Wednesday 3 October 2007

180 Days: Water, Water please!

Time: 2:00am. Place: My small room inside Tokyo.

The left overs from a very hot oily meal are still in the plate. I look around, searching for a glass of water. I am thirsty, very thirsty. No water in the fridge. In two hours, I will start an new fasting day of Ramadan and I desperately need water. How can I drink water in such a place, such a time?

Living inside the dorm of the Univerisyt of Tokyo has given me no choices. My friends in the dorm are asleep, so I have to depend on myself. Convenient stores? Oh I dont think they are THAT convenient! I have to think of something else. Another solution for my dilemma. I looked around my room, under the pile of cards on the bed I grabbed some change. Maybe I would find a store open in this hour. I took my mobile, and went outside my room, challenging the quite atmosphere surrounding the dorm.

I thought of even riding the Metreo to go to Shibuya, but its too late and no Metreo is available at this hour. Shall I ride a Taxi? It would be crazy to pay 10JDs to drink a glass of water! Maybe I should ask any Japanese person I find in the street. I started to gather all my Japanese knowledge I learned so far to build a sentence and find my way through the conversation. But it was very late and no people in the street. Ofcourse! If they are busy all day long, they probably sleep all night long!

Water right now has become one of my dreams in Japan! What should I do?

And there it was. Standing with its best glory. Shining like a piece of gold. Calling my name, come, come. I ran. I was afraid it would disappear. Please, I need you. Light my path to reach you. Light my way. I needed two seconds to take my breathe, before putting my hand in my pocket, and inserting my coins in the vending machine. The sound of the water bottle was like music to my ears. There it was, cold, full, white, shiny and beaufitul in my hand....



Its been 180 days in Tokyo. 6 Months. Half a year. Alot of memories, and yet, more still to come...

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you have found the answer of your question, "What shall I dream next?!"
I think dreams have no end, even if they were simple, and to make them come true we have to walk in the "right way" (desu ne?) even if we reach at the last moment

^_^(that what i learnt from your story)

mata ne!

Bilalٍ said...

ammm..Tap Water?? No Taps in Japan?

Me said...

what's wrong with tap water?

Amani AbuQdais أماني أبوقديس said...

LOL the best thing about vending machines in Japan is that they are everywhere!! :D
Very enjoyable, i can rarely "RIP" whats inside my mind into words in such an interesting way.
ganbatte kudasai!

Anonymous said...

Yes, tap water exists and Sanadoo-san is just being too lazy to buy a simple water kettle and a proper water container to boil water and cool it in his tiny fridge.

He has been dependent on bottled water for the past 180 days!

I should have told you to come and drink my not-so-cool water, but I didn't get the impression you would actually consider taking a taxi -had it been not so expensive- to buy water from Shibuya!

In worst case scenarios, if you drank your not so clean tap water, you will definitely not get sick. Remember we come from Jordan, not Norway! :p

ukyou said...

Tap water in Japan is not that bad!
Though i rarely drank it.
Bottled water is cool, although not my taste. I am more of the Cola guy myself.

Saemon 左衛門 said...

Haha, earlier I was gonna post this but then thought not to:

"why don't you go the tymoorish way: who needs water when you have Cola?"

To tell the truth, I am gonna dearly miss the vending machines in Japan. They were so many and so close by, always! Ah, Pocari Sweat, Ah, Calpis, ouch my heart! :(

Anonymous said...

very interesting story.
of course, the way you express as well.

"totemo korimashita ne!"

K-s

Amani AbuQdais أماني أبوقديس said...

Saemon,
i join my voice...aaaah calpis!! (T_T)
cola doesnt do with me,also tap water doesnt.. if water wasnt VERY VERY cold,i dont enjoy it

Anonymous said...

hmmm quite an experience....
usually it is hard for me to find a toilet rather than water for drink

Moey said...

water can be harmful sometimes