Genie in Japan

Yeah. I Passed Out.

I’m not prone to fainting, but that trip to the onsen was pretty dramatic.  

Onsen is the public bath house/spa/sauna place…I went for the first time with my roommates and one of our students, and it was all good and relaxing and gravy.  We took a dip in the various pools and hot springs, and our last stop was the dry sauna.   Exiting the sauna, I was having a lively conversation with Eri-chan when all of a sudden the world goes red and black and I can’t shake it off and I’m seeing stars and voices begin to sound more and more distant.  So I topple over and lean on the towel rack and breathing is really hard and painful and it feels like my tongue is asleep.

I don’t know how long I was like that, but when I got up I was somewhere else and people were staring because apparently my face turned blue. 

If that’s not embarrassing enough, remember it’s the public bath house so we’re all, er, in our birthday suits.

 This is the “No Tattoos Please” sign.

I tried to be discreet and covered up my tattoos with band aids…but sometime later, I guess they fell off in one of the pools…but it was okay, I don’t think the other ladies minded what simply looks like permanent marker scribbled on my feet.  Anyways, I think I’m going to hold off on any more tattoos until after my wedding–I wouldn’t want to walk down the aisle with a fatty tattoo peeking out of my white dress. Ha.