Memoirs--Biking Through the Heart of Tsukuba

I came to Tsukuba Science City in February to attend a training on Radiation Science, not to learn how to ride a bicycle. This was always my excuse when my co-trainees continually nag me to bike.

As the days passed by, I eventually recognise that biking was a necessity in this place, ie as public transportation was scarce and expensive--particularly for foreigners like me. But I was afraid to fall from the bicycle and hurt myself so I never rode on it. 

The more my friends nagged me to bike, the more I came up with strings of excuses: I'm basically a homebody; I really do not need to go out, anyway.  And if I need to, my church friends always offer to give me a lift.  Besides, I really just like to stay in my room and learn Nihongo as I love to study foreign languages.  And being in Japan is indeed a big opportunity for me to learn not only the language, but the Japanese culture as well.

All the wintry days of February, consequently confined me in Room# 306 at the Tsukuba International Centre (TBIC).  In my aloness and stillness in this room, all I did was to study Nihongo and read magazines about Japan.  To give rest to eyes in between, I oftened played Chopin and looked through my glass window.  The peace and quietness of the place was indeed just perfect!!!  That is, to break away from the humdrums of the computerised city where I have lived all my life.

I thought I could go on living my life on this routine of reading and studying after our lectures in radiation science. With each passing day, however, I felt an eager anticipation of the time when I could see Tsukuba--not through my glass window anymore but through the hearts of its people.  But how could I go around when I don't know how to bike.  If my co-trainees see me walking they certainly would tease me again of not being able to ride the bicycle even Japanese children can!

Winter was over.  Spring had come. I was still looking through my glass window.  I could see visibly the sun setting high and low--often creating within me a nostalgic feeling.

The barren trees began to bear leaves and the sakura tree began to bloom. Even the birds began to sing.  The beginning of life was everywhere.  The farmers had started cultivating the fields which were once covered with snow.  All I could see, however, were rows of white tunnels. I wondered what crops were protected inside.  I wondered how it feels outside. Certainly, it should not be as cold as February. As the temperature in TBIC was constant, I could not feel the change of temperature with the change of season,except when our group went out for study trips around Japan.

I wanted  to think as other trainees often say that each of our room was like a cage. But I would not. Yes, I was always there in my room after our lectures--studying and memorising some phrases in Nihongo. I never get bored!  I believe that  boredom  could only come to people who have nothing worthwhile to do.

Had I not come to Japan, I would be studying Nihongo, anyway, at the Foreign Service Institute of the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I earned myself a scholarship here where I enjoyed the privelege of studying foreign languages of my choice.  I thought it was truly an excellent opportunity to be in Japan this year! After all, isn't the best way to learn a language is to speak it with native speaker?

To get the most of learning Nihongo right here in Japan, I resolved to go at least around TBIC--if not by biking, then by walking. So one day, I decided to go out and walk--first to that spot where my eyes always gazed through my glass window,ie the field covered with white tunnels and the one woman working in it.

Farming has always been one of my  interests.  Having grown up in the centre of Manila (where riding the bicycle is incidentally dangerous!), I had never really have any first-hand experience or knowledge about farming. The hard work of this woman farmer as I saw it through my glass window each day as soon as the sun was up till it went down truly impressed me. 

In a matter of moments, I was talking to her in Nihongo--not with the three surviving words sumimasen, onegaishimasu and domo arigato gozaimasu which I used in train stations going to Tokyo, but with other phrases that made me know for one thing that Ichi-san was her name. Furthermore,  that melon seedlings were under the tunnel. 

Carrying on further with talking to her in Nihongo, I told her I was shy to ask my co-trainees to teach me how to ride the bicycle. WoW! If I could say it, after establishing rapport, I was able to ask her finally  if she could teach me how to ride it. I needed not repeat myself. Ichi-san immediately led me to her nearby house, got me to ride at first on one of her children's bicycle which was too small for me. So she had me rode on her own bicycle lowering its seat.

At that instance, Li-Ming, the Chinese medical doctor who was in my group passed by offering to help me. I had few more practice with him and I was able to maintain balance and bike--the same day. Thank God!!!

From that moment on, I began biking, if I could say, to the hearts of the Tsukuba people day after day.  As I could not make a turn smoothly on each intersection, each stop I made was an opportunity to say Konnichiwa to every Japanese around. Amazingly, this had also  been an opportunity to make a friend. 

Sometimes, this Konnichiwa went beyond miles. At one instance, I got off from my bicycle and helped an old woman secure to ground with bamboo sticks her melon plants.  In the process, I soiled my white suit and my white rubber shoes plus my compainion English-Japanese dictionary.  But who cares? I enjoyed every minute of it --'farming'--so to speak.  Another time I also helped the mother of my seventeen-year-old friend plant tomorokoshi.

As I continued to bike around the city, my friendliness  also reaped friendliness in return.  Who would feel like a stranger in this country which is called the Land of the Rising Sun? Not me! Having friends like Michiko-san and her mother, Ichi-san and her two little girls, Midori-san and the young  boy Ueda- san, I felt like being home.

I never felt alone since then-- having people like them who opened their homes to me and by the same token  learning to adopt to their ways of bowing the head for a greeting and  taking off slippers in entering one's house. They were the people who warmed my heart through a flower, a melon, a tomato, a smile. Furthermore, their word of kindness  was more than enough to lighten up my day from my research work at the National Food Research Institute and make my heart sing.

Six months had passed. The towering pine trees abounding in Tsukuba are even greener and fresher after the rain.  The tsuyu flower has replaced the tsutsuji. The bird hoshiro is singing more eloquently.

Three more months have to go before my training finishes.  I would not only be learning  radiation science but would continue to bike through the hearts of the people of Tsukuba.  After these three more months, I will go home in my own nativeland filled with enriching memories and experiences that will continue to linger ---that of  having crossed cultural barriers whilst in a foreign country.

From :Strings of Words and Solitude, copyright L.R.Blanco, PhD, MOIF,D.G.

My Memoirs---Grade School Years

The above is a picture of the elementary school where I went to.  It  belongs to my high school classmate, Ricardo Francisco who posted  it on my facebook timeline (Thanks to him!).  Rick went to a different school. 

Seeing the photo brought back to my mind some video clips of me in my grade school years... Just like every little girl, I was wearing then a blue skirt,  white blouse and blue tie, my right hand raised across my heart, my head upright and my eyes gazing at the the Philippine flag of  white, blue, red and yellow colours.  The flag was beautiful to look at when it was blown by the wind, which made me sing by heart the Philippine national anthem, along with all the others in our general assembly

Bayang magiliw....

Perlas ng Silanganan

Alab ng puso sa dibdib moý buhay...

and recite Panatang Makabayan more ardently..

Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas...

Ito ang bayan kong sinilangan 

Hmm. I forgot now..

In a small classroom of a little over than 40 pupils, I was among the recipient of the free penciI, pad paper and black bag given out to every pupil in the school when Antonio J. villegas was the Mayor of Manila. From hindsight, this must be one of Villegas campaign strategies to get my parents 'vote.  I also remember Imelda Marcos giving out to us school kids Nutriban, which to my recollection was really nutritious (siksik sa bitamina!) and delicious bread.  

According to my parents Villegas had been a good mayor.  So it is not my intention to defame him by mentioning his name here.  I remembered I liked him, too, as young as I was, because I really enjoyed using the stout pencil..By the same token,  I also did not have a grudge towards Imelda Marcos then, simply because I wasn't aware that she was accumulating over the years tons of shoes using my parents' money.

Was I happy in school? I would say I was and I wasn't.  I was--because I want to learn. I wasn't --because I was asthmatic and also, because I was technically friendless. 

I did not do my first grade in F.G. Calderon,  but did it instead in a Seventh Day Adventist School at Lerma, where I  barely achieved a perfect Monday thru Friday attendance  week after week because of asthma attacks.  So my attendance was alternating present and absent pattern. That is,  if I went to school on a Monday, I would definitely be absent the following day because of an asthma attack at night time.   At the end of school year, I got 77%. My parents couldn't be upset with my teacher Miss Lydia Tordecilla.  Ate, my eldest sister, annoyingly and laughingly said Pasang awa. (which meant I just passed out of pity from the teacher)!

I could cry ---but in silence.   I liked studying but it did not turn out I was cut for it. Without having for my friend my cousin Esther Villacastin, who also had asthma like me, and got 78%,I could not have been happy in school.

On my second grade, my parents transferred me to F.G. Calderon.    Above  is my second grade class picture  posted by Editha Bacani to me on my facebook time line (thanks to her!). I could not remember why we were not wearing our school uniform.  Maybe because we would be having  a class picture taking.  I cropped the photo so I could see me better.  Ah...frowning face? Was I a Wednesday's child?  I don't know. My elder sister who was also my friend, Mina, fixed my hair and dressed me up.  I still remember how she did this hairstyle, she must have cut my fringe too.  Ah...what a nice sister! She told me to smile as soon as the camera man finished counting three but here I was--sambakol ang mukha.  Ano ba ang problema mo Lilian?  I could not recall what was wrong with me. Should I not be happy, I have Linda for a friend in this class?  Furthermore, I was wearing my beautiful  orange striped dress which possibly was made by my mother who was a costurera..  And  if Mr. Zacharias, who was my science teacher, would ask me to do the weather report, I'd be happy to say the sky was clear.  From hindsight, maybe i was upset because I could not see favourite cloud formation cirrus.  The cumulus and the stratus clouds similarly were nowhere in sight. Or maybe I was wondering why  our slim and beautiful teacher Ms Andrade told our class we should not  sit down after eating, but just lie down to keep our tummy flat.. Hmm... I been thinking to myself up to this day, why would she say that to us who were just kids.

Even if it wouldn't show in the photo, Mina also cut my fingernails. Hence, possibly that day, my row leader would report to class we were all spic and span, no one with dirty fingernails and that we all had handkerchief, which to my recollection mine to be white in colour with my name embroidered on it by Ate.

On my third grade, my parents transferred me again to Lerma SDA School. I did not know why, but from hindsight, maybe their business picked up so I was back to this private school where the system, if I could say it, was individualised instruction as the class was very small.  Here, I had a friend called Lilia Estrella.  I liked her a lot because hers and my name were similar.  One time however, I got so mad at her, I walked out of class  and climbed that steep road leading away from our school to the main highway, leaving on her desk however, an angry note.  After clearing the air, I walked back to school and as soon as I entered class, Mrs. Lilia Batralo asked me to solve some arithmetic problems on the board.  Well, I did just fine! (to my recollection, ie as basic arithmetic was easy). From hindsight, I am still wondering why I was able to sneak out from the school ground and not noticed by any teacher and also why nobody looked for me. 

My parents transferred me again to F.G. Calderon on my fourth grade.  Not again!  Why? I did  not want to leave my teacher and friend whose names were Lilia! I was too obliging then, I did not ask this then to my parents.  Who wouldn't?  I was young and I could not definitely question my parents! Moreover,  I did not even know then in my nine -year -old mind, that I should.  From hindsight, I think their business was down and they could not possibly afford to pay tuition fees in a private school  for my other siblings Nimrod, Daisy and also myself. 

My teacher's name on my fourth grade was Mrs. Roque whom I liked because in my recollection she liked me, too. She always alluded to my quietness in class and at the same time, my achievement.  A quiet achiever!

Mrs. Roque liked my writing exercies and penmanship that she always pinned my work in the bulletin.  Romualdo Marquez, who similarly had a good penmanship, always admired my handwriting.  He always said looking at my pinned work Äng gara!

I finished grade four with a First Honour Award. Consequently, I was moved to section 1 during my grades 5 and 6, where I did not graduate with any honours.  Edgardo Isidro, who was our valedectorian and Catalina de la Cruz, our salutotorian were obviously smarter than me. 

One beautiful thing, that happened because I was in the top section, however, was this: with the rest of our class which must have been shortlisted, I went to a live TV show called Oras ng Ligaya where I saw in person the famous soprano, Sylvia la Torre,  who's CD album I always play for my Mum.

And by the same fond memories, I remember our class singing with other pupils, I think, the song The Sound of Music in one big event in the school. Cathy, did the solo part.  It was fine with me, of course, I did not want to be Maria.  I was not cut to look after seven children.

Summer 2013 Gardening e Log- Eggplant

Eggplant  is one of my  most favourite vegetables.  I was encouraged to eat them since I was in the grade school when my home economics teacher said it is roughage, and as such assists in the digestion.  So I have loved eating them---- as relleno, pan fried, grilled and also as ensalada, where my mother just boiled and peeled them and mixed it with garlic, vinegar, salt and sugar.  This is one vegetable I would most love to have in my garden.  Unfortunately, however, I was never successful then for the last three years.

Without giving up, I brought early this summer a punnet of seedlings from Bunnings.  From over eight seedlings, six grew a little bigger, three of which just wilted because of this summer's extreme heat  in Sydney. Funny as it might be,  I put umbrella on the three eggplants and watered them in three regimes: early morning, mid afternoon and at night.

I anticipated them growing and growing as day passed by.  Below is a picture of one of the seedlings that had grown bigger from the original seedlings---the leaves of which were pecked by a bird or probably chewed by the snails.   I don't know exactly the life stage of egg plant, but I will refer them accordingly to my basic knowledge of botany.

several leaf -stage seedling 

flowering stage

early fruit formation

mid fruit formation

my first eggplant harvest. Yay!!! I  could not take a picture of it while it is the plant because  the plant bent so low that this fruit touched the soil so I picked it straightaway as snails might chew on it.

Egg plant  around wild Amaranth spinosus . I allowed this spinach to grow wildly around the eggplants serving as canopy to protect them from the heat, ie.   as I observed that eggplant flowers wilting because of extreme hot temperatures. 

  

Summer Gardening eLog- Pumpkin

Pumpkin is one of the vegetables that grow every summer in my garden.  I like eating the flowers which I cook as omelette, fritter or pinakbet.  As the vegetable grows everywhere in my backyard, I pick pumpkin flower in abundance, in general.

 I transplanted a few of them I in  tubs,  and also in an old laundry basin as shown above and below. (I had to pull out the sweet potato which I grew here last summer and  had emerged early summer).

 .

This is a side view of  the above picture on the right.  The pumpkin decided to grow over the trellis and climb on my window of the house extension.

Pumpkin that grew from the seeds i sowed in a tub

 Pumpkin that grew as it pleased  in my garden

This is me with a pumpkin flower on my hair, for more of my pumpkin talk, go to the following link:

http://familiablnc.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/pumpkin-flowers-prior-to-cooking.html

I Love myself and I don't mind saying it...

I love myself.  I don't mind saying it.  Why, because if  I don't, I'm afraid I would not be able to love anybody.  Furthermore, as a Bible-reading person, I know it is written that I should love my neighbour as I love myself.

The question is how do I love myself.  Let me think as I write...Basically, I decide to make good choices to be sure that I will not mess up my life.  And because I have decided to, I seek wisdom, guidance and direction above all from the Word of God, my parents, elderly people, friends and colleagues who are wiser than me and also from past experiences.

Good choices encompass everything--from what I take in my system to the thoughts I fill my mind from the time I wake up to the time I sleep, and also how actualise these day by day.  Thus, from the time I become a health freak (which unfortunately come a bit later but not too late), I become very careful with the food I eat and also the fluids I drink.  If I deliberately eat junk food, I confess to God for destroying my health.  By the same token, I strive to focus only on good and heavenly things, not to worry but instead lift up everything to God in prayer. Having said this, however, does not make me exceptional.  Rather, I could call and want to be--a sensible person.

Loving myself does not necessarily mean me being egotistical, but rather, liking myself and of course my own company.   During the days that I am home alone,  I always do my favourite things: write, read, eat, sleep, watch TV or take photos of myself..  The above photos are one of the sets of my  timed-self photography.

I took photos of myself in this particular light yellow dress because  it is  one of  the many clothes I buy which I never get to use--aftermath of a woman's shopaholic tendencies.  Yes, one of my craze is to shop  for  clothes, shoes and fashion jewellery--which I rarely use or wear,  I could not remember how long I have had this light yellow dress.  As it  is sleeveless and consequently will reveal my Popeye biceps, I have refrained from wearing it outside. The white bolero which I just bought before I took these pictures I reckoned would fix the problem.  It should, only I should lose some 2 kilos I think.

Am I being self-centred, conceited in this regard?  I ask me as I write this out.  By the look of it, I might be--but I am not.  My clothes are my indicators of my healthy weight.  If they become a bit tight and before I add more kilos, I try to lose the excess kilos.  If I don't then I would be in trouble even more of further metabolic disorders.

Only me knows and understand my own person.  I know my strengths, as well as my weaknesses.  I know my perfections, and also my mistakes. I know my craze, my idiosyncrasies.  Only me can accept myself unconditionally.  I am glad I could confidently say this 110%.

Winter 2012 Gardening e-Log -Strawberries

I could not remember when Brett gave me a packet of seeds of strawberries.  My educated guess is possibly  before 2009 when I started doing the house extension.

I almost lost the plants in fact because the trades people just mercilessly and aimlessly dug out earth and dumped everywhere the diggings and remains of construction materials.  It was one late afternoon when I picked up the single crying  and remaining strawberry vine and replanted it some place where it couldn't get hurt it--ie at the quiet and less visited side of my house perpendicular to my street.

I was able to propagate the vine and it filled up approximately one square metre of my yard.  When the tap was transferred at the other side of the house, I found it hard watering the vines so i pulled them out again and transplanted them in two tubs which eventually became crowded.  Needless to say, I pulled out the vines  in one of the tubs and transplanted them in a spot which could possibly be their permanent niche in the garden.

The strawberries I have are much smaller than the ones I used to buy from the shop. The picture above shows the various sizes of my strawberries.  (Sorry, I haven't have the time to put a scale).  However, I found them much tastier and most important of all--insecticide free!!!.

Furthermore, as I have grown them in mass, I am able to pick enough to make fresh strawberry smoothies  or else use them in breakfast cereals regularly.  As I have gotten tired of drinking strawberry smoothies, I now freeze the fruits for later use.

Summer 2013 Gardening e-Log - Zucchini

This bright yellow flower is Zucchini.  I am not a big fan of zucchini.  However, for fun, I grew it from seeds last summer 2011. The results were not too bad. As I  did not have any spot where I could grow them, I did nott sow seeds this year.  One day however, I just woke up and  saw a small pumpkin -looking plant in the spot where I grew it before.  As days passed by It turned out to be zucchini.  I said WoW!  another 'no sweat' phenomenon in my gardening career!

Zucchini, the newest vegetable in my backyard, is an excellent source of vitamin C and since it is low in sodium, I think it is a perfect vegetable on my food table for a hypertensive person like myself.

It is amazing that each morning I always see this yellow flower smiling at me, asking to be picked to be cooked.  How do I cook it? In a variety of ways.   As I have a continuous supply of it day by day, I stuffed, microwaved, steamed, sauteed or, baked it.  

Unlike Huey, I stuffed the flowers with mushroom and tofu after which II pan fry, deep fry or bake it. Sometimes I mixed them with and julienne carrots and sweet potato, onions and garlic in a batter made of beaten eggs, wholemeal flour seasoned with pepper and then fry them as  fritters.

I am not quite sure if zucchini flowers are suitable for freezing so from the garden they end up straight to the pan.  ah, don't I live a good life?  I do! And---i have a lot of fun not only eating the flowers but also playing with them as shown in the two bottom pictures.

Zucchini and pumpkin flowers are practically very similar. In my observation, however zucchini's stems are spikier than pumpkin's.  This big yellow flower in my hair is zucchini's.  Below is that of pumpkin's.  The size I believe is not a good criterion.  In this instance, I think the difference in size may be attributed to the fertility of the soil.  The picture on the right shows the last two zucchinis I picked with other vegetables the end of summer 2011

Summer 2013 Gardening e-Log-- Tomatoes

Summer 2013 in Sydney is extremely hot.  I find it hard to grow nice and bright red tomatoes.  With hot temperature, insect pests are also abundant.  So instead of letting my tomatoes ripen in their vine, I picked them while they were still green and then let them ripen at room temperature.



I grade my tomatoes according to their appearance.  The above are so far the good ones I got.

These pictures show whilst the tomato fruits ripening in their vine late late spring  of 2012 when the temperatures were not so bad.  Midsummer, the weather went crazy so I just picked the green tomatoes before they get infested by insects and also dry up.

 

I thank God for blessing my tomato garden and I am very pleased that my labour always paid off.