TMI: Health Update (Bodily Functions and Such) and Japanese Hospital

Warning: This post while focusing on my experience at a Japanese Hospital, also talks a lot about bodily functions and stomach problems.



   Travelling abroad often comes with health problems for many people. Whether it involves food poisoning, broken bones, diseases, etc. Personally, I tend to get mediocre luck when it comes to travel-related maladies. Upon arriving in Japan, I honestly wondered what sort of health crisis I might experience. This week, I experienced an almost mundane but dangerous condition known as "constipation."
   First of all, Japan is very hot right now in terms of weather, and while I thought I had been drinking plenty of fluids and eating well, I found out that I underestimated how much water I actually need to be drinking: in order to keep up with the amount of sweat that I lose from sweat. I've always had some bowel issues (usually due to stress), but this past weekend, for the first time, I experienced Japanese hospital culture.
   Let me explain what happened to me first and why I decided to go to the hospital. On Sunday, some friends and I went to Tokyo and while I felt completely fine that morning, later that afternoon, I felt an intense pain in my left abdomen. It was like no pain I had ever felt before and after about an hour and a half, it was only relieved by vomiting. After that, like the trooper I am, we continued our Tokyo trip. I opted to skip dinner though because I did not want to upset my stomach anymore. Later that evening, as we rode the train from Tokyo back to Oyama, the same pain started up again. This time, there was no relief. I couldn't find a comfortable seating position, I just had to swallow the pain and muscle through it for the 1-2 hour trip back to Oyama. Again, I've had stomach pain before, but this was more intense than anything I had ever experienced. I was very concerned but decided I would wait till morning to contact the Hakuoh International Office and then try and go see a doctor. On the way back to my apartment we stopped at a convenience store to get some water. I had been unable to keep any food down, but I was trying to stay hydrated.
   Once back at my apartment, I slowly sipped water and waited for the pain to relax a bit so that I could lay down and sleep. After about an hour, I threw up again. This time, it was just clear vomit. That honestly helped the pain and I was able to sleep. I skipped classes that day because I didn't trust my condition and contacted the office. Later that afternoon, I was picked up and we went to the hospital.
   At the hospital, we put my Japanese National Insurance Card in a little box and waited for the front desk to call my name. We then, filled out "new patient paperwork" and were called back to another waiting room. Once there, we got to see the doctor and the international office employee translated for me as I explained my situation. The doctor advised that I get abdominal X-rays, so we went back out to the waiting room and sat until we were called in to the X-ray room. By this time, my abdomen was hurting again. After the X-rays, we waited and were called back into the Doctor's room. He said everything seemed fine, but I was just constipated. He advised that I either get and enema or take prescription laxatives. I politely declined the enema and opted for laxatives.
   After that decision, he also said that since I hadn't been able to eat or drink substantially in the past 24 hours, I would have to receive and IV drip with fluids and vitamins. This took about an hour. Finally, I was able to check out of the hospital. Because I have Japanese insurance the whole experience there cost $27.
   We then went to the pharmacy to pick up my medicine. Five days worth of four different medicines (two laxatives, pain medicine, and fever medicine) cost about $10.
    It's been about two days now since that and I already feel better. I'm drinking a lot more water (to compensate for sweat loss), eating brown rice instead of white (white rice apparently causes constipation), and making sure I eat more fiber. While I would never want to experience this again, I'm happy that I was able to experience a hospital here in Japan as well as have support from all my friends here as I get better.

Catch Up: Golden Week

Hello friends and family! I'm really sorry for the delay in my blog posting. School got pretty busy and I was enjoying social time with friends a lot. Plus, figuring out a new schedule and expectations is pretty busy. The next few days, I hope to catch you up on what I've been doing. This post will be exclusively about what I did the first week of May: which was a whole week-long vacation from school. While I spent much of the time relaxing and doing homework, I also went with a friend to Nikko (which is a few hours north of here) for a hot spring and hiking adventure!

For those of you who don't know, Nikko is a small town in northern Tochigi Prefecture known for being a historical heritage site. There are lots of Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines. Plus, there's lots of scenic natural settings. We woke up early and road a train to Nikko and to save money decided to walk from the station to the main temple complex. At the entrance to the temple complex, there is a beautiful sacred bridge.


Again, these temples in Nikko are considered a World Heritage Site, so it's a major tourist destination for local Japanese people as well as foreigners.


We wandered around the temples and shrines and took lots of pictures of the historic landmarks.

After walking a lot and seeing a lot, we returned to Nikko Station and boarded a smaller local train for an onsen hotel. It was about an hour away and in the middle of no where, but it was a nice relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of Nikko and even Oyama (not that Oyama is hustling and bustling). We enjoyed a large buffet dinner and an indoor and outdoor hot spring bath.

The next day, we woke up, ate a buffet breakfast and headed back to Nikko. Once there, we rode a bus through the winding roads to Chuzenji Lake. We walked around a bit and then bought boat tour tickets. After the beautiful boat tour, we walked to Kegon Falls. After that adventure, we boarded the bus back for Nikko and returned via train to Oyama. It was a fun travelling experience and I hope to go back to Nikko to do more hiking!

My Apartment: Photos

While I posted this pictures on Facebook, here is a virtual tour of my apartment!

Entryway; Here is where I take off my shoes to enter my apartment.

After the entryway, there is a short hallway.

Looking from my living area down towards the entryway: to the left is the kitchen and bathroom. To my right, is a door that closes my living area off from the rest of the apartment.

Here is my bathroom: tub/shower, sink, and toilet! 

Kitchen: I have a tiny mini fridge and one hotplate/induction stove top. I recently bought a rice cooker too.

Looking from the hallway into my bedroom/living area.

Here is my bed. It folds out/into from the wall/cabinets. 

Here is my desk area as well as my window/door out to my clothes drying patio. 

Week 3

Sunday:

     Sunday, being the day before classes start, was a day of bittersweet freedom and relaxation (as well as preparation). There was a ramen festival in downtown Oyama, but when we got there the lines were so long that we ended up eating at the train station instead. However, after that, we went to a local park and participated in the cherry blossom festival. This basically consists of sitting outside on a picnic blanket, eating and drinking, and people watching (as well as looking at cherry blossoms).

Monday: First Day of Classes!

       9-10:30 ~ Japanese Intermediate A

Even though this class is called “intermediate,” it is actually for advanced level students.  However, I am going to try and take it to further my fluency.

      10:50-12:20~ Japanese IA

      1:00-2:30~ Japanese IIA

Japanese IA and IIA are actually intermediate classes. They both use the same textbooks and are basically a “single” class (just separated into two sessions).

Tuesday:

      9-10:30~ Life in Japan A

      10:50-12:20~ Life in Japan B

                These two classes are basically culture classes taught in Japanese.

     2:50-4:20~ Intercultural Understanding

This class is taught in fluent Japanese and is basically an anthropology and sociology class. We’ll be focusing on English speaking cultures and comparing them with Japanese thought.

Wednesday

     2:50-4:20~Economic English

This is an advanced English class. We were encouraged to take this class in order to support and/or provide conversation practice to the Japanese students taking the course. There is a lot of English reading in this class, so it provides a needed break from the Japanese-heavy course load.

Thursday

      9:00-10:30~Japan in the World A

      10:50-12:20~Japan in the World D

                These classes combine learning Japanese culture with also learning grammar.

     1-2:30~ Japanese IIIA

                Yet another advanced Japanese class that I decided to take.

     2:50-4:20~Japanese Intermediate B

                An easy class. I decided to take it though because extra review is always good.

     4:40-6:10~Japanese Culture in English

                This is, again, a class taught in English (see Economic English).

Friday

     On Friday, I did some laundry and homework. Then I went to my first club meeting! I decided the join the Shorinji Kempo club here at Hakuoh. Since I’ve done karate in the past, I thought it would be a good way to meet other Japanese university students as well as get a workout. This class has long meetings. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, they meet 5 PM to 8 PM. Then on Saturdays, they meet 1-5 PM. I will get a lot of exercise and practice!

Saturday

      On Saturday, I did a bit of homework in the morning, and then went to Shorinji Kempo in the afternoon (1-5 PM!). After that, I relaxed with some friends and planned out next week. Tomorrow, I’ll be going to the grocery and doing more homework.

Reflections

    Overall the first week of classes went very well! I like the professors, and while I’m definitely taking some challenging classes, I think I can do it! I’m also enjoying the shorinji kempo club and am excited to continue!

Week 2

Sunday:

       Sunday was Easter and after a week of traveling and trying to adjust to jet lag, it was nice to start a routine by going to church. The closest church to my apartment is a Catholic Church, so a friend and I attended Easter Morning Mass. This church was significantly larger than the Anglican Church I attended while living in Hikone. It also offers Mass in several languages. I heard the Bible read in Japanese (of course), English, and a few others. I think my friend and I may look around a bit more, since there are some churches that are Protestant (though they are about a 45 minute walk from the apartment). Since Catholic Churches do not allow non-Catholics to participate in Communion, my friend (Jena) and I stopped by the convenience store on our way home and picked up grape juice and bread and did our own communion in our apartment.

Monday:

     On Monday, a group of American students decided to go to Tokyo for the day. It's only about an hour to Tokyo from Oyama, so it's a perfect opportunity for a day trip. While there, we visited Akihabara (or "Akiba"). This Tokyo neighborhood is best known for manga/anime and technology shops. We spent most of the day wandering through the multi-story manga/anime stores, which sell everything from figurines to fan made comics (doujinshi). Then, we went to Shibuya and ate lunch at Taco Bell! After that, we wandered through some cosmetic shops in by Shibuya station (I stocked up on bath bombs at Japanese LUSH!).

Tuesday:

    Tuesday was a busy day. We had our University sanctioned "physical checkups." They checked eyesight, blood pressure, weight, and took X-rays of our chest. After that we also had a surprise Japanese test. This was the first time Hakuoh gave the International Students a Japanese test. They said it was to better support us (rather than a placement test), which is good! After that we went to secondhand manga stores (I'm looking for a specific novel that's in Japanese...so far no luck).

Wednesday and Thursday:

    On Wednesday and Thursday, the International students participated in Hakuoh Freshman Orientation! We all went to an Onsen resort in Shiobara (about 2 hours north from Oyama). There we gave self-introductions, soaked in the hot bath (Japanese hot baths are heavenly!), and went to talks given by the faculty. It was a lot of deja vu because it had the vibe of "Entering College for The First Time." The area around the hotel was beautiful with lots of mountains and rivers.

Friday and Saturday:

      Since school starts on Monday, I used Friday and Saturday as preparation: going to the grocery, laundry, cleaning, etc. I'm planning to make my own bento lunches so I planned that out for this coming week. I also relaxed and soaked in the last few days of freedom.

Reflections:
   
    One of the most interesting things about this trip (especially compared to my experience in Hikone), is that there are a lot more opportunities to actually speak Japanese. While many of the international students can speak English, it's actually easier to communicate in Japanese with them. I'm really excited for classes to start and to challenge myself to join one or two clubs here at Hakuoh! Once my schedule is set in stone, I'll make an entry describing that. Until next time...

Week 1

Tuesday and Wednesday

                After a long day of travel, I arrived in Japan at about 1:30 PM. However, my travel experience was not over yet, as it took me three long, exhausting hours to get through immigration. After finally finishing with immigration, I found my way to the hotel and was able to take a hot shower and eat and drink my first meal in Japan. After relaxing and winding down from my long trip, I walked back to the airport to meet my friend, Jena. We returned to the hotel together.

                The next day, we ate a nice buffet breakfast in the hotel and then checked out. We then waited at the airport to meet Hakuoh students and ride a bus to Oyama. The bus ride to Oyama took about 2 hours but we got there and arrived at the apartments. Jena and I were both assigned to the Hakuoh Women’s Flat.

My Apartment

                My apartment is generously sized. There is an entry-way where one takes of their shoes. Then a short hallway and a doorway to the kitchen and bathroom. The kitchen has a very small fridge and a one-pot hot plate. Just off the kitchen is the bathroom, which is equipped with a toilet, a sink, and a deep bathtub/shower. The hallway leads to the bedroom/living area, which for a Japanese apartment seems very large. The bed even folds up so one can increase their floor space if necessary. Overall, it’s a decent apartment, a bit worn, but with a bit of TLC, I’m making it livable.

Thursday

                The sun sets at 6 PM and rises at 5 AM, so on my first morning in Japan, due to jet lag and sunrise times, I was awake very early. However, Jena came over and we ate breakfast together and then got ready to meet the other students at Hakuoh University for Orientation.

                Orientation was very fun! The leaders explained the International Student support as well as the courses which we could take (I’ll make another post about the classes later). After lunch, we then walked to the Oyama City Hall and filed the moving in paperwork.

                Later that afternoon, we went shopping and bought the essentials (plus some). Then we ate at a Japanese Indian Restaurant.

Friday and Saturday

                We went shopping and finished cleaning rooms, unpacking, etc.

Welcome to Japan

                I made it! It’s my first full day in Japan and after yesterday’s packed day of travel, it’s nice to just sit in the hotel room and relax a bit before the next stage of our journey. In a few hours I’ll be headed back to the airport to wait for the rest of our classmates and at 3, we’ll head to Hakuoh University.

                The flight in was very nice! Long, but that’s what you expect from a 13 hour flight… The sun sets really early and rises early too. I’m going to take a short nap before we have to check out of the hotel. There are also beautiful cherry blossoms all over the place, so it’s very beautiful. The weather is perfect.