How to individually wrap a cup of drip coffee, and a look at my morning routine

Japan is and remains the land of convenience and excessive wrapping. They have a solution for anything, and everything comes in a bag. When you take your plastic-wrapped product out of its bag to open, you usually find that the contents are lovingly individually wrapped. Because we do not want the cookies to contaminate each other. At the checkout counter, these bags get placed in additional bags for safe-keeping. Hot and cold items get separate bags. And since there are no dustbins (yay for British English), I usually come home with fifty-some bags in my bag. I PUT THEM IN A BAG.

A good example of this wrappy convenience comes in the shape of a bag of coffee I got.

Super special

I know I know I know all my barista friends hate me for this, but in the morning I'm not looking for good coffee. I'm looking for roundhouse-kick-to-the-brain so thick you eat it with a spoon coffee. And since I don't have a proper coffee-maker at home at all, instant it is.

But this is instant coffee with a twist.

Inside the bag, each cup has it's own bag. First, you eagerly await the water to boil (for example by snuggling back to bed until the beeper on the stove tells you it's ready).
 

I don't have a kettle. I have one pan.
I use it for everything. It's a good pan.

The contents of each bag is a bona-fide one-cup coffee filter, with filter-coffee inside.

It opens up like a beautiful flower.

You put it on your cup.

You manually pour water into the filter, making a huge mess and spilling boiling water everywhere. Try not to get it on your hands.

Then you wait for a bit, refilling the filter at need.

Cup full? Remove filter. It is garbage now. Throw it away.

Now you are ready to watch the news, get energized, and face your daily commute full of that early morning vitality and enthusiasm.

CARE PACKAGE!!!!!!

I got a package from mah mum. It was a big package!

I wanted to very open much fast.

There was a package inside my package!

And more packages inside the package that was inside my package!

Weegian comfort food! Good bread good for stomach. I can have knekkebrød med brunost for breakfast tomorrow. Smasssshhhh.

The card wished me a happy May 17th, which is evidence to show that snail mail is snail. It also contained 5000 yen. From Norway. I wonder if that might have something to do with one of my moms colleagues visiting Japan about a month ago. But I cannot know. Unless I ask. In which case I would know.

Sudden worry: is it technically legal to send money by mail?

I naturally ate all the candy immediately.

The best kind of therapy!

It was delicious.

The best candy every, srsly.

Tried to take a selfie in front of all my swag. Fell over.

What I'm basically trying to say in this here public way is THANKS MUM! Tusen takk mamma, kjempekoselig!

Hipp hipp...

Having spent 12 years of my life in a marching band, I used to have a bit of a strained relationship to May 17th. My instrument being large and unwieldy, strapped to my front (with a harness ironically branded "comfort") sticking out from my body in a way that created a wonderful leveraging ampification of weight, my primary memory is that of backpain. Sore feet, bleary-eyed earliness and oh, oh, the backpain.

Insult to injury, I didn't even get to walk out in front in a cute dress. I was third row between the tenor horns. It sucked.

My bell lyre actually looked exactly like this, except for the n00btastic
note-hint on the sides.

This year was a little different.

I, and all other Norwegians in the area, got invited to celebrate our Constitution Day at the Embassy in Tokyo. 

Balloons are an essential part of 17. mai celebrations.

For me, this was made extra special because the offices of Innovation Norway are located at, you guessed it, the very same embassy. As very recent news have told me, this will thus be my workplace anno August.

Not too shabby.

There is a pool.
I will be working here, and there is a pool.
OhmydearsweetCHRYSANTHEMUM I LOVE POOLS!

The guests were greeted with Norwegian-style waffles (remember me trying to make these without a waffle iron way back when?) with real goaty brown cheese, making me feel right at home.

Yuuuum

I also had to appretiate the patriotism of the flag-colored flowerbeds. Our very special red white and blue colour combination that is so unique to our fair country.

This could be the patriotic flowerbed
of any one of 35 nations. #redwhiteblue

We had joy, we had fun, we had waffles in the sun.

It wouldn't be 17th of May without childish drawings,

I really needed this program too, because
I know embarrasingly few 17th May song lyrics.

speeches,

The ambassador spoke, and also the Norwegian childrens... something.
What on earth is "barneombud" in English anyway?

cake,

Delishhhh!

ice cream,

Not raisin flavoured, even if it is Dole.

sausages-inna-bun/potatopancake,

Pølse i lompe. This one is fanschypants. On offer were also the regular simple kind.
"Lompe" is not only one of my favourite Norwegian words in general; because of the whole
 l/r thing, it also gets very funny very fast in Japan. #rompe

and a PARAAAADE!

Pre-parade selfie.
Ready...

Set...

woo-hoo!

We walked noisly around the block with marching band music on a boomblaster yelling "Hurra!". The neighborhood of the embassy is very quiet, so the few onlookers did not know what hit them.

There was also a cold buffet overflowing with a delicious mix of Norwegian-style koldtbord and Asian influences, a raffle, and the most brilliant weather anyone (not in a bunad. Gods, the heat!) could have asked for. 

A chance to meet a large proportion of the Norwegian people living in the Tokyo area (and some from more remote parts of Japan as well), I got a really great sense of community. It of course didn't hurt that I was "the new Innovation Norway trainee", not "the sad person who was here last week but unfortunatelly didn't get the job". I appretiated that.

Also, random ISFIT-reunion:

These weirdly lit people all volunteered for the International Student Festival in Trondheim, 2013.

I gotta say, I think this might qualify as my first-ever cocktail party. While I am aware that it was a very informal affair, I felt quite fancy standing poolside in the sunny day with my food and wine.

After the official event ended people went to Fuglen, an Oslo bar/cafe that has had great success with its Tokyo branch, and I joined. From there, we celebrated Norway together with a Swede at a Japanese izakaya, because multiculturalism is awsome especially when it leads to Nåmihådai.

And because of reasons, after having had a constant buzz since 11:00 a.m., we went on to make more party. I felt obliged to join, since I so far never actually tried going to a club in Tokyo, and while I'm living here it really would be a shame if I didn't at least try out some different aspects of the nightlife.

On our way there, I noticed to my slightly tipsy great amusement that one of the stops, aoyama itchoume, actually literally means "the first city block of the blue mountain". ...Kom blåååååååneeee, kom JENTE kom GUUUUUT!

"...snaaaart kommer julen til Aoyamaaaa"

The day ended with me feeling very cool on a rooftop bar in Roppongi. 

And when the day ended came a good night. But I gotta say the district lived up to its slightly sketchy reputation. Having now finally seen it for myself, I don't think I'm going to go back in a hurry. Since we stayed after 1 a.m., we had to stay until 5 a.m., because that is just how it works here. Quite enough for a long time, I think. The club-place was quite expensive, so I stayed more or less completely sober most of the night, and saw a lot of ...activity... happening. Remembering the jazz-club scene from Downton Abbey, I couldn't help but think about what the Dowager Countess would have said if she had seen this "dance" floor. I found it more my style to retreat back up to the comparatively quiet rooftop, where you could have more intelligent (or at least intelligible) conversation.

"Here you will find ...things"

Bone tired, I finally stumbeled in the door at my dorm at around 6 a.m. Even with 12 years in a marching band, I don't think I've ever had a more exhausting May 17th. But I've very rarely had a more eventful 24 hours either. All in all totally, totally worth it.

To all my fellow 'weegies, a belated gratulerer med dagen! :D

Hurra!

I have some big news

I had so many plans for how to present this information, no matter which way the coin fell. There was a new happy-dance video half-edited in my brain, and I had a poem of mourning almost completely composed. But now that I actually know for sure, I'm just too relieved to make a big deal out of it. I have been nervous this past week (and too hung up on my future to make much bloggin', sry'nstuff). Let me tell you why.

Remember way back when, I said I had another sort-of plan after my study-term at Toudai. Because it has been totally up in the air and I have been scared of it all coming to nothing I've been keeping very quiet about it on the blog, but I've secretly been preparing ever since I got to Fukuoka. I gathered references, prettified my CV, wrote and submitted my application and eventually, last week, I went to an interview.

They told me there were many good applicants.

They told me they would call my references.

And yesterday, they told me I got the job.

.

.

Okay, let me say that again.

They told me I got the job.

The job.

I got it.

They said so.

So now, please excuse me for a second.

I did it. I got the job. YESSSSSyessyessyessYESSS! or as the locals would say, やったあああああああ

YEAH! WHOO!

So what does this mean?

It means I'll be staying in Tokyo for six more months as a trainee (norsk: stipendiat) for Innovation Norway after my uniterm is done in August.

It means I'll be working at the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

It means I'll have to find my own apartment in Tokyo, living off a relatively small grant every month. My graduation will be delayed by (*ahem* an additional) six months. I will be doing vaguely defined stuff quite far from my academic field.

And it is totally awsome.

I can't really say where this will take me. Right now, I'm just riding this wave of forward momentum and enjoying my life becoming far more interesting than ever before.

A couple of things I do know for sure, though.

There will be more tentacles.

Yum

More sake.

That is not water I'm holding.

More gorgeous parks.

And of course, more selfies!

DFTBA, because I sure won't!

I'm on such a high cloud right now, it feels like my feet are on the ceiling. No wait, that actually happened.

What I'm trying to say here, is that I'm still Big in Japan

In all seriousness though, I've been kinda-sorta planning to apply for this job since I first became aware of the possibility more than a year ago. Looking at the description, I felt it might be a very good (perfect?) job for me, and I also humbly dared to feel like I really just might be a good choice for the position. Thankfully, I was not the only one thinking this.

*STONKING GREAT SIGH OF RELIEF*

I don't think I've ever put so much faith in myself. I was pretty much gambling with half a year of my life, because going back to NTNU in September, with no apartment, no money and a month of coursework to catch up would have suuuuuuuucked.

It's been scary as hell, that's what. But that's part of my new look on life. I spent a good number of years holding myself back because of fear of failure or lack of confidence or self-doubt or some such nonsense, and while I still have all of those things (and oh, do I!), I have made a conscious choice and am making constant effort to not let that shit stop me. Even for a second. No matter what, just keep moving forward.

I dared to fail, and it turned out awsome. Now let that stay here on this blog as a lesson to myself the next time I get scared of taking a leap.

I have come a long way since Trondheim, and I'm not stopping yet!

Story of my first earthquake

I am woken up by something just not feeling quite right.

*shake shake shake*

Brain: "Woooaah, this is an..."

*shake shake shake*

Brain: "...earthquake! Daaamn, this shit is freaky!"

*shake shake shake*

Body: ". . ."

Brain: "woooooaaaa..."

*shake shake*

Body: "! ! !"

Brain: "aaaaa..."

*shake shake shake*

Brain: "aaaaa..."

*shake shake shake*

Brain: "aaa..."

*silence*

Body: ". . ."

Brain: "YIKES! Okaaay that was weird! It was a small earthquake, no worries. These happen all the time here. It happened, it's over. I'm ready to go back to bed now."

Body: ". . ."

*shake*

Body: "WHAT WAS THAT?!?"

Brain: "Just a small earthquake, I told you. No need to ..."

Body: "WHAT. WAS. THAT."

Brain: "Oh just relax"

Body: "WHY WAS THE GROUND MOVING?"

Brain: "we've been over this..."

Body: "THE GROUND IS NOT SUPPOSED TO MOVE."

Brain: "e-a-r-t-h-q-u-a-k-e. You are in Japan."

Body: "I CAN NO LONGER TRUST THE GROUND."

Brain: "...yes you can"

Body: "I CAN NO LONGER TRUST ANYTHING!"

Brain: "You can trust me. And I say sleep is nice. Let's go to...."

Body: "I AM NEVER SLEEPING AGAIN."

Brain: "Wat?"

Body: "GO LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND FACE YOUR OWN MORTALITY"

Brain: "Oh for fucks sake..."

Body: "I AM NEVER CLOSING MY EYES AGAIN"

Eyes: O.O

Just some everyday stuff (aka Cribs, specifically mine)

I've been very domestic today, keepin' it cool cleaning bathrooms and laundering clothes things and STUFF. Generally trying to make my living space into a place where I can happily spend the five minutes between coming home and falling asleep. It was so clean and pretty when I arrived here a month ago and I was like "Imma keep it like that fo'SHOE!". If anything, evidence has shown that I let myself go real easy...

Made me realize I never actually bothered to present said living space on this here internet thing-bugger, and thought that huh. Might as well.

I present to you: My humble abode!

Hey, look at that! An actual bed!

Got all the necessities: Bed, chair, yoga mat, large-ish desk, shelves and closet to the left there as you clearly can't see. (Only thing I'm missing is a full length mirror, for which I use my windows when it's dark out.) All in all, from what people were telling me Tokyo medium-term accomodation for foreigners usually entails, the standard of living here is wahay higher than I'd expected. Of course, it is the most expensive accomodation offered by the university, but it's still way cheaper than SiT back home so you won't hear no complaining from me.

First of all, remove your shoes before you enter. What are you, a barbarian?

Waste no space, want no space.

Once you enter, the bathroom is on your left. I gave it its first real thorough scrubbing today, which turned out to be a lot more challenging than I had imagined. Thankfully my years as a yoga practitioner allowed me to strike all the severely awkward poses required to clean this tiny, tiny room.

But hey, the space is perfectly big enough for everyday use. I'm just really glad I'm not a little bit taller.

"My legs have this much space when I'm doing the toileting"

My room also contains a kitchen! ...ish.

Ta-da!

It's a stove and a sink, used primarily for coffee and noodles.

Let's see how this pans out (LOL PUN).

Of course, it's important that I clean the pan thoroughly, as I only have the one, and ramen-flavoured greasy coffee is a lot less tasty than you think it is.

As a consequence, I have mastered the art of doing dishes in the Japanese way. That is to say, with a sponge. I miss dishwashing brushes I really really do. 

"I don't trust you."

The kitchen was completely empty when I first arrived, so I had to buy everything new (there was a closet with used free stuff in the dorm lobby, but it was icky icky ew nope nope ... not very clean and fresh looking. I decided a small investment was worth it).

Because of both money and space (and my low ammount of both), I only bought the barest of essentials. So here are all my kitchen utensils neatly lined up:

Yes, a cheese slicer constitutes as "bare essentials". Even in a country without real cheese.

No sharp knife, because no cutting board and no space. Take a wild guess: do you think I cook at home often?

Stairway to heaven.

My fridge is an excellent shelf for my jacket and wallet, and my (mostly empty) red suitcase of destiny makes a good towelrack.

The contents of my fridge reflects how much I use them.

Half  of an old cabbage, eggs, vegemite, brown cheese and beer.

My freezer is even more interesting.

But who doesn't like ice cubes?!?

The water in the sink tastes like it was tapped straight from a community pool, so I buy a lot of these big bottles.

The used bottles make decent dumbells. 

Seriously, I have tasted water in many countries and even as a fenomenally water-spoiled Norwegian I'm usually okay with the taste even when I'm told I shouldn't drink it for health reasons. But the water here... I've heard that it is about as clean as it can get, but I think I prefer the taste of germs to the taste of chlorine, thankyouverymuch.

And that's all for now, folks.

I'll leave you with the lock on my door.

"No shit..."