A Less Than Merry Christmas

I don't want this post to turn into The Great Wallow: Christmas '09, but let's just say that the past couple days have, for want of a better term, pretty much sucked.

Since I don't want this blog to be an edited, sunshine-and-roses account of my time in Tokyo, I'll briefly explain why Christmas '09 bit the big one.

For starters, I really missed my family and friends. That's a given. I knew it would be tough, but it was a lot harder than I had prepared myself for. Talking to them and thinking about them both helped and made it worse, too.

Second, life in Tokyo sure ain’t just all-you-can-drink specials, neon lights, ramen noodles and tutu-wearing fashionistas (though I wish it were!).

For example, trains can absolutely suck. Last night, after a long day of feeling lonely and homesick, I was on the train to Omiya when I realised that I felt absolutely horrible. I'm talking ill – dizzy, blurred vision, dancing spots in front of my eyes, cold sweat, really thought I was about to yak, almost at the point of passing out. This was helped by the delightful fact that at the time, I was crammed into the corner of a stuffy, hot and crowded train car – drunk salarymen all around, zero personal space, no fresh air to speak of.

Needless to say, we had to exit the train at the next stop (in the middle of who knows where) before I completely lost it. Naturally, my ailments also put a kibosh on our evening's plans – but we did get to wander around a freezing and almost empty train station and wait 15 minutes for the first of three trains that would get us all the way back home (after travelling about an hour or more to get to where we were).

So yes: Crammed into a corner, feeling queasy and awful and sad... my Christmas Day night wasn't exactly a high point. Plus I felt bad about ruining the evening with my stupid delicate stomach. (And hello, since when?! I can eat an entire pan full of nachos covered in questionable cheese and be fine! Heck, I go grocery shopping so little that sometimes I have to turn a blind eye to expiry dates when I'm really really hungry! But Japan Megan's stomach apparently balks at some goddamn rice covered in frickin' seaweed. Figures.) Coupled with an earlier bout of manic crying on a (very patient) shoulder (a spectacle of epic proportions – I'll admit that all my homesickness sort of came to head at once and next thing I knew I was blubbering like an idiot, with no end in sight) I was worn out, tired, sick, and hatin' on Christmas. And my eyes hurt. Probably from the blubbering.

Anyways, we made the journey all the way back home. It was grand. I had to clutch onto a rail and close my eyes to make it that last 5 or so stops without passing out/yakking/dissolving into more blubbering.

So I'm not quite feeling myself today, or yesterday, or possibly even tomorrow.

But hell, I'm in Tokyo! I know I'm hardly in a position to be complaining too loudly. I know I'll make the most of it (I hope!), it will be amazing, and I'll have so many once-in-a-lifetime experiences. But being here has also made me realise how much awesomeness I am lucky enough to have at home. And right now I really miss that awesomeness.

All that aside, I did get an unexpected Christmas present (of sorts), and discover that gin, orange juice and tonic water is a delicious drink. So the day wasn't all bad. And hey, tomorrow is a new one...