100% Germ Free

I am fighting off a virus at the moment. Influenza has been sweeping the Japanese public school system and it’s only a matter of time before it gets me. My main focus right now is to somehow hold it off until I come back from Sapporo.

Helpfully, my co-workers take various steps to prevent the flu spreading. Preventative steps taken include the wearing of those super-effective hygiene masks, regular rinsing of teeth into the kitchen sink and leaving every door in the school open for as long as possible so that the air can circulate. Less effective prevention methods such as not going to work when you obviously have the flu, providing proper soap in the toilets and encouraging your students to wear appropriate clothing (i.e. not shorts) has clearly been written off as the wishy washy, liberal thinking that it so obviously is. Seriously though, I don’t feel like there’s anything original left to say on this issue, so I’ll move on, whilst grinding my teeth in an irritable manner.

Someone asked me recently whether I ever get homesick. I have to admit that so far it hasn’t happened. But it encouraged me to think about those things I do miss.

Friends and family, for example. I have a nephew that I haven’t met. I also became a godfather at the end of last year, but have never seen my godson in person. I do want to see the people who are important to me. And my cat.

Equally, I sometimes miss the dirtiness of the UK. This is something that’s hard to quantify without sounding like Ruth in The Homecoming. But basically, all the cafes and bars I go to here are pretty much spotless and well maintained with everything working perfectly. But I actually like the dirt sometimes, the frayed edges and the dodgy toilets of rundown pubs. I understand that this is irrational. Obviously I don’t miss the social problems that affect the UK, but I do miss the slight sense of chaos that you come across on a night out. You do find that occasionally here, particularly in Tokyo and very late at night in Okayama City. But I really like the idea that city centres should be slightly chaotic places after dark.

The definition of a scuzzy bar.

I miss the independence that I have in the UK, particularly at work. If I have an argument with someone at work in the UK, I can play an active part in resolving it. But here, the language barrier means that I am constantly at the mercy of others for pretty much everything. Sometimes it just isn’t possible to translate what you really mean. Add to this the huge amount of idle time that I have in my job here and I can see why so many people feel like this job is a real blow to their self-esteem.

I think that the reason none of the above has got me down so far, is that for each negative, there is a corresponding positive. Yes, I miss my friends-but not having them around has forced me to put myself out there and make new ones. As for the dirtiness-well it does still exist here in places, and many people would say  that whilst you can romanticize the rough edges, hygienic toilet facilities are actually a good thing. And the idle time means that I can learn Japanese at work, whilst getting paid an awful lot of money for very limited responsibilities.

Sapporo is coming up this weekend. I love snow so much and they’ve built a whole festival around it. Not just that, but we’re talking about a place where the local delicacies are crab, sashimi and lamb. Those are 3 of my favorite food types. This is shaping up to be a very exciting month.