It's been a while since I was robbed by those darn kids in Marseilles, France, and I still want to squash them under my thumb but not matter, I'll let it pass (for now) and elaborate on my new adventure.
I'm in Japan! But best of all, I'm back in our old house and old stomping grounds from 19 years ago. The house is BEAT. No one's lived here in years and it's run down but what continues to amaze me is how parent paint the colors of our world. The house was just as abandoned when we lived in it 20 years ago (belongs to a doc around here) but even then, I didn't realize how warn down it was. Because like I said, my parents only saw the blessing in it (that we had a place to stay during our furlough from Indonesia) and so that's all I blissfully saw as well. And now that I've been here for a 10 days, immersed in the comfort of being home, it looks mighty fine to me!
Another thing I've noticed is how tiny everything is! Even the house looks smaller- I guess I finally 'growed'. But in all honesty, things are really small here.
Take for instance, this intersection. It's not just an intersection but a major intersection and the minivan is smaller than a standard sedan. There are tons of these tiny cars here.
See? They're as big as the scooter. They're rather cute.
And check out mom's kitchen in its entirety! Poor mom. The counters are low and cramped but it's stocked with nifty functions: ninja-style. Like the little stove above. It has a mini-oven just for fish! :) It's designed to keep the house smelling fishy. I need one! :)
And this washing machine, you can't really tell how small it is (it's just a little bit wider than me) but it can draw water from the bathtub to do the first washing cycle so it conserves water! (We take showers outside the tub first and then soak in super how water so the water's cleaner).
And how can I talk about nifty ideas and not discuss our famous/infamous toilet??? It has a sink on top of the tank, so you can use the fresh, tank-filling water to wash your hands with. Conserving even more water! And since Japanese homes don't have central heating (conserving even more energy but also makes me miss the US), the toilet seats are heated. Sitting on ice-cold ceramic bowls just aren't relaxing. :)So yes, Japan's a mini world for mini people, it's a mighty mini place as well. And what can I say? Mini's are so cute!
