that "lost in translation" feeling never leaves

my friend mindy has explained this whole japanese new years thing to me, and i'm glad because it all seemed so secretly frantic, everyone doing their own thing with great intent, me completely puzzled by this entire cleaning business.
"OSHOGATSU is really a big deal to most Japanese. Did anyone tell you the reason we cleaned up everywhere at the end of the year? In Shintoism, a new year is a kind of spirit (god) and we must welcome it. It'll give us a chance to renew stuff and energy. We decorate gates and entrances with KADOMATSU and SHIMEKAZARI so that the spirit can come visit us, and we offer KAGAMI MOCHI inside the house to New Year. However, New Year can visit only the places where people cleaned."
i'm glad i know this now, and am certainly hoping i have not ruined any chances of the "spirit" entering my host house. i'm not sure if my room was clean enough. i really wish this was explained to me. i would hate to be blamed for any ill luck in 2007.

my friend katsu gave me the blog to one of the american teacher's who came to tokyo to teach earlier last year and it's probably the best and funniest blogs i have ever read. leaping lanka . it's particularly amusing to me because he also spent 3 months in tokyo and many of his experiences were similar to mine. one is the total amazement at the machinery, including the washer/dryer combo. i have been confused since i arrived about japanese appliances. the first host i had had a washer that washed and also dryed the clothes in the same machine, with the press of one button! wow! ( of course i managed to screw that up) and a table top dishwasher-mini washer, as well as a combo microwave/toaster oven, the "bells and whistles" toilet-which was my very first japanese experience-one with several buttons, all in kanji. one for warming seat, one for raising/lowering seat, one to clean back side, one for cleaning front, but what i was mostly interested in was the flush one. i had to call in my host to show me how. turns out it's a handle on the side just like anything else. this was the first time i had that "lost in translation" feeling. don't even know how to use the toilet, can't read the buttons, i'm in big trouble. and, of course, all the little buttons for the bath tub. one for temperature, one to turn it on and fill, one to indicate how high you want the water. the host i'm staying with right now has a tub alarm that tells you when it's time to enter, so you can go about your business until the bath is ready for you. screwed that up, too, leaving on heater without water. oops. and pasting instructions next to tub so as not to make mistake again. which i have already, but everyone's too nice to tell me. japanese homes do not have heaters like we do in the US. we have forced air or radiators. they have "air conditioners" which are small boxes located near the ceiling only in the bedrooms. there's a remote, in kanji, for temperature control. i was so intimidated by this in my first host house that i just slept without heat, in a hat and down comforter, fully dressed. even the water handles are backwards. you have to lift up to turn it off.

another observation we had in common was the tokyo power nappers everywhere. so many people sleeping, with full snore, mostly on the train, but also in cafes and restaurants. just "out" every single age group, all walks of life. i also have noticed every day people running. all kinds of people running, old ladies, kids, businesmen, students, everyone. running. and i always wonder, "where are they running to? and why?" of course no one walks up the escalators. they ride them. now wouldn't they save some time if they also ran up those as well? curious.

the cell phone phenomenon is quite prevalent here, too. you are not allowed to talk on them on the subways, but people constantly text message or check emails on them. i've heard you can also pay for things with your phone, like it's a credit card.

we also both noticed the hordes of people still partying outside of the yoga studio when we are going in to practice at 5am. lots of noise, which usually stops around 7am. and always lots of sirens going off. when the fire trucks and police cars come through, its kind of a soft siren with a person yelling something through a speaker. i wonder what they are saying. "get the f..out of the way!"

back to work today, i really hate to call it "work" cause that's such a negative word. it felt good to be back. i love doing what i do. but practice was so sad. i'm SO glad that i have learned to let go of that, because i could ramble on and on about it and really, it's never very interesting to talk about it. i'm tight and sore from walking around tokyo for hours and hours for 3 days in a row. my hip hurts more than ever. i'm starting to be concerned. 30 trips to the chiropractor did nothing. do i need drugs or cortizone? i'm starting to wonder.

and back to my favorite food paradise, the shibuya food show. it's so exciting there. but since i'm bored and fascinated with all that is rice, i WAY over ate. and i hear mom preparing a meal right now, with my stomach crying "why you do this to me?"
i confess. i ate a dozen shu mai. and a rice bun. and 2 salads with shrimp (god they were good) and 2 cheese mauris. these are my new friends. little round moist cake-like sweets stuffed with cream cheese, the kind they use in cheesecake. seriously addictive.

i think i am trying to gain weight. but why? maybe so i have something to blog about? yeah, that's it.

yellow shoes

katzu and i have much in common; many tattoos, piercings, ever changing colored hair, sensitive, shy, and today we both had yellow shoes. he is a very sweet person serving as my tour guide at the moment. he spent 3 whole days showing me around tokyo, and i appreciate it deeply. today we went to ueno, where there are many museums and a zoo. we opted to forget the museums, because the lines were very long, and went to the zoo, which was cheap and not as crowded. katzu said he is afraid of animals, but i insisted he learn to "become one" with them, since he has a tiger and a dragon on his body. so he made the plunge. this zoo is where the internationally famous ling ling, the giant panda lives. the highlight of the zoo, the gem of tokyo. so we waited in line to visit this legendary bear, and what an anti-climatic experience it was. ling ling can't be more than 4 or 5 feet tall and was sleeping, sprawled out on a ledge in the sun. some giant panda indeed.
there were pink flamingos, penguins, and the best ones, the polar bears with their own ice cage and waterfalls. i always thought polar bears were white, but these bad boys were brown. well, tan, actually, and quite irritated and bored. after awhile, i feel sorry for zoo animals and always get depressed upon leaving. i think i'm done with zoos.

we found an average indian restaurant and sat down to a curry meal and noticed the staff kept apologizing to katzu "coming, sir, coming!" i guess this happens all the time to him, because he has the traditional japanese yakuza style tattooing, and those guys get treated with respect. did you know people, both men and women, who are tattooed are not allowed to use spas, hot springs or the man capsule sleep chambers? such a bummer for me. who knew? not that i was going to use the capsules, but hot springs would have been nice.

speaking of yakuza, we stopped in crazy crowded freaky shinjiku on the way home. i made katzu take me to the ghetto side of town, with the strip clubs, prostitutes and other seedy folk, and to my delight, pointed out a pile of 20something young yakuza boys. none of them sporting the infamous "punch perm" which i guess i so, last year.

if i was a dog, i think i would like to live in tokyo

having a public blog is a bit risky in some ways. you never know what stranger from who knows where decides to contact you. recently the interesting and quite intriguing one has been a "rocket scientist" who claims to be a "sorcerer" from toronto, whose english is not good (?), first baiting me with compliments, then threatening to destroy my ego, and later, just pounding me with insults. and i wonder. is this someone rotting in jail? perhaps an old flame seeking revenge? or just someone with way too much time on their hands? i mean, dude, get a life.

anyhow, today we saw another interesting neighborhood, shimokitsazowa. supposedly trendy. very small, lots of small stores (which i like) and clubs known internationally to the hip music going set,(much of it punk) such as the loft, live house, and club 251. many stores were closed, cause they celebrate new years here for a week, but there were hundreds of people in shibuya waiting on the ground to get into the department stores at 7am this morning for the big sales and the grab bags, which are very popular. all of the stores have secret bags which are supposed to be worth more than you pay, filled with stuff you don't know about. some as high as 10,000 yen and more! (85 US bucks up). there would be no way i could spend that kind of money for something i could not look at. but they seem to love it here. and it does sound fun.

i also noticed that the small dogs were as well dressed as the people. and i met a little daushund in a brown hoodie down vest. cutest thing i've ever seen. and as the day went on, i saw many more petite pups clad in the latest down, wool and even fur! apparently doggies are very well dressed in tokyo. and there are dozens of stores catering to this need. all the dogs are small, because the apartments are also small. it makes sense. but there aren't any homeless animals here at all, which is a good thing. if i was a dog, i think i would like to live in tokyo.

adam rocks tokyo

today katzu took me to roppongi. we waited at the bus station and the specially designed bus came completely decorated with the work of takashi murakami . now this was particularlly exciting for me, because my friend adam scott , who is a very prominent up and coming artist in chicago, had one of his pieces bought by this famous artist. adam's work is amazing and i've been teaching him & his wife yoga for a couple of years in exchange for his artwork. he is also in a great rock band called the peelers , as he is performing in the picture. rock on, adam, rock on!

we began at roppongi hills mori tower, which overlooks the entire city of tokyo which you can view at the top. the coolest thing is the tokyo tower, which is a replica of the eiffel tower and is painted red and white. that was our next stop, because we wanted to go to the wax museum to see jimmy page in his original pants. so we cabbed it to the tower-roppongi is kind of hilly and curly, so it's hard to find your way around. it kind of reminds me of san francisco. and entered the totally unflattering tokyo wax museum. we got lots of laughs in there, because the museum is very old, long before they perfected the wax figures, so everyone looks horrible, but horrible in a good way. we began with basic hollywood stars, madonna, greta garbo, marilyn monroe, marlon brando & james dean, jodie foster, in through the historical figures, mother theresa, gandhi, tom edison, albert einstein, and on into the "torture never stops" room with chinese water torture, "the rack", "the wheel" and, of course the ever popular iron maiden, all with a soundtrack of a song playing "the torture never stops" on into the full-on room sized "last supper" and into the rock room. hendrix, beatles, various german bands i've never heard of, zappa...but where's jimmy page? we came all the way here to see jimmy page! "jimmy is under maintenence" "he is being re-waxed". the memorabilia rock store was awesome, selling collectables such as a jimi hendrix incense burner, with jimi on knees in his classic guitar burning posture, you insert the incense into the burning guitar, the sex pistols "never mind the bollocks" coffee mugs, an impressive collection of beatles dolls, tshirts, stickers and other very odd collectables. the large flat screen was playing old ac/dc concert footage that i could have watched in it's entirety. just watching the crowd back then was so awesome.

i talked katzu into walking to shibuya from tokyo tower. i explained to him that i am a tourist, and i like walking because it's the best way to see things. it did take awhile, but we made it, tokyo getting darker and more cool looking. tokyo looks best in the dark because of it's extravagent neon landscape and massive building televisions usually showing the newest japanese rap artists. and searched for the cheapest chinese that was open on new years. alas, we settled in for a chinese spread, and parted ways. tomorrow we discover shimo kitsazawa, a hip place i've been told, and daikanyama. tokyo is huge. looking down at it from above really gave me a sense of that. it can not be seen in a week. or a month. or 3 months. i have 7 more weeks to try, though.

the foreigner who buys lots of coffee

it's saturday. i could have gotten up and gone to yoga, but i usually take this day off. it's kind of my "no yoga" day-don't teach, don't do. we have to get away from even the things we love sometimes. re-energize. many people practice because of the holiday approaching, the studio is closed for 4 days, it's their last chance. but i kind of feel like yoga does not really know this, and it's good to self practice if you have the room in your house. i wonder how many people do this. it can be quite enlightening.

i opted to cruise the not so busy tokyo streets, mostly in familiar territories, gasping at the huge sales. and bought another jacket-70% off. so nice. red corderoy with grey fake fur lining. however, i have no idea how i am going to get 3 coats stuffed into my ever growing suitcase. i figure i shall worry about it when i have to-in 7 weeks. i have a coat fetish. an entire closet full of coats from 1920s-now. and most i never wear. i just "have" them. i can't part with them, either. it's kind of weird, cause i don't have that typical "woman" purse/bag and shoe fetish at all. i can live in a single pair of shoes for years, comfort is mostly what i need. and i love the boots/shoes on other people, but i can't wear uncomfortable shoes-which means a heel more than a couple of centimenters. can't do the tight clothing thing, either.

i ended up in a hawaiian restaurant with no english in site for a panna cotta. "finding nemo" was on their flat screen with kanji subtitles. they sensed my pathetic aloneness and switched the subtitles to english. can't help it but i just love that movie. also "a sharks tale." i was already tired, and i only went in 2 stores, so i ventured back towards the train. the jamaican coffee place was open, so i stocked up cause everything will be closed tomorrow for a week. the owner's dad was in there and knew all about "the foreigner who buys lots of coffee." lucky for me he knew english and the first question he asked was "are you married." i always wonder why they ask that question. he also told me that i should do karaoke. it's like a religion here. i told him maybe some time. except....

i am shy.

now your heart is open...karaoke!!!

an interesting day today. i got up at a reasonable hour and went to yoga class. i had another nice practice. i think i'm on a roll. i just love practicing in the room where i teach, with the students i teach. there's nothing better than being part of the crowd. i never liked a separation between me, the teacher, and the students. because i also am a student, and i really enjoy teaching the people here. they are very kind to me and appreciative.

i went home and mom was blasting korean pop (k-pop?) dancing & singing along with a vaccum, cleaning the house. it was very cute and inspiring. then she went out with friends, decked out in a leather skirt. she is ageless, truly. i guess the japanese like to clean like crazy at the end of the year to start clean and fresh the new year. so they also spend hours on sunday, the 31st cleaning the yoga studio. a very nice thing indeed. so she left to shop, and i am left alone again, starting to feel quite depressed again. the lonliness thing is getting to be a bit much, but i guess that's the price i pay when going to far away lands to study and teach. there's a difference between being alone and lonely. i enjoy being alone, but lonliness is a killer.

tonight i went to a fairly large party with yoga peeps at a traditional japanese restaurant with ulimited food & drinks. it ended up being a surprise party for katzus friend kuma. she was very surprised. it was lovely, lots of fun, and a good chance to talk with some of the students. everyone usually has to book out of the studio to go to jobs, so these gatherings are very special. then zen wanted me to do karaokee "lost in translation" style, but it was already kind of late and my eyelids getting heavy, we will save that idea for another time. i am here almost 2 more months. me thinks it will happen. emi says, "you have drinks. now your heart is open. karaokee!" all i could say was "not enough drinks".

because i am shy.

well fed

i had received some enlightening personal responses to the previous blog entry, which helped me put things into perspective a little bit more, and not take things so seriously. i appreciate the support. because sometimes we have to seperate ourselves from what's going on inside of the class. and sometimes we have to understand that students will come around when they are ready. thanks for the advice.

today was rather surreal, as many days are for me here in tokyo. it is quite an alternative reality, very similar to my own life, but also quite different. something that i have noticed is the lack of help. last week i witnessed a woman struggling with putting her baby in a stroller, the baby was not cooperating, a full train of people, and not a single person helped keep her stroller from rolling away. only men getting increasingly annoyed that the baby was kicking them or the stroller was inhibiting their space. i could see her frustration. this morning a girl left her train pass. i noticed, but she trucked so fast i could not catch her. there's no way to exit without it. perhaps she made it back on. i don't know. and afterwards, on the street near the studio, a young woman who had been clubbing, i think, laying down on the pavement near a major intersection. no one asking if she needed help. so many people, so much alone. it's easy to feel "alone" here.

even though i've only had one hour 20 to squeak in a practice, i've been doing pretty stellar. if you don't stall, you can do it just fine. move it along. no worries. got through my stuff up to vasistasina, did plenty drop backs, & drop overs, and 15 minute savasana. and feel so good because of it. as much as i loathe intermediate, it really helps eleviate the pain i have in my hips & pelvis. strengthening is the key to pain. strengthen around the injury instead of pushing the injury. i am off work till thursday for holiday, new years is the big one here. then off a couple more. stocked up on fukuyama masaharu discs. can't get enough. and a friend gave me a j-pop comp. so things are good.

delved into the shibuya food court. such fun buying food from these places. so much to choose, and great prices. everything is fresh. rather go here than eat out. you got it all! ate 8 huge shumai and a bun, bought 2 big salads, got home and mom had made omelet, big asian salad & onigiri. trying to fit it in. trying. now mom is making me brekkie & lunch in addition to an impressive dinner. can you say "well fed?"

a curse and a blessing

i am blessed and cursed to be especially sensitive and to care a lot about the people i teach, no matter who it is. this makes it very difficult for little me to deal with difficult students. and i am going through a toughie right now. i don't want to get too specific as not to reveal this person, but i will talk generally about this issue that occasionally plagues my line of work.

what do you do when a student "wants" to do certain things but really "should" be working on things they would rather avoid? and they lose their minds at the mere mention of this suggestion? when i am trying to help, because i care, but can not for the life of me understand why one continues to come to class and not take a single suggestion? how is it that some students think that yoga is all about "them"? how does this happen? one of my biggest peeves, without trying to sound negative, is students who would rather work on what makes them "feel good" rather than what they are weak at. because i believe astanga yoga is a supreme balanacer. it addresses all of our weaknesses, forcing us to face what we do not like. it is extremely empowering to conquer something we can not do, extremely ego building to continually work on something that we are already good at. so astanga can do one of two things for you. if you choose-it can blow up your ego to the point of having a "jesus" complex, or it can annaihilate your ego and humble your soul. a far better choice, but not always an easy one. i've always been the kind of student who loves to have my ego slapped, which is why i choose the teachers i choose. they have all been really good at doing this to me, i have and continue to face demons, try to do stuff i hate. as a result, i feel i have become a more conscious & humble being. and the teachers that were all about "you're beautiful! oh, yes, do what you feel like! it's all about you, honey" i have run away from top speed. the best teachers in the world do not let you get away with your little crap. just study in mysore and you will see how sharath teaches. he is the best at this. i want to be a teacher like that. i can't help trying to be like my teachers, they are my role models. and it pains me when i cannot reach a student that so desperately needs help. so i am forced to do one of two things-ignore it, or keep trying. the easy thing to do is shut it off, don't "care" ignore it. the hardest thing to do is keep with them & have faith that they eventually will come around. i usually choose the latter, but suffer the consequences of having my energy totally drained by someone who does not really care that i am working so hard with them. teaching is a very tough profession. sometimes i wonder why i do it. then i realized i don't want to do anything else.

i really felt like exploring today, walking the town, having some fun for the first time in a few days, since i felt an energy boost-seems i'm always tired. but when i left the house, pouring rain. "well" i thought "the stores will be less crowded!" what is worse than walking the crowded streets in tokyo? walking the crowded streets in tokyo with everyone ducking under umbrellas. a little added challange. even the bike riders carry umbrellas, avoid getting hit by cars constantly, and avoid hitting people. it's tough here. kind of like a giant video game. that's an idea i'm not sure has been used yet. i'd call it "shibuya crossing-kill or be killed!"

so the "exploring" was not very productive. the rain won. my pants had become soaked from the knees down, my shoes & socks totally soaked, ugh..wet slippery feet. by the time i reached lululemon, i had become cranky, not able to find anything in that "prada" of athletic wear store. god, they are supremely overpriced, and i can't stand 80% of their clothes. well made, true, but ridiculously overpriced. yoga teachers do not make enough money to have a wardrobe of the stuff unless they have a job at the store.

but i did get to "lunch", my favorite ladies underwear & nightie store-there's one in the dry shibuya train station. love that place! and 8 pairs of cheap socks at 105 yen a piece-like 85 cents, AND some cheap makeup! i haven't worn makeup for almost 10 years. yes, tokyo has made me sort of ashamed at my unkept-no makeup-slob girl look and i'm now taking steps to change it. what do you think? is there hope?

motorbike santas

motorbike santas, originally uploaded by bindifry.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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sugar bunny

i'm 41 years old and have just purchased a "sugar bunny" to keep me company in tokyo. now i'm either regressing, losing my mind, turning japanese, or simply fond of all that is "kawaii" around me. i like to think the latter. but he's sitting in my lap right now and it feels pretty good. damn, the toys are so cute here i can hardly stand it.

my friend and host emi took me with her to ginza to eat at the only south indian restaurant in tokyo. i looked in the kitchen, check, all dark skinned indians cooking, so i knew it was going to be perfect. and it was. a dosa as good as any i have ever had in india. a thali to die for. chai mixed at the table indian style- you know, they pour it into a glass from 2 feet and repeat till it's mixed properly, with lots of sugar in the proper chai metal cups with the big lip. this is my third indian feast in japan. is it sad i continue to search for the indian food in japan? nope. the japanese are catching on to this "indian" food and they are loving it! mmmm....love india....want to see a bollywood movie right now!

ginza was so fun! so much to see, look at. of course the shopping is like sunset strip, so it's mostly window shopping for me, but we did end up in harajuku and some good purchases there- a couple of medium sized skirts for me!! thank god-it's good to be a medium.

tomorrow is busy. good. 2 classes, good long yoga in the morning, and a party hosted by my aussie friend jane. in some strange neighborhood i hope i can find....

let's hope i don't have to blog about it.

in tokyo i am a XXL

i knew tokyo was getting to me when i read yesterday's blog post. what a cranky thing. too negative, so i trashed the post. sorry to all of you who had to read that pile of garbage.

truth is, i am horribly lonely. everyone here works all day, and i am always alone. i very seldom get invited out with people, and it's hard to meet new people with my language problems. and always squeezing through people in tiny spaces makes me a little tense as well. i love walking around and shopping, exploring, but i can only last a couple hours at a time because the crowds & tiny spaces really get to me.

i am not getting used to being a giant here. i bought a cheap pair of basic brown boots for the holiday parties coming up, and i am a XXL! i only wear a size 8 in the US, (the standard american women's size) but here, thats a double xtra large. often the large size shirts don't even fit me, and i'm not that huge! couple days ago i tried on levi pencil skinny jeans. that was a huge mistake. these sizes just can't be right! and i have no plans to diet, because i live for the food here. and everywhere. i mean, what is so wrong with having some meat on your bones? i gotta work on that one.

i explored each of the 7 floors of the tower records. whoa. that almost killed me! luckily there are listening stations everywhere, so you can sample all the stuff that's in kanji. but cds are very expensive, and this one put me back 3900 yen-33 bucks! it's j-pop-masaharu fukuyama. love that stuff. it's kind of addictive to me. and they have an entire floor of it!

i forced myself to finish xmas shopping because i know if i let it go till tomorrow-saturday-surely i will be sorry. it's crowded enough on the weekdays-weekends are just masochistic. way.

and i went back to the jamacian coffee shop and there was my little bag of blue mountain sitting there waiting for me. 2800 yen for i think 100 grams. sheesh, could it be THAT good? i never had it before. i hate to put sugar & milk in it. so i brewed a cup, careful to use very little of the "diamonds"-you know what? the columbian for 700 yen is just as good! can someone tell me WHY this blue mountain stuff is so expensive? i guess it's like wine to me. i can drink the expensive stuff, but also the box wine.

moon day musings

being a pretty laid back day, i thought i would have nothing to write about. but as soon as i left my host pad, weird things began to happen, which i blame on the new moon. i ran out of coffee & decided to stop at the jamaican blue mountain store. as soon as i walked in, the shopkeeper yelled across the room, "columbian!!" cause he remembered me from before (gee, what features could have made me so obvious?) and i looked at him and said, "blue mountain." he gave a very serious look of concern, then proceded to speak very fast japanese to me for what seemed like 20 minutes. just like mom. going on, and on, and on...i guess it looks like i understand cause the talking never stops. they don't seem to care that i am not getting it. he's pointing at the several types of special beans, i think he's trying to tell me that it's expensive (i know this) and that he would hate to grind it in house because the beans are expensive & special. i felt like i was buying diamonds or something. so he points to his calander at thursday, the 22nd, which is tomorrow. and asks what time i come. so i say, um, one oclock? and he writes it down, bows to me repeatedly, and i leave not really knowing what just happened. will the beans arrive tomorrow? why do i have to make an appointment for them? hmmm...

train mishap again, but a new one. very crowded, all japanese language tonight, sometimes i get on the lucky train & there is some english, but alas not tonight. made it to shibuya, but did not know i was there because i couldn't hear or see a thing. now wait a minute. is the train going the opposite way? or is it my imagination? sure enough, halfway home i go. i squash myself off and wait for another train. i am almost late for teaching. how did this happen? finally i get off, into the human sardine paradise called shibuya station, approach the escalator & am accosted by a man with foul breath desperatly tugging at my purse, saying "you speak english?" "you help me. please! 500 yen!!" and i'm late for work, i don't have a clue what this dude wants me to help him with, and 500 yen is not enough money for any favor to a stranger, that's for sure. so weird. and approach the famous shibuya crossing, where several directions of human tsunami cross simeltaneously. it seems impossible to make your way through this unbelievable phenomenon, and i think to myself, "how do they do this every day?" you have to have strategy, how to get around everyone as swiftly & effortlessly as possible. and most of all, do not panic or stall, cause you will be eaten alive. or trampled to death.

on the trains going back i avoided the express because i finally was witnessing the squshers at work. now i've always heard about these guys-the ones that are paid to squash people onto the trains at busy times-but this is the first time i witnessed them in action. i actually saw whole feet sticking out of the doors! the men wedging the feet back into the train. unbelievable.

home late, late massive meal spread of only 5 dishes. and bath pushers. how many times a day do i have to take a bath? don't they know i have dry skin?

it's cold, it's dreary, it's tokyo....

it's cold, it's dreary, it's tokyo and i'm done with work, yoga, eating (well, i'm never really done with that) and have tomorrow morning off because it's moon day. think i will snuggle up to the television for a japanese dubbed american made-for-tv feature from 1985,

"alice in wonderland"

check out this unbelievable cast!

Steve Allen-Gentleman in the Paper Suit
Scott Baio .... Pat (The Guinea Pig)
Ernest Borgnine .... Lion
Beau Bridges .... Unicorn
Lloyd Bridges .... White Knight
Red Buttons .... White Rabbit
Sid Caesar .... Gryphon
Carol Channing .... White Queen
Michael Chieffo .... Two of Spades
Imogene Coca .... Cook
Sammy Davis Jr. .... Caterpillar/'Father William'
Patrick Duffy .... Goat
James Joseph Galante.... Knave of Hearts
George Gobel....Gnat
Eydie Gormé.... Tweedledee
Merv Griffin.... Conductor
Sherman Hemsley.... Mouse
Ann Jillian .... Red Queen
Arte Johnson .... Dormouse
Harvey Korman .... White King
Steve Lawrence .... Tweedledum
Karl Malden .... Walrus
Roddy McDowall.... March Hare
Jayne Meadows .... Queen of Hearts
Donna Mills .... The Rose
Pat Morita .... Horse
Robert Morley .... King of Hearts
Anthony Newley.... Mad Hatter
Louis Nye .... Carpenter
Donald O'Connor .... Lory Bird
Martha Raye .... Duchess
George Savalas .... Courtier
Telly Savalas .... Cheshire Cat
John Stamos .... Messenger
Ringo Starr .... Mock Turtle
Sally Struthers .... Tiger Lily
Jack Warden .... Owl
Jonathan Winters.... Humpty Dumpty
Shelley Winters .... Dodo Bird

telly savalas as cheshire cat??? jonathan winters as humpty dumpty??? ringo starr as mock turtule??? karl malden as walrus???and sammy davis jr. as caterpillar??? whaaa????

what an odd film to see over here! seems to be a classic by the same director as beverly hills 90210, bonanza, the waltons, fame, love american style, eight is enough, kung fu, land of the giants, magnu p.i., lost in space, gunsmoke, and perry mason, among others. harry harris. never know what you will see, do, eat, just never never know....

i think i love sweet beans

yesterday i went back to harajuku. something pulls me there. so strange, so unique. on the way out to it, i spotted this amazing little sanctuary park with wild cats, a river & a waterfall. right outside it's gate-mad mad tokyo on a saturday pre-holiday shopping frenzy. and not far from there, in harajuku, i wandered down a tiny unassuming alley, first to see what the jamaican shop had (lots of satin starter jackets-interesting indeed), but this colorful totally jaw-droppingly wild building, which is home to an art gallery called design festa. chicago has some neighborhoods that are done up in this kind of graffiti, but never have i seen such an astonishing art building in my life. i wandered in, looking at some really cool & interesting art, while the artists were busy at work in all the different cubby holes. a happy, intense place.

today was my big yoga day. waking at 3:30, preparing my special coffee from the jamacian coffee place down the street, i caught the first train-4:38 to get to the studio by 5:10. sundays are good cause i don't teach until 7, so it's plenty of time for a proper practice. taught my usual 3 hour mysore, followed by my led primary class, which built from 2 last week to 11 today, each and every student staying completely with my count...a small miracle to me. love japan. and my 2 1/2 hour adjustment workshop that was meant to cover all the poses up through navasana, but only made it through the standing sequence. it went very well, even better than the first time i taught it in chicago. and i was extremely lucky to have yuka with me translating the entire workshop. it was a HUGE help, because i did a lot of talking. i was exhausted when i began the workshop, but because it was so fun, and the students were so into it, they fed me lots of energy that carried through to the evening, when mom came home & whisked together another mad feast. i think i love sweet beans!

and the ritual bath.

did the naughty

i had another japanese language lesson, and realized what a lazy f...i am. did not practice the previous stuff, cause i'm "shy" what an excuse. so i'm going to make a go this time. yasuko is quite serious about the lessons, bringing plans & all, now she wants me to write in kanji...yikes! i took sanskrit in india & fled a few weeks after starting. i am quite scared of that kind of writing. anyhow, i need to put more effort into it. after 2 hours, i had to cut her off, cause she was exhausting me. my pea brain can only take so much. we parted ways, as i made my way to kiddyland in harajuku. zen had drawn me a map & it was easy to find. 6 floors of japanese toys. yow!! i was dumbfounded. paralyzed, i continued into harajuku & dragged myself into several boutiques. i am such a slob here. i'm so embarassed. however, i refuse to wear the short minks, short skirts, and stilletto heel boots everyone is sporting. it's just not my thing. and everyone who wears these heels can hardly walk. it's just too painful. almost too much attention to fashion. everyone into the latest thing.

so i've been scouting several "burger" joints, not because i'm a fan of the burger, but i've been very interested in what the japanese version of this american food was like. so i did the naughty---sorry, yogis, but i went into a place & got a cheeseburger. they did well! plenty of ketchup & mustard, pickles, etc. was totally tasty-even better than some of ours! i just had to know! could have eaten another, actually!

than around the corner into a weird bar where they had vinyl, mostly r & b and jazz. no one there, except me. i rapped with the bartender, who was not very attentive. i think they keep your drink filled in the states because they are tipped. here, you can sit with an empty glass forever. they will never ask you for another. you have to ask. which is very strange to me, being american. so the bartender said his dream is to go to chicago. good line, right? but i think he meant it. so i was like, "all nippon airlines has cheap direct flights for undr 100 thousand yen" i mean, it's SO easy to go to japan from chicago, and vice versa. you don't even need a visa! america loves japan. japan loves america. we are friends. so they basically avoided me as soon as the bar began filling with american speaking japanese & men. so i left, to the train, and can't get lost anymore cause i "get it" now.

home to a huge bowl of crab soup, but it's too late. have to have that for lunch. how horrible!

japanese food is my new yoga

i got home 15 minutes before "mom" crashed through the door and straight into the kitchen, arms loaded with market bags and a sense of excitement. i have never met anyone who loves to cook as much as her. i'm smelling onions, broth, and appetizer comes for me to eat while she constructs another meal, totally concentrated, almost posessed, complete intensity. she brings imported french pate. i just say "oui oui" as she responds with a giggling "oui!" i brought home a bottle of cotes du rhone, which was kind of synchronistic. how did i know the meal would be french inspired? and with a naughty expression, she takes out a tiny glass & accepts some vino.

she works all day, yet has tons of energy to create kitchen masterpieces and watch korean dramas, sleeping very little. i don't know how she does it. i'm tired all the time here & i don't do half as much work.

since she has a thing for all things korea, yesterdays dinner is followed with some of the best kimchee i've ever had, picked turnips (love those), julienne tofu salad, never ending bowls of kombu (she knows i love that-she originally is from osaka, where seaweed is very popular), rice, & a creamy delicious okra soup. the presentation is stupendous. the house still smells good today. i search for leftover soup, alas, we killed it all.
must import mom!

this is the first time the 3 of us sit down to a meal together. to my delight, emi pulls out super old bollywood film score music-a fan of raj kapoor & meena kumari-i am thrilled, because i am also a huge fan of old bollywood-as in 50's & 60's. this is hard to come by outside of india, heck, even within india most only like the new stuff. but since she has spent lots of time over there & in pakistan, she has developed a serious habit. we spend the night discussing our common love for india and all things indian, things only visitors there can understand. everyone i have ever met always has a wonderful collection of stories about that place, it's always fun to share.

and we sigh......ahhh...india....
next year.

i heart tokyo

what i love about tokyo in no particular order

-public transportation
it is intimidating, but highly efficient, always on time by the second, runs all night, so drunk driving isn't much of a problem. it's cheap, there are plenty of trains & busses to take you just about anywhere in the tokyo, japan metropolitan area & beyond.

-hospitality
the japanese way is to treat guests as family. they take care of you. i have never felt alone here because of it.

-food
some of the finest food in the world. i have not had a single bad meal. even the 7-11s & convenience stores stock a mind blowing selection-all cheap, all good.

-comforts
deep hot tub in every household, smart & comfortable toilets, warm floors, down comforters everywhere, great selection of down, cashmiere, wool & thermal clothes as well as great hats & scarves!

-fashion
everyone looks good here. many have their own style. many follow trends. no matter, they all look interesting & good. it's fun to people watch, and very easy to get fashion ideas. they put together outfits in a way i could never have thought of.

-yoga
some of the most dedicated practitioners in the world! they respect tradition, which is why traditional yoga such as astanga works for them.

-the people
i have not met a single jerk. everyone has been warm to me, helpful, comforting, friendly. it's a very easy place to visit alone because of this. i also do not feel judged or stared at for being a foreigner.

-the music
every japanese band that has visited chicago has blown my mind. dosen't matter what style. there's a sense of abandonment when they play music. like it's their last time.

-movies
great action, drama, adventure, comedy & anime. two of the best directors in the world are from here-ozu & kurosawa.

-work ethic
not a lot of laziness here. everyone works, alot, (perhaps too much) but are highly productive & disciplined people.

-graphic art
the best in the world!

-japanese mothers!

mango bath

so i'm feeling rejuvinated, great after being sick. something about fasting a couple days, getting toxins out, etc. i go in to do another practice at night, feels good. i'm teaching the second class, 20 mysore students at night-feeling good, strong, positive. i'm riding the trains, feeling good. i am a tokyoite, i can handle anything. when i get off the train, i realize i've nothing to eat all day except out of the yoga goodie basket, which is basically japanese filled naughty sweets & seaweed wrapped sesame crackers & coffee. i crash. walking fast, i need to get home, eat, bed. i'm walking. and walking. and walking. did i miss the house? i found it this afternoon just fine, but now it's dark & there's hardly a light anywhere. half an hour goes by. it should take half that time to get home. ok. i must have missed it. getting cranky, getting hungry, getting thirsty, cranky.....trudge way back to the train station & retrack my steps. this time i have no address or phone # on me, because i don't have my pack, so i HAVE to find home. passing a shrine. hmm. never seen that before. how did i screw up AGAIN??? i was feeling so "on" so confident, so tokyo savvy. just like yoga. you get a pose, you can finally do the pose, and the next day, your body was just kidding. so my instinct tells me to turn onto another street. walking. walking. hmmm...sweating, stop to buy water out of the many vending machines. i have never before seen so many of these in one city. lucky they are stocked with coffee products, teas, energy drinks & waters instead of soda. chug chug...dehydration sets in, hunger getting stronger...should have gone to that mysterious noodle shop. but mom might have cooked....ahah! there it is. drag my worthless body into the house, tell my pathetic story to emi & her mom, whose preoccupied with korean drama, all i have to say is "i'm starving". like wildfire, suddenly a bowl of pumpkin topped with miso appears, a bowl of black seaweed (my favorite) a huge bowl of overcooked sweet rice (good for digestion late at night, she says) and several massive chunks of halibut-like fish. and slowly, it all begins to fade away...until, "want a bath?" bath pushers. and i've just bought myself some new bath bombs! oh boy...saunter into the tall hot water just waiting for me, cause it dosen't get cold like at home, cause they have temperature control, and leave the world for a mango bath.

happy set

this little guy in the right corner represents how i am feeling today. he was part of the "happy set" at the coffee shop i usually sit at after yoga, usually to get a latte & the fromage (their take on the bagel & cream cheese-a soft lovely roll stuffed with cream cheese), but today, i got "happy set" because it included coffee, & i wanted to take a photo of him. i feel this way because the flu did not stay with me long. i credit "mom"-yasuko, emi's mom, for helping me with my speedy recovery. when i fell ill, she was quick to throw me in bed & administer fluids-teas & dakara-lemony soda water, & yesterday, when i was ready to eat, home cooked udon (!!!) with egg & everything! & a rice beverage for upset tummy-sort of like baby food-thick, weird, tasteless, odorless. than a huge chunk of natural brown sugar (?) all the while talking full-on in japanese to me, as if i am understanding, which i feel like i can, but i really can't. i have to admit, i love the mothering. my mom passed several years ago, and never liked to cook anyhow, so i'm sort of in the middle of a fantasy at the moment. i got an offer to move into an empty apartment in shibuya 5 minutes away from the yoga studio, but after thinking about it, i declined. i think i would miss mom, mom's food, mom watching korean movies, talking to me in japanese, watching strange japanese television. something special about it.

i got to the studio without a problem, a short practice, but good. these days, it's all about the quality, not the quantity. doing pranayama helps deepen my breath & have a better yoga session. something sorely lacking with the students both here & at home is attention to proper breath. most can breathe correctly on the exhale, but aren't taking in any air at all. "sniffing" on the inhale for 2 counts, deep ujjai exhale for 7 counts. this is not good. it should be equal, and much more attention to the inhalation. that is what oxygenates the blood. i can only breathe with the students & hope they catch on, because it's very difficult to teach. even in the west. most people spend most of their time on the acrobatics of the asana & very little time on breath, bandhas & dristi. which is a shame, because the student is only cheating themselves. yoga feels SO much better when the attention to the breath becomes #1, followed by bandhas & dristi, only asana coming out of these first 3 factors.

lots of progress in class. slowly slowly slowly.

all is coming.