Look around, look around!

Back in January we did one the best things we've ever done in Tokyo - a puzzle scavenger hunt in and around the Tokyo Metro. We were super excited to find out that it was back with all new adventures and puzzles! And, once again, the Tokyo Underground Mysteries did not disappoint!

Many other people doing the same thing we were doing - trying to interpret a series of windows!

We got a late start in our day, so we started with lunch while we figured out the first puzzle and then we were off!

Fried rice (chahan) from Pepper Lunch

Godzilla Road with Godzilla in the background!

Subway buddies!

Once again, my favorite part was the mystery train ride. We got on a the train, per instructions, and then had to answer questions solvable only during the ride between each stop until we knew where to get off next.

Watching the board for answers and clues

Puzzle book in one hand, train handle in the other, pencil had to go somewhere!

Not a puzzle, just an amusing sign outside of a restroom

Dialing for a clue

Chocolate pecan waffle break

Found an excellent view of the Shibuya crossing!

It took us a little longer this time, but we worked well together and definitely wouldn't want to do this alone. Once we'd acquired all the clues, we headed home, took a break, ate Thanksgiving Dinner Part Deux, and then spread everything out on the dining room table to solve the final puzzle. It took some trial and error and even a little serendipity, but we did it!

More windows = more clues

Hooray!

For those in the Tokyo area or visiting before the end of January, I highly recommend this adventure!

All the Ajax in the world ain't gonna clean your dirty laundry

The experienced Thanksgiving cook knows that it's best to spread the cooking and baking over multiple days. To that end, I spent several hours today doing just that - toasting bread for stuffing, baking a pie and a tart, making ice cream batter to cool in the fridge overnight, and making laundry soap.

Okay, so the laundry soap isn't for eating. I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure soap, Borax, and washing soda should not be ingested. It just happens to be time for me to make it again.

Ice cream batter

I've actually been making my laundry soap for several years now. For a while, I was making the base goop and then adding a whole bunch of water and storing it in 5 gallon buckets. The mixture didn't blend well and was never quite even. It worked, but how much actual soap was going into the wash was inconsistent. Finally, moving to Japan and having my own laundry room (instead of basement communal coin laundry or a laundry closet like in the last two places I lived) inspired me to make a change and just make the laundry goop base, stop there, and store it in quart jars. Less time to make and the results are much more consistent. I use one tablespoon per load and I eventually found the perfect spoon just long to scrape the bottom of the jar.

Toasted bread for stuffing

For the curious - this is the recipe I use. I only have to make a new batch every few months, but your laundry needs may vary.

Lemon meringue pie (left) and pumpkin-chocolate tart (right)

My favorite part is when I get to blend it all up. Before that part, it's half liquid, half solid and not useful. But put it on the blender (a standard quart sized jar fits a standard blender), press the button, and a few seconds later - fwoompf - it is suddenly laundry goop. It's very satisfying kitchen science.

Kitchen science in progress!

My friend, the dictionary, is a very reliable friend

Several years ago, back when I was still in undergrad, I was part of a Utah-based theater lovers message board, Players Anonymous. Our membership was largely comprised of community theatre practitioners in the Utah and Salt Lake valleys. It was an opportunity to keep up to date about auditions and performances and other opportunities in the area, but also a place for general socializing. Eventually, mostly with the rise of Facebook, the boards went the way of much of the internet, and I'd moved out of Utah anyway. I enjoyed my time as a part of this group and met many people who affected my life in many ways, but that's not the point of this post.

My name on this board was Stretch Armstrong, based on the doll - not the band, or Stretch for short, which is where I get the AmandaStretch I largely go by now online. For a little while on the board, I created a weekly feature called "Stretch's Word Corner" where I'd make up silly words and their definitions. I don't remember any of them anymore - nothing really took off, but it was an amusing diversion for me.

I don't remember how I came up with any of the words. Some of them I worked on, some of them were probably happy accidents, like chocolate chip cookies - one of the world's best accidental inventions, but with far less cultural significance and staying power.

Words get made up all the time, at least in English. It's a living language, after all. Merriam-Webster added 841 new words to its dictionary this year alone!

I don't know if it will become part of the dictionary anytime soon, but Blake accidentally coined a new word, a clever portmanteau, this week that we really like - packanizing.

There's packing - put stuff in bags or boxes for travel or moving.

There is organizing - shifting things around to new locations within a permanent/semi-permanent space.

Packanizing is both! Blake has both to do this week, and when mentioning them on his to do list, he accidentally combined the words and it was a perfect description of the task ahead - a little packing of things to take with him, a little organizing of things to leave at home.

So, if you find it fits in your own life, you're welcome to use it too! Maybe it will take off and make the dictionary one day. Or maybe it will just make your life easier instead of saying packing and organizing separately all the time. You just might save several seconds of time over the course of your life.

Two nerds in love at a library on a vacation to Australia

Where do we go from here?

On Saturday, January 13, Blake and I embarked on what is probably one of my favorite Tokyo adventures thus far - The Underground Mysteries! It's a scavenger hunt using the Tokyo Metro and nearby sites. You have to find things around the city to solve puzzles and figure out your next destination. They offer the game in both Japanese and English, thank goodness. For the locals reading this, it's available until the end of the month!

Part of a puzzle!

For us, it took somewhere around 4-5 hours, including a couple stops for snacks and lunch (during which we worked out the latest puzzle). We saw a lot of Japanese couples and friends and a handful of Western families doing it as well, and it was always a good sign we were on the right track when we ran into a bunch of other people with puzzle kits doing the same things we were doing.

Puzzle kit! Each participant has to buy one and it includes a 24 hour pass to the Tokyo Metro

Snack break! Cupcake like thing filled with a layer of vanilla custard and a layer of strawberry jam. Yum!

Another part of the puzzle!

Puzzle solving lunch break!

More clues!

My favorite parts were the couple of times we got on a train and didn't know where we were heading. We were just following instructions to get on the next train at a particular platform and go to the next stop or, even better, to follow clues along the way and get off when certain clues were observed. I loved the mystery!

On the train!

Blake's favorite part was a puzzle that involved "reading" some stone pillars of varying heights. He started reading them so fast I stopped trying to keep up and stuck with verifying that his interpretation made sense.

We really enjoyed doing this together too - what would stump one of us was usually solved by the other and we just generally make a really good team. As much as I am into solo adventures sometimes, this wouldn't have been a good one. I am also grateful for the opportunity to work on navigating the Tokyo Metro without our smart phones! Instead, we only used the map and clues provided. The Metro alone isn't too bad, but you add the JR and Keikyu lines and other municipal and private train companies, it leads to a whole bunch of options that really confusing really quickly. Smartphones are a lifesaver for sure, but it's nice to do it without one when we can.

Not great on the detail, but one of the final clues!

If they do another one this fall (and I'm subscribed to their email newsletter to find out) - we are in!

It doesn't matter if you're black or white

The first time I saw a live panda in person, I was 17. My dad had a business trip to San Diego and I think it was summer time, so, at his invitation, I took time off work and tagged along! We spent a day at the San Diego Zoo (which is a great zoo anyway) and visited the panda exhibit three times. Each time a different panda (Mom, Dad, or the cub) was active, so it was worth the multiple trips. I also went a little crazy at the gift shop, adding to a collection of panda things that had been growing since I was 2 years old. For more on the origins of why I love pandas and my panda collection, click here.

I moved to D.C. five years later, which was around the time that zoo had a cub (Tai Shan) as well and the Smithsonian National Zoo was free. So, I went a lot to that zoo. First stop was pretty much always the pandas and I took a couple of dates and all my visitors there, in addition to the trips I made on my own. After Bao Bao was born, I got to be among the first of the general public to meet him and I thought my heart was going to explode just being a part of that debut.

That is, until our first full day in Chengdu, when we went to the Panda Research Base and I saw 56 pandas in one day. A whole compound just for pandas - giant and red! But let’s be honest, we totally skipped the red pandas. Because giant pandas!

As soon as our friends from our congregation in Alexandria got news they would be getting their first Foreign Service post to Chengdu, I knew I wanted to visit them and the pandas - 80% of the world’s pandas are in research centers in Chengdu. When we got our assignment to Japan a year later, I knew this trip was more than just a hopeful dream! In fact, flying both of us to China was the same price as flying one of us to the US, so we’re able to stick to our guns about not coming back and traveling the world instead. We weren’t sure when it would happen, but we knew they would be leaving early 2018, so we starting scheming. With some of Blake’s assignments away and even a possible deployment, we realized I may be going to China on my own, but ultimately it worked out that we could both go AND do it to celebrate being married for five years!

We found pandas! Also, the air was really bad in Chengdu, so we wore masks a lot.

The one panda decided they wanted this bamboo, even if it meant sitting on the other panda

So, the other panda got the heck out of there

We took a cab and got to the panda base right as it opened at 7:30 in the morning. Pandas like cold weather and they are most active first thing in the day, so we knew it would be the best chance to see them in action. It was actually still dark when we arrived, and we hiked up the hills with some of the employees. Most of the buildings were still closed at first, so instead of trying to plan which areas we’d hit first, we just started wandering.

This way to pandas!

Ultimately, we saw pandas of all ages - babies, adolescents, and adults. I’ve heard there were approximately 50 pandas at this base, so I’m pretty confident we saw most, if not all, of them. I kept my cool most of the time, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t skip through park at least a little bit. The temperature was cool, but comfortable, and the pandas were just super adorable. The Panda Kindergarten was closed for construction, but we saw baby pandas elsewhere. Not enough were rolling around or going down slides, but that’s okay. At least one still seemed to be figuring out how to walk, so that was pretty cute. Sadly, they have indefinitely suspended the opportunity to hold pandas here, but there is another base farther away that has the opportunity to pay to volunteer for day and directly interact with pandas as part of it. Our Chinese visas are good for ten years, so. . .

Tree pandas! Blake didn't realize that pandas are excellent climbers before this visit.

I got a stick!

Really though, if we never make it back here, I will be alright. Until recently, this much panda time was merely a wish anyway, and now that has come true!

I also kept it pretty mild when it came to souvenirs. At this point, my collection has been growing for more than 30 years, so a panda thing has to be pretty interesting or different for me to want to buy it. (I will still always happily accept panda gifts of any kind.) Blake actually bought the first thing - a coin to add to his challenge coin rack. I got a keychain (of course), a Sichuan opera toy that changes faces - including a panda, and panda ears!

I try to generally keep my panda love in check. It certainly hasn’t overwhelmed my lifestyle, decor, or clothing - most days. They are not my only interest in the world. But that day in Chengdu will go down as one of the best, most self-fulfilling days of my life. Hooray pandas!

I'm a survivor! I'm not gonna give up!

I really love the Olympics. You can actually find a lot more of my commentary about them on Eilonwy's blog, as we've made it a tradition to transcribe our conversations about them, whether we watch near or far from each other. It was so exciting to watch the closing ceremonies in Rio last year, when they did the official hand off to Tokyo for the 2020 summer games, because I was in the midst of preparations to move there myself! Unfortunately, and I knew this then too, we will likely be leaving before the Games themselves, as we expect to be heading to our next duty station in fall 2019. I recently saw my first call for Olympic volunteers and got bummed that I wouldn't be here to do it. Still, I figured I'd keep an eye out for test events or other opportunities to be involved in the lead up to the games. So, when the American Red Cross (with which I am officially signed up to volunteer with - all paperwork and briefings and such) on base sent out a call for volunteers for an emergency preparedness drill at a future Olympic site, I dropped everything else I had going on during that time and signed up!

I can actually read the word "sailing" on this banner!

The drill was this morning out in Enoshima, an island we love to visit in nearby in Sagami Bay, where they will have Olympic sailing. Team 1 did a drill to simulate a bomb attack at a train station closest to the event.

Train station, prepping for the drill

Future victims, lining up and waiting for their assignment

I was on Team 2, and we simulated a sarin gas attack at the actual yacht club where they will hold the event. Of course, given the option between being an actual victim who would fall and have to be transported to care and safety instead of just running and screaming away, I definitely opted for the more dramatic.

Everything beyond the rope is observation - media, military, emergency personnel

Pretending to just hang out in the yacht club, but really waiting for the drill to start

It's a beautiful location, some of the best sailing and wind-surfing in Japan. You could also see Fuji today, but I couldn't get a photo.

The attack has begun! These were the first victims and our cue to start.

Amanda down!

And since I really couldn't take photos after that (until I was cleared medically), here's how it went down. I waited on the ground for close to 30 minutes. It went rather quickly, but I bet it would feel like an eternity if it were reality. Emergency personnel finally arrived in hazmat suits, which would get less serious the farther away I got from ground zero (from huge suits to just basic masks and everything in between). Eventually, one of them came behind me, hooked his arms under mine, and then started dragging me to the exit.

My pants tried to stay where I had fallen. Once they had slid past my bum, and I was given a chance as my rescuer was readjusting, I pulled them back up and tried to keep them from doing that again. Soon, someone had my feet and my legs weren't dragging anymore. My apologies to everyone who saw my underwear. In a real emergency, none of us would really care.

I then laid on the balcony outside of the room of the attack for several minutes. Being right on the water, in the shade, and with a breeze, I was getting pretty cold and shivery, so I was pretty glad when a couple more rescuers rolled me onto a flexible plastic stretcher thing (kind of like an open top body bag), tucked my feet into a pocket, buckled a helmet on my head, and dragged me down the stairs. Then the sun was in my eyes, but I wasn't shivering anymore. From there, I got put into a stiff orange stretcher to wait outside of decontamination and another orange stretcher into the decontamination tent. This is where it wouldn't have mattered if my pants had come off earlier, because in real life, I would have been stripped and showered here. For the purposes of the drill, I just had to remove my hoodie. Outside of the tent, I got one more final check and was sent to hang out and wait in the survivor area, finally walking under my own power. Apparently I missed getting to ride in ambulance, even just around the block - maybe I should have been more dramatic.

Overall, it was a really interesting experience and, pants situation excluded, actually pretty fun! It was all Japanese emergency personnel and most of the other victims were medical students (maybe from pre-med high schools though), but they wanted a few non-Japanese speakers to help prepare for that eventuality. We had about ten Americans at each site. If I were really attacked with sarin gas, I probably wouldn't have been so calm. I started out crying, but since we mostly just waited for 30 minutes, that's a long time to fake cry. By the time I was getting help, I recognized that if I knew was getting help, it's entirely possible I would wait quietly if I could. That's just how I am.

Another interesting note was that a lot the personnel would ask me, in English, if I was okay when they approached me. I always answered "Okay." When someone, several steps in, asked it in Japanese ("Daijoubu desu ka?"), I responded in Japanese ("Daijoubu desu"). But when they reacted with pleasant "Oh! Nihongo o hanashimasu ka?" (Do you speak Japanese?), all I recognized in the moment was "Nihongo" (Japanese) and just stared at him. "A little" I finally squeaked out, in English. Under normal circumstances, I would have been able say "Sukoshi" (a little), but for all intents and purposes, the answer at this point to whether or not I spoke Japanese was a definite "Nope!" Anything I can automatically say, like excuse me (sumimasen) or alright (daijoubu), came out, but anything I had to think about even a little? Definitely not. This would likely be the case in a real emergency as well.

If I never get another opportunity to help prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, at least I had this! I had a great time and I think that with some more practice over the next three years, they will be well equipped to handle emergencies that may come up. Hopefully, they never have to.