small pleasures

there are many insignificant things that occur in my day to day life that give me unwarranted amounts of joy. you know how in amelie, each character gets a sequence in which the narrator describes the quirky little happenings that give him or her pleasure? like the sound of the cat's milk bowl clinking on tile, cracking the top of creme brulee with a spoon, or dipping one's hand into a bag of seeds? i've developed a lot more of my own since coming to japan! my secret indulgences:

1. watching tanaka-sensei, the music teacher, change the schedule on the chalkboard in the teacher's office every day. first, she very deliberately erases the board. the japanese erasers are delightful all on their own. each is like a little board with a fluffy black pillow affixed to it. so anyways, she erases the board, then cleans the eraser in the chalk-sucking machine, which always reminds me of the friday afternoons in elementary school when i would clap the erasers or run them over the machine in the janitor's closet, happy to be out of class.

she then erases the board again, and cleans the eraser again, slowly. it's like watching some sort of mysterious chalkboard ritual! the board is pristinely blank once she begins to write the kanji. i love watching her write the kanji. she always writes it perfectly.

(sudden epiphany: this all sounds a bit voyeuristic and creepy. it's not like that, i swear! or is it...)

2. the teachers' meetings. i really savor the opportunity to just sit there, not having to pay attention to anything, but just looking around at everyone and daydreaming.

3. the wooden bathroom slippers. so as not to contaminate other floors, bathrooms are equipped with special slippers you change into once you step over what i can only determine is the "cleanliness threshold." the slippers in the seiun bathroom are clunky, 2-inch-high wooden affairs that clack on the floor. i like the funny noise they make, how pointlessly tall they are, and how silly i look while wearing them.

4. how everyone gives and receives everything (papers, gifts, pens, etc) with two hands. i do it, too. it just feels very unnatural and very satisfying, all at once.

5. now that it's october, my bike ride home. when i leave school in the late afternoon, the sun is still shining, and it's lovely and cool outside. i love feeling the pull in my legs and the sun warming my hair as i ride closer and closer to my habitual milk tea!

6. the feel of tatami under my feet. it's very soft, and i like it's slightly sweet smell. with every step, you can feel it give a little bit, which pleases me for no reason whatsoever.

7. express trains. i like local trains, too, but express trains are, dare it say it? luxurious. when i get to sit by myself at a window for a train ride, listening to music and watching japan roll on by, i just feel...complete. like i have everything i could ever want!

and maybe i do.

except a pony. and a promising career! jokes!

pleasantly,
lilly