Live Every Day Like It’s Your First

Every Wednesday and Thursday we set up nets outdoors for soccer. Every Wednesday and Thursday I said “I’m going to try and set it up myself this time....next week for sure.... by the last day I HAVE TO GET THIS”. Finally, after 3 weeks and about 49 times re arranging the polls I got it set up. I was worried Yoshi would have lost all hope by this point but he was amused by me talking to myself in determined frustration.

When I finished I said “It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!!! What do you think?”  He was sitting right behind the net, laughed and replied “you forgot one thing.. the red goes at the top.. you have it upside down.”  Soooooo close. I flipped it and professed my success with a gorilla roar and chest bang. Jari had finished his net like 2 days ago and probably not surprised by my post task revision noise making.

Side note: He actually saved my life. I didn’t know Australia didn’t give visas on entry even for “vacationers” so I had to apply for a electronic travel authority visa thing. Bless him and his excellence.

I still felt like a proud soccer mom and I still see the beauty of the net free standing in the open field. Aahhh. This in fact was not the last of my self inflicted humiliation. On that topic of conversation, whilst we waited for the kids to come and behold my glorious goal-ation, I decided it was a good idea to apologise on behalf of my constant confusion. (and seemingly sloth like mental nature)With the shadow off the goal post on his face, accompanied by a gentle laugh Yoshi said “That’s okay, I’ll never forget from first day you came to the house and you got lost looking for the stairs.”

Our last weekend was also one to remember. Yoshi and Kana go every year to this really eccentric festival 'Hashi No Shita'. They had been talking about it since I got there and invited Jari and I to go with them . The whole festival is brilliant, lively, wacky and free! Free like body, mind, soul and also free admission. It was the perfect way to bring our time together to a close and we promised to meet up for it again next year.

Monday Yoshi and Jari left for soccer, I said my see you l8trzz... 'mata ne'.. and had my bags ready to go with Kana to the station. Kana and I had one last chat using Google translate, again apologised for my mindlessness and I thanked her for being a source of unconditional love and teaching me their gentle way of life. She gave me 6 little origami’s detailed with steps 1-6 on how to make the crane. Next time I see them I will definitely have the crane mastered!

I arrived in Tokyo around 7am with no day plans until dinner when I’d catch up with a friend. So I ate slow in cafes and re watched movies I had downloaded. Reminiscing about these last 3 weeks; I forgot to say goodbye to Tsumali (the goat)! And I forgot my underwear on the clothes line. So they’ll have one last Raishaism to laugh about.

Also that day I heard the news of the death of my best friend’s sister.  She had commented on one of my posts just a few days before and to hear this was really really a shock.  I want to finish this post with paying respects to her friends and family. She will always be remembered as someone who constantly brought laughter and love to the people around her. She lived her life with an overflowing flume of radiance. The movement of energy is felt by many.  Rest in Peace Shaela. 

Underqualified But Still Overjoyed

I may possibly be a living meme. The one’s that are about lying on your resume and getting into a job you’re unqualified for. Except I didn’t lie, which kind of makes this more embarrassing. So here I am volunteer “coach” for the soccer training club my host family owns “I played for 8 years!”.  After Monday’s practice Yoshi said “Maybe we can find something for you to help Kana with; the kids or housework”

The soccer kids are dribbling circles around me..KIDS. Like 5-6 years old. I actually have to sit out when the 10-13 year old play... Last week wasn’t so bad or at least I thought, maybe it looked worse.

The weekly schedule is:

Monday & Tuesday- indoor 3 classes

Tuesday- same

Wednesday- After school scrimmage and a 2^nd class outdoor

Thursday- outdoor 2 classes

Tuesday’s last class has a selected group of kids, I watch them and literally drool. The footwork is unbelievable. Wednesday’s class is like a group of crazy kids who just run and complain. Being involved with totally opposite skill levelled kids, I realised I must have been “playing soccer for 8 years” at some level in between.

Last weekend a family of 3 couch surfed here and at dinner we started talking about the club and how we got this volunteer position. Then they started talking heavy sports. I mean like heavy..for example:

“Oh yeah Yates (because they use players last names right) injury last season is healing well.”

“Mhmm yeah he didn’t pull the  insert knowledgeable knee related injury terms. So it’s healing really really well.”

“Wellington had a similar injury in his day right? When he played for Au.”

COMPLETELY OVER MY HEAD.

We were finished dinner so I got up from the table and the Dad of the other family said

 “oh sorry, too much football talk.”

My stomach curdled and I wanted to vomit up a necklace or an origami box and sing  “ HA YEAH I HAVE SKILLS TO JUST NOT SPORTS SLKJFBHSD FNFRS” I just laughed awkwardly and said “I have steered a bit more towards the arts since I stopped playing soccer, I guess I didn’t realise how far..”

So Monday was when I completely made a fool of myself and since have been repairing the hole in my self esteem. Basically this kid (5 or 6 years old) who is the best of the bunch, always make it to goal with the ball. I was goalie. He scored on me 5 times in an EMBARRASSING ROW. Yoshi switched and went in net and Yaree said “You have to actually try to challenge or it’s not even training for these kids.”

IT’S A CHALLENEGE FOR ME HONESTLY.. SHIT.

I spent the rest of the night wallowing in ; why am I even here. I am eating 3 meals a day. Using wifi, showering, sleeping and contributing absolutely nothing? Rightfully wallowing I think. Because this is the reason I’m here. To give my time and energy to this training club, for the kids to have a fresh face. So they can go to school and tell their friends they have friends from Canada and Netherlands (Yaree) now!

I bought some peanuts and ate the whole bag. I didn’t find the cure for over thinking at the bottom either. BUT I reasoned with myself to be upfront with my feeling useless and try to talk with Yoshi about specifically what else I could do. I asked about his website/Facebook and if he needs any new photos to be taken or videos. He doesn’t use Facebook so he gave me the url to his website to check it out. It’s excellent.... Then he bounced back the idea, how about I make some Canadian food or stuff to share with the parents while they’re watching their kids!

YAS. Tuesday I stayed at home with Kana and worked on making a little recipe book. I used Google to translate it into Japanese and just kept the names of the dishes in English.

#1 Meatloaf. #2 Scalloped Potatoes #3 Stuffed Peppers. And then I brought boiled eggs, mayonnaise, onion and other supplies to make “Deviled Eggs” with them to eat and share with the kids after. I also tried to write down some Japanese things for me to say, mostly they just laughed and we communicated with charades. At the end of it all though it went really well!

One mom knows a bit of English and we talked to last week, this week she brought me a recipe for Japanese Omelet!! The secret is roll towards you. So today I’m going to bring supplies to make ice cream! Like in a ziplock bag. Thats cool. ha ha literally.

As for next week.. It’s my last week here!!!!!!!!!! And I want it to be worthwhile. 

Being as it all of ours first time using work away, I think I got a bit of a break. But I don’t want to be the sad story they tell to their next volunteers. Not that I think they will actually we get along really well. I’m helping a bit with English too and the kids! Tsubasa wants me to take her to the potty now and when I say something sort if harmonious she tries to repeat, like “okay thank yooou” or “where did it goo” it’s so cute!

Kana and Yoshi are absolutely amazing human beings. Their lifestyle is quaint, organic, groovy and full of love. It is a blessing x infinity to live here with them. I hope they can see I’m trying, I’m in love and I’m so great full. I’m going to put together a practice book for Kana to practice English and hopefully I can keep doing some things (probably other than soccer...) to contribute to the household.

There is so much goodness here. I’m not going to let my depleting soccer skills be the last thing I leave behind.

Please send me knowledge and ideas fam <3 <3 Untill next time. :) 

Poetic Interlude

Things I learned to say

Haha on no hi- Happy Mother’s Day

Making recipes and memories

Drunk with the Japanese

Soccer with the protégées

Mail for my friends and families.

I write little one liner summaries of things I want to put together into a blog post. I started this one than realised it’s poetic as fuq. While I’m here I want to focus on being here so I thought I’d write a blog post every Wednesday because that’s a short day at the soccer club.. But this weekend was really great and I wanted to share as well.

Thus birthed “Poetic Interlude” no. ii

Performed by:  Raisha May Chamberlain

In the chord of E sharp

I’m not sure if E can even be sharp..

Anyways things are good, sake could kill a lion, but it’s good!

Sake is Japanese rice wine.

Peace and love to all my “tomodachi” <3

Twenty One

Yesterday I celebrated my annual recognition as a creature of this earth. I met my host family who I will be spending the next 3 weeks with, volunteering at a soccer camp and helping around their home in Nagoya (6 hrs from Tokyo by bus).  I got to the station nearest to them at around 7am the Dad picked me up in an electric blue van. ELECTRIC BLUE IS MY FAVOURITE COLOUR. I was feeling a mix of overwhelming excitement, tired and still being a bit backed up...(if you know what I mean...) So I was literally worried I’d explode.

Any nerves I felt were gone by the time we got to the house and I was introduced to their goat. He looked so happy and I was so happy and the home is so cute and rural and  I hadn’t slept much on the bus. It was my birthday. It was all so full of life. I managed fine keeping myself together.

They’re a young couple with 2 beautiful little girls and 3 dogs. Yoshi and Canna , kids and dogs names I’m still getting used to...We had breakfast and I met another “work away er” Yaree from Netherlands. It is the first work away experience for all of us! Which is really cool. I heard about work away from a friend I met in Bali. It is basically a site you subscribe to that connects travellers to volunteer experiences worldwide.

It is so nice to experience the suburban/country side of Japan. Tokyo is busy and fascinating but to be there for one month I think I would a bit much.  Nagoya is the 3^rd largest city in Japan and they live about 30 minutes by train to the city centre. It’s really refreshing here! We went for a walk with the dogs to a really big lake, the dogs played in the water, Yaree and Yoshi threw sticks for them to chase and I sat and played in the mud with the oldest of the two girls.

It’s interesting because she doesn’t speak any English. And the other girl is just a baby. They are so so so cute. I told her it is my birthday so she made a mud cake with candles and sang me happy birthday. I almost cried. It was the most precious moment of my life.

I’m helping with English as well as trying to learn a bit of Japanese. 2 things that are pretty well know are konnichiwa and sayonara. Hello and Goodbye.

I learned to introduce myself,

Hajimemashite “ha ji may ma she tay”- Nice to meet you

Watashi no namae wa Raisha, Kanada kara kimashita.- my name is Raisha I am from Canada!

Also important is (I’m not sure about spelling ) “E ta daki Mass”  which is a little grace said before meals.

Arigatou – thank you and I forget you’re welcome but “oshi” I use a lot it means delicious!

At the soccer club the kids are aged 6-13.  Most of them are better than me. Actually all of them are better than me. Like it’s incredible! Thank goodness for Yaree he is like 8 ft tall and athletic, so I don’t feel so bad that I’m not the best coach. I might be better helping Yoshi update his website!

So I’ve adjusted well and I think Japan is heaven on earth.

LIKE RIGHT NOW THIS JUST IN- I’m sitting on my little balcony and I hear Yoshi say “Raisha look” and he’s on the hill in the yard with the goat. Just chilling. awe man. THIS IS WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT.

With this new burst of life and love and mini existentialism I have had a lot of my mind. One huge thing being that this life I am living doesn’t have to be an escape. And second aside from sending mail, writing this blog or posting to other social media’s. I NEED to share this with as many people as possible.

I’ve finally harvested a crop to reap all this sown adventure into.

I am working on organising an exhibit to launch I return home.

Stay tuned.

It's The Little Things

Previously In Raisha’s World:

Raisha feels lost in translation at the start of her new adventure in Tokyo Japan. The language barrier between home and self, that is. Can she recover with the soothing sounds of Cotton Jones?

So I’m sitting in Yoyogi Park eating a potato. That is the moment I concurred this most recent burst of ‘my periodical existentialism’ (I’ve now accepted it as this). A Potato that arrived to my hosts door this morning. In one of two boxes of potatoes that she ordered from her friends market. My hosts name is Mikki. She’s born in Japan, recently spent 3 months travelling the world and channels her passion for life and culture into hosting people on couch surfing. She is so wise and natural in her personality it’s an absolute pleasure to have met her.

The boxes came as we were finishing breakfast. Mikki answered the door quickly and sat in the middle of the floor with these two cardboard boxes. They weren’t really large boxes but compared to the size of the kitchen and her excitement, it seemed like a big deal! I said ouuu what did you get. She stopped mid tape cut and exclaimed “Potatoes!”. This literally made my day.

Last night Mikki invited a couple, from France, over for dinner and made traditional Japanese food. Honestly I can’t remember how to pronounce any of the dishes. We had: sliced Carrots with a nice Homemade Dressing. Tofu, Fermented Soy Beans, Fried Tofu, Potatoes, Rice cakes and Grilled Beans. It was delicious and Japanese table settings are so precious.By the way I capitalised the foods to make up for not know the proper names. They really deserve some sort of recognition.

We had basically a mini porcelain buffet! Three beautiful trays in the middle of the table, at each person’s setting there was two small and cute dishes. Almost like a saucer. And a small bowl. Chopsticks are rested in front on a custom chopstick rester. Then you just put a few mouth fulls at a time on your dishes. If I had to describe Japan so far in four words I’d say: cute (so many tiny things!!), fashionable, mannered and clean (the streets and public transport are spotless).

THE FASHION IS AMAZING. Everyone is so uniquely put together. The colours, the fabrics, the range of styles and accessories. I spent most of my day today just people watching. Shamlessly. I even got people watched. In Yoyogi Park when I was just sitting two people asked to take a photo of me. Which was cool and because I hadn’t been asking anyone I just do it. Actually I want to add candid to the list. In the park especially, everyone is just having a great time. Dancing, freestyle rapping, bicycling, musicing , even blowing obnoxiously large bubbles.

Okay I’m also adding community to the list. Yesterday after dinner we went to a public bath. Let me just say bathing with people is one the most relaxing and liberating experiences. The most civil experience I’ve had given those three characteristics. Something about being naked with strangers/people I just met and just doing a common day activity. It was definitely a refresh.

Odly though when I woke up this morning I felt a bit blah. I looked like I hadn’t slept in 10,00 years.. which is weird because I felt like I slept 25,000 years after that bath.. I also think I gained 10lbs in the last 72 hrs. I was picking at my pimples. My tummy pudge is kind of cute, the double chin I’m still getting used to. I think traveler’s constipation is a thing. I’m not sure. You probably didn’t need to know but it’s slightly relevant to this tangent of blahness. Anyways...

This moment of blah was just before Mikki called me for breakfast. Then she got the potatoes. Then I got ready to go to Shibuya and while I was getting all fashion week in Tokyo. I remembered last night when we were on our way to the baths, this girl stopped to take a photo of someone’s doorway with umbrellas and a cute note and she said “ugh I feel like such a tourist”. I hate the word/being “tourist”. That being said I am shamelessly a tourist. Sometimes shame fully. I said to her “you can see 10,000 shrines or monuments, stay in lavish hotels but at the end you’re going to remember these little things”.

Here I am in TOKYO JAPAN. I have food, good people, enough money. And I’m worried about the signs on my skin that are but my own monuments of life. Woah is me. These little things get in the way. Of moments like Mikki’s pure ecstasy over a box of potatoes. Being naked in a common room with foreign people. Eating cake. Traditional foods. More cakes! So today I told myself to be a lifeist. (isn’t that sooo fucking clever!!)

One of the first wisdoms Mikki spoke unto my post-existential crisis ear was “I wake up every day and I do what I love”

I think I spent one year running away from home, making the world my home and forgetting I need to be at home in myself.

Okay I promise to be less existential the next two posts to give you a break.

<3 sushi and love <3

Going

My mom called me at 3am Tuesday, I told her I’m leaving for Japan that day so to let me know when she’s home. I was up at around 4am although my flight wasn’t until 10:30am. When I saw her missed call it made me laugh because it’s been one year and she still doesn’t grasp the time difference. Like at all.  Since I was awake before the sun or humans -rise I walked down the street, sat with a blanket, a cup of tea and called my mom back. People always tell me I talk really loud on the phone..(I think I get it from my mom actually)

It turned out to be a really distressing conversation that I wasn’t expecting. Not that I ever know what to expect with my mother. We argued about me going to Japan, I know and respect that as a mother she has the right to be worried. She just blows it wwwaaaaayyyyyy out of proportion to the point where the amount of negativity is too much for me to listen to, I had to hang up and have a meme intermission.

I called her back and she said “we must have got disconnected”. Yeaaha haha you could say that. I said “you won’t hear my voice for a month so let me actually tell you about my plans and stop talking to me like I’m stupid, I’m competent. I love you. Tell Threcia I’ll email her.”  Phone conversations with my mom vary from “how are you..yeah good.” “yeah me too” to a 45minute story of her setting a wasps nest on fire.. Like I said I never know what to expect from her. (btw That’s legit. I’m going to upload it to youtube if the wifi here allows me)

Then I called my Dad and that was cool, it’s always cool. Last call was to Vodaphone to set my plan to prepaid so I won’t pay the full months bills while I’m away. All together saving me $40. Booya. I also filed my taxes in Canada and found out I got cash dolla dolla bills . cha ching. I don’t have to live off my stock pile of granola bars while I’m in Japan! ANNNDDD when I got to the airport my flight was delayed so I got a food voucher. All content, competent and complete before noon. I did a little jig and ate a blt.

When I first got my visa and people asked “why Australia” I used to say my soul is in Australia and now I am but a vessel waiting to catch it..Half joking. Half serious. Now that my visa is done and thinking back on the year it’s more like %87.9 true and %12.1 joke.. Leaving Australia..especially the loft aka rustic zoo I actually felt more distraught than when I left Canada. In the plane I felt anxious and ended up spending like an hour in the bathroom just weeping and wailing. I couldn’t even fathom exactly why I was crying. Like I thought I was over the whole wanderlust in Australia emotion and it’s not like I’m not coming back..

I got back to my seat a snotty, swollen eyed wreck and listened to my favourite song on repeat until I fell asleep. Which is bitter sweet because the lyrics make me more emotional. With a soothing wave of grass roots and blues it is just exactly what I can’t put into words myself. The song is The River Strumming; Cotton Jones Basket Ride. It’s like a 9minute :07 second journey every time. It’s kind of a compilation of 3 songs and the part that gets me starts at 5:45 . If you want to transcend from my mind and words to my ears soul for a moment.

By probably the 23.786th time I was listening to the song the plane was descending and for the first time I saw lightning while on a plane!! To the sight of the beautiful majestic masses of air or water or mystery.. I mean clouds... and the uneasy yet stunning burst of lightning, I finally calmed down. In this perplexing moment of solitude I put in order my emotions with my most bestest metaphor to date.

One year ago today I was but a sprout, being transplanted from soil that wasn’t fertilising growth for me. My new vessel would be a custom fitted pot, with the perfect amount of sun and water. Flowers grew and now out grew this place as well. But it’s not the soil that determines the growth of my plant anymore, I am strong and blossomed. I have to love my roots and my branches. 

Japan for me is very much an excuse to prolong going home. Literally the space between these two soils I guess. The perfect intermediate. Now that I am here I am so so excited, still full of air plane food and still listening to that song, which I’m not sure is healthy at this point.. My favourite verse is the last one and it says

“I heard some silver song

dripping down from the sun

for the first time in my mind

it all was real.

I saw sunbeams bend

in the mouth of some friend

all along he's been asleep on

the spinning wheel.

I put all things where they belong

indeed I was right, indeed I was wrong....”

ps. I've been in Japan for about 7 hours , another 3 to go before I meet up with my host for my accommodation. That's about 19 more repeats of the song... just kidding. Stay tuned for uberly touristic pictures <3 :)

Brisbania (ft. The Things We Do For Love)

Whirl wind is the word of the day. A stirring air stream of people, places and things blowing through my atmosphere at all directions. I got back from Brisbane yesterday, laid down with my phone, looked at my calendar and the blurb for tomorrow says JAPAN!!! Holy shiitake .

I had started the weekend off en route to Brisbane. Friday I got to the airport ready for my 1:40 flight. 3 hours later it ended up being cancelled. 3 more hours of lines and angry passengers, I ended up with a free hotel and meals. It actually worked out in favour for my plans because my friend got to finish a big school assignment and I got a mini airport + hotel vacation.

Saturday I finally arrived in Brisbane to meet my long time friend from back home, Avery!! It was one of those movie moments when two people are looking for each other than run dramatically into each others arms. Except it wasn’t in a flower field or across a sculpture garden in New York, it was just outside of the bus stop and Woolworths. I think the first thing Avery said was “How cool is this, we’re walking.. IN AUSTRALIA.”

Avery and I basically grew up together. Born and raised in the same city. (Now traveled to the same places across the world!!) We went to the same elementary school, different high school though and I haven’t seen her since. It’s been about 4 years. To spend time catching up and sharing, I thought would be a really great opportunity to connect with an old friend and shift the flow of go go and woah woah between my travels. But the weekend turned out to be a lot more woah woah than I had expected.

*Interlude* I wrote this Friday and wasn’t sure what I wrote it for other than an assurance to myself that I can survive my own insanity. Enjoy.

“I think at this point if I tried to strive for any consistency or normality in life it would be too unnatural to adjust too. .chaos is like my; oxygen, gravity, dna, white and red blood cells...  This wisdom brought to you by me disembarking from a dormant aircraft I have been stuck on for 3 hours.”

I can actually summarise the weekend in 4 woahs.

1         1. Woah is me, flight turmoil in the beginning

2         2. Saturday and Sunday nights full of party woahs

3         3. Avery had a woahing relationship problem

4         4. Monday morning I missed my flight but they got my on the next available flight for free.

     Relationships are the axis of human existence. Relations with money, food, spirituality, people and what I keep learning is most important the relationship with oneself. Whether it’s regarding affairs of our human society or just the connections we share with others. If those decisions are not prepared with love in mind, than the results are not going to be fulfilling.

With an over abundance of recent “woahs” to point form into examples and a lack of time to get a few things done today, I just want finish this and say....

Seeing Avery this weekend was important for me because of the relation between us. To be with someone who is rooted with me yet we’ve blossomed in totally opposite directions. It was a good dose of home and a good  limbo between the next big branch on my tree. Hopefully she can say the same.. MUCH LOVE AVERY IF YOU'RE READING.  

A theme that has been my sunshine and fertiliser this year. The things we do for love.... Travelling worlds. Picking flowers. Breakfast in bed.. Voice memos. Swiping right. Just being present. Make sure to start with a self supporting, loving mind. It will be the best thing you can ever learn to do for all actions you’re involved it.