The New Year celebration has always been a big deal in my life. Well, until I had my son...now I am just boring, and happy to get to sleep BEFORE midnight.
Anyway, here in Japan the New Year Holiday is a very big deal. Nothing like the holiday in America where people party their brains out for one night and then Thank God that the year ended before they got the hangover. No here, its a bit different.
While I am quite positive that everyone here drinks, seeing as the liquor store around the corner did not have an empty parking spot for two straight days (around the clock) prior to New Year's Eve, but here in our neighborhood, things were relatively quiet New Year's Eve.
Shogatsu is the celebration of the New Year and is the most important holiday in Japan. Things in Japan start to close down early on New Year's Eve...restaurants, shops, offices, gas stations, grocery stores...everything...CLOSED.
Omisoka is the day of New Year’s Eve. Since the New Year is the biggest event in Japan, people celebrate the Eve as well.
Luckily I was warned about the closings a few days prior to NYE. We stocked up on things we thought we couldn't live without for a few days and we were set.
It is said people work hard to prepare for the New Year. Starting one or two weeks ahead...doing a full-on CLEAN (like spring cleaning in the States). The reason people do the cleaning in the middle of winter is to get rid of the 'dirty' of the passing year and to welcome the New Year with a fresh and serene mind. Probably not a bad idea.
At midnight things are pretty quiet. Not what I am use to.
Starting precisely at 12 - the temples ring their bells 108 times. People stay up till midnight to listen to the 108 chimes (notice 'quiet') of a nearby temple bell. The 108 chimes called Joya-no-kane, this rings out the old year and rings in the New. It is supposed to release people from the 108 worldly sin. (God knows I need that.)
The temples have been readied beforehand and at midnight they open their doors and let in the masses. The shrines all over Japan are packed with people from midnight thru to January 3rd. People go to pray for safety, happiness and the long lives of the family. Many are dressed in Kimonos and buy a good luck talisman called Omamori. It is kept as a protection from illness, accidents and disasters. After experiencing the "little" earthquakes...I can see why they need the protection!!!
Some of the other traditions:
The holiday in general reminds me of Xmas in America. The shutting down of stores, the weeks of prep, the calm of it all. Quite nice - but once again, not what we are use to.
All in all in the end - it didn't really matter -
We had an early dinner out with friends NYE. I had started to feel a little 'under the weather' and only had a few cocktails trying to stay in the spirit. (huh-oh, now you KNOW something is amiss) I was asleep by 10:30.
January 1- uneventful and illness is gaining. Everything closed.
January 2- illness is winning. everything closed. In my weariness I think it is still Saturday.
January 3 - I Thank God I have made it to Monday...start calling doctors at 8am...EVERYTHING CLOSED. At this point I am beyond my wits and after calling a friend who tells me that yeah, nothing will be open until TOMORROW...I take off my 'sick clothes' and put on my sick 'outside clothes', throw my English to Japanese dictionary in my purse and drive myself to the Emergency Room.
When I pulled up - I thought it was closed too. All the windows closed. No cars. Anywhere.
How do you run a hospital with only 10 people working it??? Don't know - but they did it.
I sat in the hospital, the only foreigner, and one of two people who spoke English. The other guy was working the front desk and in my sickness haze I thought he was a doctor. At this point I was so happy to see him - I thought he had a halo.
I walked in - there he was behind the girl behind the 'intake' desk. He had longer hair, a pinstripe shirt, khakis and a red thing around his neck I could have SWORN was a stethoscope. He helped with the forms and then sent me to the 'waiting room' and that was the last I saw of him, his English and his halo.
The waiting room - a hallway with some benches. Everyone there - in Michael Jackson masks. All - staring at me.
I was smart enough to take a book. What I read while waiting a full hour - I have no idea. I heard names being called out - nothing that sounded like Sullivan. Finally some man (another sicky) takes pity on me and walks over and points to one of the doors. They had called my name, I never heard them, they never walked down the hall to look for me.
The "doctor" spoke about 10 words of English. I explained my symptoms, he looked in my throat, listened to my 'lungs' (right under my clavicle bones. apparently my lungs have moved) and he recorded the temperature from the self-serve thermometer I was given while sitting in the hallway.
Yep, you mess it up, not accurate...your problem.
After all this we finally agree on one thing...I have pneumonia.
He has no idea what to prescribe me so I tell him what I want. The same stuff they gave me the last time I had pneumonia (in the USA).
I got 1/4 the dose of the meds I asked for and he sent me home.
It has been dreaded. Hurts to walk up the stairs. Can't breathe. Body hurts. Etc, Etc, Etc. You know the drill.
Now today, I feel a little better (not great) and find out my son has Bronchitis...AGAIN.
Dammit.
My husband goes back to work tomorrow. My mom comes back in country this weekend. And 2011 is off with a BANG.
The way I am choosing to look at it -
my year can only get better. Right?
-I read another blog today and the lady had two kids who got pneumonia one right after the other. I told her to suck it up sister and thank her lucky stars that it was the kids, that she had strong meds to get them thru it, a doc who knows what's up and a city that is actually functioning.
Actually I sympathized. (but you know that's what part of me really wanted to say).
I think it was the steroid, amoxicillan, benadryl, sudafed, nasal spray, vaseline, cough drop, chapstick delirium talking.
Maybe I need to do the 'full-on-clean' and get rid of the 'dirty'???
Maybe they are on to something. hmmm.
Here's to the ' lucky' Year of the Rabbit~
Deeds
***this is merely meant for everyone to see the humor in the ridiculous...which does happen. And apparently, more to me than most!! :-)
I mean isn't that what this blog is all about!
Cheers.
UPDATE:
after my 3 days of antibiotics from the ER. I started going downhill again, quickly! I went to my previous doctor and got more antibiotics.
I found out that the meds the ER had given was only 1/4 the strength recommended for an average adult, and given only 1/3 the recommended dosage days. I needed 10 days of antibiotics.
There is no FDA regulation here.
who knew?
Anyway, here in Japan the New Year Holiday is a very big deal. Nothing like the holiday in America where people party their brains out for one night and then Thank God that the year ended before they got the hangover. No here, its a bit different.
While I am quite positive that everyone here drinks, seeing as the liquor store around the corner did not have an empty parking spot for two straight days (around the clock) prior to New Year's Eve, but here in our neighborhood, things were relatively quiet New Year's Eve.
Shogatsu is the celebration of the New Year and is the most important holiday in Japan. Things in Japan start to close down early on New Year's Eve...restaurants, shops, offices, gas stations, grocery stores...everything...CLOSED.
Omisoka is the day of New Year’s Eve. Since the New Year is the biggest event in Japan, people celebrate the Eve as well.
Luckily I was warned about the closings a few days prior to NYE. We stocked up on things we thought we couldn't live without for a few days and we were set.
It is said people work hard to prepare for the New Year. Starting one or two weeks ahead...doing a full-on CLEAN (like spring cleaning in the States). The reason people do the cleaning in the middle of winter is to get rid of the 'dirty' of the passing year and to welcome the New Year with a fresh and serene mind. Probably not a bad idea.
At midnight things are pretty quiet. Not what I am use to.
Starting precisely at 12 - the temples ring their bells 108 times. People stay up till midnight to listen to the 108 chimes (notice 'quiet') of a nearby temple bell. The 108 chimes called Joya-no-kane, this rings out the old year and rings in the New. It is supposed to release people from the 108 worldly sin. (God knows I need that.)
The temples have been readied beforehand and at midnight they open their doors and let in the masses. The shrines all over Japan are packed with people from midnight thru to January 3rd. People go to pray for safety, happiness and the long lives of the family. Many are dressed in Kimonos and buy a good luck talisman called Omamori. It is kept as a protection from illness, accidents and disasters. After experiencing the "little" earthquakes...I can see why they need the protection!!!
Some of the other traditions:
- Entrances of homes, stores, etc., are decorated with a Shimekezari. These are twisted pieces of straw rope with fern leaves, an orange and other items of good omen.
- A Bonenkai party. Bonenkai litarelly means a "Forget-the-year party" to forget the unpleasant memories of the passing year and to welcome the New Year with a fresh and serene mind.
- People give special allowances to their children, nephews and nieces called Otoshidama. It is the busiest season for toy shops to attract children to spend their new found wealth.
- People send a lot of greeting cards to relatives, friends, business acquaintances and customers to wish them a happy New Year. Post offices in Japan collect and keep them then deliver them on the New Year's day all at once. There is something about a 'lottery' with the cards. They are all numbered and then some numbers are drawn and the lucky ones get prizes. I don't really know all about it - and since we got no cards...we didn't really research it.
The holiday in general reminds me of Xmas in America. The shutting down of stores, the weeks of prep, the calm of it all. Quite nice - but once again, not what we are use to.
All in all in the end - it didn't really matter -
We had an early dinner out with friends NYE. I had started to feel a little 'under the weather' and only had a few cocktails trying to stay in the spirit. (huh-oh, now you KNOW something is amiss) I was asleep by 10:30.
January 1- uneventful and illness is gaining. Everything closed.
January 2- illness is winning. everything closed. In my weariness I think it is still Saturday.
January 3 - I Thank God I have made it to Monday...start calling doctors at 8am...EVERYTHING CLOSED. At this point I am beyond my wits and after calling a friend who tells me that yeah, nothing will be open until TOMORROW...I take off my 'sick clothes' and put on my sick 'outside clothes', throw my English to Japanese dictionary in my purse and drive myself to the Emergency Room.
When I pulled up - I thought it was closed too. All the windows closed. No cars. Anywhere.
How do you run a hospital with only 10 people working it??? Don't know - but they did it.
I sat in the hospital, the only foreigner, and one of two people who spoke English. The other guy was working the front desk and in my sickness haze I thought he was a doctor. At this point I was so happy to see him - I thought he had a halo.
I walked in - there he was behind the girl behind the 'intake' desk. He had longer hair, a pinstripe shirt, khakis and a red thing around his neck I could have SWORN was a stethoscope. He helped with the forms and then sent me to the 'waiting room' and that was the last I saw of him, his English and his halo.
The waiting room - a hallway with some benches. Everyone there - in Michael Jackson masks. All - staring at me.
I was smart enough to take a book. What I read while waiting a full hour - I have no idea. I heard names being called out - nothing that sounded like Sullivan. Finally some man (another sicky) takes pity on me and walks over and points to one of the doors. They had called my name, I never heard them, they never walked down the hall to look for me.
The "doctor" spoke about 10 words of English. I explained my symptoms, he looked in my throat, listened to my 'lungs' (right under my clavicle bones. apparently my lungs have moved) and he recorded the temperature from the self-serve thermometer I was given while sitting in the hallway.
Yep, you mess it up, not accurate...your problem.
After all this we finally agree on one thing...I have pneumonia.
He has no idea what to prescribe me so I tell him what I want. The same stuff they gave me the last time I had pneumonia (in the USA).
I got 1/4 the dose of the meds I asked for and he sent me home.
It has been dreaded. Hurts to walk up the stairs. Can't breathe. Body hurts. Etc, Etc, Etc. You know the drill.
Now today, I feel a little better (not great) and find out my son has Bronchitis...AGAIN.
Dammit.
My husband goes back to work tomorrow. My mom comes back in country this weekend. And 2011 is off with a BANG.
The way I am choosing to look at it -
my year can only get better. Right?
-I read another blog today and the lady had two kids who got pneumonia one right after the other. I told her to suck it up sister and thank her lucky stars that it was the kids, that she had strong meds to get them thru it, a doc who knows what's up and a city that is actually functioning.
Actually I sympathized. (but you know that's what part of me really wanted to say).
I think it was the steroid, amoxicillan, benadryl, sudafed, nasal spray, vaseline, cough drop, chapstick delirium talking.
Maybe I need to do the 'full-on-clean' and get rid of the 'dirty'???
Maybe they are on to something. hmmm.
Here's to the ' lucky' Year of the Rabbit~
Deeds
***this is merely meant for everyone to see the humor in the ridiculous...which does happen. And apparently, more to me than most!! :-)
I mean isn't that what this blog is all about!
Cheers.
UPDATE:
after my 3 days of antibiotics from the ER. I started going downhill again, quickly! I went to my previous doctor and got more antibiotics.
I found out that the meds the ER had given was only 1/4 the strength recommended for an average adult, and given only 1/3 the recommended dosage days. I needed 10 days of antibiotics.
There is no FDA regulation here.
who knew?
2 comments:
hey I thought your mum arrived today? Has her flights changed? Anyway, let me know if you need anything. My friends are leaving tomorrow so I'm available. Take care!
Cindy
i really enjoyed reading this article. must be quite an experience you have there. :-)
PajamaChic
http://pajamachic.blogspot.com/
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