food quest

yes, it has been too long since i last posted. i won't bore you with my excuses, suffice to say i've been pre-occupied. i hope you are finding all this interesting, it is fun for me to write about my time in japan. it brings back a lot of memories. well, on with the story.

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sitting in my flat in marugame, trying to take it all in, i realized that i had not actually eaten for 24 hours. i had a beer at my hotel the night before. i had tea in my hotel room that morning. and since then, nothing. very unlike me. so with natasha gone to work and the sun shining outside i was ready for a trip to the grocery store.

it was very easy to find the marunaka, it was a right hand turn off our road, just like natasha said. still feeling a little spacy i grabbed a shopping basket and began to shop. perhaps shop is too strong a word... really i just wandered. for about an hour. i walked up and down the aisles, looking for items i recognized. i repeatedly hit my head on low-hanging signs by the refrigerator cases. i was examined by the locals.

eventually i came away with soba noodles (i had been eating those in the US for months), instant miso soup (something else i had purchased in the asian market at home), some green tea bags, yogurt, orange juice, a package of mushrooms, a carrot, and a tray of maki rolls.


i returned to my flat and devoured my maki rolls. and though it was about 5 o'clock in the evening i decided a nap was in order. i curled up on my futon and napped for a good 3 hours until i was jolted awake by the doorbell. there stood a man with a clipboard and my luggage. he pointed out where i was to sign and i dragged my bags inside.

about an hour later i had unpacked most of my things and arranged them in my room. even then my room looked very bare - the only things in it were my futon and a small set of drawers. everything else was in the closet. i had started making a list of things i needed when natasha came home. she cooked herself dinner and we sat chatting for most of the evening.

after natasha went to bed i sat up and wrote for a while. i was feeling a little apprehensive after what she had told me about the area. she said it was a very small town and there wasn't a lot to do. that i would most definitely need a bike to get around. and she was leaving after 3 months becuase, obviously, she didn't like the job. my mind was racing, i was considering requesting a transfer immediately (i did state that my preference was for a large city) or if i found out that it would be impossible to get to work without a bike.

when i finished writing, i closed my journal and stretched out on my futon. only now, i wasn't tired at all.