In Loving Memory

Leo Arnie Makinen (1911-2007)

I came back to Bear Lake on Monday because my grandfather (my last living grandparent; photo taken last August) died late Saturday night (which was Sunday afternoon in Japan.) He had been in and out of the hospital lately and as he was 95, his body just started to shut down. He went peacefully in his sleep.

I had told my school about his condition in advance and fortunately, if there is one thing the Japanese understand, it is funerals. I was able to get a week off to come back here on the spur of the moment. I literally packed in 30 minutes after arranging my ticket and meeting my supervisor to give her my schedule. (Fortunately, we had enough miles for an international frequent flyer ticket- otherwise there would have been no way I could have afforded one at the last minute like that.) It has been good to be home because I feel like I miss out on a lot sometimes by NOT being here. And death is certainly a part of life, even if it is not a pleasant one. The funeral is today (Wednesday- this is probably coming up Japan time but it is actually 7:20 in the morning & I am wide awake thanks to jet-lag) and it will just be a small ceremony at our church, which is actually in the Finnish town, Kaleva, where he grew up. There will not be a burial because the ground is quite frozen.

I will always remember how my grandpa taught me to fish at his cottage on Bear Lake. He loved baseball and used to love to listen to the Tigers game on the radio on summer nights. We played darts in the basement of his home near Chicago, and shuffleboard at the cottage. As he was Finnish, he loved his Saturday night sauna followed by a swim in the lake. He certainly had what the Finns proudly call SISU (similar to what the Japanese call the "Gambatte spirit"- which means perseverance.) He will be missed. Hyvästi, Isoisä.

Back to Reality

Long time, no post! Sorry to keep you all hanging for so long... No, I wasn't kidnapped by any coups in Thailand or anything, but thank you for your concern! :) Things have just been pretty busy since returning to Japan since my sister was still here (in fact, she extended her ticket home for a week and just ended up leaving two days ago) so we were busy going places (like karaoke, of course!) in my every free moment outside of school.

We went to the Peace Park in Nagasaki, Mt. Aso for some volcanic hot springs, Kumamoto Castle (here it is... can I entice anyone else to come & visit? It's pretty cool, right in the center of my city!) and even took the ferry over to Pusan, Korea last weekend. She had really wanted to see what Korea was like since she's considering going there to teach next year- and I was happy to be her tour guide. I like going back to Korea any chance I get. In fact, it's quite likely that I will be living in Korea again next year myself... but we shall see.

Of course, Michelle's visit to Japan included me taking her to all my favorite restaurants and having her try all kinds of food and meeting my friends over lunch & dinner here. We sushiied a few times (because it's fast & cheap) and enjoyed Okinomiyaki (shown here on the tabletop-grill, this is "Japanese pancake" with cabbage and your choice of other fillings) as well as my favorite izakaya (Japanese-style drinking establishment.)

As for Thailand, I'm happy to say that we successfully made it through 5 1/2 days of fasting (sorry for all the candor in my last post on this subject, by the way!) so we felt pretty good. Then we finally got to eat some of the delicious vegetarian food at our resort (and yummy Thai food, too!) A real treat after those FANTASTIC detox drinks, as you can imagine!

The day we finished our fast, we had our only night out "on the town." We met up with my friend Peter (on the left) who also teaches on the same program in Kumamoto with me. He happened to be on the same island in Thailand, sightseeing with his friend Jan (right) also from South Africa. We enjoyed the adventure of scootering (literally, on the back of their scooters... with no helmets!) around to a few marketplaces followed by a few drinks on the beach. (I was definitely itching for a "real" drink by then, and it WAS vacation, after all!)


We also did a bit of sightseeing in Thailand, too, finally. I suppose that's a story in itself as we had been chatting to the friendly Thai bell boy at our resort (also known as "Peter") who kindly offered to show us around with his friend on his day off. (Later this turned into a plea for an American work visa, but anyway... think he still meant well and it was better than being herded around in a regular sightseeing tour.)
"Thai Peter" and his friend were both Buddhist so they taught us a bit about their religion (how to pray, when to honk your horn when passing a Buddhist monument to show respect) and driving in their truck was a bit on the surreal side because it was filled with the sounds of Kenny G... the best music for Buddhist meditation, as they informed us.

We saw a really cool gold temple located right on the ocean, a few waterfalls, and this famous phallic-shaped rock known as "Grandfather Rock." I'm still not quite sure why people flock to see it but I suppose it is somewhat of a natural phenomenon. We saw some elephants, but chose not to go "elephant trekking" as we had read about it being really harmful for them- and they are already endangered. (Besides, I'm afaid of heights!)

We left Thailand relaxed and somewhat tan and returned to the cold reality of Japan. (Guess it's always a harsh reality check coming from a warm place on vacation back to cold and work) which is where I stand now, with those carefree days all but a memory... Woe is me.

Pictures, pictures... you asked for `em, so you got `em! (And I even fixed the picture problem from my Christmas post... not sure what happened there- sorry!)

Life in the Fast Lane

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone! I hope 2007 is full of health and happiness for you!

Greetings from sunny Thailand, where I have now been for the last 4 days with my sister. We are staying on the island of Koh Samui, which is located in the southeast part of the country (and was not touched by the tsunami two years ago.) It rained the first day, but has been sunny, warm, and surprisingly not humid since.

I guess you could say that we're having a different kind of vacation here. Instead of backpacking, sightseeing, and partying, we are detoxing. The place we're staying at is kind of a new-agey health resort known for its fasting programs and vegetarian food. This is our 3rd day of fasting (out of 6) and I have to say I feel pretty good. It's definitely the first time in my life I have gone without food for this long, but it's actually pretty good to give your body a break from eating once in a while (as I'm learning!) I should clarify that I am not eating any SOLID food. We have these specially-made detox drinks 5x a day, and we are allowed two cups of vegetable broth, 2 coconuts full of coconut water, and 1 carrot juice a day, so we actually feel pretty full most of the time.

I thought I'd be pretty cranky because that's how I usually get when I don't eat... but so far, so good. I was also a little concerned about how this would fly, being with my sister 24/7 (as many of you know, fighting is just a healthy part of our relationship) but I am happy to announce that we are both behaving maturely. OK... a few semi-heated discussions but no hair-pulling or anything. Maybe we are too relaxed to argue. At least, not yet! We are also doing 2 colon cleanses a day (by which means I will spare you the details..) so it really IS quite a sister bonding experience...

Being Thailand, everything is quite cheap here, especially the accommodation (our own private bungalow just steps from the beach.) The resort also has Thai massage (we've been getting our share at 8 dollars an hour) and meditation and yoga, etc. I have to say that it was really nice to wake up on New Year's Day completely sober for a change. There were some nice New Year fireworks on the beach, but we just spent a quiet night in at the resort. We're hoping to do some sightseeing after we finish our fast and before we head back to Japan... Unfortunately, our day here is so scheduled with detox drinks and cleanses that it's hard to break away from the resort for long. It's actually really nice to just have an excuse to stay in one place for a change and really, really relax.

Will post again (maybe some pics) after I return to Japan. Wishing all of you all the best in this new year!