Shawn and I have settled in a bit and are having a more normal life here in Sapporo. Shawn did a great job of hunting down the extra furniture that we needed and planning a fun filled weekend last weekend.
We started off on Friday night with a visit to the German market in a park downtown. Sapporo's sister city is Munich and as a tribute, they host an outdoor German market every December
where you can enjoy German sausage and kraut and a glass of mulled wine. It was nice, and very Christmas-y so felt comfortable. The park is lit up with all kinds of Christmas lights (a welcome surprise here in Japan) and we took walk along the park among the lights. Above is a photo of Shawn and Santa at the market and another of the lights in the park.The next day, we went with some friends to the Sapporo Dome to watch a soccer match. That was fun and the fans were incredible. You would have thought, by the precision and relentlessness of the cheering that we were watching the final of the world cup - not a regular season division 2 match. To be honest, the quality of the play wasn't quite what I expected, but the fans and the Sapporo Dome were something to see. Here is a photo of the fans, who with impressive collective order and accuracy, spelled out words and sung numerous songs through the whole game.
The security at the Dome was also fun. We attended the game with a seasoned vetran (a postdoc from California) who advised us of what to expect at the game. Knowing our Canadian perspective, he advised us to buy a beer at the grocery store on the way to the game. He also told us that cans weren't allowed inside the Dome. I thought that we would smuggle these beers in... but no. The system is that you are provided as many plastic cups as you need at the security check and helpful security gaurds will assist you in pouring your beer into the provided cups, then sort your recycling for you. And of course, the cups are exactly the right size for one extra large can of beer. Funny!
The next day, Shawn bravely helped me to create a new office space. I have been totally disappointed with the "office" that I was provided with (it was small, crowded, dirty and I was beside the door and the food station where about a dozen students would walk in and out all day long and cook rice and re-heat curry).
Needless to say, I wasn't getting much work done and didn't like being there. Shawn and I took matters into our own hands on Sunday and re-organized some boxes that were stored in the research labo and cleaned a corner and made a makeshift office. The room is a little drafty, but at least it is quiet and private and I already feel like I will be more productive here. Above is a photo of me at my previous desk (Shawn was sly and took this without me knowing - I didn't actually want memories of the old office space preserved), and another of Shawn standing on my new desk and covering the hold in the window with a piece of tarp.
Overall, he has been far too good to me and has made me dinner, battled with the washer and washed laundry and sat with me over a glass of wine and tolerated my whine-ing.
I don't know what I will do once he has work and no longer has the time to be my full-time mental stability engineer and social co-ordinator. Here is a photo of us enjoying some Australian wine in our living room last night.
