Chores

I love getting on board trains. I love how the announcements or station songs sound like. It's one of those Japan sounds I'll miss when I leave for sure. But why am I thinking about the leaving part when I'm barely halfway through it, eh?

I should totally make a separate post on riding trains in Japan. The experience has a whole life of its own.

Anyhow, a friend and I were talking while we were on the subway on the way home last night. And the topic: how Japan has changed me.

People might think being here is all fun, having the independence and the time of our lives going around the city, those generic "wow, it's so fun, I bet you're enjoying" impressions. Well yes, I won't deny that it's one of the most fun I've had in my life, but I must definitely say that this experience right here was more than anything else, humbling.

Back home I never touched the sponge to wash dishes, neither did I ever need to sweep the floor or clean after my own mess. I never had to ride trains or walk home or plan what to eat for dinner. I did not have to find a way to fit all my laundry in the washing machine or consider not playing my music too loud inside my room. I could leave my clothes on the bed and they'd eventually end up folded neatly on the closet, stacked according to color.

At first I thought it was fun. In the Philippines, who gets a chance to live on her own at 21? Quite a few. But things took quite a big turn and now I have to do all I've never done home here. I say the whole thing was most definitely humbling because I had to do everything on my own. It took a four-hour plane ride and an hour time zone difference to live a sheltered life no more.

So now I know how tiring it feels like to carry a basket-full of wet laundry. It weighs like half of my weight and it's not even fun. It's not also fun to chop onion while pretending I'm not crying in our floor's kitchen. And it's not fun to walk home when the weather's 4 degrees. They are all not fun, but they keep on reminding me of how life in Manila was. There were people I forgot to appreciate and things people do for me I just so easily missed appreciating. And in some cold nights when I have to hang my clothes, I remember Yaya Liza (who was with us since I was born) and at that moment I just really wanted to hug her. Now I can proudly say that I now know how to use a can opener, and that I know the difference between onion, garlic and ginger! Haha.

I have weird scratches on my hands and now they're dry 'cause of the wind and detergent, and I occasionally get random bruises or wounds, but it's totally fine! They remind me that I have grown up a little more that I'm able to take care of myself. I'm not sure if I'm doing a good job with that (sometimes I just grab canned food when I'm lazy to cook), but it's sure a work in progress.

Another lesson learned.