Gallbladders and Festivals...

So, the other thing I forgot to mention that happened in the first week was that Ian and I had a routine health check. It happens every year here and you can opt in or out of certain tests based on your age and when you last had them done. We both got screenings for lung and stomach cancer as well as a blood workup and had to give a stool sample. It was all okay except we had to drink barium for the stomach x-rays and that was yucky! I didn't feel well for days after that.
On Monday and Tuesday I started back to Date Chu. It was fun but draining. I think the jet lag was still bringing me down. I met with my travel agent on Monday night to start the ball rolling for a trip to one of the southern Japanese islands in January. My Mum is coming from Canada and we're all looking forward to a warm getaway!
Wednesday I was supposed to start at the Warashibe but I was feeling really gross so I ended up going home halfway through the day. It is only in retrospect that I know that it was my gallbladder again. It's been a year and a half since my last attack and it didn't even cross my mind when it was happening. I ended up missing a day and a half of work and I felt like I'd been hit by a truck for about a week. I did finally go to see a doctor a week after the attack started but for all the impressive tests and attention I had, it was clearly far too late to diagnose anything. I was again very impressed by the medical system here though - I presented at the clinic at 1:30 and by 4:30 we were on our way home, having had a CT, an ultrasound, some bloodwork and a thorough examination. Our insurance cards had not yet come so I had to pay for everything and then submit receipts for reimbursement. So... without insurance the whole visit, complete with all test was about $200. I'll get back all but 20% of that because of the insurance I have. This is an interesting medical system and I'm particularly impressed by how quickly I had all the tests I needed!
There is a constant stream of festivals in September - and from what I recall of last year they will go right into September! They are all very similar - some entertainment, a bingo game, some festival food and lots of fun.
There was one in Yutoku where I won a pottery plate in the bingo, and one in Honcho where I won a box of shitake mushrooms and Taran won a stuffy and a garbage can. Ian helped with the Honcho festival by cooking yakisoba. The kids wound up wearing a headband with a light up bow on it all through the festival. I bought one too - even Ato-san got into the bow thing!

There was also the Jinja part of the festval where Taran and Joisan wore happy coats and marched around Honcho with a small shrine. There were pamphlets passed out and many people came out of their homes and put coin offerings into a collection box.



Afterwards we gathered by the Jinja where there was a raffle for rice and other prizes. Ian and Joisan both won rice and Taran and I won a can of pop. Taran and Joisan and Ian participated in the Sumo wrestling and won some instant noodles for their efforts! That afternoon Ian was requested by Imai-san to join him and a few others in the traditional drinking part of the celebration. The end result being... you guessed it! A very inebriated Ian!
Whew! That only leaves two more weeks to catch up on... as long as I keep this momentum going you should be caught up by the end of this week!