Sunday, November 11, 2012

Should I stay or should I go...?

It's now November and I guess it's needless to say just how much I doubt I'll fulfill my New Year's resolution of 52 blog posts in 52 weeks... Oh well, such is life of a working mother of an adorable baby. On that note, here's Rini!

Ready for Halloween!
I've been really busy with work lately. I really like my job, it's quite fun, but it's also very tiring. Being "genki" for 8 hours a day takes a lot of energy, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. When I finally get home to my loving husband and adorable baby, it's only their smiling faces that give me that last bit of energy boost to enjoy my evening actively by playing with, feeding, bathing, and finally putting my daughter to sleep, just to go to bed soon after myself.
I have nothing to complain about and I really do enjoy my life a lot. I just wanted to point out the reason for the lack of posts in the past 6 months. Considering I'm not too big on writing during the best of times, I believe it's no surprise that this was my first commitment that fell to the side to give space to spend time with my family and to rest.

But lately, more and more I feel the need to let some thoughts loose. Whether it's because my husband has been blogging more lately, too, or it's just getting a bit crowded in my head, I don't know, but here I go.

In just a couple months we as a family have to make a big decision once again, and that is, whether we stay in Japan for another year (as in from 2013 summer to 2014 summer), or do we take the next step come this summer?
This next step most likely would be to move back to my home country, Hungary, and try our luck there for the next 5-10 years. There are many reasons why moving to Hungary would be a good idea, some of which are:
  • our child(ren) could grow up in a calm and safe environment surrounded by a loving family;
  • they could learn Hungarian well and experience the culture, something that I alone cannot fully accomplish;
  • they could form close bonds to a part of their identity, and know where half of their roots come from, without a question.
This is not to say that our family on the East Coast is not loving, but I am weary about raising our child(ren) in such a city as New York, where there is so much noise, concrete, pollution, and general stress is found. Sure, we could try to find a smaller place away from the city, but that will also draw us further away from what family and friends we have there. Even before Japan, we saw most of my husband's family maybe twice a year, and that's quite unlike what I experienced in Hungary, where we'd drop by my grandmother's and aunt's house once a week or so, where no prior arrangements are necessary, because it's 15 minutes by car, and if they are home we're welcomed with food and good conversation, and if they're not, we'll try next time. My father's house, where we would live, is also a place where I could let kids run around in the backyard without a thought and know they were safe, where they could explore and play and climb trees and play with water in the summer or build a snowman in the winter, and no outside harm could come to them. It's a neighborhood, where I'd have no problem letting my 4-5 year old run to the baker around the corner two blocks away, or let her walk to school on her own a week into 1st grade. All the while, if I do want the excitement of a major city, it's no more than 30 minutes away.
This is what would await us in Hungary. A safe place to calm home.

Now the only problem is, of course, money... more specifically, finding not just jobs, but good jobs. Hungary is not a rich country, but it's a place I think we could make things work, especially since we speak fluent English. However, it is also a country with it's own unique (and quite difficult) language, which potentially makes fitting in hard, if someone doesn't understand what people are saying all around. This is where my worry for my husband comes in. He had a hard enough time the past year and a half dealing with a country, where he did not understand the main language. At least we had some "ready-made" friends through my job, who spoke English, and he could also blend in when/if he wanted to. So moving to a country where we didn't (yet) have any English-speaking friends and where he would stick out like a sore thumb, worries me quite a bit.

So why not just leave this idea be? After all, in America, we both have friends, we both can speak the language... Part of the reason is what I already mentioned above. The other part is quite selfish on my part. I miss my family. I miss my culture. My father, and not to mention grandmother, is getting older and older, time slipping by, and I'd like a chance to reconnect with them not just as my family, but as people. I want to learn recipes only my grandmother could teach me before she forgets how to do them. I'd like to be able to help my dad out with holding onto the home I grew up in, at least until my little brother settles down himself and can take over. I'd like our child(ren) to grow up playing with cousins of similar age and forming bonds and memories that will help them decades from now to keep our family connected.
Also, America is not completely off the list.... I just would like it to wait a little. Wait until Rini is a bit more grown up, when she can start to appreciate the diversity and culture the city and that great country can offer. I want New York and I definitely want my husband's family to be part of our child(ren)'s life. I believe my in-laws could teach amazing things, and to that point, I will try my best so that our child(ren) can spend summers with them if they are welcome to do so.

Now the finally question remains... should we stay or should we go?
If we stay, we could save up more money and I could learn more Japanese. We could also be either pregnant again, or have a newborn in our hands, which would make moving to a new country and settling in a lot more stressful.
If we go, we could have time to settle into our reversed roles, my husband working full-time and me staying home with Rini and work part-time teaching English. We could get to know the system and have no major changes going on when we do decide to try for our second child. Or if for some reason we can't find jobs, we'll only have one child to deal with when we move back to New York, and I'll have family support in Hungary, while James looks for a job and a place for us to stay in NYC.

So.... should we stay or should we go? We'll just have to see.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

You Know You're Hungarian...

I found this very entertaining, and I thought I'd post it here. Some of you might not get everything, but if you know me even a little you will find something that will make you smile... ^_^

You Know You're Hungarian...

1. When you use sour cream more than ketchup.

2. When your parents come to visit for 3 weeks and you all stay in a one bedroom apartment.

3. When feeding your guests is your main priority even if they claim they're not hungry and in which case you get slightly offended/upset that they don't want your hospitality.

4. When someone says that Hungarian "is like Russian and all those other Slavic languages," and then you have to go into great detail about the origins of Hungarian with a scolding history lesson.

5. When Paprika is just as important as salt & pepper on the table & in food.

6. When you know what Unicum is and prefer it over Jagermeister.

7. When it's shocking for you to realize that TV channels of foreign countries don't broadcast full live coverage of kayak-canoe and water polo world championships in prime time.

8. When you tell someone that you are Hungarian, they ask "Are you hungry?" Then you congratulate them on being the millionth person to say that to you.

9. When you've heard, "If you're hungry, why not go to Turkey?" at least once in your life.

10. When you have a relative who's named Attila. Or Jozsef. Or Janos. Or Laszlo.

11. When half of your mothers friends husbands have the name Jozsef.

12. When you know that the "goulash" you see in many restaurants has in actuality little/nothing to do with the gulyas leves we really eat.

13. When meeting another Hungarian in a country outside of Hungary is amazing.

14. When you know the meaning of "kurva" even if you don't know any other Hungarian word.

15. When you love Turó Rudi but cant really explain to foreigners what the hell that is until they try it.

16. When your foreign friends ask you if you still believe that Santa Claus brings the presents on the night between December 24th-25th... then you answer somehow confused that Santa Claus brings the presents on the 6th of December and it is actually Little Jesus who brings the presents on Christmas, but the presents are already there on the 24th at 6PM.

17. When a pancake is extremely flat in your country and you roll it up instead of folding it.

18. When you know the phrase "three is the Hungarian truth".

19. When you do not speak with your mouth full.

20. When guys keep telling you that Hungarian girls are the cutest and prettiest and hope that you just believe it and they get laid.

21. When they wanna show off by saying that they know your capital: Bucharest and no, they are not joking!

22. When you go into a Chinese restaurant and order your Sechuan chicken with French fries, cucumber salad and ask for a few slices of bread as well.

23. When you have a funny accent in every other language you speak.

24. When you love Mákos Guba and you can't explain what MÁK is, neither GUBA to anyone.. and if you finally can, everyone will think you're some kind of weirdo for eating that.

25. When catching a bus an old lady with lots of heavy bags runs by you and reaches the bus first, then sits down panting and complaining how old she is and how the stuff is heavy and young people are not well educated, etc.

26. When you start counting on your hand with one being the thumb.

27. When you can swear for 5 minutes straight, with one breath, not using the same word, ever.

28. When you know what 'lángos' is.

29. When you can show off your engagement ring, worn on the opposite hand.

30. When you know why the bells of every church ring every day at noon.

31. When you have difficulty pronouncing words started with "W" in English, but you're capable of creating long and meaningful sentences using only "E" vowels in you mother tongue.

32. When you would rather stand up in a tram/trolley when there are plenty of seats available.

33. When you have more excuses for the controllers than you have tickets.

34. When the train hasn't even left the station, but you are already eating your home made sandwiches (usually with half a paprika or tomato in it). And most likely include Wienerschnitzel.

35. When you call a 79 km long lake (the Balaton) the Hungarian Sea. And you are able to swim across it!

36. When you can eat ANYTHING deep fried (with breadcrumbs on it) and can make spirits (pálinka) of (almost) EVERYTHING, including paprika of course!

37. When you NEVER leave home with wet hair because you can get a cold and you ALWAYS bring your hair dryer when going abroad, and are astonished when people do not have one in their own homes!

38. When you sit always on the same place and chair, even when the (class)room is empty and "your" place is in the end of the room.

39. When zou cant tzpe on and English kezboard because y ans z are mixed up.

40. When you know the difference between s and sz. and also u and ü.

41. When you know what a pogácsa/dobos torta/kürtös kalács/főzelék/túrógombóc is, and love most of them.

42. When you understand cynicism and sarcasm; you sometimes go cynical/sarcastic yourself.

43. When you kind of dislike Turkish/Albanian people even tough you have never seen one in your life - you have the strange idea that they must all be related to jumurdzsák and his evil lot.

44. When you are more creative in cheating then any other nationality.

45. When Winnie the Pooh and The Flintstones is actually much funnier translated into your language than the original.

46. When you go abroad and joke with the people there as at home and they just don't understand but get possibly hurt by your funny remarks.

47. When you are snobby and think that anyone who has not read Dostoyewski and Bulgakow is not an intelligent human being.

48. When your language has two words for love.

49. When you deeply believe that Budapest (or your hometown) is the most beautiful city in the whole wide word and -just to make sure- you swear for that before going up to the Eiffel tower.

50. When you know that "a copper angel whistling on a willow tree" is actually a swear-expression!

51. When you have Szaloncukor! On a Christmas tree! :D

52. When you have a nameday and no one foreign understands what that is good for.

53. When instead of a good fruit salad, you'd rather make Pálinka out of your fruits, (and you swear on its healing power - of course).

54. When you use fruit to make soup.

55. When you greet everyone with a kiss on the cheeks! - Even a guy to another guy.

56. When you know that all geniuses and celebrities have some relation with Hungarians. Or they just simply are Hungarians.

57. When you put ketchup on your pizza.

58. When you collect and take home spoons, glasses, blankets, magazines etc. from the airplane.

59. When you can pronounce long words easily like: megszentségtelenitéshetetlenségeskedéseitekért" and you even know it has a meaning.

60. When you smuggle in drinks and food in your bag when you go to the cinema, just to save money.

61. When you know that all parts of a pig are edible, and it takes only half a day, some friends from the countryside and 2L palinka to prove it.

62. When you put on makeup and fancy clothes even when going to the grocery store.

63. When you have guests, you make at least 2 kinds of soup (sweet and salty), 4 different main courses, and at least 2 kinds of cakes, even though you know it's way too much.

64. When you know what is the difference between "puszi" and "csók"!

65. When you think it's perfectly reasonable to take small kids ( < 1 year) for a walk when the outside temperature is below zero, because they need some fresh air.

66. When you know what a Hungarian orange is. It's slightly yellower, it's slightly sharper, but our own.

67. When you tell to every single person that the Rubik's cube was invented in Hungary.

68. When for every meaning there are about 5 words.

69. When any foreigner's passing mention of Transylvania will set off a twenty-minute rant about the Treaty of Trianon.

70. When you have ever poured yourself a nice glass of milk - from a plastic bag.

71. When you start singing one of the saddest songs at midnight on New Years Eve when everybody else is happy as can be.

72. When it surprises you again and again, how much more impressive and chiseled are the Hungarian translations of most non-Hungarian poems, than the original ones.

73. When you say 'Jó étvágyat' before you start a meal and "Egészségedre" if somebody is sneezing or for drinking.

74. When you steal sugar packets from different coffee places.

75. When you know what tejbegriz is, and love it!

76. When you tell everyone that Lugosi Béla is from Hungary, more so, the real Dracula himself was Hungarian, and anyway, Hollywood majority was created by Hungarians.

77. When the telephone rings in your house, everybody yells "telefon!!!" as if people needed to be told that the phone was ringing, and needed to be picked up.

78. When your dog is a guard dog, not a pet.

79. When you know your language has the best and most clever jokes!

80. When your parents could tell if you were lying as a kid by feeling how 'soft' the tip of your nose was.

81. When you can make astonishingly delicious dishes without spending more than 3 euros (krumplistészta, káposztástészta, túróstészta).

82. When you swear that garlic and tea with honey can cure sicknesses in less than a day.

83. When all the neighbors in your apartment complex want peace and quiet as if they were living in a "kertes ház". You tell them to go move out of the city into a "családi ház".

84. If you've never been to a school in America, you are scared shit of it, because all you ever see about it on the news are school shootings.

85. When you've experienced the worst customer service ever known to mankind.

86. When you've ridden the BKV for free, either not gotten caught, or been able to talk your way out of a fine.

87. When you love to swim and swim in one of Budapest's outdoor pools at least 2 times a week.

88. When you can hum or whistle the Malév signal, even if you fly "fapados".

89. WHEN YOU KNOW THAT HUNGARY'S POLITICIANS ARE OUT FOR THEMSELVES, LINING THEIR POCKETS, AND FUCKING UP THE COUNTRY.

90. When you were a child you had to eat carrots all the time... and when you asked the question: Why? your parents answer is: "Hogy jobban fütyülj"!

91. When you are a shitty tipper.

92. When there's a Petőfi, a Széchenyi, and a Kossuth street even in the most behind-the-world kind of settlement. And you can get ANYWHERE in Hungary just by consistently following the Kossuth street through all towns you go.

93. When you laugh at Americans who think paying $3.00/gallon for gas is a lot.

94. When you tip your doctor.

95. When at least one member of your family had or still has a wartburg/lada/trabant and is proud of it!

96. When if you had a same size older cousin or sibling, then you pretty much inherited his/her clothes and school stuff, including a map with Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia on it - where you used to spend some of your holidays with the family, anyway.

97. If you are not a native Hungarian, and other Hungarians can tell, and when you go visit Hungary/Budapest you feel like person a non grata when you're there 'cause a lot of people will assume things about you and think you're super rich and automatically be jealous of you, and then go out of their way to try to make you unhappy.

98. When you know that beside the unquestioned Finno-Ugric relations with the Finnish, we have the Polish-Hungarian brotherhood as well.

99. When you are having a hard time explaining to any foreigner that actually, your family name is the first in your name, and it is not your given one.

100. When everyone having ever lived in Hungary has at least one acquaintance of each of the following surname groups: Kis(s), Nagy, Varga, Kovács and maybe even Béres and Balogh.

101. When you've traveled to/vacationed in/visited at least 10 countries in your life.

102. When you don't use measuring cups when cooking.

103. When you are standing next to the two largest suitcases at the airport.

104. When you have rugs covering every inch of your house.

105. When you live abroad and you could kill to eat proper Hungarian food!!

106. When your neighbor sun tans topless.

107. When people question you for eating a sandwich for breakfast.

108. When mixing red wine and coke is a delicious combination and you can't believe that foreigners think its weird.

109. When every 2nd person you know is either a Gábor, a Feri, Csaba, György, Balázs, Éva, Bea, Ezster, etc.

110. When - even if you have a cold - your grandmother tells you to gargle with salt water!

111. When you have ever had a Romanian say something bad about Hungarians.

112. When you can think of at least 5 different varieties of pörkölt and couldn't imagine your life without rakott káposzta or somlói galuska.

113. When you know that CS, DZ, DZS, GY, LY, NY, etc. are all ONE LETTER, and when telling it to your foreign friends, they all think it's weird.

114. When you say 'Szia' or 'Hello' instead of 'Viszlát' to your friends when you say good-bye to them, and your foreign friends think it's weird as well.

115. When you think that a glass of 'pálinka' or 'forralt bor' is better than medicine.

116. When you know what 'kakaós csiga' is.

117. When you have a bumper sticker on your car or map in your home of "Nagy Magyarország".

118. When you smuggle salami back from Hungary.

119. When you can (actually) pronounce Gy, as in HOGY VAGY - and not say hogi-vagi.

120. When you think that's weird that Americans don't have gates around their homes.

121. When having a barbecue means roasting lard on a stick and dripping the grease on bread.

122. When friends/family celebrate your birthday by pulling your ears.

123. When there is thermal water or a spa in your hometown or very close to your hometown.

124. When you have a good time with your friends by singing songs containing the words temetõ, keresztfa, sírhely, meghalt.

125. When you think zsíros kenyér and pálinka is a balanced meal as long as you also have onions.

126. When you know you can easily find a shop open in the middle of the night to buy alcohol and you will not be asked for ID.

127. When you know which nation has the most Nobel prize winners related to its population.

128. When you know what tepertős pogácsa is.

129. When you have to stand out to the rain to grow tall.

130. When rántotta is an egg food and not hitched by something.

131. When people from all over the world keep on asking you if you understand anything from Finnish language.

132. When you can talk about the most intimate things with complete strangers on the bus, waiting for the doctor, etc., but you are avoiding discussing your financial state even with your closest relatives.

133. When you know that the front passenger seat in a car is called "anyós-űlés"... and then proceed with a few mother in law jokes to top it off!

134. When you can't make do with normal sized pillows, they have to be huge or minute.

135. When there are more books in your apartment than in a foreign friend's entire neighborhood.

136. When you speak to foreign people in Hungarian, but slower and louder than normal to make them your language understandable!

137. When you eat bread with just about everything, even with potatoes.

138. When you never eat your steak if it's not very well done - like roasted dark.

139. When you are a citizen of the only country that has a crown with a tilted cross on the top.

140. When most of your childhood games revolved around 'bújocska', 'fogócska', and 'snúr' preferably with fillér-s (the old Hungarian 'cents').

141. When you live abroad and wonder around in a bookstore, you very frequently end up in the travel section, longingly staring at the photos of the unbelievably gorgeous Budapest (or which ever city you are from).

142. When your mom chases you with a wooden spoon and your dad says "Vigyaz, mert mindjárt össze akad a bajuszunk.." even when you're clearly a girl.

143. When you are eating something that looks like a plate full of puke, you call it "Lecsó". But it tastes amazing!

144. When you speak a language that no one can understand in a whole world... only Hungarians.

145. When your grandma gives yous "madártej" for dessert.

146. When you can't simply say "fine, thanks" when someone asks "how are you?" but you rather go into details of your life.

147. When you think that huzat equals certain death because again, this was handed down to you by your omnipotent and all-knowing mother.

148. When you say "kurva" to describe something amazing!

149. When your foreign friends have a hard time understanding that your friends in Slovakia and Transylvania are Hungarians by birth but not Hungarian citizens.

150. When you blame everything on the communists, when you have to pay to use the bathroom in public places and eat túrosgomboc, túros palacsinta and everything else with túro and your American friends come over for dinner and they won't touch anything because they think desserts with cottage cheese are gross.

151. When you don't waste food... you save the leftovers for the next day.

152. When you can't be overjoyed enough with the phenomenon that other people can't understand a single word in your language.

153. When you can't leave the house without your pockets full of zsebkendõ.

154. When you know that Karinthy was as great a humorist/satirist as Mark Twain.

155. When you go to visit Hungary, and no matter how many times you tell people you're from CANADA, they still think you're American.

156. When you know the ghost man who hangs around Jókai tér but you have never bought a flower from him.

157. When you rub a bronze horses balls for good luck.

158. When you have hopped around on one leg and slapped your thighs randomly to demonstrate how your people dance.

159. When you have wondered why the main airport is called Ferihegy, when there's not a mountain in sight.

160. When in Paris, in front of the fanciest club, you are drinking a 4 euro wine, and press the tap inside the bottle with your house keys, and you get everything wet, and you have to pour out some of the wine to be able to drink it (so the tap floating inside the bottle doesn't block the way of the wine).

161. When you consider poets historical figures on par in significance with kings and presidents.

162. When you can recite at least ten poems from memory.

163. When you have to explain the difference between the Hungarian flag, and the Italian one.

164. When your childhood fairytales didn't end as "they lived happily ever after" but "they lived happily until death".

165. When your fellow citizens feel to bitch about you or your actions just for the sake of it.



Now let's see which fit me so far...: 
1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 (my cousin, another cousin's husband/ my father and brother/ no one/ two more cousins), 12-21, 23-26, 28-30, 31 (not from head anymore), 37 (only the first part), 38, 39 (on hungarian kezboard), 40-42, 44-46, 48, 50-52, 54-56, (58 - my mom used to), 59-61, 63 (Xmas anyone?), 64 (in English both means kiss), 65, 67-75 (FARINA!!! ^.^), 76-79, 81, 86-90("So that you can whistle better.", 93, 99-101, 103-107, 112-114, 116, 119-124 (those words are in order: cemetery, grave marker, grave, dead), 127-133(I skip the jokes), 134, 135(you should see what we had in NYC), 137, 138(medium-well now), 139-148, 151, 152, 159, 161, 162 (used to be for sure... now... oy), 163(every time I do a self-intro in school), aaaand 164. 
WOW! (O.O) (^_^)v 
Also, most of what I skipped was because it had to do with alcohol, which I don't drink, but I do know plenty of people who those are true for.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

It's been a long time...

So apparently, staying in a hospital for over a month without any internet connection tends to mess up blogging schedules and intentions... Who knew?

Well, it's been over three months since my last blog, and a LOT has happened.
First and foremost, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Rinoa Heléna Tien, who was born at 37 weeks, on March 15th, 2012, at 1:48PM via C-section. She was 2926 grams and 47 cm long. To me she's absolutely perfect, and has been my constant joy and entertainment.
I will write about all the little things leading up to and after her birth in their own individual posts as I get to them. For the time being, I'd like to point you to my husbands blog, Taking Care of Tiny Tien, where you can read all about what has happened since January from his point of view.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

My First Week of “Rest”

So I left of last week with the doctor giving me some meds and strict orders of staying home and resting. And this is exactly what I was planning on doing.
Wednesday went by fine, though I guess a bit boring, as I tried to adjust to doing nothing but sitting and lying down all day. On Thursday though… Now Thursday was quite a bit different.
I woke up as usual, and ate my breakfast as usual. Then about 15 minutes or so later, ran to the bathroom to get rid of that usual breakfast any way possible… and again after another 20 minutes… and again when there was nothing left to get rid of… and again… and again… and again…
After the first few trips to the bathroom, James and I concluded that I most likely caught the virus that our neighbors got hit with last weekend. I tried to drink small sips of water to keep hydrated, but it didn’t stay down long. When I got to bathroom-trip #6 (just on the throw-up side) where all that was coming up was stomach acid for the fourth time, I decided to call my midwife and ask her what we should do. I knew at this point that most likely I’ll end up in the hospital for an IV and some meds, as well as a quick check-up of the baby.
What I didn’t realize is that all that throwing up was stressing out my abdomen muscles, causing them to contract enough to find myself at only 10mm during the cervical exam. That’s all the doctor and my midwife (who came right away to drive us to the hospital with her daughter for translation support) needed to hear and decide that the best course of action was for me to enjoy a nice month-long (until I’m 36 weeks) stay in this hospital, effective immediately.
I got set up in a nice single room, where after some time and paperwork, I changed into my PJs (thank goodness for my foresight) and got hooked up to an IV, which had some meds to prevent contractions and my cervix effacing any more. James went home to pick up things I needed, and I tried to rest, which in my current state was pretty impossible.

Here’s the summary of rest of the week:
I started Friday exhausted, having not slept at all, and weak from lack of food. I was starving and I welcomed breakfast… until it all came back up again. Though I still felt miserable for most of the day, by the evening I started to feel a little better and went to bed at 8pm.
Saturday morning I realized that the reason I wasn’t getting any rest wasn’t because I was sick but because the bed was just waaay too hard to get comfortable on. So I asked one of the nurses if she can do anything, and I got two of these blow up mats that made the bed much more comfortable. I also had a few visitors. First, my supervisor came by to see me and brought me some beautiful flowers. Then my midwife popped in just to check how I was feeling. Finally, our neighbor came by and brought an amazing picture from her 4-year old son. (That’s me and the baby in my tummy… in breech position. lol)
Sunday morning was the first time when I felt somewhat rested. I was getting used to the hospital routine, which is:
-    Wake up around 6-6:30 by a nurse, who’s coming to check the baby’s heartbeat.
-    Breakfast is at 7:30.

-    Doctor comes by around 9AM if it’s a special day (check-ups, etc).
-    External baby monitoring for twenty minutes a little after 10AM.
-    Lunch is at noon.
-    Another check up on baby’s heartbeat around 2PM.
-    Dinner is at 6PM.

-    Final baby heartbeat check-up around 9PM.
-    Lights out at 10PM.
Also, my supervisor’s manager (our mid-level boss I guess), came by to see me and brought me an amazing fruit basket, full of apples, bananas, kiwi, oranges, pear jelly, and on the side, strawberries!!! \(^o^)/ (This last one was gone before picture could be taken.) Deeeeelicious! Our neighbor came by again for a little bit, too, and brought yummy pastries! (Sorry, these were also gone before I remembered to take a picture of them.)On Monday, the doctor checked the baby on the ultrasound. While healthy, our baby is still in the breech position, and because of this, we still don’t know if we’re having a boy or a girl. Some good friends came by to visit and kept me company, and that was fun.
Tuesday went by without anything special happening, and then Wednesday I finally had the check-up I was waiting for! Here was the day with some good news! My cervix was back over 16mm, so the doctor decided to lower my medication. She also said that if things continue to improve (goal of 20-25mm), she’ll change me over to oral meds, and then I might be able to go home early and be home for my bed rest! So my “goal,” if it can be called that, is to reach over 20mm by next Wednesday’s check-up.
And there you have it… Ups and downs, but overall with a healthy baby with a strong heartbeat and lots of kicking, and an optimist mommy-to-be, who is really hoping she can coax her baby to turn head-down before the doctors have a stroke… (^.^)v

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

And then there was 16…

While there was silence here in the blog, things were quite busy during the past couple of weeks.
First, James and I had a plan to sort through, re-organize, and clean up the whole apartment in order to prepare and make room for the baby. This was to be done only one room at a time on Saturdays, so we wouldn’t overwhelm ourselves and so that I can take it slow and rest as we’re doing things. So far the bedroom is done and the living room is about 80% finished and still awaiting completion, because…

Well, we also went to the doctor back on the 21st. It was originally just a regular check-up to compliment seeing my midwife. However, things didn’t go quite as smoothly as we’d hoped.
There were two problems the doctor seemed really concerned about:

  1. The baby is currently/still in a complete breech position.
  2. My cervix is thinner than normal.
The first concern was really not a surprise (this has been the case all along until now) and also not really a concern to us yet, as I think the baby still has plenty of time to turn around, though I might be mistaken…

The second was more worrisome. For those in the know, this was also not a total surprise, we kind of expected it to happen, but if I must be honest, I guess I started to feel a bit too optimistic that maybe, just maybe, we were lucky enough to avoid this problem all together.

A quick recap… A few years ago, just before JET, I had a procedure called a cone biopsy to remove some close-to-cancerous cells from my cervix. One of the risks of this procedure is that even though the cervix heals fine, there’ll always be a piece missing, leaving it somewhat weaker in the future, so much so that potentially it could be too weak to allow me to carry a baby full term and possibly resulting in second or third trimester miscarriages, or in a premature birth. This condition is called an incompetent cervix. Unfortunately, the likelihood of this is not something the doctors could give me a percentage for; they said we’ll just have to see what happens when we get pregnant. Well, obviously we did, and when I told my doctor-at-the-time about my history, she told me not to worry, it doesn’t happen very often and we’ll keep an eye on it. To up our chances, I tried to take extra good care of myself and the baby, and things were going fine, even back in November, when my newer doctor told me I was good to go on our New York City trip over the holidays.Inside the train

However, now the picture was somewhat different. The length of a cervix that’s considered normal is anything above 30mm. I was down to 24mm. To try and get a better picture, the doctor asked me to come back a week later for another check up, which we did last Saturday, along with my midwife and an assistant midwife who spoke English and was there to help with any language problems.

During this visit we realized that while just having one or the other problem would probably not cause such a concern, having both together was a bit too much for this doctor and clinic (and of course my midwife too) to handle. Our Baby - 2012. 01. 28. They were seriously worried that even though my cervix has not thinned out any further according to the ultrasound, the baby could be born premature with the added complication of being breech, especially if I keep biking, which is a must for work. So in the end everyone agreed the best course of action was to refer me to a bigger hospital that has a NICU for further check ups, and to put me on sick leave as soon as possible, with absolutely no more biking until after delivery, and to stay at home and rest in the meantime.

Sick leave was requested, was approved on Sunday, and appointment to the hospital was made for yesterday (Tuesday). We took a taxi, because it costs only slightly more than public transportation for the two of us combined with the convenience of no walking required for me, and off we went. During this check up, we found out that my cervix was now only 16mm (what happened in those three days, I have no idea…), and was given some sort of medicine to take three times a day after meals, with orders of resting at home (not even short and slow walks outside are permitted at this point), and to come back in a week to see how things changed.

And this is where we are right now. I’m trying not to worry, use my time off productively (YAAY knitting, studying Japanese, and blogging), and bugging James as little as possible. I really hope that on our next check up we won’t get more worrisome news, and that maybe by that time I’ll be able to coax the baby into a head down position with some tricks and tips from various sources. Wish us luck! (^.^)v

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Being Pregnant in Japan (A JET ALT Perspective...)

Now that the cat's out of the bag (heh), I thought I'll try to write about my experience of being pregnant in Japan, especially from an ALT perspective. I remember how I tried to find information on the internet even before I was pregnant, to give me an idea what might be in store if the stork did decide to put us on its list of up-coming visits, just to realize there was little to none. The only thing I was able to find (and thank goodness for this little piece of treasure!) was a blog called "industrious ants." In her "Made in Japan" series, Martine writes about her situation in great detail and it has provided me with amazing information! If you're generally interested in this topic, please check out her blog first. Don't worry, I'll wait... (^.~)

Done? OK... So about being a pregnant ALT in Japan. Where can I start? I guess first and foremost I should mention the conditions of pregnancy in my situation. What the JET General Information Handbook (GIH) says about pregnancy has been pretty spot on for me so far, so give that a look too if you can. For everyone else, here's what this means:
I was very lucky that a fellow ALT in my area knew an English-speaking OB/GYN doctor in Fukuyama, so I was able to get confirmation of the pregnancy pretty soon after I did my home test. I even got an ultrasound!
August 6th - The first time I saw you...
At this time I wasn't far along enough to get the official confirmation I needed to register myself being pregnant at City Hall, but I only needed to wait another 10 days for that. Once I had the confirmation from the doctor, I headed to City Hall to get my boshi techo or "Mother and Child Health Handbook," which is something I need to have every time I go to the doctor while I'm pregnant and later with my child until she or he turns 6 years old. (Luckily my City Hall had an English/Japanese version of this book. YAAAY!!!) I also received a book full of coupons that made all further visits to my OB doctor free. (Visits would cost around ¥2000-3000 otherwise.) 

Once doctor visits were settled, the next thing I wanted to find out about was maternity leave. Though DH doesn't work and will stay with the baby, I wanted to make sure I would be able to take some time off, hopefully without any fear of a terminated contract and being sent home. After talking with my supervisor and the big boss of my contracting organization, I was very happy to realize that their first concern was to make sure I was OK, and it seemed that as long as I wanted to stay, they won't send me home. I also found out that, according to my contract, I get 6 weeks of maternity leave before the birth and 8 weeks after, with the understanding that any extra days that the baby is "late" are freebies. While the maternity leave is unpaid, the National Health Insurance (NHI) does do a sort of partial "reimbursement" for that time, but only about a month after I return to work. What this comes down to is that I better darn make sure we saved up enough to get through 3 and a half+ months worth of no-income, paying rent, bills, for food, and any baby-related stuff, including whatever extra we might still need to pay after the NHI's payment for the birth (shussan ikuji ichijikin) kicks in. The Shussan Ikuji Ichijikin is a fixed payment of ¥420,000, which (as I understand it) can generally either go straight to the hospital/birth center or to my bank account, and usually covers the most basic birth and hospital stay. If I want a private room or something else extra that raises the bill though, that's on me to pay. Fair enough, I guess, or at least it's something I can work with and make due. These are the basic conditions I have to deal with while being pregnant in Japan.

Now I'd like to mention a few interesting things I learned on my own. Let's start with the positive ones:
  • A typical OB appointment (so far) includes checking my weight and blood pressure by a nurse, then an ultrasound and internal examination by the doctor, who takes all kinds of measurements. Notice the ultrasound is done by the doctor, not a specialist, so I can talk about what I see and the results right away, which is really convenient and fun.
  • The idea of men in Japan not accompanying their partners to any of the OB appointments really is nothing new, and I was nervous about whether or not DH was allowed to come with me to mine. So it was a very pleasant surprise when I found out that it was no problem at all, and he could come and be in the room during the ultrasounds.
  • Speaking (some more) of ultrasounds and pleasant surprises, at our first hospital (I'll explain in another post), we received an ultrasound picture of our baby every time we had an appointment. This was really nice, since as far as I've heard, in the US, parents only get some around the 22nd week, and that's it, unless there's cause for concern.
  • I also got the go-ahead for eating sushi from my doctor (she practically laughed herself silly, when I mentioned how women in the US are banned from eating raw fish), which was really good, as that was one of the very few things I was able to tolerate once morning sickness started up. Of course, I stayed away from high-mercury fish like tuna nonetheless, but there was no ban on salmon!
  • After some research I found out that Japan is one of the best countries to give birth in for several reasons. For one, Japan is #3 (according to the United Nations) and #4 (according to the CIA World Factbook) best in the world on the List of Infant Mortality Rates. The infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births. On these lists, Canada is #24 and #36 respectively, the UK is #25 and #32, and the US is #34 and #46.
    Another reason (at least for me) is how even the hospitals in Japan are much more geared towards natural birth, instead of pumping mothers full of drugs (both PIT and EPI). People here seem to believe birth to be a natural process, something the body knows how to take care of in its own time and way... or at least that was the viewpoint of my hospital. They told me right away that if I wanted an epidural (which they thought all foreign women do), I'd have to go to a different/bigger hospital. That was not something I was interested in, so I stayed put.
    Finally, the last reason (again, for me) Japan seems pretty great about having a baby is the 3-5 days of hospital stay, which from what I heard from a few different people is pretty comfortable/full of pampering. Though I can't personally confirm these last two reasons, it just seems much more inviting than the hospitals I've seen/births I attended back in NYC.
  • Being pregnant in Japan also meant I got treated super special when we flew back to NYC for the holidays. We were able to pre-board both our planes, and the cabin attendants kept checking in on me (but not intrusively), making sure I was comfortable and happy. This meant getting water refills without asking and quite a few bananas (fresh fruit on a plane O.O)! (^.^)v  They also gave us a tiny wooden airplane toy for the baby. YAAAY!
As for the not completely positive things:
  • Japan is really careful when it comes to pregnant women. No, I mean REALLY careful. As in, when I tried to join a gym so I could swim during my pregnancy (one of the safest exercises there is for pregnant women), I was turned away. That was quite upsetting until my then-doctor told me to try YMCA. I did, and after some negotiations, I was able to sign up and allowed to swim until a month before my due date. Some of the interesting things the manager asked me before I could fill out the paperwork was "Will there be someone who will come with me to help me into and out of the pool, making sure I don't slip?" or "Are you sure, as the water might be too cold, especially during the winter?" or "Please come and talk to me once a month about your condition, and tell me the doctor still allows you to swim." He also almost had a heart-attack, when I told him I'm still working and will continue to do so until my maternity leave kicks in mid-February. (This was after I chose the "evening time" for my swimming and explained my reasoning.)
  • Continuing with the "theme," it kind of threw me off guard how worried all my fellow Japanese teachers look and sound when they hear that I was/am/will continue biking to work while pregnant. Telling them that I don't really have much of a choice doesn't calm them down either. (Forget about me telling them I actually seek out exercise, like swimming...) While this constant worrying and fretting was nice and sweet initially, it's starting to become a bit.... well, old. It makes me feel like I'm a Faberge Egg, that needs to be locked up at home and protected.
So there you have it: my so-far experience of being pregnant in Japan. It has been a pretty positive experience until now, so much so, that if the last three months turn out to be more or less the same, I would seriously consider slipping in our next baby before we leave Japan for good. Only time will tell.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

The Loot

I haven't talked about anything yarn related in the previous post for one simple reason: It needs it's own post.
While Fukuyama has a couple of actual local yarn stores and a general craft store (think Jo-Ann or Michael's), the variety of yarn seems quite limited. Most of the available yarn (about 90-95%) has a least a considerable amount of acrylic in it, if it's not completely it, and the colors are quite muted and simple. Good, natural yarns that have no acrylic in them are limited to merino wool, alpaca, and maybe cotton. These actually wouldn't be bad choices if there were more vibrant colors available. (I actually found a 50% wool/50% alpaca yarn that's really nice and warm, but the colors are limited to cream, brown, gray, and black. That's...it.)
All in all my point is that I'm yarn/color/inspiration-starved and have been making all kinds of yarn related plans for our NYC trip for weeeeeks in advance. Since I knew our funds were limited, I concentrated on future baby projects only. I searched for patterns, possible yarn combinations, and made notes. I even made a list of LYSs I planned on visiting while I was there, which ended up as a yarn crawl with my friend, Lexie. We hit a handful of stores, like Annie & Company, Knitty City, Purl Soho, Loopy Mango, and La Casita Yarn Shop and Cafe. Purl Soho and Loopy Mango were new to me, but the rest were old favorites that I couldn't wait to visit and enjoyed browsing through their shops immensely! Here are a couple of pictures I took in Annie & Company:
Look at this wall of pure cashmere!
Despite being a Japanese yarn, it's almost impossible to find Noro in Japan.
Malabrigo... How I missed you so!
So gorgeous! One day (within the next 10-15 years) I'll have a store like this. ....I'm serious! (>.<)v

Anyways... After a whole afternoon of visiting all these yarn stores, this is what I ended up buying:
Please excuse the bad picture quality...
There's madelinetosh tosh merino light, madelinetosh tosh vintage, Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted, Brooklyn Tweed SHELTER, and even Jade Sapphire Mongolian Cashmere 2-ply, but that was a gift from one of my favorite yarn stores. These, along with a few additions from my stash, will be used for various baby knits.
Speaking of yarns I got as a gift, there are two more that I must talk about:
Look at that Jade Sapphire, sneaking into this picture too... (^.^)
Juniper Moon Farm Findley and Briar Rose Fibers Fourth of July both came from Lexie, who is generous beyond words! Fourth of July is a yarn she got me from Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival (will I ever be able to visit?) and it's soft and puffy, with beautiful colors reminiscent of forests. No idea just yet what I'd make out of this, but I'll keep looking.
As for Findley, with its 800 yards a skein of 50% merino wool and 50% silk for less than $30, it's an absolute must have! Lexie and I found this gem in Loopy Mango and were fortunate to hold a sample stockinette stitch stole that was made from this yarn by holding two strands together. Not even the word "luscious" can describe what we held in our hands! And the colors! Unfortunately my picture doesn't do it justice... it's so shiny and beautiful! (*.*) I left this yarn behind that day with a very heavy heart, knowing full well I could not justify such a purchase just now. Then Lexie sent these to me as a last-minute surprise present, and as soon as I saw them I was on Ravelry looking for possible patterns that were worthy of such an amazing yarn. And the winner is.... the February Lady Sweater (which really is a cardigan, but whatever...), with short sleeves, if the yarn doesn't last (I'm planning on holding two strands together just like in that sample stole we saw).

I have two more days left of my four-day-post-vacation vacation, and all I'll be doing is swatching for this sweater and for the Betty Lou Lace Cardigan I'm planning on making with the Jade Sapphire cashmere yarn for the baby. A good plan, no?

Friday, January 6, 2012

Here I go again...

It's been over a year since I wrote anything on this thing. There are a few of reasons for this, but in all honesty, it is mainly because I generally don't like to write... well, anything really. Emails, blogs, reports for work, you name it, if it involves writing, I generally put it off to the last possible minute... or not do it at all.

However, I've been wanting to write things down lately, since soooo much has happened the past year and so much is going to happen in the next. So, as a New Year resolution of sorts, I will aim to post at least once a week. 52 posts for 52 weeks. Let's start...

This week's post is about catching up with the past.

87 Days to Go
Probably the biggest news that I want to share with you, if you don't already know, is that I'm pregnant. And not just "OMG-the-stick-turned-positive" pregnant, but as in "less-than-3-months-to-go" pregnant.
Picture from late November (22nd week): From the left side, arm curled up to hide the face, folded in half, toes almost touching the forehead. Acrobatic this one.
DH and I found out late July and I'm due around April 2nd. We don't know for certain if we're having a boy or a girl yet, but during the appointment the above picture was taken, the doctor tried to check and gave us a "maybe a girl" answer. Because my primary care provider is a midwife (the doctor is only a back up), we haven't had the opportunity to check/confirm since that time (as there's no ultrasound machine at the birth center), but hopefully we'll be able to get a better answer in a couple of weeks.
As for spreading the news and why this might be a surprise, we told our parents about the pregnancy pretty early on, but we have been working tirelessly to keep it a secret from our friends in New York so we can tell them personally when we visited over the holidays. The surprise went really well, many couldn't believe we were able to keep it a secret with Facebook and all, and I think everyone was really happy for us. We got a lot of really nice things for the baby from many of our friends and especially from our families, and we're really grateful for it all! Everyone was just so kind and amazing, I have no words for it really, other than thank you!
About the pregnancy itself, it's been pretty standard. The first trimester was hard because of the constant nausea (whoever came up with the term "morning sickness" was an idiot... (>.<)# ), food aversions, etc. DH was a trooper though, and I can't thank him enough for putting up with me during that time, especially when situations like me suggesting something he could make for dinner that I think I could eat just to completely reject it sometimes even before it was done, was an almost daily occurrence. Frustrated as I know he was, he kept calm, rarely complained, encouraged me and felt my miserableness full-heartedly... after all that, I can honestly say, if there was a "World's Best Husband" award, he should be the one receiving it!
The second trimester has been great! We were able to go and visit Kyoto early November, which was really relaxing and fun! We even did the whole walking route of Fushimi Inari!
Fushimi Inari - One of the many Kyoto pictures where I tried not to look pregnant.
...and one at Kiyomizudera, which was deliberately kept off from Facebook.
Being pregnant has been pretty awesome so far, with a lot of surprises and few annoyances. Feeling the baby kicking is just pure joy. Nothing like it really. Hopefully the third trimester will be pretty standard as well, with all its ups and few of its downs.

New York, New York
It's no secret that I spent half my life living in New York City, and that I haven't been back since I came to Japan. But since DH was going to turn 30 this past December and he wanted to celebrate this occasion with his friends and family, we decided to save up and spend the holidays in New York City. We left Japan and arrived in NYC on the 21st, after a good 20-22 hours of traveling (hour and half to Hiroshima Airport, hour and half flight to Narita Airport, 15 hours flight to NYC, and all the waiting times). While it was a long flight, it wasn't unpleasant. ANA was one of the best flights I've been on, and I've flown a lot.
The highlights of this trip were quite a lot, so I'll just sum it up quickly. There was no reverse culture shock for me, it felt like nothing has changed, like NYC was on a pause while I was away. No surprise there really. Seeing our family and friends was amazing and though I'm sad I didn't get to see a couple of our closest friends, I'm glad we were able to meet up and spend time with most of them.
A Family Christmas
Together on New Year's Eve
We also did a lot of shopping, especially for maternity clothes, yarn for baby projects, and foods we missed. We flew back on the 4th, arriving on the 5th (time zone change and all) much more tired then expected, as our NYC-Tokyo flight back with Continental Airlines was no where near as good as much worse than when we flew with ANA. (Note to self: Never, EVER, flight Continental EVER again.) Overall the trip was really good, but we were so busy with errands to run and people to see, that we're both glad we have four days at home to ourselves before I have to return to work.


Now if you'll excuse me, there's still plenty of things I need to put away before I can get into my bed again for the night. To be continued...