Weekly Yosh! #1

13 Jul 2010 3 Comments

by madsilence in Uncategorized

Saying "sayonara..." Goodbye BBQ for a good friend. Sadly even 3 kilos of meat and the stupor that comes after eating it all couldn't prevent a few tears from falling during her goodbye speech...

Hey all!  Sorry for the lack of postage in the MS world recently… it’s a tough time of year.  Here in Japan it’s “graduation” time – contracts are ending and people are returning to their respective home countries.  Staying another year means watching those people who you’ve come to know and love (and that happens a lot faster when you’re under the pressure of living in a foreign country together) leave and seeing all those fresh faces arrive who have no idea who you are.  When I first got here I was friends with some older JETs who constantly joked about how as you advanced through the years you slowly lost your friends but gained “legendary” status – people know who you are through stories but don’t know you.  Now as a starting 5th year JET I really feel that sting.  Of course it’s wonderful to have new faces, new stories, fresh ideas come in, but somehow those first year JETs stick together, leaving us sempai lonely.  I’ve been going to soubetsukai (goodbye) parties for a month now, but it only hit home this Sunday when I had coffee for the last time with some of my Stitch’n'Bitch group and had to say final goodbyes… realizing that it really is my own last year here in Japan.  An older JET told us that as the years go by, it’s a bigger and bigger sacrifice to stay here far away from home.  I have had so many amazing experiences and learned so much about myself and the world from living here… I just hope that I learned enough to make the sacrifices – cousin’s graduations, family birthdays, friend’s weddings, sister’s hugs, helping your parents when they really need it – worth giving up.   And, on the other side of the ocean MS the O&W has been dealing a lot with older, ill relatives which takes a lot out of him as well, not leaving time for fun things like writing for the blog.

Nintendo's Yoshi

But this is all besides the point.  What I really wanted to tell you all about was something that one of my lovely friends has recently come up with, and I’m hoping you’ll join me in.  It’s called “The Daily Yosh!” and it’s been helping me count my blessings in this sweaty, sad time of year.  “Yosh” is kind of an all-purpose exclamation in Japanese.  The full word is “yoshi” which you’ll know from Nintendo’s little green dinosaur character.  People shout it when they’re excited or happy about something, or when they’ve finished a job, or when they’re just about to start working.  It can mean anything from “alright!!” to “let’s do this” to “sweet, man, sweet!”  My friend has a mailing list called “The Daily Yosh!”  All the list members write about 3 of the good things that happened that day and send it to the list.  I’d like to do the same here, but once weekly.  I’d like for others to sign up and share their small blessings too, so look forward to a banner and sign-up sheet in the near future!!  So here goes, my Weekly Yosh #1!!

Weekly Yosh #1:  7/12-16

1)  This hot chocolate, this most amazing, 20-minutes to make, sprinkled with cinnamon, melting over the sides covered with fresh whip cream hot chocolate!  Surprisingly make by the awesome bar-master of a hand-made udon shop!

Amazing down to the last drop!

2)  This boat in Nanao Harbor.  A friend kindly let me stay at her house this weekend so I could go to me first summer festival of the year!  It was a perfect evening with the clear blue sky reflecting on the still water of the bay with not a cloud (or raindrop) to be seen.   A real blessing when you’re wallowing in the middle of rainy season!

The boat's name is "Miss Octopus"

3)  This Frenchie that came over to say hi… or so I thought!  As he dipped in for a sniff of my hand, he dodged a pat to his head and made a beeline for the  electric pole behind me for a whizz!  The little brat!

I give you treats! Come on over here!!

~MS the Younger

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