I'll get you, Spears.

I was nearly bored to tears today. Then I came home and watched about four hours worth of TV shows that I'd been missing up until now! And ate chocolate.

An excellent Halloween had, aside from the exhaustion/boredom factor and the fact that I mostly forgot it was Halloween throughout the day! But I toted a small pumpkin around and wore Halloween shoes that I made ages ago.

Also, this (found it in the New York Times today)

It's Official: Britney Spear copies Rachel's Halloween Costume

Granted, I can't blame her, it was a really excellent costume. But, I mean once she's done with current court issues, I'm takin' her butt to court.

Oh Jack, you make wounds ooze and flesh crawl!

In other news, Kimono Class yesterday was grande. Finally figured out the obi part, which I should practice since we're sort of done with that lesson. Hung out with Rizzu afterwards at Makudonarudo's and had tiny burgers of deliciousness.

Then it was off to Lii-chan's to watch Nightmare Before X-mas/fall asleep in lots of blankets. Turns out her house is pretty warm if you're wearing four layers of shirts, socks and legwarmers. Huzzah!

Got up at 6:15 to drive home this morning. I kind of want to keep sleeping, but I'd probably keep sleeping alllll through work, which although sounding very nice, would probably not bode well for me. Plus I need to wear my patented Rachel's Halloween Shoes™ to work today!

Holla!-ween

Not a lot to report today! Just wanted an excuse to share this awesome Halloween card I got from my equally awesome sister.



All I did today was eat sweet potato rice and then get my engine repaired at the ol' Mobi station where the guys are AWESOME. I thought it would be so expensive and it was like.. $37 to replace these car thingies.

"So, will the engine work now?"
"Maybe."

I did however find out the car is 16 years old, which I had not known!

Also it was nice and gloomy all day, which made the colours of the leaves stand out even more...

Sub par chocolate covered bananas. Oh, and fireworks.

I drove down to Amino this afternoon to have lunch with Shinobu, a friend of Liz'. She had a 'thank you' sort of luncheon for the people who had helped out for the Halloween party a few weeks back (the one for elementary schoolers), however I was the only person of that group who was able to attend. Besides me, Liz, Leigh and Jannie came and we were joined by Shinobu, her friends (both Yuko's) and Yuko B's two young children (Chika and Ryouji, who were adorable).

The lunch spread was amazing. I think we ate for about two-three hours straight. I should also mention that Shinobu's house is gorgeous. It's a Japanese-style place, all one floor and connecting through paper walls that slide. Kotatsu tables, magnificent garden outside (filled with trees, ponds, flowers etc) and beautiful art and decorations to match. Really lovely environment!

After lunch I dropped by shimamura with Jannie so we could pick up some clothing items. I'm wearing the slipper socks I bought... they were a good purchase for SURE. My feet have been having trouble staying warm lately. These will help out a great deal.

We then met up with Marina, Amy (Marina's friend from Fukuchiyama), Bryn, Simon, Lyle and Scott and watched the fireworks at the Iwataki side of Amanohashidate. It wasn't too cold today, so the viewing was entirely pleasant! We also had sub par chocolate covered bananas, which didn't taste of chocolate or banana, in my opinion.

Now it's home to finish out the weekend with a tuna fish sandwich and a glass of milk.

I might get my car looked at tomorrow morning before school if I can manage to wake up early enough. Ha!

The week at gakko: Kimono retardation, apple pie, and international understanding

What a week! I still haven't had a chance to recover from the sleepless weekend, and unfortunately I went right into another hectic week at school.

Honjo Elementary School & Italian Food

Monday was a regular school day at Honjo Junior High School, however, on Monday I drove to Yasaka to wish Jer a bon voyage, and to eat Italian-style food! Leigh, Liz, Jer and I were all extremely tired from the weekend, but we managed to eat more food than a pack of hungry wolves. It was all topped off with a shou-cream, which is... a cream puff, I think. Liz is fond of them (not to mention extremely generous), and she bought four of them for the lot of us! I had mine for breakfast the next morning.

The following day at Ine junior high school was uneventful. Afterwards I sped down to Mineyama (about a 75 minute drive from my house) to attend kimono class. I am getting better, as I am able to put on all but the obi by myself. However, the teacher tends to rush over and do things for me as I watch her, attempting to help me with my apparent "slow learning" in that class. Unfortunately for the both of us, not to mention Liz and Kumi, I learn by doing. And if I am not given the chance to do things, I don't learn. I can watch something a hundred thousand times and I will probably never be able to perform it myself. Such is my undoing. Aside from inherent frustrations and lack of hardcore interest in kimonos, I do enjoy the class a great deal! It is always fun to see the many types of kimonos and to converse with the Japanese ladies in attendance.

Let's Enjoying Golf

I honestly don't remember Wednesday at school. I'm sure it was great, or horrible, but a blur otherwise. After school I met up with teachers from all the schools in the area (about 45 people total) and we played GRANDO GORUFU! Or, "Ground Golf", as I understand it. It's a bastardized form of puttputt golf/croquet. You take a mallet/club sort of stick and whack a ball across the bumpy dirt of the Ine Jr. High school baseball field. Then you try to get the ball into some sort of small gate topped with a flag (the flags are numbered). I was part of the BOE team, so not to make one school jealous of another. Although the BOE probably didn't realize they were worse off for it! They might of skyved me off on some other team had they known my "skill level" at unknown, obscure, made up, non sensical Japanese sports. The first round I was fantastic! I scored one of the top 10 places. However, it was a long way to fall. The second round was abysmal. I think I was second to last place in the end of that round. It left me somewhere near the bottom of the middle, where I was perfectly content to be.
Two of my teammates (my BIG boss, Hamano-san, and some guy at the BOE, Maeno-san), did very well! They made first and second place out of the whole group! They received prizes (a bathrobe and some tea towels, the manliest of prizes). Amano-san was SO happy with the results (aka: him doing well) that he treated the whole team to dinner at the sushi restaurant across the street from the school. The sushi restaurant I, until now, had not known existed. It was really delicious, however I had already eaten before grand golf, so my appetite was not at its normal level (ie: ravenous hippo). It was an interesting evening, to say the least. And, I forgot to mention, grand golf was extremely fun. I would play any night of the week.

Fan of the Aimi-Sensei

Thursday was a good day at school. I feel like I am really starting to develop some sort of teammanship with Aimi-sensei, thank GOODNESS. Her quiet demeanor has started to change around me, and I think she feels more comfortable speaking English in front of me. Thank goodness too, as the team teaching conference we're going to is just around the corner!

Shuji, Ouch.

Shuji was good too. My seiza position pains are lessening (well at least in my feet... the knees are still unhappy about it) and the teacher FINALLY knows I am left handed, even though I have tried to tell her countless times! She just laughed and says you can't write Japanese with your left hand. And the sad thing is it's TRUE. Oh well, hanging out with the little third graders while doing kanji was really fun! And I had the entire rest of the evening all to myself!!!

Ine Elementary, Not the Unhappiest Place on Earth

Today I went to Ine elementary school! The kids have been great, although I often feel like I really don't know how to teach elementary schoolers and I am just stalling for time. But they all seem to like me and want to talk to me, so I guess I came off for the better despite inadequate teaching abilities. Maybe that's WHY they like me so much. I don't make them learn! Hooray! Highlights of the day include making apple pies with the mentally handicapped children (although mentally handicapped 8 year old plus knives = TEARS.), getting hit in the back of the head with a volleyball during recess, and playing taiko for 6 entire minutes!!! I also had the extremely pleasure of eating lunch with the third years, and they asked me questions that I am sure helped develop their sense of America a little bit better. Such as, did you know you can buy carrots in America? And that they have coins too???? Also, Rachel-sensei eats all her food, can you imagine???? Such craziness had never been imagined!!! I am glad to be such an important international ambassador to this small fishing village. Next time I am going to tell them that we ride bears to school and eat tree bark. And we run around wearing ballroom gowns and shooting each other in the feet.

Epilogue

Now I am looking forward to the weekend. Rest, relaxation, and a lunch spread with Liz and company. I am happy. Happy happy happy. Although the weather is only getting colder, and my car seems to be in a bad mood. It is taking awhile to run properly in the mornings, which doesn't do well with my constant leaving the house late routine. You can't leave the house late properly and hop into a car that won't go over 25 mph!!!! You just can't.

Bummer.

Halloween Party, Kimono Matsuri

October 20th, 2007 The Halloween Party at Leigh’s House

On Saturday, I was too exhausted to do much. I certainly didn’t work on my Halloween costume, which was getting worse and worse in my head. My brilliant plans to be a mukade, or a pagoda had long since fallen through due to a busy week, and absolutely no motivation to create anything. I had settled with the costume idea of being Britney Spears. An ugly black sundress, oversized sunglasses, and some straightened hair were all I would need. It was simple. Around 5pm, I grabbed my heaps of things for Leigh’s’ Halloween party: extra futons and blankets (which took up the majority of my small car), my Halloween costume, my kimono things for the festival on the following Sunday, and general overnight items. I arrived as a few of the first people had donned costumes. Claire was dressed as a very unprofessional nurse, Leigh was half in her costume to be Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Steve was carving out a few pumpkins on the floor of the kitchen. As more guests arrive, we all changed into our costumes. Ruth was dressed as the Queen of Hearts! She had made her own costume out of felt and large, traced photocopies of an actual playing card. It was one of the most creative. Steve changed into his amazingly offensive Tanuki costume. A Tanuki is a small red panda like animal that is used in a lot of Japanese mythology. Most noticeably in the mythology, it is said to have over-sized male genitalia. I don’t think I need to go into his costume any more.

The party commenced and a lot of fun was had! I won’t go into details, as it was a blur of delicious pumpkin muffins, candy, and Yoshida bread. The costumes were generally wild and well thought out, aside from a few last minute very uninspiring costumes (a MasterCard commercial was by far the worst one). As I managed to stay “in character”, my Britney costume was generally well received. One of my personal favorites was the 6’9” American guy, Lonnie, who had dressed up as a Viking. The tiny Japanese people in attendance (the Yoshidas and some people’s teacher friends) thought he was the most amazing thing they had ever seen in their lives.

We all went to bed early into the morning and shivered the night away. It’s been getting very cold in the area at night, and the fact that we all had to share a scarce amount of futons and blankets (despite my efforts) didn’t help the situation.

October 21st, 2007 – The Kimono Matsuri in Amanohashidate

Two hours later, I found myself at the Yoshida’s house putting myself into a beautiful turquoise kimono adorned with rainbows, birds, and clouds in beautiful colors. Along with me was a very sleepy group of JETs also trying their best to put on the kimonos and stifle some very contagious yawning. Jannie (the Aussie girl from Kaya) had one a peach-colored kimono that did wonders for her skin tone. Leigh, the hostess of the party and one of my good friends here, put on a cream colored kimono with autumn leaves and berries. Liz, one of my best friends in Japan, put on a straw colored kimono that made her hair look even shinier than usual. Steve and Jer (the boys) had on neutral blue and brown men’s kimonos that suited them very well. They found them to be extremely comfortable, whereas the girls and myself were struggling to shuffle gracefully in our excessive silk layers and zoori shoes. Driving in a full kimono and obi (done masterfully by Kumi Yoshida) was as ridiculous as it sounds. However, despite the absurdity of the situation, we all ended up safely and soundly at Amanohashidate. Amanohashidate is one of the top three most beautiful viewing areas in Japan, I am told. It is a natural land bridge across a breathtaking bay. According to Japanese myth, this is where the gods gave life to Japan. Most other countries are formed through eons of erosion and volcanic eruptions. However, Japan is not like other countries, and it was formed through the gods. It’s in all the history books if you want to double-check the facts. The Kimono Festival (Kimono Matsuri) was to be held in this area. We arrived amongst throngs of happily dressed men and women, children, and teenage girls. The younger girls had the most festive and colorful kimonos of us all. The little girls were decorated in bells and fancy hair ornaments. I believe the bells are to delight the children into ignoring their discomfort and longing to go home and play instead of walking around a boring traditional festival all day long. It seemed to work!

The girls jingled down the paths and giggled throughout the day. The group of us went around to check points gathering stamps while taking in all of the kimonos and natural beauty around us! We did not go unnoticed. A group of six gaijin Americans and Aussies walking around in traditional Japanese garments sticks out as much as a horse in a three piece suit might. The photographers in the area (for local newspapers and perhaps hobbyists) went wild when they saw us at the tea ceremony area. As we sipped our matcha tea (the traditional tea powder stirred into large bowls and emptied in three gulps) we were suddenly surrounded by photographers. Steve, Leigh and myself were especially photographed on our bench. One photographer had the nerve to come over to me and adjust my kimono without permission. Naturally they were interested in our winning personalities and backgrounds, and not by the novelty of Caucasians in Japanese clothing. The curiosity became so overwhelming in the afternoon that photographers began to pose us. At one point we were posed on a bridge, where we were asked to walk slowly and solemnly so they could take pictures. The “Kimono Queens” of Japan (two young ladies with tiaras and banners) came and joined us. The photographers tripled as it was definitely the strangest occurrence of the day. After a long day of wandering, collecting stamps, taking pictures, and riding around in rickshaws (one of the highlights of the day), we were exhausted. We took a quick break in a pool of hot water outside of a local restaurant, where we soaked gratefully. The zoori had not been kind to our feet. We also went to put in our finished stamp books, which gave us the chance to roll a lottery ball machine in hopes of winning prizes! When I rolled it, a small pink ball rolled out. I became suddenly surprised when the staff behind the tables began to applaud and ring bells. What had I won? My hopes of a two person getaway to Shanghai were somewhat dashed when I was handed 9 kg of fancy, Japanese rice. Although, Lugging my grand prize around was as satisfying as it was burdensome.

We left the festival, changed back into our normal clothes, and had a very quiet, sleepy dinner with the Yoshidas. After that, it was time to go home and sleep as much as possible before starting the next busy week back at school. The lack of sleep was worth it. This weekend was definitely one of my most memorable yet.

Honjo Elem, double feature friday, praying mantids

Double Feature Friday

Honjo Elementary school was on Friday. I taught the kids about types of fishes, colours, and things you have with you at school. A lot of "fruit basket" was played, and it was my first time doing it so it was pretty funny watching the kids run around and whack into each other. One of the teachers joined (a lady in her late 30's wearing a sweater vest) and she took some nasty spills. Tatami mats, hyperactive kids and socks aren't exactly a non-injurious mix. I was really tired from running around with children so during one period when I didn't have a lesson, I sneaked off to the library and napped in secrecy. I plan on making a bad habit of it since nobody ever GOES to the library. They're just for show. After classes I played with the kids for awhile, being kidnapped this time by the 2nd years who made me do the tire swing with them over and over and over. But pushing kids on swings is kind of fun in an eerie "oh god I'm old and maternal" sort of way. I also had the pleasure of having a full sized praying mantis thrown at me multiple times. I think the mantis was about as pleased about it as I was. Watching Rechel-sensei screaming and flailing down the hallway was probably the highlight of those rotten kids' day. Other than that, Desi and Andy came over for what was the first "Double Feature Friday" that I've put together. Possibly the first of many, possibly the first and last. Depends on whether I want to bother with people saying they'll come and not bothering or not telling me anything and then planning on showing up randomly. Not cool. We watched House of 1000 Corpses which was... odd. Then we watched Monster House which is a pretty good movie. Desi took over my kitchen and we all made curry (mostly her) and had some beers and chocolate covered bananas and coffee. Marvelous. It was nice having house guests. I even made up a couch/bed for them, which I like very much and I think I'll keep it around for awhile. It's mostly just futons and pillows piled in a couch-shape and covered with a quilt. Yay!

Praying Mantis Pornography

The next morning we were outside while Andy enjoyed a crisp Autumn cigarette. I noticed two praying mantises wandering around. They are everywhere nowadays! One was big, one medium sized. I said "look there's two of them!" and Desi and Andy looked just in time to watch the big one grab the little one and devour him. I guess it was their post coital ritual of ... DEATH. So we spent about 30 minutes watching the lady mantis eat her hubby. It was really really really gross/AWESOME. Hooray for nature in my front yard! Grabbed lunch in Mineyama with Desi and Andy and Marina. We got some pretty good pizza and it was very nice and laid back. Then I stopped off at a weird bedding/ugly clothing store and bought a big fuzzy blanket, a runner for the hallway, and a cool toilet paper holder. It was my first contribution to the house, actually. I've been a lousy JET when it comes to decorating. I was inspired by a really bizarre package I got from Mom and Dad which had random awesome dolls in it, rubber gloves, shoe polish, peanut butter, a book on Russian embroidery, embroidery by my mum (which is on the wall now), toothpaste, whitening strips, and socks. I needed places to put things, so I decided to turn my house into an ACTUAL house this weekend. And it's well on its way. I get more excited about it when people actually come over, otherwise it's kind of boring having a big amazing house with no one around to see it :(

Macaroni and Cabbage

Macaroni & Cabbage, Together At Last

For lunch we had macaroni and leftovers, I think. It was macaroni and cheese with pumpkin, cabbage, mushrooms and other random vegetables. It was good in a way, but strange in a way. Cheese and cabbage probably aren't a delicacy, even in Japan. I think they had underlying intentions in trying to get rid of random veggies 'round the kitchen, but maybe it's just me.

Also I'm starting to help more kids get ready for the recitation contest, which is actually almost my favorite part of every day. I really like seeing them progress in the 30 minutes I get with them, and it's cool to see the kids one on one, as I discovered in shuji and hanging out with Lauren's high school kids for THEIR practice.

Anyway kids rock.

And now I'll find out if macaroni and cabbage will digest properly.

Good day at Honjo jr. High

So today was a good day at school, and in fact it was such a good day at school I didn't want to wait to write about it in my weekly academic digest (though after the past few entries, it's more of a drinking diary...)

I went to Honjo today. It was a rough morning in that I was exhausted from kimono class last night. Kimono class this week was better than the last, in that I felt less panicked and pressured to do things correctly (in fact I couldn't care less because I don't need it to be perfect, the novelty of owning and wearing a kimono is really enough for me). So that was nice! And it was fun running around in kimonos with Desi and Rizzu as per usual.

Although I didn't get back until 11 or so and then I had to get ready for school the next day (bother).

We started the day with an assembly that I stood/slept through and didn't understand. It was about 10 minutes, booooring. Then because it was Kenta's birthday (a 3rd year) we had a birthday party for him! We played ping pong for 1st period and then had pineapple sorbet! It was yummy and I lost badly to Kenta at ping pong, but it WAS his birthday. Then I talked with the math teacher, Ohta-sensei about ping pong and air hockey. The music teacher, Miyajima-sensei joined us as well and she was TERRIBLE at ping pong, so it was kind of hilarious to watch her scramble around in knee socks and hit the ping pong ball at random corners of the gym.

With the 3rd years we did a conversation class. They had to write out questions on a question hand out and talk with me for 10 minutes in groups. It was a lot of fun. The first group just kept asking the girls if they liked the boys and if I liked basketball or baseball better. They weren't too responsive when I asked them questions though, laaaame. But they understood me and I have decided to speak at almost normal speed/slang with them. They understand much more than they lead on, and they're off to high school soon (tear) so I gotta school 'em good before the other JETs get my kids! The second group was hilarious though. They were the more adventurous speakers and were asking funny questions like "Have you ever told someone 'I love you?'" and I said "Yes! My mother"! And they were all, "boooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!" so then I turned the question around on them and everyone started giggling because young Saori (the daughter of my calligraphy teacher) apparently told Yuta (the stud muffin of 8th grade) that she loved him when they were in 4th grade. Yuta then turned around and said "whatnow?" and every girl started giggling. I have a feeling things haven't changed much for Yuta and Saori. Or I could be making up gossip to make my own life more exciting. All the boys said with bravado that they had not said that to anybody. And then they asked me if I liked basketball or baseball better. Sigh.

For the 1st years we got to draw monsters. The game was "how many...?" So they would draw ridiculous monsters with 3 eyes and 5 noses and 16 ears and so on. Then they had to ask each other about their monsters and try to recreate them without looking (which is impossible, mostly). So it was fun fun draw/giggle time and I got to harass them about asking in ENGLISH and coached them and then screamed at them to draw FASTER FASTER FASTER! It was fun!

The 2nd years were soooo hyperactive today! I had to teach their class just after lunch, you see. So they kept giggling to mimic MY laughter (which is normally obnoxious but today I thought it was funny) and they had to write telephone scenarios. "Hello, this is BOB is ARNOLD there?" "Hold on a minute" and so on. They were making up funny names like Mr. Shoe, Sea, Jhonn Smisu (my fave) and much much more. I told someone how to spell a word, and used "M" and he made fun of me the rest of the class!!! Emmmmmm! EMMMM!!! MMMMMM!!! instead of the usual katakanaenglish "emmu" which is more correct. What do I know? I just speak the language. He had to go first. It was justice. We also gave them a daily word quiz. They giggled at the word "sad" and I will never figure out why they like it so much!!! They also think the name Carlo is hilarious. Although it is, when you pronounce is "Karuro". Hehe, Hispanics.

I also coached a girl after lunch on her speech for the recitation contest. I'll be damned if she doesn't walk away with one of the top 3 prizes. There was hardly anything for me to correct, and I have to help her the rest of the month??? I'll just start teaching her limericks instead.

Anyway I'ma go home and enjoy FREEE TIIIIIME... or just fall asleep watching Halloween movies.

Also it's autumn all of a sudden! I am whipping out the jackets, boots and sweaters and I feel like I could dance around singing about the leaves changing and the chilliness in the air! They didn't have it in Los Angeles!!! Even when it was cool, it was never CRISP. And so now everyday feels like Christmas and I couldn't be more excited not to live in California!

Toji Temple and the return to paradise

Dumb Luck, Old Pagoda

I woke up feeling very sleepy the next morning, although thankfully I did not have a hangover. That was just dumb luck. We got breakfast at a conbini (onigiri and orange juice is delicious). We then took a bus to Kyoto Station and took at rain back to Toji Pagoda. We walked around the Pagoda in the rain, and it was very beautiful. We didn't want to pay to go into the acual pagoda due to the weather and the fact that we all had backpacks and were in a hurry, but we did walk inside a main temple. The temple is extremely old, built in 794 which makes it over 1200 years old! Inside are very very old Buddhist statues, and a large shrine in the middle with a less Japanese, more Indian looking Buddha statue adorned with gold and flowers and paintings. It was very lovely! The pagoda is ominous looking. Standing at 5 stories, it is the largest in Japan. And it almost always looks silhouetted because of its age and dark exterior. It was then we decided to go back home early, due to weather and exhaustion. We grabbed some coffee at Starbucks and headed home.

The drive home was better in the daytime because it was raining quite a bit, and after a nice peaceful dinner back in Tango (joined by Simon and Lyle), I think everyone was ready for bed. I drove back up to Ine and fell asleep almost immediately without unpacking or anything.

Kyoto - the Silver Pavilion & the Philosopher's Walk

One is Silver, and the Other Gold

After waking up late, yet again, I decided to head out to the Silver Pavilion (銀閣寺). As it turned out, quite a few other people wanted to go there as well! So I decided to meet them after an early lunch with Lauren and Tyler around Toji. After taking a crowded bus up to the silver pavilion area, I sat down in an empty cafe called "the Pink Bunny". It was decorated in pink and white chairs, tablecloths, wallpaper, and lots and lots of bunnies. Toys, stuffed animals, ceramics, plates, glass, you name it, it was a bunny. The owner even had a English sort of garden outside surrounded in bunny statuary and butterflies! It was my favorite place in the world for the 15 minutes I was there.

Afterwards everyone met up and we walked around the Pavilion which was extremely crowded. It was very beautiful and I will have to go back at a time it's not packed! They had lots of gardens, rock gardens, and a hilltop climb with beautiful trees. The changing of the autumn leaves made for a spectacular view as well! After the pavilion, everyone got interesting ice cream at a nearby stand. Blueberry, sweet potato, sesame, chestnut, matcha (green tea powder) etc. I had chocolate, myself.

After ice cream, I suggested that we go on the Philosopher's walk, which is a pathway about 1 mile long (1.5 km) that goes past quite a few temples and shrines. It's a lovely walk surrounded by a small river full of fish and flowers and trees on either side. We passed quite a few interesting shrines and temples as well, and stopped at the last one (Nanzen-ji 南禅寺) which is an expansive temple. We climbed up one of the towers and got a wonderful view of the area (many photos were snapped). We then trekked further towards the Museum of Modern Art (where sadly, I did not get a chance to go to). However we did see a dance contest between groups in wildly colored costumes doing obondori, which is traditional Japanese dance. Only it was mixed with some very lively modern music and modern dancing. The dancers were even smiling. It was one of the highlights of the day! We then walked endlessly in search of onigiri and snacks, which we had in spades.

Afterwards we wandered back to Sanjo where we met up with more JETs at a tavern type place and all had sandwiches and wine! It was a lot of people so it was a bit difficult to make decisions, but it was nice seeing everyone again and my sandwich was amazing. I also got prety drunk on a half bottle of wine that I was sharing with Leigh, which tasted somewhat like Jell-O. After that we went back to the river! I was already on my way to drunk at that point and decided that I was grumpy and then drank a LOT more. I think 3 or 4 beers more, which left me at being... the drunkest I have ever been in my life! I was stealing phones and writing nonsense texts, went into a very heated conversation about innie/outtie nipples with Blakeney and Fiona, wandered around giving high fives,, and had frequent conversations in line for the bathroom. One of which I remember was about a magazine entitled "glay" which I thought was hilarious at the time. And ... even now.Then eventually Liz, Leigh and Ger decided to take me home with them as Lauren and Tyler had already left and they figured I wouldn't be able to take a cab home alone (how right they were!) So I passed out in Liz's room almost immediately.
Although due to all the sight seeing everyone had been doing, it was an early night.

Nijo Castle and aimless wanderings in Kyoto

Cramps Bring Kyoto Cheer

This morning, I awoke around six in the morning with the worst cramps I have ever had in my entire life. I felt like I had been stabbed. I couldn't even stand up, I was so nauseous and dizzy that I crawled to the kitchen, took way too many painkillers, and rocked back and forth with a bag of frozen mangoes pressed to my stomach. The very same mangoes we put on Blakeney's Irish mukade wound. After that, I couldn't wake up on time to go into the city early as I had planned. I couldn't physically wake up until about 10:30, and it was a very slow start. Eventually I made it to Kyoto station and from there hopped a train to Toji station, where Lauren's apartment is located near. I walked a ways past the amazing Toji Pagoda (東寺パゴダ) (the tallest pagoda in Japan, 5 stories, built in 794) and met up with Lauren. Lauren is a 1st year ALT in Kyoto who is from Hawaii. Her parents are both Japanese, so she looks Japanese (and speaks it quite well!) She is really cool and a very together person, as she majored in something like Super Smart Science and so on. She knows things about stuff. So I dropped off my stuff in her small but adorable apartment and we went out for a quick sashimi lunch set at Maguro (a small restaurant near her). The food was delicious! After that I was ready to do some exploring. I had planned on going to the Golden Pavilion （金閣寺） but because of its distance, and the heat and crowds of the day (a national 3 day weekend in Kyoto and about 85 degrees), I decided against it. Instead Lauren invited me to meet some of her high school students to go over their speeches for a recitation contest. Although it wasn't touristy, it sounded like fun and I couldn't turn it down! So we all met at Starbucks. Chie and Kana were the students, and they were the sweetest girls in the world not to mention their English was amazing! We went over how to say difficult sounds like "R", "L", "TH" and "V", which Japanese people generally have a hard time with. They did very well and we all had frappucinos! It was a very fun time and it was nice spending teaching time with another teacher/friend. I left a bit early to walk the 2 or so miles up to Nijo Castle (二条城).

Nijo Castle was amazing!!! I couldn't have picked a better time to go either as the sun was starting to set and the weather cooled down, leaving a nice breeze and some really fantastic lighting. The castle grounds are huge with lots of old style roofing and interior. The castle was built in the early 17th century I believe and is a small fortress protected by a large wall and a daunting moat (full of friendly koi, or carp). On the inside however is an expanse of lush gardens with ponds and trees, medium sized palaces (all one floor with tatami) and a tea house for tea ceremony. After all, tea ceremony was revered by Samurai and was developed in Kyoto, so they take their tea very seriously. I won't go into more art history, but I will mention that the castle's palace are famous fro their "Nightingale floors", which squeak as you walk across them. The purpose of the floors was to alert the guards of intruders to the castle who might assassinate the Lords and Shoguns staying in the palace. The floorboards are made to rub against each other so even the softest footstep creates a sound similar to that of a songbird. It's really interesting! Otherwise, it is fun to see the beautiful ink paintings on the paper walls that cover the palace (lots of tigers, leopards, and birds).

After all that walking, I was completely exhausted. I met up with some in Gion, which is the district in Kyoto famous for geisha (or Geiko and Maiko) who wander around at dusk. Unfortunately I did not see any, but I did not stay in the area long. After meeting up wtih Liz, Leigh and Jer, we then walked over to Sanjo (a nearby area famous for people drinking and playing bongos by the river) and met Marina, Jarrad, Scott, Paulette and Johnny. They had been sight seeing all day too! So we walked to Pontocho Alley (in Gion) and found an empty Mexican restaurant where everyone ordered incorrectly and there was much confusion and embarrassment! It was good times. After that we left to hang out at the river, where we were for most of the evening and met up with quite a few Kyoto city JETs (Greg, Ruth, Megan and her friend Kelly, Ian, Lauren and her friend Tyler). It was definitely a lot of fun. The river was a very relaxing place to end up, and we even got to see fire dancers and bongo musicians!

Blakeney vs. the Mukade

Blakeney vs. the Mukade

I had a long, semi-productive day at the Board of Education this Friday. I made some props for the following week at elementary school, did some studying, caught up on bill paying, and fawned over plane tickets to different places in the world (Thailand, China, Korea,...) I might end up in Thailand for Christmas or New Years to get away from the cooooold!

After work I raced down to Yasaka to pick up Leigh, Liz and Leigh's friend Jer, who is visiting her. We drove down in my small car to Sonobe, which is about 2 hours south of Yasaka. From Sonobe we parked and hopped a train to Kyoto!

I got off in Kameoka, which is about 14 km from Kyoto city (where the rest of the group went to find their youth hostel). I however was cheaper and opted to stay with friends! So my first night was spent at Megan's house. She is a 3rd year CIR in Kameoka who is from Raleigh, NC. She looks like a long lost Weaseley sister and is the coolest, nicest girl I know in the city. We spent the evening hanging out in her cool apartment, she told me stories from her 2 years here in Japan and I shared the Inaka gossip with her. We looked at pictures and gabbed late into the evening. We were joined at some point by John Blakeney, a 2nd year ALT in Kameoka from Ireland. He is awesome. The three of us had an awesome time drinking weird carb-free beer and laughing at me not making sense (due to exhaustion plus being a lightweight).

At some point Blakeney (which I will refer to him as there is more than one John) started yelling in mysterious Irish English (which isn't really English) and said he'd been bitten by a mukade!!! Megan, having recently had a mukade up her pant leg, flipped out in the most graceful of ways. "Where is it? How did it get in??? Kill it kill it kill it!!!" So as Blakeney put ice on his arm, I lifted up the pillow, expecting something the size of... the pillow, and instead found a baby mukade. Megan sprayed it with half a bottle of bug spray, which probably did more damage to us than it did the bug. The bug died instantly and we tossed it away. Fortunately it was no bigger than a caterpillar so Blakeney did not develop a wound/brain damage/death.

Eventually, after more mukade scouting was had, Blakeney left and the two of us ladies fell asleep.

The Festivals of Culture and the Amazing Suffocation Kimono

This was a week of many small events for me. The first and foremost being the culture festivals (文化祭) for both Ine and Honjo jr. high schools. These festivals represent a month of hard work by students, teachers and parents in all things arts, crafts, and general entertainment. Imagine a junior high school play, choir concert, and art showcase all in one day. And all in Japanese.

Don't get me wrong, my Japanese gets better everyday. However I am not yet adept enough in the language to understand 45 minute plays starring 13 year olds who aren't loud or coherent when they speak. I didn't understand a word of their plays, which was too bad since they were mainly dialog.

The choir sections were more interesting, as songs are generally more universal than plays. The songs were well put together and well sung! It was nice to also see the PTA sing a few songs from childrens' lullabies at Honjo.

The teachers put on their own plays, all involving ridiculous costumes and physical comedy. That was the most enjoyable part for me at both schools. Seeing how hard the teachers work, how late they stay, and how formal they are emphasizes how much fun the NEED to have. So, the play became an outlet of creativity and comedy for them. And it was a good thing too, because I didn't understand what was going on in their plays either! But watching the principal dressed up as a mouse, or the secretary dressed up like a big jolly sunshine, or the nurse dressed up like a goat was the highlight of my month.

The art was interesting too. Still lives of shoes, boats, and the general Ine/Honjo area were fun to look at. Some of the projects were REALLY good! Especially the summer projects which occupied of a month of each students' time (in theory). Some of the students' creations must have taken them a lot of hard work, which I imagine is difficult during summer vacation. Well done to them! My favorite part of the Honjo bunkasai was watching the most attractive boy (by 15 year old standards) in the school receive an award for art, walk down the steps like James Dean, and walk headfirst into a light panel and WIPED OUT. It made a big clang as well. He was totally fine, but it felt like the most humbling experience for the boy I assume is one of the more popular boys in the 30 person school. Poor Yuuta.

During the Honjo bunkasai, I was kidnapped/roped into wearing a kimono. Akiyama-sensei, the nurse, convinced me it would be fun. And wearing a kimono was a lot of fun! But it less the sort of fun a picnic or a water slide might evoke, and more the kind of fun it is to not be able to breathe/walk/have dignity. A kimono is a layering of many beautiful, patterned cloth pieces. It all begins with a slip. Then the towels. The classic Japanese standard of beauty is apparently to look like a roll of paper towels. No curves. So in each of the naturally curvaceous places (the hips, under the bus, above the booty) the wearer will place a small kitchen towel, rolled up, and fastened with a tie. The cylindrical shape is achieved this way. The towels are followed by an underkimono made of a light cotton material. Mine was orange. Then comes the ties to keep this kimono in place. The ties are tied TIGHTLY. I began to miss the full extension of my lungs, which seemed to be struggling to breathe naturally at this point. Then the outer kimono, if my memory serves me correctly. After the fine, thick outer kimono is on, it is time for the obi 'n friends. The obi is an endlessly long, beautiful thick belt that attaches around the kimono. It is tied in a bow on the back of the apparatus/outfit in the final stages of kimono-gussying. However, before the main obi, there are two under-obis and another slimmer tie. There is also a small bean-shaped flat pad that is attached to the front, and a rounded, protruding pad for the back. By the time the obi was tied, I had given up on breathing properly. I could barely move at first. Then, adding the finishing touches to my hair and shoes, I was ready to shuffle like so many Japanese ladies of the court (I assume.)

Japanese women are not naturally graceful as storybooks/sushi restaurants have led me to believe. They simply can't move in kimonos. Their footsteps are small and well placed because there is no other way to MOVE. They don't speak much or out of turn b/c they can't BREATHE. At least I couldn't breathe. Not well.

A barrage of photographs by Akiyama-sensei and a gait much akin to that of a toddler's, I made it to the gym. This was where I realized that I would be the only person in that gym wearing a kimono. Everyone else was in school uniforms, or casual wear. I felt like a dressed up dog. People stared and commented politely. I quickly found my seat and said hi to those around me. I wanted the activities to start so I could stop feeling like the center of attention.

During the opening speeches, I caught the words 'our new AET, Reicheru Suriibani,..." and the knowledge that I would have to shuffle up to the front and give a speech came upon me. So, I hopped up, and waddled gracefully to the microphone. I then introduced myself for the millionth time in Japanese and shuffled back to my seat. If I had had blood circulation, I would have turned purple. Fortunately, I didn't! They love it when I blush though because Japanese people don't do it so much (the flushing of cheeks was outlawed in the Edo period by an autistic Daimyo who disliked the colour pink).

Well, by lunchtime it was about 80 degrees in the gym, and I asked to take off the kimono. They obliged and I was so happy to wear normal clothing for the rest of the day, as it only got hotter in that gym.

After the culture festivals, I ran off to my first kimono lesson. Kumi Yoshida (of the Yoshidas, my family in Tango) lent myself, Desirae and Liz kimonos for the class. We're going to learn about the parts, and how to put them on/take them off/fold them. It's more complicated than you might think. There is a special way to fold EVERYTHING, which I am terrible at. I felt clueless for most of the lesson (it was about 20 Japanese women, all of them more graceful than myself of course). I also felt FAT. As a Caucasian American female in the age group 18-25, I have felt the inadequacies of body image many times before. But I've never felt BIG before. But when the skirt slip of the kimono wouldn't fit around me, and I had to refuse to take off my skirt for fear of showing too much leg in the classroom, I felt so embarrassed. However, I managed to have fun struggling with the under kimono and how to tie a Japanese knot (which is also harder than you'd think!) Liz seemed like a natural! It's so cool to watch her because she is able to pick things up so quickly, which is helpful to me because then she can explain it to me in English. And my Japanese is farther along than hers, so I can help her figure out what we're meant to be doing. It's a process, but it's a really good experience and hopefully in a few months, I won't feel so useless in the midst of the other women.