Hailing from the little red dot smacked right on the equator, I grew up not knowing what 4 seasons felt like. The only other season I knew of aside from summer was the rainy season. And apart from that, the only information I got about spring, autumn and winter were from books and TV.
8 years ago, between graduation from polytechnic and enlistment into the army, I had 5 months to spare. I decided to use all my savings to visit Japan for the first time and experience a season different from summer. It was mid-spring then. I had also borrowed $1,000 from my dad which I duly returned with the allowance I received from the army. FYI, I don’t like to take money from my parents and that was the only time I borrowed money from them. I like to be self-sufficient. I’m digressing again.
In 2009, I went to 4 different countries throughout the year. Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan. Yes, I love travelling. I got to experience spring again in Taiwan and was able to relive the experience years ago. I absolutely loved it. It didn’t matter to me if I didn’t get to see autumn through my travelling because I figured the temperature wouldn’t differ too much from spring. The only thing that I felt that I must see was snow and I had this idea that I would love winter.
During the summer last year, I climbed Mount Fuji and saw snow for the first time in my life. Well, it was more like shaved ice on the ground since it wasn’t exactly snowing but I was thrilled. Yet it wasn’t enough. I wanted to experience the oh-so-beautiful snowing scene that I see so often on TV shows. It must be romantic and amazing.
This year, I finally got to see snow and build a snowman. It was exciting and I definitely loved the experience. I would want to see snow again but I’m beginning to hate winter. The weather is so cold, my toes were getting frost nips and if I hadn’t soaked them in お湯 and massage them after my showers, I’d probably lose them to frost bite sooner or later. But all this wasn’t too surprising to me. I knew that I’d love winter only if it was for a couple of weeks of travelling instead of long-term living. Even though the summer last year was so bad, it literally killed 7 people in Gifu prefecture within the first few days, I knew I’d prefer summer over winter somehow. It’s a contradiction.
I know the summer heat makes people lethargic but winter cools your body muscles so much, you don’t even feel like exercising. The sky gets dark after 5pm so club activities are only around 20 minutes everyday. I’d love to join the students on weekdays but I wouldn’t want to bring all my stuff to school, change into sportswear and just when my body starts warming up, the activity’s over. I’ve actually joined my students once after school and it was really fun but time was so short I was disappointed. So, during the winter holidays, I got the training schedule from the teachers and joined them for training on some of the days. At least 90~120 minutes of basketball each time and I was a happy man.
I can’t wait for winter to be over. I want to play more basketball. But, I also want to see more snow. Human, the contradictory creature.
This was supposed to be in an email for you because when I’m busy I usually stop commenting on blogs for awhile (though I still read) and focus on my emails. Anyway since this is about what I wanted to write I’ll just copy the email over here, hahaha.
I haven’t experienced a lot of cold weather but I think I’ve experienced enough to know how to deal with it so let me share with you, from a Singaporean point of view…
I experienced really low temperatures in Beijing last October so after 4 days we escaped to Shanghai. Shanghai was around 20-deg and there was quite a bit of rainfall so it was chilly but my Shanghainese friend was wearing very little. When I asked her why, she said it’s good to be cold just when the weather is starting to change. The more you bundle yourself up at the beginning, the harder it is for you to withstand the cold. I hope I will get a chance to follow this piece of advice because I can’t wait to get away from Singapore’s weather. It makes me sick, like literally. I have allergies that are worsened by the humidity in our climate. Sigh.
So in Beijing where all of us were freezing our butts off, a Chinese friend from Canada was talking to a Japanese friend from New York (haha I’m serious) about what kinds of foods warm you up. Being an Asian in Asia I’m quite used to liang foods and re foods, but they’re Asian in Western countries so what they were talking about was very high-level since it was almost like a pseudo-science to them. Hahaha. Anyway I thought it very interesting, since Canada and New York are very cold places and the Asians look to adjusting their diet to suit the weather. Haw, ginger, chilli and Pu’er tea are examples of some foods that warm your body up. You may want to add them to your diet? I think kim chi is good too. Of course there’s also sake, if you’re not scared of 二日酔い XD
Okay but anyway, more importantly, I think you should try taking baths. Not every day, of course, but they’re really good for you if the weather is so cold. And as icky as this may sound you don’t have to take a shower every day. Haha. Or maybe you can take a shower when it’s warmer in the day, if you come home earlier. For me, I took showers in the morning and in the evening. Since the water had to be heated before I showered, I would have to wait for it to steam before I got into the bathroom. So sometimes I wait for it to steam up very nicely before I enter the warm bathroom. At first I was very concerned about wasting water until I stayed with my Canadian ALT friend in March last year for two weeks and asked her as many questions as I could about living in Japan. According to her, water bills don’t really change much no matter what you do (she was very 贅沢 with her baths but apparently water never really was issue) though gas bills go up in summer and winter but that’s about it. She would not leave the heater on at night as well. As a Singaporean I was very conscious about using water and letting water run freely but after talking to her I realised there is no other way than to let it run as it warms up. At most you can just shower faster lah.
What else about coping with cold? Ah yes. This time I stayed with my friend’s grandparents and they live in a 60 or 70-year-old wooden house – as you can imagine it was pre~tty cold. We switched on the heater when we got back to the room, switched off the heater when we were about to sleep but we had, under us, a futon, a 毛布 and a regular blanket, and on top of us one thick blanket and one regular blanket. We also had a hot water bottle (this kind) that we’d fill with super-hot water just before we slept. We wrapped it in a towel and placed it near our feet so we could touch our toes against it if we felt the cold. This water bottle provided a lot of relief because it would still stay pretty warm in the morning so when I shivered awake I could hug it. I found a link that may help you cope better with the weather, by the way. Ta da. Also, there was a fluffy rug outside the bathroom so our toes won’t get cold after our shower. A regular one won’t do. It has to be fluffy. Not furry, mind you. I’m sure you’ll be able to find one in Japan, it’s kind of rubbery yet fluffy. Hahaha I’m not going a good job explaining aren’t I?!
Winter is really not that bad. In fact the part about winter I like best is the extreme temperature. It makes me remember how adaptable and amazing the human body is. The part that I really hate about winter, however, is that it gets dark by 5 pm. Coming from Singapore I really had to get used to the ridiculous lack of daylight. I got sleepy all the time, especially on the train. (One reason why you get sleepy is because your eyes are not receiving enough light. Another way to get sleepy is to let your body lose heat, i.e. experience a drop in temperature. Exactly what winter does to you.)
All right, it’s late here and I have to get up really early tomorrow for church. Writing this has made me want to deal with winter! Haha. All the best. I’m sure you’ll get used to it soon because man is the most adaptable creature on earth, followed by the wolf and then the leopard (I learnt this from the leopard exhibit at the Singapore Zoo).
Speaking of baths, I am looking forward to 露天風呂 some time during this winter. It’s gonna be so great! As for the ones at home, the last time I took baths for only 3 times in the month my water bills went up quite a bit. The worse thing is I’m 180+cm tall and my tub is barely over 1m long. I need an 温泉or 銭湯！Anyway, I’m probably going some time end of this month when my Singaporean friend’s over. The only qualm that I have is whether they’d allow him to enter since he’s got tattoo on his arm. I heard some places don’t allow entry to people with tattoos.
Where does your Canadian friend stay? I think water is really cheap in places like Yamanashi and Shizuoka. I even know of someone who doesn’t have to pay water bills because water is abundant there.
I can’t do sake coz apparently I’m allergic to alcohol. I found out about it some years ago after I downed a glass of waterfall and developed rash the entire week. I’m kinda miffed that the curry they label “very spicy” here aren’t spicy at all. Thank god for ココ一番!
Thanks for the advice. No problem about the fluffy mat. I know exactly what you’re referring to! And random trivia at the end, but appreciated. =)
Oh no you’re allergic to alcohol!?
Ah you so big size maybe the water bill really will go up, hahaha. My friend used to live in Kashiwa, Chiba. Maybe the water bill really is cheaper there! I didn’t know about those prefectures you mentioned, wow. I heard that Niigata also has very cheap something, electricity or water I’m not sure.
I am a big fan of public baths. They’re already warm when you step in, for one thing. Don’t worry about your friend having a tattoo. My friend had a couple and I helped her tape them up. Just get opaque tape for doing up bandages and wrap them around your friend’s arm or something!
Keep warm!