Simple Life

Jason and I have never been in one place for more than 4 years, give or take a few months. I don’t know the why behind our restless moving, or if the impetus lies more in him or I. We’ve both always talked of travel, living other places, so maybe it is in both of us. The first place that we moved away to was Oregon. We were living and working in Tigard for just under a year. A job took us there, and, took us back north to the Seattle area. It was while living in Oregon that I discovered how much I love anonymity. I loved being able to go to the store and blend in, with no worry of being noticed or seen. For some reason unexpected run-ins with people I knew started to cause me anxiety - Oregon proved great for that. We knew no one. I dreaded moving back, right into the heart of our childhoods and the place where we were known. Several moves later - now- I look at that and a few things come to mind. I was insecure in myself then, and therefore insecure in the relationships...

As it turns out, it sucks being sick no matter what country you live in. But, maybe it sucks a little less in Japan. I fought hard but eventually lost and ended up with the bug the family was passing around. My boss sent me off the the doctor - something I probably would not have done in the US. He assured me it was the right thing to do. In the US, we often avoid going to the doctor for seemingly minor things for a couple of reasons - 1) It is expensive! Even with great insurance there are often co-pays and deductibles to be met. 2) It takes too long. Doctors offices are backed up with appointments so that even if you can get an appointment, you are often left sitting in the waiting room for an hour beyond your appointment time. 3) Medicine is pricey. Again, insurance... So, I went. I was a little worried being that I speak no Japanese. This doctor is a former student of our school and has some English, so that was a win. My other worry was finding the building. Wit...

Today was (still is for 3 hours) Jason’s 40th birthday. It was not the grand escapade that I once imagined it would be, but rather a quiet day of continuing to settle into this new life of ours. Other than knowing it was his birthday, nothing was different. I would have loved very much to make it huge, make it special, but in truth, that feels virtually impossible right now. Both he and I are just here. We are just...here. That is all there really is to say about it. We are thrilled, in a calm, serene way, that we are finally back to Japan. We are working, living, building a routine. Believe it or not, that is a huge gift in and of itself. We both have this great capacity for work right now - a desire to sink our teeth in and go full force. I think that is due to the little chilling out period we had before getting here. We want to be integrated into life here, to be part of the community. We want to speak the language and have playdates for the kids. Aside fr...

Here we are in Japan, on a small island - in a small city - and we are becoming Canadian. Our new boss, Tyler, is Canadian. A few of his other teachers are as well. Being that they are really the only people that we speak English with, other than our students, we are starting to sound a little Canadian, Aye. Hilarious. Yesterday John the Canadian swooped in and took Jason, the kids and I all over the city. We went shopping in so many places that even I, shopper galore, felt done. We were looking for furniture and all the little fixings we need for our apartment. When we were finally through he told us we were going to Konpira-san. Not knowing what that was, I thought it was a computer store. (To be fair, it is pronounced like “conpura”, very similar to the Japanese pronunciation for computer. And, I had asked to stop at such a place for an electrical converter). I was wrong. Konpira-san is this amazing open air market that is built along the path up the mountai...

Hello! We are still waiting on internet and personal cell phones...but in the mean time we are still able to check in online at work. Our email addresses are the same, as is skype - tawnya.ostrer If you'd like to mail us something, or just look us up on the map, here we are: Ostrer Utazu-cho, Hama 5 bancho, 50-5 Maison First 502 769-0205 Japan

Yesterday, February 8, 2012, the kids started at the Japanese Public school here in Utazu. As simply as I can put it - AWESOME! The four of us, accompanied by our new boss Tyler, arrived at the school at 8 AM. We were ushered into the office where the kids’ teachers each came to get them. Jaxon’s teacher, Kato Sensei, came first. She is a tiny, young woman with boundless energy. She brought a few of Jaxon’s classmates with her. They had all learned his name already and welcomed him. All his initial reservations seemed to drop away and off he went. Lily’s teacher (or, Riri as she is called here) is more reserved. She seems very nice, always smiles. I think the kids have been paired up well. It took her a minute, but Lily followed her teacher to class too. The next hour was spent with Jason, Tyler and I being given a tour of the school by the principal. They first word that comes to mind when thinking of him is dynamic. This guy just emits pizzaz. He is also full o...

Okay, we’re on our way. It’s 3:15 PM on 1/31/12. We are at the Seattle airport waiting for our flight to LA. We’ve said our “see you later”s, given our hugs. The kids are doing great - only 3 hours in of course. Jaxon has a miserable cold - here’s to hoping that doesn’t suck on the plane...more from LA. 10:05 PM We’re in LA. Can I just say - worst airport ever. Maybe the other terminals are better, but the international terminal is rotten. We got through security and all that fine, quick actually, only to find that virtually all the restaurants are outside security. Really? How much sense does that make? We are already tired and hungry...thank goodness for the one little deli place that is here. We are sad at our lack of sustenance, only to find that this airport, or at least this terminal, does not have wifi. WHAT?!?! Everyplace has wifi - McDonalds has wifi! Apparently, everyplace aside from the TB International Terminal, LA. Next stop, Tokyo. 6:52 AM - Tokyo ti...