Where have I been?

Sorry for not posting in a while. I’ve been caught up in several things here. Mood-wise, it’s been a rollercoaster ride. There are days where I feel so lucky to be here but there are others when my mind is in a mess and I wonder how do I make my stay here worth the while or I just feel plain disoriented.

I try to have a skeleton of a routine so I don’t feel so on edge. It’s my first time moving overseas and I don’t know if it’s just Japan but it has a peculiar way of making you feel you’re way out of your comfort zone. A few weeks ago, I felt so beaten because I couldn’t understand what the woman at the ramen shop in Shinagawa was saying. She looked at me funny as I nodded and stuttered my responses to whether I wanted an egg, or tamago, or not. Of course, the stone-cold rejection of my re-entry permission form was sobering. I got lost twice on this day and it’s not fun at all when a two-hour errand becomes five.

Moving in again with Mr. D is proving challenging. I love being together and all but adjusting to our changed schedules and a different apartment poses obstacles I never thought of before. I wonder if it is just the apartment – the small space can get a tad annoying – but I figure just take things as they come. I wish there was a how-to book out there but I think patience and understanding are key to maintaining a loving relationship. What’s going on is the boat is being rocked, and if I had a choice, I don’t want to be doing the same ol’ same ol’ back in Singapore.

Anyway, despite the dips, I’ve had highs, too. One of them was last weekend when Mr. D and I headed down south to Izu, a hot springs region, with Scott and Megumi. Just driving out onto the freeway and zooming past the endless metropolis felt surreal. It was a bit early for catching autumn colours but we did spot some gems like this one.

The landscape of Japan reminds me vaguely of what I saw in Italy — breathtaking mountains, valleys and densely clustered housing in the ‘burbs. Japan’s a little like that but its Japanesey style of architecture puts a unique spin and there aren’t any vineyards of course. Instead, rice padi fields are scattered where there is space. There must be something special in looking at so much red, orange and green in 24 hours because I felt fabulous.

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