Rome - Hop On Hop Off

On my first full day in Rome, I was a little tired from traveling, so I decided to take a ride on the Hop On Hop Off bus to kind of figure out where things were. The bus had audio in many languages with earphones to give commentary along the way. On the first time around, I rode the full loop without getting off. The second time around, I got on and off and took more photos. This is an overview of my first day. I'm not sure what every place is.

I was surprised by how many tourists there were everywhere. In addition, there were so many "in your face" vendors, who hounded people. I did my best not to look them in the eye or talk to them, but they still followed me. 

The Colosseum

Circus Maximus

Piazza Venezia

Lunch at a sidewalk restaurant near the Colosseum

Piazza Venezia

The Roman Forum

Back to Piazza Venezia

This gas station was on the side of the street, not a separate place.

Barberini

Work In Progress Wednesday - Vacation Stitching

I stitched every day when I was away.  I worked on the three projects I brought along and a couple more besides those! 

Bess of Hardwick - I started working on the gold frame around Bess. 

Canvas Ornament - I am ready to add a few beads, then I can work on finishing it.

Mill Hill "Cabin Fever" 

Sandy Arthur's Canvas Coasters - This was a gift from teacher Sandy Arthur, representing places from the cruise trip: Colosseum (Rome), Matador (Spain), Maltese Cross (Malta), Sagrada Familia (Barcelona).  I finished the first three and am almost finished with the fourth.  They were designed as coasters, but I plan to finish mine as Christmas tree ornaments.

Sardinian Filet - twelve of us took a class in Sardinia.  I'm not finished with my piece yet.  I'll write more about the class soon.

Home Again

Yesterday's Mt. Fuji from my apartment, with a little snow on top.

I'm home again after a three week adventure.  I will have stories and photos soon about it all.  I spent a few days in Rome by myself, then joined Sandy Arthur's group on a Mediterranean Cruise on the Azamara Pursuit, then a few days in Barcelona by myself.

I visited some amazing places (think Bucket List), enjoyed the luxury of a wonderful cruise, stitched a lot, made new friends, and took lots of photos. I'll post all about it in the days ahead!

Monday Morning Star Count Catch Up - Weeks 25, 26, 27

Year Three of the temperature quilt  

Week 25 

October 13 - 19 

82, 64, 70, 63, 63, 63, 70

Week 26 

October 20 - 26 

75, 66, 63, 75, 66, 59, 75

Week 27 

October 27 - November 2 

70, 68, 59, 72, 68, 73, 64

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Three temperature/color (Fahrenheit) scheme remains the same: 

100 + Brown 

90-99 Red  

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow  

60-69 Green  

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

10-19 Black  

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.

Gender Neutral Uniforms for East Japan Railway Company

East Japan Railway Company, also known as JR East, has announced that its uniforms will be changing next spring.  The last major uniform update was in 2003 and these were the women's uniforms, which are still being worn today.

The new uniforms will have a color scheme that will change from gray to navy blue.  JR East says that this color carries a sense of "traditional dignity".  The new designs do have a bit of gray color with the sleeve accent lines (two lines are for station masters and one line for lower ranking employees). The biggest change is the skirt is being replaced by pants for all employees.  Also abolished are the neck ribbons worn by women. The new standard uniform will include a necktie, with employees choosing between three designs. All employees will have the choice of hats, instead of only men wearing one and only women wearing the other.

Special "Cool Biz" uniforms, to be worn during electricity conservation periods with less intensive air conditioning, allow both men and women to go without neckties and collars unbuttoned.

It also appears from the photos that women will be allowed to wear flats intead of heels. JR East says the new uniforms are part of its ongoing Reform 2027 regulation revision project.  They decided on these uniforms with the intent of eliminating gender differences. The new uniforms will go into use on May 1, 2020, in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. I think this is a great change!

High Heel Dress Code Regulations

A majority of Japanese companies where in person customer service takes place, such as banks and airline companies, have dress codes requiring women to wear high heels.  Women in Japan have begun demanding to be able to choose their work shoes in a movement known as #KuToo, a combination of #MeToo and the Japanese words for shoes "kutsu" and pain "kutsuu".  Many women want to discard heels for more comfortable shoes, as high heels can cause lower back pain and bunions.

Kyodo News conducted a poll of 32 companies, which included airline companies, banks, insurance companies, department stores, hotels, and cell phone companies.  Of the 28 that responded, 20 said they either have rules requiring or encouraging female employees to wear high heels.  Three other companies said they do not have mandatory rules but say their guidelines of professional attire includes heels. (Sounds mandatory to me.) Some of the companies responded that they enforce the heels requirement because they want to preserve the professional look of the uniform or because they want to avoid making the customers feel uncomfortable. Of those 20 companies, only two said they would reconsider their rules toward heels. Of the 16 airline companies that responded, 15 specified the height and width of the heels worn by female flight attendants.  Japan Airlines requires them to be 3 to 4.5 centimeters wide and 3 to 4 cm tall.  All Nippon Airways says the heel must be between 3 and 5 cm in height and width. 

What do you think about these shoe rules? Are you required to wear heels where you work? Do you wear heels because you like them? Inquiring minds want to know.

Good Teeth Day

Dentists love this day - Ii Ha no Hi.  The name of the day comes from 1 (i) 1 (i) and 8 (ha), ii means good and ha means teeth.

Working Hard or Hardly Working

English has so many irregulars!  

Recently, I was working on adjectives and adverbs with one of my students. Adjectives describe things/nouns and adverbs describe actions/verbs.  Most adverbs are made up of an adjective+ly, but there are a few irregulars that don't take the LY, such as good, fast, hard (well, fast, hard).  I should have emphasised the irregulars more, I guess.  

At the end of class, I gave him an assignment for the next class to make up some sentences about the student and his work, using adverbs .  The next week, the student said "I hardly work at my job."  I said, "Really?  Does your boss know this?" My student replied, "Yes, I tell him."  At first my student didn't understand my smile.  We discussed the irregulars again, then I told him that "hardly" meant scarcely or slightly, and I gave him some examples. We had a good laugh about "hardly working".  This student does work hard.  All of his other adverb sentences were great.  

How about you - are you working hard, or hardly working this week?

Finish It in 2019 - November

This year I will finish what I start, and finish some other things too.

Finishes

Since my last Finish It post, I have finished 

Camping Out

Started 2019, Finished 2019

October Ornament

Started 2019, Finished 2019

Heron Bottle Bag

Started 2019, Finished 2019

New Starts - 2019 

Flapper Bear Ornament 

Fashionable Ladies

Hexagon Butterflies

Miniature Rug

Again, so far, so good. You can see all of my Finish It In 2019 here.

Check out Magical Quilt's post to find out more about Finish It In 2019.

Japan's Active Volcanoes

Japan has 111 volcanoes, meaning that they have erupted within the last 10,000 years.  The Japan Meterological Agency monitors about 50 of these and classifies 39 of them by alert levels on a scale of one to five. Of these 39, five are classified at level two, which means access is restricted to the volcano craters.  These are Asamayama, Kuchinoerabujima, Asosan, Kusatsu-Shiranesan, and Suwanosejima. Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture is at alert level three, which means it is not to be approached. It erupts a couple of hundred times a year. The rest of the active volcanoes are at the lowest alert one, indicating there may be increased activity in the future.

Mount Ontake, on the Gifu/Nagano border had the lowest alert rating when it erupted in September 2014, leaving 58 people dead and five missing. Motoshirane erupted in January 2018, spewing stones that killed the leader of a Self Defense Force team and injured 11 others. It had not erupted in 3,000 years and also had the lowest alert rating. 

Mt. Fuji, the tallest peak in Japan, is still considered an active volcano, having last erupted in 1707. The Hoei Eruption occurred on the southeast slope of Mt. Fuji and gave off black smoke, cinders, atmsopheric vibrations, volcanic lightning, fall ash and other particulate matter. The eruptions continue intermittently for the next two weeks, burying homes and fields in villages near the base of the mountain. The Hoei Earthquake, estimated at 8.6 on the Richter Scale occurred 49 days prior to the eruption.

Volcanoes, earthquakes, typhoons -- Japan has it all.

Japan is Second Least Attractive Country For Expats

A recent survey conduted by British financial group HSBC Holdings found that Japan is not an attractive place for foreigners to work. Many foreigners say they want to travel and live in Japan, but according to the survey, those who are actually doing it, don't give Japan good marks. 

In the 2019 version of the HSBC's annual Expat Explorer Survey, responses were collected from expats living in 33 countries, asking them to rank their satisfaction in regards to Living (daily quality of life), Aspiring (economic and career issues) and Little Expats (childrearing topics).  Japan's overall ranking was 32 out of the 33, beating only Brazil.  I was very surprised! 

In the Living category, Japan ranked 15th, which isn't so bad.  Specific categories ranked as:

● Quality of life 13th
● Physical and mental well-being 20th
● Fulfillment 18th
● Cultural, opening and welcoming communities 26th
● Political stability 6th

In the Aspiring category, Japan ranked 30th overall, with individual areas ranked as:

● Income 33rd
● Disposable income 19th
● Economic stability 13th
● Career progression 19th
● Reaching potential 16th
● Work/life balance 33rd

In the Little Expats area, Japan was dead-last 33, with the areas ranked as:

● Making friends 32nd
● Learning 33rd
● Schooling 24th

The people responding to this survey were probably regular company people and not English teachers. Teaching English in Japan isn't usually a long term career and in most situations, we aren't expected to be fluent in Japanese. I would say that the cultural differences moving to Japan are much bigger than they would be moving to a European country or another English speaking country. 

In my experience, I would rank Japan very high in the Living category. I think I live very well here and people are great. In the Aspiring category, my situation is probably different than the people in the survey.  My income is not bad and I don't have a car or a house, so my disposable income is good. I have a great work schedule, so my work/life balance is also very good. I'm not trying to move up a company ladder and am quite happy with where I am. I have no ideas or experience with Little Expats, so I can't comment on that category. My low language skill level is probably my biggest obstacle living in Japan, but it is not really a problem. I try my best with the skills I have and people are always very friendly and helpful. My neighbors and people I meet on the street or the train or other places talk to me in Japanese and seem happy to try a few words in English.  

Which countries ranked highly? 

1 Switzerland 

2 Singapore 

3 Canada 

4 Spain  

Have you lived and worked in another country? How would you rank your experience?

Zebra Cows Have Less Fly Bites

Japanese scientists have discovered painting a cow to look like a zebra reduces fly bites by 50%! This could become an environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides. 

The study, published in the journal Plos One, found that the disguise significantly reduces fly attacks.  The scientists believe the striped pattern confuses the fly's motion detection, thereby detering the pests.  It took about five minutes to paint 4 cm to 5 cm stripes on the Japanese black cows using commercial waterborne white lacquers that fade easily. For the study two cows were painted with white stripes, two with black stripes, and two left unpainted for control purposes.  The process was repeated, over nine days, with each cow spending three days striped, painted, or unpainted.  Only 55 flies were seen on the zebra cows, compared with 111 on the black-painted cows, and 128 on the unpainted cows. 

Previous studies have shown that flies were less likely to land on horses wearing striped blankets but this was the first study with painted cows. The researchers want to confirm this link between stripes and less flies, in addition to finding a less labor intensive way to ensure the cows remain patterned and zebra-like. 

Well, I thought that was interesting!

The People's Choice SAL - Autumnal Colors

Jo at Serendipidous Stitching is hosting a Stitch A Long the first Saturday of the month, with the topics chosen by her readers.  This month's topic is Autumnal Colors.

At first I thought I probably didn't have any autumn colors because I usually choose blue, but I was surprised to find I have a few things that can pass for the colors of autumn. I think they can anyway.

Babies on the Plane

When I am traveling, there is nothing I like less than a screaming baby on the plane. I know, I know, they can't help screaming.  That doesn't mean I like it or want to be near it.  

Japan Airlines (JAL) has unveiled an online booking tool that indicates where toddlers will be seated.  When passengers with children between eight days and two years old reserve their seat, a child icon automatically appears on the seat plan, alerting other passengers who have not yet selected their seats. Another Japanese airline, All Nippon Airways, says its seat maps also show where children are seated. I think this should be mandatory for all online airline booking sites. This isn't fool proof, I realize.  A baby could book after I do, and some babies can be heard no matter how far away you are. 

Does it bother you to be seated near a baby?  Is there anything else that annoys you on a plane?