

講習内容は、出産のステップ、病院に持って行くもの、新生児の世話等等。カップルでできる、陣痛を和らげる体操も、フロアでみんなで練習。

講師の先生は、出産は難しいことではないことを、誰でも、自然の分娩ができること強調していました。陣痛の痛みは怖いけど、ちょっと出産自体が楽しみに思える気もしてきた。FR氏は、君はこんな素晴らしい経験ができるなんて、いいねーとまで言っていた。（彼は痛くないからそんなことが言えるんじゃない？って気もするけど）

順調にいって、帝王切開とかにならずに、自然分娩ができたらいいな。一生に１回のことなので、この貴重な経験を十分に心に焼き付けておかないとね。FR氏が、間に合ってこられると良いのだけどねー。

夜は、久しぶりにお寿司屋さんでたっぷり食べて、お買い物して（新しい和食器を購入！）たこ焼き器も買った。早速、日曜日は彼のお友達を招いて３人で、蛸がなかったので、イカで代用した、イカ焼きパーティー。楽しい週末は直に終っちゃう。もう明日から仕事か。また１週間頑張ろう。

Tiny socks

I had another checkup and detailed scan at the hospital. Overall, he seems to be growing well with a minor kidney issue which is under observation. He has almost doubled his weight since the last appointment, and now he weighs around 1.3 kilogram. According to his growth trajectory to date, he may be as big as 3.5 by the time he is born. I can't imagine how I will have space in my stomach for him to be more than double of his current size!! For Japanese baby size average, he is a bit bigger. For American standard, he is just average. The doctor told us they have no measurement for a half Japanese and half American :)

M.FR (came to BKK to accompany me for the appointment) and I went on our first baby shopping. It is little overwhelming to see so many items in shops and to know what exactly we need. We got some basics, such as onesies, a couple of bottles, little socks, hats, cloth, nail clipper, soap etc. They are all so incredible tiny! I can't believe I will get to meet him in three months wearing these cute little outfits... We decided to go with a bare minimum and not to get carried away by baby item frenzies capitalism, but let's see how we may change this attitude...

We are planning to attend a one-day prenatal parenting class next weekend. 

Happy 2015！

明けましておめでとうございます。今年も宜しくお願いします。２０１５年は大きな変化の年になるので、自己成長の機会だと思って、気を引き締めて頑張ります。

清々しい気分で新年を迎えました、と言いたい所だけど、完全寝不足。大晦日にFR氏のスタッフが４人うちにきたので、ディナーパーティー。スタッフさんの一人がパスタやグワカモリを作ってくれて、私達はポテトサラダの春巻きとサラダの簡単メニューでした。３時過ぎまでお開きにならなかったので、私はほとんど寝てないし、彼は完全二日酔いでノックアウト。酔っぱらっているのに、真夜中に彼がお皿洗いと、キッチンの掃除をしてくれていてビックリ。酔っぱらうといつもなかなか寝てくれないので、最後は無理矢理ベッドまで引きずって行くんだけど、結局は私より先に寝てしまう。こんなおかしな二人だけど、今年は３人になります。どんな１年になるのか楽しみ。

一日は辛うじて、お雑煮ランチを食べた以外はゴロゴロしていました。京風は白味噌がなくてできなかったので、岡山風のすまし汁にして、バンコクで買ってきた黒豆と、スモークサーモンのサラダのメニュー。柚子酒添え。

週末までここで過ごして、月曜の朝に仕事に戻ります。２週間体重を計ってないので、どんなことになってるやら。久々にお家でゆっくりできて良かった。二人で壁にプロジェクターで映して、床にクッションをたくさん並べて映画もたくさん見ました。

Wishing a very Happy New Year 2015 to everyone! We started the year with a bad hangover (M.FR) and a sleep deprivation (me), but otherwise everything is well. I am bracing myself for up-coming big changes in my life this year. The above photo is one the new year's eve dinner that we hosted for M.FR's colleagues. I managed to prepare a simple new year lunch to celebrate the beginning of what will be an exciting year! Wishing 2015 be filled with joy and happiness.  

Border Crossing- Getting Mauritania visa

At this point, I still had not decided whether I would accompany M.FR on the cross Sahara trip all the way to Senegal. We made a stop in Rabat, Morocco’s capital to see if we could get visa to enter Mauritania. We did some online research to understand how it worked, but the information was not very clear. We decided to give it a try anyway.

We drove to the Mauritania embassy to start queuing at 7:30. The embassy door was supposed to open at 9, but there were already a significant number of people waiting in line, some backpackers, Moroccans etc etc. While we sat down and waited in a queue, a group of guys appeared out of nowhere holding what it seemed like application papers for visas. People started to flock around them and getting them to fill the form for a payment. There is another embassy across the street, and their guard brought out chairs for these form-filling people. We also joined the group, not really knowing what was happening. We paid about 5 dollars to get our forms filled and went back to the line. We waited another two hours before we were in the door to submit our forms over the counter. Then, we were told it wasn’t the right form and they gave us another one (so the initial step was totally a waste!). We refilled it, submitted it with the payment and our passports. That was it! Visas were stamped on our passport by the afternoon, and we were ready to depart Rabat towards Sahara. It was surprisingly easy, and I had less excuses not to go along.

While we waited in a line, we met some interesting people. There was German guy who has been cycling from home heading towards Cape Town in South Africa over several months. The other extreme was Canadian woman, who believed that paying “extra” to “expedite” the visa process justified jumping the line. Anyway, she was on an attempt to visit all countries in the world. She has visited many already and about to finish her trip in March 2014, which is impressive.

Driving through Morocco was so pleasant. Such a beautiful country with varied landscape.

This is how we started our more unorthodox section of our trip.        

鍵のペンダント

I combined the antique key that I purchased yesterday with an old earring and a gold chain. I got this earring in Nepal a few years ago, but the other side was lost. A small craft project of the holiday week.  

Antique shopping

ここ二日は、アンティークショップめぐり。またいつ、引っ越しするか分からないので、あんまり余計な物を増やしたくないけど、小さい物をいくつか買ってしまった。

小さい鍵達。ペンダントにしたら可愛いかなと思って。

 古いフォーク。全部形が微妙に違う。これでもクレンザーでかなり磨いたもの。真鍮のスプーンもどっしりしていて、使い心地良さそう。

 FR氏は、１９５０年代の地図とか、日本の侵略戦争のプロパガンダのパンフレット（！）を購入。このパンフレットは、ビルマ語、インドネシア語、中国語、英語、日本語で書かれていて、ボロボロだけど、珍しいものなのだと思う。

古本屋さんでも、彼は昔のビルマ研究論文など大量に買っていた。一体どうする気やら。私にクリスマスプレゼントと言って、この国の織物の図鑑みたいな綺麗なコーヒテーブルブック（こちらは新しい、最近編集されたもの）を買ってくれました。

無駄遣いな気もするけど、旅行に行かなかったから、ま、いいか。

なんやかんや言って、毎日、色んな人に会ったりお出かけしている。

Merry Christmas

クリスマスは特に何もしない無宗教な我が家だけど、FR氏の部下の一人に小さいツリーを頂いたので、テーブルに飾ってみる。今晩は、近くのレストランにピザを食べに行って、家で久しぶりにチョコレートフォンデュをしました。

Wonderland Trail

This may have been one of hardest things I have done. I was a girl scout when I was younger. I did lots of outdoor things, walking and camping, but this was not nearly as hard-core as the Wonderland Trail. Wonderland trail is in Washington Sate around Mt. Rainer, about 3 hours drive from Seattle. The total distance is about 150 kilo meters. 

Last summer, M.FR was just completing another trail in Colorado, and he invited me to join him on this “back-packing” as how they refer it in the US. Another American couple from California, whom he befriended the previous year also during another backpacking trip has organized it and invited us. He told me “it’s not going to be easy, but I would normally walk twice the distance of what we will walk everyday. Besides, the other couple will go slower, so that is not going to be so bad.” I still didn’t know what I was getting myself into, and I thought “sure, why not? I like hiking and trekking.”

M. FR and I met up on my birthday last year in Seattle. We went gear shopping. The first shock came when he told me that I was supposed to bring only two pairs of socks and two t-shirts (day shirt and night shirt to sleep in.) I didn’t really comprehend the concept. I went trekking in Nepal, but I had at least some T-shirts and socks to change everyday. We had a porter too. He told me anything you bring would add to the weight you have to carry, so keep it a bare minimum. The second shock was that we had to pack food worth of 10 days, as there is nowhere to refill supplies all along the route. Mostly freeze dry items, but it adds up. I was started to getting scared but kept quiet as I didn’t want him to think I was not tough enough.

Comes the day of our trip, we met the couple at the airport and drove off. They kindly lent me a backpack and a sleeping bag. My gear consisted of brand-new walking shoes (yes not the best idea) downjacket, water bottle, food and some mujirushi treats, two pairs of clothes, camera, gloves, water-resistant jacket and pants (borrowed from my sister) inflatable mat for sleeping and walking sticks. M.FR carried a two-person tent for us. When they were all packed in the backpack, I couldn’t believe how heavy it was. I could barely lift it up to put it on my back! Then, I remember the thing I hate the most is carrying heavy things!

This trail was particular in a way that you need to book camping spots for the entire trip, and you need to go accordingly. There is no freedom of stopping and pitching a tent wherever you feel like. The first day was fine with a short distance. I kept up. The second day I also managed, though I arrived exhausted. On the night of the second day, it started raining with heavy thunder. We were in a forest, so I wasn’t scared. I never knew lighting can come in a range of colors, white, yellow, pink and orange. In the total darkness of the tent I could see all these colors.

After this day, it kept raining all day. We got to a river crossing to find out that the bridge was washed away by the heavy rain. I thought we were going to wait till it got fixed, even felt glad that I can stop and rest. Then M.FR said “we need to wade.” I didn’t know what wading meant. It means crossing the river on foot!! I was cold, tired and scared. I just met a group who decided to wait since it will be dangerous to cross. I started crying and begged M.FR not to make me do this. His answer was “don’t worry. This is normal. We do it everytime.” I knew then that I had no choice. Jack (the husband of the couple who is very experienced and so fit) offered to carry my backpack. I used my walking sticks to balance and not to slip in the river that came to my knee. The last part was the trickiest. It was deeper, probably around till my waist with what it seemed like a strong volume of glacier water rushing down... There was a log about three meters fell on the river, and we were to balance and cross on this. One foot at a time, I managed and kept going. Everyone was holding breath. The cold took away my energy and it was the longest distance to cover that day of the whole trip, around 16 miles. I was wet, cold and backpack was getting wet and heavier and heavier. I was quite miserable. At one point on this day, M.FR also carried my pack for a little while. We finally arrived in one camping site, which we did not reserve. It was clear that we weren’t going to be able to go any further that day and managed to find a spot. A half of my sleeping bag was wet, so we shared one sleeping bag and kept my jacket on. I was freezing. The next day, I put on same wet socks and continued…. On one sunny day finally, we spread all our belongings on a rock to dry them out. I could see steams coming off from my backpack, clothes etc etc. 

Despite this, I also had beautiful moments. There were lots of wild blueberries on this trail, and we would stop and munch on sweetest blueberries I ever had until my tongue was all purple. We slept outside one night, putting our mats side-by-side and fell sleep watching a beautiful sky and stars. Peanut butter on trail bars never tasted so good in my life, which was our lunch everyday. I could have eaten a half jar in one sitting if I was allowed. M.FR, who is normally very slow in the morning, would get up before me and start preparing breakfast (tea and oatmeal with honey.) Anything and everything I ate tasted delicious, as every calorie and sugar and fat counts (including things like cold rehydrated mushed potatoes, grill cheese sandwich in one cabin which stayed open). Saw some amazing landscapes and wild flowers, mountain goats etc.  I was dirty and my hair was greasy, but we kept going. It was obviously the longest time of not showering. I learned some new backpacking vocabularies like “of-course” wading, trailhead and switchback.

With encouragement and help from the group, I managed to keep up for 10 days. At one point, my heels were hurting so much from the new shoes, I wore flip-flops. I thought shoes are like a dictatorship of feet!

After the 10 days, you know what M.FR said to me? He said “I didn’t think you could complete the trail. This was much harder than I thought and may be hardest I have had with the rain and going up and down everyday.” !!!! So, yes I succeeded. I impressed him, and this was just so worth it just to hear him say that. I passed the test.    

I would like to do that again, but wouldn’t mind it if it is a little easier. I was actually invited again this year, but I didn’t go because he told me it may be harder than last year. It’s always good to get out of my comfort zone. Carrying a heavy pack and wearing same wet socks five days consecutively is not within my comfort zone. For that, I thank him for always pushing and testing my limit (in many ways.) Now I fantasize going on easier trekking with the boy on his back. I wonder how soon we can go on such adventures again. Along the way, we met a nice group of older people in their early 70's. They were so fit and seem to enjoy life very much. My goal is to be like them when and if we are lucky to be live till then.        

２０１４年を振り返って

The year 2014 has been absoluetely wonderful. I worked hard (two jobs this year) and went on three international holidays (Japan, France& Switzerland, and Canada& US trips) and two domestic ones. I had good friends come and visit me in YGN or transit in BKK, so I was able to stay in-touch and get reconnected with many friends also through going back to Canada.

Although I was mostly away from M.FR because of my jobs, we got to spend lots of quality time together. We got to discuss our future and decided to go ahead with a family and getting married. I feel it brought us much closer to each other and a clarity about life (which was giving me anxieties before.)

Imminent major life changes next year, which I can never be ready for.  However, I feel great, even though I will be jobless most of the year next year, and this may be case for both of us! We will deal with one thing at a time and see it through.

FR氏にくっついて来たこの国だったけど、人道支援の現場で働かせてもらえる機会を得て、７ヶ月間、事務所の開設や新しいプログラムの立ち上げを担当させてもらって、キャリア的にも自信がついたと思う。その後、またそのお仕事からのご縁で、新しいコンサルの仕事を面白い分野で頂いた。大変な上司もいたけど、良い同僚に恵まれて楽しく仕事をさせてもらった。新しい国に半分引っ越して、アパートを借りて、こんなルーティーンもしょっちゅうな事なので、慣れてきたかな。

昨日、FR氏とキッチンの壁に張っているカレンダーを見て、今年も色々旅行行ったねと話していた。よく考えると、一体いつ働いていたの？というぐらい二人とも遊んだと思う。（彼は私と一緒に行った以外に、ポーランドと山歩きにも行ってる）年末は忙しくて、旅行に行けなかったのを不満に思うのは、贅沢だなあ。

来年は大きい変化の年になるけど、自己成長の機会だと思って頑張ろう。

みなさんも良いお年をお迎え下さい。    

100 days and counting down

Today, according to a daily e-mail message I receive from a pregnancy program, is 100 days to my expected date. I am not sure if that is long or short. It is just about 3 months. I have extended my contract until mid-March this week, so this means I will be working till two weeks before my due date! I hope I will manage. I am still feeling quite fine for now to commute by a train and work 8 hours everyday. The work will hopefully keep me active and busy. I like my colleagues and the work is not very stressful, so I decided that I might as well, since I can't fly during the last month before the delivery date.

I am starting two weeks holiday today and flying back to M.FR. My suitcase is full of goodies, including champagne, Yuzu sake, new dishes and table cloth, bed-sheet, Japanese sticky rice cake etc. Since we are not going anywhere this year, I thought I can do a bit of shopping to make it special and feel like a new year.

あと残り１００日だって、何だか信じられない。何とか順調にいきますように。  明日から２週間のお休み。久しぶりの（４ヶ月ぶり..）のお休みなので、どこにも行かなくても嬉しい。何をしようかな〜

今日のおやつ

Typical Thai Dessert: Mango and sticky rice

This was my after lunch snack.... I think I am gaining good weight now and need to watch out. (I ate half and gave the rest to my colleague FYI) Little scared of getting on my scale every morning.

I had another medical check-up yesterday. He is estimated to weigh 730 grams! In no time he will be 1 kilogram. The good news is that he has flipped since the last ultrasound, and he is floating head down, which is the right position. I am telling him to stay that way for the next 3-4 months. I wonder, though, if that is very comfortable. I guess in water it doesn't matter...?

One more week of work before I take a two-week holiday. Can't wait to fly back home next week! Planning to go shopping this weekend for Christmas and the New Year.    

Eating and nutrition

ここ５年位は、ほぼ肉食を止めて、野菜と魚介類だけの食生活にしてる。でも、菜食と胸を張って言えるものではなくて（魚を食べている時点で菜食ではない）、たまーに御呼ばれしたした時や、特別な１品、注文したら肉が混ざっていた時には一口二口食べたりしている。

元々、料理は好きだし、量は食べられないけど、食い意地がはってるので１日中食べること考えてる気がする。最近は、食料問題や栄養、環境の本などに触発されて、なるべくオーガニックで、近場で採れた野菜や、お米も玄米や全粒粉のパンを食べるようにしてる。アメリカの作家さん、マイケルポランのファンで、彼の本にはもっともだなーと思えるけど、なかなか実践してないことが色々書いてある。例えば、食料品にお金をかけなさい（他のものに使うお金があるんなら）、スーパーの中の列では買わない（大体、加工品が売ってるところ生鮮品は外側）とか、おばあちゃんが見て食べ物だと分からないような食品（冷凍の物とか箱に入ってるようなやつ）は買わない、これこれの栄養素が添加してあります！と宣伝している物は止めておけとか、本当にその通りのことばかり。

高いレストランでお金を使うより、そのお金で質の良い食材を買って、家で料理した方が何倍も健康にも良いし、楽しい。もちろん、外食するのも大好きだけど。妊娠してからは、カロリーと塩分、栄養が気になるので、単身赴任で一人分だけど、なるべく自炊するようにしてる。最近、最初の５ヶ月飲んでた、ニューヨークで買ってきたサプリがなくなったので、食事から摂取しないと思って、しょっちゅうスーパーに行っては、野菜やら玄米やらを買ってきてしまう。気が付いたら、一人で食べきれない量の食料が冷蔵庫に入ってる！それで、食材消費の為に、昨日からお弁当を持参で仕事に行くことにした。昨日は、玄米とショウガと雑魚のおにぎり、カボチャの煮物と枝豆とひじきの卵焼き。今日は、人参と枝豆ご飯、ほうれん草と鮭、カボチャの煮物。お弁当なんて、ちゃんと作るの初めてだけど、なかなか楽しい。いつまで、続くやら。

正直、この国では、外食した方が安上がりです。

写真は、大好きな中東で食べられるひよこ豆のコロッケ、ファラフェル。揚げ物が好きなので、結構頻繁に、コロッケやら、天ぷらそばを家で作ってる（一人の時はさすがにしませんが）。

Tanger

The first stop that we made in Morocco was Tanger. It's right across Gibraltar from Spain after a two hour ferry ride. It's not normally a place where tourists linger as most of them go straight to other places. However, we stayed three nights, and it was very memorable.

We stayed in a cute guest house run by a lovely American couple from NY. It was a tiny dar beautifully decorated, and the hostess made warm scones every morning!

In Tangier, we had one of our best and unique meals of life. It'a a restaurant called "savour de poisson." It is kind of a legendary restaurant. It's too bad that I didn't take any photos, but the food was just amazing. It started with warmed variety of nuts, fish soup, olives and spread, grilled fish, dessert etc etc. They have just one set course menu and nothing else, and it is a simple place. In the middle of the dinner, their famous host, whose nickname is "popeye" (yes, just like the cartoon) came out and started checking on clients. He is a short old man. He also came around to our table and sticked his finger in our fish (!) encouraging us to eat more. It's a small and very friendly place.

After we finished eating and were about to pay and leave. The owner Popeye called me into a small side room. Then, he handed me a jalabi, Moroccan's women's attire. I thought he was going to take a picture for me, so I put it on. Then he said "C'est un cadeau!". I was confused, but he insisted that I wear it and keep it, so I did. He told me that I look like a princess.

I have never been gifted something like this, let alone by a restaurant owner. My great experience eating in this unique place was made even more special. I wore the dress to go back to the guest house and walked in the medina. It felt so excerbrating (I was probably a little drunk also.) M. FR thinks the owner thought I was a young girl, as he saw him giving small gifts to other children in the restaurant.... The jalabi is still with me in the closet, though I have not had any opportunities to wear it since then.

  I would go back to Tanger just to eat at this restaurant again. 

人生と冒険

We were supposed to go visit Jordan over the Christmas and New Year, but M.FR has work responsibilities and we unfortunately have to cancel our trip. I am a bit disappointed, but it will be also nice to spend a few week of relaxed time with him at home (and maybe domestic trips), enjoying the last few moments of just two of us and anticipating a big change in life. He is agreeing with me by kicking.

I have decided to document our epic (!) cross-sahara travel and the round trip in the US that we did last year little by little. This is my new project. I think back, and I realize how truly great it was to do that. Especially now that I will be starting a new chapter in life and will not be mobile for a few (or how many more years?) I don't want to forget the adventure spirit and the value of going to unknown places and taking risks sometimes to discover life. 

バンコク弾丸３日間ー妹さん達の来訪

I fell in love with this plate of my favourite motif of lotus flowers. Purchased at a weekend market that I visited with my sisters in BKK. The earring was a gift from my sister. A small reminder of a fun and memorable three days of their visit. I think this was the first time when all three of us hung out for an extended period of time for a long time. Really cherish such times as it doesn't happen so easily when each of us got a busy life on our own. Thank you my sisters to come all the way just for a three days of a "bullet trip." 

Despite the short stay, we managed to squeeze quite a bit, including dim sum, boat ride, a iconic temple, Thai hotpot, famous curb-curry, market, massage, shopping in malls etc etc. 

It was great to spend time with them and catch up. 

検診の日

検診の日は、何か異常があると言われたどうしようっていう心配と、ちゃんと育っているか心配だから早く診て欲しい気持ちと、超音波で中の様子が見られるのが楽しみな、ないまぜの感情が渦巻いている。

お昼前に職場を出て、病院まで行き、まだ時間があるので、お昼ご飯でも食べようと歩いていたら、偶然、道で友達を発見。二人で、日本の洋食屋さんでパスタを食べた。

今日は超音波のごく詳しい検査で、内臓の状態や体のつくりなどを診てくれるそう。いつもとは違う男の先生。


おなじみのひやっとするゼリーを塗って、中を診る。背骨の形や長さ、足や手の指が５本あるか、心臓の働き具合、血の流れる様子まで見ることができるんだからたいしたものだ。脳の中も見えてしまうなんて感心。テクノロジーってすごい！相変わらず、彼は動き回っていて、手で顔を隠したりして、見たい所が見えなくて、お医者さんにお腹をどんどん叩かれてておかしかった。３Dで顔の感じなんかも見られて、びっくり。

結局、１時間近くかかり、終った頃には、お腹がゼリーのせいで冷えきっていた。

今日は、撮ったエコーの写真をCDに入れて渡してくれた。こんなサービスもあるんだな。後で、今回は来られなかったFR氏にメールで送ってあげよう。


タイ版の日本語母子手帳も購入して、日本スーパーでお買い物をして帰ってきた。パン屋さんでおやつの菓子パンも買ってきた。

ガラスの温もり

We visited an old glass factory this weekend in YGN. The factory got shut down after the cyclone in 2009, and now it's become a hidden tourist spot to go look at glasses buried under grasses and left on the ground in a forest. We can walk around to pick out ones we like and purchase them.  

These hand-blown glasses are beautiful. They are not perfect, but that gives nice characters to them. M.FR picked up several of them. I look forward to the time in future to drink wine in these cute little glasses (not sure how soon I can drink again!)

廃墟になっているガラス工場で、FR氏が見つけて購入したコップ達。形も、微妙な質感もそれぞれ違って、手作りの個性があって、手に持つだけで嬉しくなれてしまう。ガラスは本来冷たい印象だけど、このコップは暖かみが伝わってくる。モロッコグラスも大好きだけど、こんなシンプルなのも良いな。

これでワインを飲むのが楽しみ。来年のいつ頃には飲めるのかな？この間に、元々弱いのにどんどん飲めなくなりそう...。

ちょこれーと復活

遂にチョコレートが復活した。ここ４ヶ月以上、まったくチョコレートクレービングがなくなって、一度も買ったこともなかったのに、昨日の夜ミルクチョコレートを購入してしまった！今まで、大のチョコレート好きで、夏に旅行で行ったスイスで、たくさん板チョコを買ったのに、自宅に帰る前に全部食べてしまったくらい。

ここ最近まで、おやつと言えば、フルーツとかナッツ、ヨーグルトという健康的な食生活だった。今まであれだけ好きだったのに、まったく食べたくなくなって、我ながら体の変化に驚いていた。でもこれから体重が増えるって時に、チョコレートが戻ってきてしまうとは、残念。ちゃんと、体重管理しなきゃね。

最近、FR氏がデジタル体重計を買ってくれたので、珍しいのもあって（ここ数年体重計を所有していなかった）しょっちゅう気になって計ってる。夜寝る前と朝起きてからは１キロ程体重が違うのってどういうことだろう。既に、留学中の一番太っていた時にも見たことのない数字が、並んでいてビックリ。既に３キロは増えた模様。昨日から紙に記録し始めたので、あとでグラフにでもしよう。

12 cm

Is how long he measures from the tip of his head to the bottom of his buttocks. I imagine he must be a bit bigger than my palm with his legs. I wish my stomach was transparent so that I could see what he is doing and how he grows.

Yesterday, for the first time someone on a sky train kindly gave me a seat. I was shocked! Is it my dress that make me look fat?? I guess I am undeniably getting bigger.