For the past few weekends I've either been working extra days or have had some plans with a group of students or with my Dad, so my days to myself have been few and far between. Staying with my Dad in Nara is quite relaxing, but that's maybe the only exception. Other than weekends with him in his quiet, spacious apartment, unless I get a day to myself in my apartment to clean things, eat cookies (the maple cremes above are the best cookies of my entire life right now), rearrange furniture and have a glass of chilled white wine and a bubble bath, I feel a little sullen. I've never had such a hectic work schedule as I do now, so I appreciate my weekends like never before. Tomorrow should be a weekend for me, but I have an extra day of training, so I'll be going into headquarters in Osaka for the day. To be honest, I really don't mind. I love this job. I love teaching, and I want to be better at it. I'm sure training will be immensely helpful, and part of me is really starting to love the process of putting on a suit in the morning and cramming into the train with all the other suit-wearing people of Osaka. I love to feel like a part of something much bigger. I did however make sure that today was as relaxing as possible, so as to make up for the lack of half my weekend.
During a conversation exercise the other day, I asked one of my students, "What's the best way to be happy?" and she immediately answered in perfect English "Buy some lavender aromatherapy oil. It will help you sleep." The confidence and excitement with which she answered totally sold me on the idea, and anyway I love things like this, little aromatherapy candles and oil burners and such (scent is such a powerful thing...it can affect the mood so deeply and jog the memory so abruptly), so I went into Ikeda today to buy one. Of course the one I found was pink. I found lavender oil, and I also found another scent called "Paris elegant", which I had to buy, because for the past few months I've been obsessed with the movie "Midnight in Paris" and its soundtrack. I don't think I've ever loved a soundtrack so much, and I believe it has actually helped me get settled in Japan. The sounds of this movie are those of a big city, far away from home, but they are the sounds of the dreams one has about what sorts of amazing things can happen in a new city far away from home, so they are hopeful and exciting yet nostalgic and sweet at the same time. It's really beautiful music and a great film. As a result, as I live my little life out here in Japan and appreciate and love every moment of it, I also cannot help but dream constantly about a trip to Paris. It's a good daydream topic, I always need at least three of those.
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