After my last post, my voice steadily improved and I felt mostly well by Saturday. On Sunday, however, my sickness got worse instead of better. I'm pretty sure I had a fever every day of the following week, but at least I had a voice so I was able to teach without obvious deficiencies. That week and the next week I focused mainly on recovering from my sickness by sleeping at every possible moment. As a result, it was strange to rediscover the concept of free time the following week. I'm still coughing a bit, mostly at night, and from the severity, longevity, and symptoms of my illness I've decided that I had the flu, which I don't think I've had since high school.
Because of my illness, I haven't done much in the way of interesting things. The Saturday before I got sick again, I went out in Matsumoto and went to an izakaya with some co-workers. Through one of them I met a Japanese guy from Brazil and several of his (Japanese) co-workers as all of us hung out together. From there most of us we went to a karaoke place, where I sang One Day More from Les Miserables (despite my still-recovering voice). Apparently no one knew the song, and yet apparently it was still fairly successful.
I discovered a taste for matcha-flavored items--that's an (expensive) kind of green tea. Matcha Kit Kat bars are so good that I've had to bribe myself in order to stop devouring a bag every other day, and I've replaced my morning cup of coffee with matcha tea, which is supposed to be healthier and generate a milder caffeine kick.
Halloween is not celebrated in Japan as a general rule, but in my town there was a special festival on the Saturday before, with a costume contest and a parade. I couldn't go because I was working, and the parade was rained out anyway by a typhoon, but some of my coworkers appeared on TV because of their costumes. During the previous week my school had a special Halloween week, and we had to wear Halloween costumes the whole time. It was a bit annoying, but the kids enjoyed it.
The following Monday (10/30) I went shopping for clothes because it was supposed to get close to freezing and I had no hat. I walked the distance between two train stations, gaining a hat, a cheap pair of slim fit khaki chinos, and a strong appreciation for the quantity and quality of second-hand shops in Japan. It does make sense that they would be prevalent due to the high cost of disposing of many items, though.
On Thursday I went to Japanese class, and on the way home stopped by a second-hand shop with several guitars. I really wanted a guitar because I'm feeling a lack of music exposure here, and I still haven't found anyone yet who really enjoys karaoke. I couldn't make a decision I felt good about that day, and I couldn't imagine carrying an open guitar all the way back to my house via walking and train. On Friday (11/3) I went to the local second-hand shop and picked up a decent nylon-string guitar for about $30. The neck is just slightly bent and it's got several scratches and nicks, but the strings look practically new and it plays well for the most part so I am happy with my purchase.
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