All the Little Details: Korea & Japan

One thing I've missed is getting home from a vacation and being able to sit down with my family and flip through ALL the pictures while describing the subjects and telling all our favorite stories.  So this post will be an attempt to do that, with less pics.

Bathroom Business

Yes, I realize this is a weird topic.  But I was seriously impressed.  And it only took a couple days before I decided every country needs to learn from Korea and Japan.

Men's stall in Miryang, South Korea

• The electronic toilet with heated seating and remote-controlled bidet isn't new to me, but I did not expect almost every public bathroom in Korea & Japan to have them.  And, in addition to the motion-sensor flush, some restrooms even had motion-sensor soothing waterfall sounds to ensure auditory privacy and prevent peeing-in-public-shyness. 
• They also had toilet seat sanitizer, which is absolutely more environmentally friendly than the paper covers.  Some also required you to get your TP before entering the stalls--which I guess probably help limit how much is used (or puts you in an awkward situation).
  
• Speaking of environmentally friendly:  in the majority of public restrooms, flourescent lights were on near the mirrors and sinks, but the rest of the lights were off.  The light in each stall turns on only when your stall door is locked.  
• Handicapped bathrooms were genderless, HUUUUUGE, and if there were a hallway to the standard restrooms, the handicapped bathrooms were located immediately before the hall.  This is (weirdly) exciting to me as an OT for many, many reasons:  1) No one without special needs ever uses these restrooms, which means they are actually available and cleaner for those who truly need them  2) No need to struggle with navigating a wheelchair/walking device through a hallway, bathroom line, or around teens doing their hair in the mirror  3) The sliding doors are button-activated, thereby maximizing space and increasing accessibility for all!   Sigh...It was beautiful.
• Parent-friendly:  Men's restrooms (reportedly) have the occasional stall with baby-changing table and/or toddler toilet.  At least one stall in every women's restroom had a high-chair like seat attached to the wall for a 0-2 year old child.  And if there were several stalls in the women's restroom, there was also a little tiny urinal outside the stalls so moms can bring their young boys in with them.  In addition, every single bus and train station, museum, mall, etc. had a nursing room--usually within EACH restroom, but sometimes only within specified ones. I don't even have kids but could appreciate how much they catered to families.

Regional Foods

• Yuna introduced us to honey-butter flavored chips.  They're amazing, and my mouth is watering just thinking of them.  Please submit that flavor to Lays in the next flavor-creation contest.
• Green tea-flavored everything.  I personally don't care for this flavor if it's not the actual liquid in a cup, but Liban was head over heels for green tea ice cream, cake, and KitKats.  There is currently a bag of the KitKats in our fridge--just do not expect Liban to share.  

Robots

• They're not everywhere but are around a lot more than they are in the US.  The robots assist with your customer service needs, take (and edit) your picture at tourist attractions for a fee, and might be your waitress if you go to an expensive restaurant.  (We didn't as we are cheap).
• At Miraikan, one of Tokyo's science museums that focuses on the new innovations, we saw a robot that imitated the human body quite closely.  Between "her" eyebrows raising up and nose twitching, hand gestures, and skin that is a little squishy like human skin, it was a little bit weird and futuristic.
• The same museum had a Honda robot that has more motor skills than some of my previous OT clients. It could do sign language to a song, kick a ball at a target, and hop on one foot.  I predict a connection between this and helping kids with autism learn gross motor skills in physical therapy. 

Random Thoughts

• Why ALL the photos are of only me:  Liban uses his phone to take approximately 10 photos a year, but put him on vacation and he turns into a professional photographer and refuses to be the subject of 95% of the photos I attempt to take of him.  While traveling, he decided he "needs" a Go-Pro and a drone to continue his newfound (*temporary*) passion.  So, Mom, there's his Christmas list for the next 3 years.
• Did we like the food in Korea? YES.  The spice, the kimbap=all delicious. Did we like the food in Japan? Yes, for a few days.  Then we drooled on every street that had an Indian restaurant because we really really missed our masala.
• South Korea is OBSESSED with coffee shops.  Near transport hubs, there might be 8 coffee shops lined up next to each other with nothing in between.  
• Japan's koi ponds are picturesque, and I want one.  
  
• Most neighborhoods have these random little outdoor "gyms."  I played on a few to try to understand the physical benefit but found none other than momentum and balance.  At one point, we sat and watched a middle age lady on one because her legs were basically flying.
  

First, Next, Then?

I'm a planner.  I always have 30 or so "next steps" in my head.

For example:
-At the end of the month, we are visiting Vietnam
-Then Thailand
-Then back to Chennai
-Then to Delhi to see Vickie & Anurag. . . and bargain in broken Hindi for sarees at Sarojini
-Then back to Chennai
-Then to the US in January
-Apply for renewal of greencard & my new Indian visa status
-Work a travel OT job approximately Jan-April
-Receive green card & Indian visa
-Head immediately back to Chennai
-Apply for adoption in India (Finally!)
-Buy all the little girl things because Liban finally might let me
-Wait on the emotional roller coaster until we receive specifics
-Go meet little girl and be a teary mess
-Bring little girl home and Skype everyone

It's bad, I know.  
Liban's the total opposite and my planning or "dreaming" often just makes him (lovingly) roll his eyes.  But I can't help it.  I took a Strengths test in college, and "futuristic thinking" is essentially my number one strength.  It's great:  I always have dreams and goals and strive to achieve them.  But just because I've stared at maps and planned 29 tentative backpacking trips around Europe doesn't mean I expect all of them to come true.  God's been gracious enough to give me the gift of adapting these dreams and goals based on circumstances, and that allows me to be functional!

Why do I tell you all of this? Well, ever since we planned to come to India, there was basically only the unknown, and sometimes that is tough.  We prayed God would close the doors to the finances, the timing, to Chennai, to housing, etc. if us coming here was not in His Will.  But no doors seemed to close.  Yes, the summer was chaotic:  moving out of our duplex, understaffing at work, my wreck, car shopping due to said wreck, other car struggling to survive, family health issues, and my grandpa passing away.  At one point in the midst of all that, I wondered if God was saying "no."

But He provided a rental until He provided a reliable, affordable car at a lot.  He provided a buyer for Liban's non-highway-driveable car 45 minutes after it was posted on Craigslist.  God arranged every piece to fall into place so that we could move into our (huge) apartment the day we landed in Chennai, which was the day after he moved out.  And on top of all that, the day I realized our Korea/Japan trip was going to be significantly more than we'd budgeted for, I got the email from the insurance company quoting more than I expected to receive.  (Thanks for all the sushi, Farm Bureau! I still wish I could carry a backpack without my cartilage popping in and out, but I'll take what I can get.)

He's been good, and He will continue to be good.  He's had a plan and He knows the future.  So, I just ask that you pray with us as we wait to learn our next steps in His timing.

-Discernment in our current job hunting for those few months in the US
-Wisdom and clarity in whatever-Liban-is-supposed-to-do-work-wise when we return to India
-Learning Tamil, and patience while doing so
-Discernment in partnering with ministries (or not?) as an OT? English tutor?
-Speed and peace within the green card/visa processes
-Favor and smooth sailing within everything adoption-related
-My "grandma" Barb as she is battling cancer & everyone else as they are hurting during this time

Settling In

Almost 2 weeks ago, we flew from Tokyo back to Malaysia, where I watched Liban sleep for 6 hours (because sleeping on Air Asia airplanes is the worst, excluding the Royal Air Maroc planes that have duct tape around the emergency exit windows.)   Then we had a short flight to Kerala, which is where Liban spent most of his summers as a kid.

The city of Kochi is like a typical Indian city, with just a little more space to breathe.  But we spent a couple days meeting relatives in rural Kerala, and it was pretty neat to see the more tropical, local side of India. For example, Liban's uncle showed us around the family rubber tree farm and how they remove the sap.  I wanted to see how sticky it was because it looks like Elmer's glue, but Liban wouldn't let me, nor would he let me poke it with a stick.

We stayed with Liban's uncle's family one night, and the two little girls in the family were so excited to have me stay with them. They were so excited that they literally said nothing to me, just stared at me.    (I wish I could say this is because I'm super cool or gorgeous, but it's just because I'm white. At one point, they also each reached up and gently touched my hair to see if it felt like theirs.)  Eventually, we went to a toy store and bought some Legos and Chutes & Ladders so that we could do something other than stare at me. We had quite a bit of fun after that.  In the morning, the girls made sure I walked them out to meet the "school bus" (an SUV of 12+ children), and the whole bus burst out in giggles at the sight of me.  

Other random thoughts:  The houses in Kerala are generally HUGE for Indian standards and occasionally also for American standards.  There is also space in between the buildings, which I didn't really know was possible to have within an Indian city.  Kerala also has red bananas, which are regular banana-colored on the inside but have red peels. 

This next picture is just something we saw on the way from one village to another.  The super curvy roads didn't have a ton of traffic, so we were going fairly fast (for Indian roads).  I kept waiting (and hoping, just a little bit) for the truck to tip over towards the right.  I just wanted to see what the cows would do with their heads straight up in the air. . .




After our week in Kerala, we finally arrived in Chennai, got our keys, and began the process of moving into our apartment.  We started with 2 carry-ons' and 3 suitcases' worth of stuff, and now we have a mostly-furnished kitchen, washing machine, internet, and actual furniture.  Overall the apartment is really nice and overlooks a park-to-be, which is currently a dirt plot used for soccer practice and/or cows to chill out.  The apartment is also absolutely way bigger than what we actually need, which means 1) you should probably come visit us 2) we need a dog, and 3) I'm even more ready to adopt a little girl.