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Sunday, March 22, 2009

Spring

With workloads and deadlines increasing, I find it difficult to monitor the changing seasons, but I think its spring already. The blooms and buds are slowly dominating the once-bared branches. Almost everyone is anticipating this season, especially those who hate winter. I am one of them.

I am not sure if this is my third or fourth time to experience spring. The past springs were problem-free but this particular time I am having a bit of allergic reactions to pollen. My eyes are very itchy, my head hurts and I sneeze like there's no tomorrow. My Japanese officemates say its kafunsho.

Kafunshō (花粉症) is a type of hay fever that has specific causes and effects in Japan. Shortly after World War II, reforestation policies resulted in large forests of only sugi trees. These trees become competitive with each other and produce large amounts of pollen. This pollen is a major source of this allergy for people in Japan. Some people in Japan get medical laser therapy to stop the parts of their nose that are sensitive to pollen.


The famous sakura (cherry blossoms) symbolizes spring and spring symbolizes hope. My ex-Japanese girlfriend told me about a story related cherry blossoms. Her older sister, aged 10 then, got sick and wasn't able to complete school. Just before the school closes, she died. Their mother planted a blossom in front of the school so as to honor her memory.

Then, there's a famous song Sakura being played over and over again in Japan. Since its such a hopeful song, it is often used as a graduation song here in Japan. Well, I do like this song too. Haha!

springtime

I have lots of spring memories too. Hope the poem below can summarize those events.

Spring

The boulevard’s pink,
skies and streams too. The wind whispers
someone’s watching you.

The Sputnik Sweetheart,
covers, hides your pinkish face.
As I route to you.

Hi! Konnichiwa!
we say the words together;
pink petals falling.

Trees are bare and bold,
sometimes white and cold, waiting
for me to come back.

The boulevard’s pink.
skies and streams too. The wind whispers
let's start things anew.

/totomai



Right now, the weather is very erratic. Sometimes, its too cold that you might think winter has returned. Or too hot that its summer already. Nevertheless, I am eagerly waiting for spring to be in full blast. Where the streets and the fields are naturally carpeted. And the air is filled with floral and undistilled scents.

Spring being spring.

/totomai
03/22/09

27 comments:

  1. thanks. hirap pa naman magkasakit sa abroad haha

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  2. spring! sakura! saya naman! hindi ko pa naeexperience yan hehehe.. sarap siguro sa pakiramdam kung first time mo ano?

    get well soon kuya! hehehe

    http://fjordz-hiraya.blogspot.com

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  3. maeexperience mo din yan. salamat hehe

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  4. I liked that poem - had a nice ring to it.

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  5. it's very jolly! i feel myself springing up on a meadow while reading it.

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  6. Hi Totomai, love the poetry, I can see the blossom falling, beautiful!

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  7. thanks guys! i love spring but not now. lol. hate this allergy hehe

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  8. The older I get, the more the spring allergies affect me. Your poem is beautifully written...you have a way with words (in addition to the camera). I hope you feel better soon!

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  9. Thanks FP, hope it will be fine soon.

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  10. sweet poem! i like the term Sputnik Sweetheart!

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  11. hehe, its a book. hope you are doing fine my friend.

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  12. A glorious picture and a delightful poem...

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  13. I like the hopefulness in here and the "pink petals falling."

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  14. @Linda and TW, hurray for spring. Yay!

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  15. Like I said, ayaw mo niyan, nadagdagan ang Nihongo vocabulary mo, "kafunsho"? he-he-he...
    Hope you're feeling better now:-)

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  16. oh, sorry about that john, to console you, at least you got allergy this year only. unlike me, i had been battling allergies for many years now and had been living on claritin and benadryl, flonase (nasal spray) and qvar ( puff inhaler) . yes, it is really bad when your eyes are itchy, so are your ears ( just don't scratch your ears when it becomes itchy) and it can get inflamed and the runny nose and sneezing is really sometimes embarassing, hopefully your allergy won't go down to bronchitis and asthma as it can really be bad.

    however, since i've been dealing with for so many years, and life is too beautiful to pass up for me, i just take claritin or benadryl, whatever, and if it goes bad, there is always the flonase and qvar, hahah! especially spring, it is the most colorful season, with a kaleidoscope of all colors not only limited to the warm hues of red, orange and gold but really all colors (at least in this side of the country), sadly, it is also the worst season in terms of allergies, like maybe, we have the highest pollens in san diego :( i have some students sometimes coming to class in tears (not crying, but from allergies), cursing spring, saying, "I hate spring! Why would we even have flowers?" I just keep quiet since I know what they feel. That's why my favorite season is summer, hahaha, the best in terms of outdoor activities, and my healthiest state too. Like you, am mostly sick during spring (#1), winter (#2), fall (#3) and summer is when I never get sick, the days are just too lovely to get sick.

    neway, love your poem, gosh, natural poet ka guid ya john!

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  17. @ate maki, haha. sa lahat ng words kafunsho pa e no. hehe. medyo ok na din, kati pa din mata ko :(

    @ms beth, parehos kamo gali ni mama ba, pirmi lang may balon nga claritin. kis-a gani naluoy na ko sa iya kay daw di na ka enjoy sang mga ginakaon nya allergy dayon. hehe i still like autumn. lol

    thanks gid ms beth

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  18. allergy ba yan? or ,,, nasobrahan,, sa pag shoot,,

    distilled thought by totomai, da bes.

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  19. @daryl, shoot ng? haha. oo naman

    @atty, ikaw ang sosyal. dami ng napuntahan haha

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  20. Lovely poem - for some reason my favorite line is:

    'The Sputnik Sweetheart'!

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  21. I have something to add to that story. I've read it somewhere.

    The girl who died was one of the victims of the Hiroshima bombing. She dreamed of becoming a teacher but unfortunately, she didn't survived. So her mother planted cherry trees at a school. So when school starts in April, the girl welcomes the students through the blossoms.

    My last post is about hay fever. Check it if you have time. :)

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  22. @Julia, thanks. its a book title

    @kikit, thanks for that info. yes, i will.

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  23. sorry for the hayfever, but glad you're enjoying spring otherwise. Our weather is erratic too, but definitely spring is on its way...

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  24. this season is rather weird lol

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any thoughts to distill?

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