Urine In The Cup

A few things:

Today I had a medical test/inspection. It is mandatory. I went to the Board of Education at 7:30 this morning. The tea lady, the only woman in the department, escorted me. We went to the second floor of the attached building in City Hall, where I handed in my health sheet to some dude volunteer. Then, in an orderly fashion, I had my height and weight checked, then had a blood pressure test, or as it was explained to me, a “sphygmomanometry”. (Note: no one actually said the word sphygmomanometry to me, it was written down.) Then, a urine test. Although I’d notice the line up for the bathroom and was given a paper cup when I handed in my health sheet, the tea lady made sure to explain to me what was next by gesturing to the paper cup and pointing to a scrap of paper where she’d already written directions: ‘Urine in the cup’. Good to know. Then, it was time for the “electrocardiogram inspection”. This was kind of fun. I got on a table and they strapped all sorts of contraptions to me and maybe made me breathe. I don’t really remember, it was early this morning. Finally, a blood test. Also, there was a “large intesting cancer examination”, but I don’t know when that occurred. Maybe the blood test?

All of a sudden, it got freaking cold here. Last week the weather was wonderful, still hot and sunny during the day with the perfect not too hot not too cool evenings. Then, I went to the city for the weekend and when I returned my house was an icetrap. The heat is currently on in here. The mornings are freezing and almost miserable. I kind of wish I was placed in Hokkaido because at least they have insulation and central heating (I think). I’m in one of the hottest places in this humid country, yet I still shiver to the bones. So imagine my surprise, in these cool nights, to step out of my shower last night and onto a mukade. Mukades are terrible terrible creatures, giant poisonous centipedes. I was lucky in not having had any thus far, and thought I was grand from here on till spring, but no! Big wormy bug with many legs lying on my bathroom floor. Of course, I shrieked. I almost cried, but I didn’t. Somehow I managed to cover it (with the Tupperware container I keep in the shower for when cockroaches climb out of the drain – not so much a problem since my shower’s clogged, but that’s besides the point), then slide some cardboard underneath, while it wiggled and I scared my neighbour with my yelps. Supposedly mukades are angry little buggers, and almost invincible. Otherwise I would have killed it then and there. I wanted to place it underneath my car wheel and run it over a couple of times, but it was cold and past my bedtime. So I just threw it over the cliff beside my house.

Ack! I wanted 8 hours of sleep tonight, but that’s not going to happen. Hope everyone is doing well. Some explanations for my aunt and uncle, sorry this is so late:

Janken. Janken is the Japanese version of rock paper scissors. It’s the exact same actions, with rock beating scissors beating paper etc. School children use it all the time to settle disputes or decide who goes first. Also my badminton club. Also, everyone, as seen by the old dude at the secondhand shop who made us janken him.

Shochu. Shochu is the Kyushu version of sake, I believe. Actually, I’m probably totally wrong on this but I don’t feel like looking up the facts. Anyways, it’s a totemo (very) popular drink in a country that drinks quite a bit. I think the Kagoshima version of shochu is made from sweet potatoes. Kagoshima is the prefecture (like a province/state) that Chiran is in.

Omiyagi. Omiyagi is like souvenir gifts one brings back for coworkers/friends after going away somewhere. I’m unsure of the proper etiquette, like if you ‘owe’ omiyagi every time you leave the prefecture or not. (Although one of my JTEs – Japanese Teacher of English- didn’t tell anyone but me when she went to Fukuoka to shop precisely because she didn’t want to have to buy omiyagi.) It’s usually just individually packaged sweets or candy. When I went to Beppu in Oita, I brought back kabosu/a (delicious lime) flavoured cookies. Fukuoka has these amazing sweet potato cakes, and Nagasaki deliciously dense poundcake.