Today is the day for my first root canal. I won’t lie, I am very nervous. I have heard from various people that it is supposed to hurt quite a bit and I am having three days of them. Everyone and their Japanese brother seem to know about this whole business with my mouth as well. I went in to teach my private classes this week and they all knew about it before I told them. It’s weird. I think there is some foreigner news broadcasting network that I am not aware of. There are these vans that drive around that have a loud speaker on them in my neighbourhood. They are constantly blaring out something I can’t understand. I bet they are talking about us gaijin so that everyone can be in the know about our crazy antics. On the up side, I guess that means that people will come and visit me in the hospital. My elementary school classes had signs above their doors this week that said I was going to the dentist written in Japanese. When I went to each class, the students would point to the sign and then point to me. It has become a city wide event. Maybe I should walk around with the letter D around my next or something. It would be educational.
I had a wonderful dinner last night with a few friends. We made fajitas from scratch and had a generally good chat. Because it is cold now, we all sit under the heated table called the Kotatsu. It is a low table with blankets on it that heat from underneath. In the winter in Japan, families see it as a time for closeness with each other. I found a picture of one on the net. My house isn’t clean enough to take pictures right now. You aren’t supposed to sleep under it but I have thought about it. I have my kerosene heater going now in the mornings which is nice. It is a lot easier to get out of the shower although you can still see your breath in the house. Apparently when it gets colder, frost will form on the tatami mats and the top of you blankets on your bed. Should be interesting. The carpet under the table is also heated. My neighbour has one but I don't The heater you can see is a kerosene heater. They stink a bit and you can't leave them on too long or the room fills up with carbon monoxide.
The leaves have all fallen off the grape vines seemingly over night. I asked someone what would happen to the grape vines, would they cut them back or something? They said that all of the leaves would just fall off one day. I didn’t think they meant it would literally happen in one day though. Things in nature happen kind of suddenly here it feels. Seasons and weather just turns on or off. There is snow on the mountain tops now but the leaves are still beautiful colours lower down.
One person we know has just left the JET program which was a bit of a shock. He said he didn’t like Japan when he first arrived and that didn’t change for him the longer he stayed. So he’s back home in South Africa now. I guess it’s not for everyone but three months doesn’t seem like giving it much of a shot. It’s hard for me to say though. He came from a very warm country and also I think the fact that he was black may have made him feel like more of an outsider than most foreigners. You almost never see black people here so it’s like being a minority within a minority. He just never felt comfortable. It maybe seems strange to me because I am so comfortable here. I can’t really imagine not liking it. Well I will update you all on the dentist situation on the weekend and let you know how it went. I hope you are all doing well and I will talk to you soon.