The Cold Draws In...

...well, it's been here for a while now, really. Yep, the days of sweating buckets without moving a muscle seem to be but a distant memory as those of us in Japan break out the blankets, crank up the heaters and try to get used to the vision of our breath condensing in midair indoors when we get out of bed in the morning.

It's not as if winter here is even that cold, at least not in the Kansai region - certainly not when I compare it to what's been going on in the UK lately. The problem is, with the buildings. With little more than paper protecting one from the elements, you're almost no better off outside than in. Much as I appreciate that I'm less likely to be killed by substantial pieces of masonry falling on my head during an earthquake as a result of this, what I don't appreciate at all is the hellish 7am dash to the bathroom across my bitterly cold kitchen.

My only sources of heat are my three trusty portable electric heaters. Thing is, they take a while to get going and for safety reasons, cannot be left on all night. What happens then? I get a cold. While sleeping. So far, this has led to me having to take an afternoon off work (after snuffling my way through the marking of the students' oral English exams, trooper that I am) and spending one of the most depressing weekends I can remember, bedridden and reading the latest H*rry P*tter (I needed something relatively undemanding to read through my facial gauze of mucus). If you read this Sarah, I'm not being snooty - cheers for lending it to me, I appreciate it. Honest.

Anyway, what I did find interesting about securing the first sick leave I've taken since arriving in Japan, was how the other teachers seemed so concerned about how I ought to see a doctor. For a common cold? No, it can be ably treated with plenty of imported Lemsip (cheers mum) and a great deal of sleep, preferably not in temperatures approximating those of a household fridge. I swear, I was this close to answering their advice with "Well, unless he or she is going to come round my flat to install central heating and cavity wall insulation, I can't really see how that would help me." Grrr....

The only region of Japan that even thinks of including double-glazing on most of its houses is sub-zero Hokkaido island, way up north, which is fair enough. They get a whole ton of snow every year, so to expect its citizens to live in residences such as mine would be almost tantamount to human rights abuse. The people I feel really sorry for are those with larger apartments that are harder to heat (the only time of year I'm not otherwise bitterly jealous of them) and those poor sods who live at the very northern tip of Honshu island. No government-sanctioned housing insulation for them, just ice forming in their bathrooms, which I’ve genuinely heard happen to some JETs up there. Believe me, you have my utmost sympathies…

Right, enough bitching about the weather. I never stop whinging about the summer, never stop complaining about winter, mutter grumble, mrmrmrmhrr...