Japan

The snow, my father in-law and I

January 11, 2011

It’s cloudy and cool in Dubai as I’m writing this. Of course by “cool” I only meant not disgustingly hot. You winter wonderland people would probably laugh – It was 20C (68F for you non-Metric folks) at 8:30 this morning. It’s almost 5 PM now and about 25C outside, with a lot of big clouds [...]

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The grass is greener on the other side

September 21, 2010

…and the trees, more colorful too. It’s September, in fact, it’s almost October already and we still have highs of 40C here in Dubai. The mornings and nights have eased a bit and we can actually walk outside without soaking our shirts but mid-day still feels like mid-summer. It is my 4th September in the [...]

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Garra rufa therapy, would you?

December 3, 2009

Garra rufa. People who know this are probably feeling uneasy right now – just as what I’m feeling. Squirmy, squirmy, squirmy. And restless. Do you love foot therapy but tired of the same old school massages, shiatsus and whatnots? I give you Garra rufa, baby. Poster says: Gara sensei (sensei means teacher but also “doctor” [...]

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Who knew Japanese weddings can be so dramatic

November 9, 2009

I’ve never been to a Japanese wedding party before even if I’ve lived in Japan for more than ten years. I know that automatically sounds like I have no friends. I think. But really, it’s either most of my friends were already married and the unmarried who decided to get married lost my telephone number [...]

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That beautiful house on the hill

November 5, 2009

In Japan, there’s this house that we love, really love that we wish all three of us are adopted by the owners. Our friends, Luke and Miyuki-san invited us to spend the weekend in their “weekend getaway” house during our recent vacation. This must be my dream house. It’s great to look at outside (wait [...]

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And the boy gets married

October 26, 2009

Sorry for the lack of creativity in the title. I’m trying to tell a story here – in photos and in words, hoping that I can be able to relay the event, even half interesting as it was really, as I saw and experienced it. It was my first time in a traditional Japanese wedding and [...]

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Bonding with her old man

October 19, 2009

Even when we were still living in Japan and a trip to the hubs’ hometown only takes about 3 hours by car, we didn’t visit his folks frequently. I think there were plenty of reasons – the weather, the lack of things to do at his quiet hometown, the fact that I am extremely allergic [...]

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Driving home to a familiar scene

October 18, 2009

I‘ve always loved rural Japan and prefer it to the big bustling city of Tokyo. On our drive back home to my husband’s hometown, we are greeted by the familiar green fields, lush mountain, blue skies and fluffy clouds. The smell of fresh air is inviting, especially for someone who’s been living in arid, humid [...]

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