Nagano- Three winter seasons I now experienced in my life and now is the coldest winter I got. Three days ago, the mercury dropped to its lowest level as the weather agency monitored the Sea of Japan striken by a freezing zone.
How I wish to reflect insights as I wander when can I go again to the green landscape like this picture with sunshine giving reflection to the wide river and shades light to nature.
Almost three years now in Japan and still I struggle to speak their tounge. My aging memory plus the effects of daily medicines made me far to memorize from hiragana to katakana to kanji. And communication to me is so important. When I go to to a store, I dont know how to ask, "how much is this?" but need to check the price tag at its label. When I look for a barber shop, I cant read the barber's signage but look for a revolving rainbow colors of blue, red, white and the like usual in front of a parlor or barber's shop. Until now, when I ride a bus to a place first time for me to go, I need to write down some benchmarks whenever a bus turns right or left to make sure I can go back to where I came from. When I use a telephone or a telephone card, I have to call a Pinoy friend at first to ask for help how to use their card in this place. What a 3-year battle!
But for three years now, I still keep my 3 times a week visiting a special nook for me, the garbage places, at least 5 garbage areas per week and check what is recyclable and surplus from there. Thanks for the rich who throws used but usable things and I am graced from bags, table, chairs, shelves, boxes, polo shirts, jackets, fotuns, caps, flower pots, bicycles, tennis rackets, small rugs, cloth-hanger, umbrellas and the like. Third Saturday of the month is most exciting for me as it is the schedule for non-degradable objects. Not so bad for me!
For three years, I knew who are real friends and who are those friends who murmur at your back and make not so good stories against you. For three years I learned what a spiritual organization is and what is a tithes-and-donation-collecting agency is. A spiritual organization dedicated to refresh spiritual growth and development of man offers guidance and counselling, Sunday Services and fellowhip, internal guidance and organize spiritual renewal activities while a tithes-and-donation collecting arm is a mere donation box which could never recognize a person who drops nor sense his heart of donating.
For three years, life becomes so silent that only my ten fingers could talk thru cyberspace. Three years of no car-driving but daily back-and-forth-walking from govt apartment to work either rain or shine, cloudy or snowing; three years of no telephone-calling with a cellphone, three years far from the favorite Filipino foods and fruits but nattu and egg for breakfast , daikong, misu soap and gohang if not o-dung or soba for dinner everytime with a name in the menu-list called "as-usual".
Three years with no Christmas celebration, three years with no social occasions, and only this year that none from my dearest family remember me on my birthday. Thanks God the cyberworld connects me to people who were reminded in their friendster and egroups about my birthday. They all patched up the holes of forgetfullness of my loved ones to even just sing or simply greet me on that day. On my meditation time, I was told, I am but old now to celebrate anyway. First in 46 years that I could not hear a birthday song that day. Huh!!!
After I started family life in Philippines, every after two years a new child is born. Only here in three years that no one was made nor born in Japan. No tasty banana from Japan!!!
Three years but learn to talk silently with nature, sing if not hum to the trees if not flowers along the streets or yards; make silent sentences while looking on the sorrounding mountains blessed with trees if not covered with snow; learn by observing the temples or shrines of the Shinto if not of Buddhism, and learn to whisper to extreme colds if not warm of the climate in this rural place.
Three years here now and I discovered that not only male Japanese have the hard tune to say "I luv you" but so with my wife. I got no Valentine chocolate as "giri" from her nor these three words from her aside that she missed by birthday.
After this three short-term years, another short if not long term program to set. Make a vision and set a target. Plan again the next 3 years and beyond. There is no other choice but to move ahead back to the future!!!
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