Goodbye, lovely teachers!

It's teacher transfer time! Unfortunately all of my favourite people are leaving... which is awful. But as I would be leaving them in 4 months (WHOOOHOHOOHH) anyway, it's better to rip off the band-aid now. But it's still so hard saying goodbye to people when you're pretty certain that it's goodbye forever.

Matsuda先生, Nakani先生, me, & Aimi先生 ~
ありがとうございました！
 

So, a tribute to my favourite teachers at Ine who are leaving, Nakani-sensei the school nurse and Aimi-sensei, my JTE. Aimi sensei really inspried me to become a teacher and gave me a good grasp of how to teach English. So for that I will always remember her, and I wish her the best of luck at her new school.

At least it was a beautiful day outside, and I cleaned a bit more of the downstairs of my house. I'm looking forward to a time when the weather will allow me to live in the other 90% of my home.

Just to Clear the Deck, I own no Monkeys.

A Boisterous Cloister of Oysters
by Rachel K. Sreebny

On Saturday morning I drove the 80 minutes from Ine across the Northern coast of the Sea of Japan to Kumihama. My area, Ine, is the eastern most part of the Tango Peninsula. And Kumihama is the western most part of the Kyoto Prefecture, so you can say I drove cross-prefecture! All to eat oyster for the first time ever.

It was an oyster enkai organized by the kindly ladies of Natanya's English Conversation Group. There were a variety of oysters along with oyster fried rice and oyster hot pot! It was a lot of fun and the minshoku (guest house) was really beautiful. It was on a small beach called 小天橋 or Shotenkyo which means "small heaven bridge" or something like that.

After eating oysters forever and getting a giant bag of oysters each (like... 30 of them) we all migrated to my favourite ice cream place. It's a small Jersey Cow farm called Sora, meaning sky, and they have fresh ice creams, cheeses and milk puddings there. We all got ice cream and then most of the ladies set off home and Natanya came along back to Ine with me.

everyone say "moo"

Natanya had a lot of venting to do about her frustrations with not re-contracting, then changing her mind and having no say in the decision. Her BOE won't let her and on top of it she has boy drama, so it was good that she came with.

We spent the night knitting, watching 30 Rock, drinking beer and eating even more ice cream. Then Natanya put on like... all of my clothes and we watched the Wrestler and talked about which My Little Pony Characters we'd be.

I'd be "Purl" and have a skein of yarn on my horse butt. Ian's blue and his name is cloudy. He has a beer on his butt and when you put him in warm water it turns into a broken heart. Natanya is Spanky and she's purple. Kate is light yellow and her name is sparkles. She has a cabin on her butt. Then Greg is black with red eyes and his name is "Darkness". Lastly is Yumi. She's white with rainbow hair and her name is Yummy. She has a pie on her hip. Hooray for imaginations!!!!

Today (Sunday) Kate drove up and we went on a hike around the coast of Ine. It was nice weather for it despite rainclouds and it was good to get some actual exercise after doing nothing but eating yesterday. We got a lot of great pictures so I'll let those say a few thousand words on my behalf.

Other than that, I drank a root beer, cleaned my house, and skyped with Tristyn so I have no complaints! Enjoy your Sunday evenings, everyone.

Phew

"Don't know if Rachel has contacted you about Tristyn yet but the news is great. She had her abdominal surgery Monday and after 48 hours of excruciating pain and nausea she perked up enough to come home Thursday. She's eating and walking (very slowly) and looking 1000% better than pre-op The surgeon said it was the least complicated scenerio and restored blood flow immediately to the stomach and surrounding area by snipping a ligament around the celiac artery. We didn't even know the human body had a celiac artery! Her 5" scar is now a badge of courage and future great poolside topic of conversation . We are, of course, overjoyed."

I couldn't be more overjoyed either, man.

It's hard watching your friends suffer from overseas. That's how I segue this post to my Japan blog. I hope the next time I see her she is fat as can be and back to normal health so we can do pilates poorly together!

Journey to the North : Day 4

Lauren and I find an airport transportation autobus and climb aboard for the 90 minute journey to Chitose Airport. The weather is fine and we have no troubles finding a vessel to take us back to Kansai on the Main Island of the Japans. Exhausted from our travels, we do not speak much on the trip back. Instead we reflect on the many wonders seen over the past three days; strange beasts, sculptures in the snow, and a candlelit canal.

On our arrival to Kyoto Locomotive Station, we meet our companion, Ian. Ian helps us find proper Western food; burgers! Lauren is under the spell of the East and continues her descent into madness by eating okonomiyaki while Ian and I feast on meat, bread and too much sauce. Full and gay, I leave my comrades and find a locomotive North to my vehicle. I sleep on the ride up, full of mirth and memory.

Journey to the North : Day 3

February 10, 2009
Sapporo, Hokkaido Japan


Lauren and I slept away the morning hours after our long, eventful days previous. Finally rising from our soft, warm bed, we dress and go out into the Susukino area to find luncheon with a friend of Lauren’s – Corey (yet another out-of-place Hawaiian). We decided on râmen, a special delicacy noodle dish of the area. Slurping down hot noodles in miso broth with pork and a dash of spring onions seems just the way to enjoy the cold climate and continuous snowfall.

The Sapporo City Hall

Lauren and Corey head out to the beer distillery while I wander around Sapporo City, admiring the architecture. Soon after, I decide to visit a small artisan area known as Otaru to the North. I find a locomotive to take me there and stare in awe as, ever so unexpectedly, the sea appears. The train winds northward up the snowy coast, and passed the icy waters of what must be the North Sea. Not long after, we arrive at Minami Otaru, the southern patch of the town. I depart here, not knowing where exactly I’d like to go.

After walking for some time along the snowy sidewalks and slippery streets, I find a bustling intersection. A steam-powered clock stands in the middle of the area and historic plaques give tourists information about the town itself. I see a newly wed couple, not even dressed in their winterwear, taking photographs in front of a large, snow cake (complete with painted strawberries on top). It is quite beautiful and I manage to take a photo. I continue my stroll along the chocolate shops, toy stores and glass blowers. Finally the sun sets and I reach the Otaru Canal, which is lit up with candles. Here, I believe photographs will aid me with description, as my words could not express the beauty of this spectacle.

Frozen through, I decided to head back to the Locomotive Station in the City Centre. I meet Lauren and we sip coffee, warming ourselves from the inside. Lauren suggests we meet her friends Geetika and Naoko once more for a crab supper. I happily agree and we meet them at a cosy seafood restaurant high up in a restaurant structure. We feast for the next two hours upon fresh Northern Crabmeat and toast to our success. Afterward, I retire early to pack up my belongings and get a night’s rest before the journey back to Kansai. Lauren does not join me until the wee hours of dawn.


I dream of worrisome unpleasant things –causing me constant anxiety. A friend’s botched surgery leads to her sudden death. Most unpleasant. I am inconsolable for hours the next day.

Journey to the North : Day 2

February 9, 2009

Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

Asahiyama Zoo, Asahigawa, Hokkaido, Japan

Our first full day in the Nörth begins with an early morning breakfast in the underground sector of the accommodations. The hotel has provided us with the necessities: a spread of strange, eastern foods – most of it pickled or from the sea. Lauren (pictured with her explorer game face) partakes, her hair shining with the gleam of the Orient. At last I spot some Western Delicacies: eggs, toast and instant coffee. We snack on provisions while waiting for Kristin and Jian-wen to find us in the basement corridor.

Kristin and Jian-wen are prepared and ready to face the early morning chills of Sapporo. We leave the lodge and trek northwards towards the transportation vessel. Our tickets are purchased and we have brought everything we need to make the three hour journey to Asahiyama Animal Park. Cameras in hand, we board the highway vessel. Joining us on this voyage are some young, native women. They apply copious amounts of make-up (no doubt to blend in with their snowy environment) and giggle, as though they are small children. Lauren and I posit that this is in order to attract the men of the Japans. The island gentlemen must find this high-pitched noise instinctively alluring, and can hear the frequency from a long ways off. Sure enough, a male and his female companion join the ranks. He wears sunglasses inside the bus – perhaps it is a genetic eye condition, or perhaps he looked into an eclipse, thinking it was Amaterasu calling to him from the heavens. His hair is slicked back with seal blubber, and he is growing a weak beard. It seems queer to me that in such bitterly cold climates, the indigenous men seem incapable of growing thick beards or facial hair of any kind. Though, perhaps their skin is tougher than my own. The engine starts revving and our vessel gets on its way.

Lauren sleeps during most of the journey while Jian-wen attends to Kristin’s blistering headache. Perhaps she ate too many pickled sea creatures and is feeling the unfortunate consequences. The ride is long. I stare out the large, glass windows as the mountains and tall trees fly by. Memories unexpectedly emerge from my mind… playing in the snow as a child in Northern Virginia… trudging through the tundra of Western New York Territory… my first Oshõgatsu (Japanese New Years) atop the shrine of Yasaka Village (covered in snow, of course). It feels like a dream to be out in the middle of such grand nothingness.

We arrive at a rest stop and see a great crowd of visitors from every imaginable village in the Japans. They are in a frenzy; shopping, eating area delicacies (most of it iced cream, naturally), and taking daguerreotypes of snow sculptures outside. Wee ones play and frolic on the man-made sliding ground and elderly women simply take in the view and have their photos taken from inside a Japanese-made igloo.

Our first sighting of a snowbeast!

Another hour or so on the steel vessel and we find ourselves at last at the entrance of the expansive Asahiyama Animal Park. At last the opportunity to see indigenous beasts in their natural environments! Sadly for our group, the park is extremely crowded with more natives. Seems curious that they should be so eager to see their own wildlife. Though I suppose if I ever saw a Nörth American moose, elk or raccoon I would be equally delighted.

We decide to find provisions and hike up the mountainside to the very peak. The view is breathtaking – snowcapped, vast mountain ranges for all the eye can see. We find shelter and food inside one of the huts atop the mountain. Other visitors seem to have the same idea, but our timing is key and we find seating and nourishment in the form of hotdog, soup and rice.

After eating, we press through the building crowds and gallivant off to see the wildlife. Such variety of fauna, indeed! No explorer could have imagined how many indigenous species call Hokkaido their home. Chimpanzees, Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros, Wolves, Polar Bears, Seals, Lions, Tiger and even Giraffe! Whereas in my African travels I have many a time seen lions eat giraffe and giraffe eat leaves from tall trees, in the Nörth, the giraffe eat the very snow they live in! The lion simply paces around his paddock, growling at those who dare to peer inside. The hippos and rhinos seem a tad less active than those in my previous studies. They simply lie down atop the frozen wasteland. Perhaps their lack of hair prevents them from activity. Surely their natural fat stores keep them warm, however. I do not worry. On a side note, I instruct Lauren on the correct way to identify an ostrich. Emu, indeed!

After a strenuous three hours, we encounter something most curious indeed. A parade of small penguins makes its way through the crowds, ever so slowly. Many people take photographs (our troupe included, surely) and in a moment the penguins are gone. We are left with our growing frostbite and seek out another native delicacy – warm meron pan (bread that tastes of melon). Tea and meron pan in hand, we board our vessel once more and instantly fall asleep for the three hour journey back to our lodge.

And what do you suppose they're looking for?

Tiger tiger burning bright, he will eat some snow tonight.

Madonna and Child: Macaque

The March of the Penguins

Egads! A grasslands animal that eats snow naturally!

Kristin and Jian-wen decide to leave the North the next morning, much to my dismay. Lauren leaves our group to meet some friends from her homeland while Kristin, Jian-wen and I are left to our own endeavors. We wander over to Õdõri Park to see the famous ice and snow sculptures.

Such wonders are these in the darkness! The native Sapporians have set up lights in order to bring out the smallest details of their festive seasonal installations. Carvings in the snow of famous castles (Hamamatsu Castle), famous people (various athletes, animated characters), and even an international section where various nations have submitted their own artists to sculpt strange things from the frozen ground. My own nation has constructed something most repulsive and strange… a combination of Wisconsin Indigenous Mythology and Frank Lloyd Wright. Whereas Jian-wen’s nation, Singapore, has tendered a most delightful snow sculpture of an animal… or a person… it’s quite hard to tell, actually. The clear winner of the statues is that of Thailand, an eagle fighting a giant serpent. Certainly worthy of the gold medal! Even Lithuåniå has crafted something – a tall rodent leaning on what appears to be a mitten. The description tells us the folk story of a mouse who found a glove and shared it with the other creatures of the forest. The tale ends with a bear crawling inside, ripping the glove. The mitten must have been spun from most elastic yarn. Rather, that which only Lithuania can produce.

We finish off our busy day with fried noodles with meat and cabbage, purchased from a local vendor stand in the midst of the festival. The hot noodles slip down our throats and give us strength enough for the walk home. I bid farewell to my traveling companions as they retire for the evening.

In my accommodations, I fall asleep almost at once, only to be awoken by Lauren returning after a night of frivolity and intoxication. Lauren spends the evening in the bathroom, perched over the privy, as I drift off into a warm and deep sleep.

Journey to the North : Day 1

February 8th, 2009 (Sunday)

Kyoto --> Kobe --> Sapporo

Laüren and I braved the hördes of spatially unaware Kyoto-jin to take pleasure in COFFEE.
After replenishing our caffeine levels, we met fellows Kristin F and Jian-Wen C. and hopped the locomotive to Köbe city. The sky is eerily blue today.

Kobe as seen from the Port Liner locomotive
A swarthy crew, indeed. (Kristin, Jianwen, Rachel & Lauren)Posing in front of Kobe Port

The earthquake long ago has done wonders for this bustling metropolis. Its appearance resembles of a mixture of Seattle and Disneyland. We sit crouched next to a time-inappropriate Christmas tree, surrounded by our various parcels. The information sign says,

"ANA 403 Sapporo -- Weather Check".

Weather looks fine to me...

The frigid winds of the Nörth are somehow preventing the checking-in of our personal items! But we shall overcome this temporary hardship in time. Patience is of the utmost importance on this, our maiden voyage day! We can only hope the meager sandwiches will last us until we reach 27,000 feet and are rewarded with tea. *** We have made it to Chisöte Aérpört! The landing was most exciting and received applause from the natives. Fresh off the flying vessel, the four of us made our way by another locomotive to the Kita Hötel -- our primitive accommodations. Indoor plumbing and electric lights should suit us just fine.

Dressed in our warmest, we brave the bleak and frigid climate.

We dress in our furs and journey out into the Winterländ. It is night, and the darkness turns the wind into a piercing, penetrating gale. We seek shelter and warmth in the red-light district of Susükinø [薄野], where the indigenous tribes of Sapporo have staved off insanity by carving the shapes of animals into the ice. We observed actual sea-creatures (crabs, fish, etc) freshly encased in the blocks of ice.

frozen monstrosities!

Fearing our own capture and encasement, we seek shelter in an 'îzakåyä', where we meet a kindred explorer from the subcontinent of Néw Jërséy. Her name -- Geetika. She and her indigenous squaw, Naöko, regale us with tales of frivolity with the local peoples of Tokyö. We fend off the cold by downing exotic "cöçktaëls" and partaking in traditional dishes such as sashimi, kara-age, and pizzå. Laüren decides to befriend this explorer and continue alcoholic indulgence, whilst I (as the Japanese say) "cash in my chips" and head back to the inn for rest~ I'll need it for the frozen days ahead.

Post dinner! (Naoko, Gittika, Lauren, Rachel)

London and Emotional Rollercoasters

Well it was quite the whirlwind vacation to England! Last year I only saw my Dad for 3 days before he had to go on a business trip, but this time he took 2 weeks off and we did NOTHING (not even Belgium things!) I don't think I've ever accomplished so much nothing on a vacation before... it was fantastic.

The pound is doing poorly, which made me happy because it meant that not everything was ridiculously expensive (only practically expensive). So, I bought lots of yarn and an ipod and some clothes. Good purchases all around.

Family is all doing well. Mama is still crazybonkers and my Dad likes the wii fit a LOT. Laura is good and is rocking a most interesting bouffant sort of hairdo most days. I don't know if this is on purpose. Dogs are well, except that Shekel is going blind! He is starting to look like the scary old rat, Nicodemus, from the Rats of NIMH! Oh no! But my cousins' pets had to be put to sleep first thing in 2009 (RIP Licorice the dog and Cosmo the cat). So weird. It was in 24 hours of each other, too. Different households to boot! What crap luck. Anyway I am thankful for my aging, blind, obnoxious dog.

For Christmas my mom cooked a ham and a chicken and a million side dishes, which actually made up for not having Thanksgiving with them this year. I ate so much ham, I may actually be 14% ham by volume now. They'll call me Ham Sreebny and I will excreet ham at them. Through my EYES.

Um.. for new years we sampled scotches from around the woooooorld (and got drunk) and played British Trivial Pursuit which has questions such as,
"Which town in Northern Britain was first to achieve an electric tramway and to this day still utilizies trams."
An American such as myself first asks the question , "wtf is a tram?"
The answer is Blackpool... or Liverpool.... or Blacksomething. I forgot. Needless to say I did not earn a single wedge.
The funny thing about England is not that they pronounce everything silly and phrase things strangely

"How many noses has a slug?"(the answer is 4). (I got that one right out of guessing).

Other than that, I utilized high speed internet and filled that big empty void in my life called "intimacy" with three human bodies around me at all times, and watched the first season of 30 rock. Come to think of it, my ma pa and sister were the ONLY people I had contact with in those 2 weeks, which is probably why it was so hard to depart.

The long flights and long train rides back were full of me half being horrified about leaving and going back to Japan where I feel gloomy lonely and empty most of the time and half me crying from exhaustion after being up for too many hours and never having any idea where my trains were supposed to be... also tooooo many suitcases and no escalaters make Rachel very unhappy. When I got to Fukuchiyama station and missed my train by 10 seconds b/c my bags couldn't be carried up the stairs quickly enough, I just burst into tears. Some girl with Japanese about as good as mine had to help me ask about other trains because I was so exhausted that I didn't have the energy to tell her that "I can understand the schedule I'm just crying because my body wants me to let it die." Anyway thanks, mystery girl! You saved me a bit of trouble.

Yumi's mother was a saint and picked me up from the train station. My car was a saint for not running out of gas on the way home. The weather was a saint for not raining or snowing.

Getting back home finally at midnight was weird. I had to take a bath because it was too cold to get into bed otherwise and once I was in bed and shut off the lights I had that dawning realisation that "AUGH OH NO I'M BACK HERE AND HERE IS WHERE I AM!!!!!" And had the same realizaton when I got up at 645 for work. "Oh no it wasn't a dream, I'm still here.... it's like I never left nNOooOoooooo!!!!"

So I've been feeling on and off depressed for the past 48 hours or so. But once teh sun finally came out and it was all beautiful and the waterfall was out and I had a nice drive to work it didn't seem quite as bleak. Nighttime just seems darker when there's no one else around.

Apparently my students did well above average on their English standardized tests so my BOE is happy with me for a change (even after me nagging at them about me going to that conference in 2 weeks). Phew. Our boss took everyone out for lunch at the sushi place down the street. Sitting down and knowing I could eat everything and HOW to eat everything made me realize that coming back is SO easy that it doesn't feel right.

It really doesn't feel like you should be able to wake up next to your sister in a proper house with central heating and say hi to your dogs and drink coffee wtih your dad and go for a ride in the car to the airport and spend that same night at your frigid empty house in rural Japan. It's so jarring that I feel a little bit crazy. That's why it seems like the vacation never actually happened, which is kind of depressing in itself.

Anyway I don't know what's wrong with me but I am preeeetty sure I am some kind of depressed right now. Seeinga psychiatrist in Japan sounds like more trouble than it's worth but I wanted to put this out there to everyone since it's a new year and I don't want people to think that I hate everything. I really just go back and forth between loving it here and hating it here and it never seems to sit in the middle. I just feel like I seem to be preventing myself from doing things I shoudl want to do. Like my friends here are awesome but I never feel like going out with them and it doesn't stop me from feeling lonely most of the time. I have a good job and I work well with my coworkers but I still feel like nobody there respects me and I am a really crappy teacher. I just feel like I am trapped inside myself and it's preventing me from having the fun I deserve to be having during my last 7 months. I also keep comparing myself to others which makes me embarassed about not having a good time in Japan when it seems like everyone else it -- but everyone HATES life in the winter! Why can't I see this????

Anyway I'm back and after work I am going to go home and sleep SO HARD. Meanwhile the monkeys are calling to me... "Happy 2009!" They seemed to screech.

Rachel

November Blog

PROLOGUE
November is the month where the cold sneaks up on you. It hits like a brick through a sound proof glass window. This month temperatures continue to rise and drop in unexpected waves, and I am driven to taking hot baths every night for warmth. The kerosene stoves have come out at school and I’ve relearned how to use my heater along with my electric blankets, halogen fan, and newly repaired kotatsu (heat table). Fortunately, the amount of social and work-related business I’ve had this month has distracted me from the sudden drop in temperatures.

GENERAL
I’ve been continuing to work hard on my Japanese: pedagogy and linguistics course. It’s nice to use my noodle for a change and it’s a really welcomed challenge for me! I’m learning a lot about grammar especially between paying more attention in higher level middle school classes. 3rd years for instance were learning noun phrases such as ‘I don’t know who you are’, which takes the question word ‘who’ and turns it into a phrase instead of a question… anyway I never said I wasn’t geeking out about it. I was also recently contacted by CLAIR because they had chosen one of my essays from my advanced Japanese course last year to post on their JET Programme website! Neat! Granted, I failed that course with flying colours but it’s still an honour to be nominated (bats eyelashes).

LEIGH & STEVE
Other than that, in the first week of November I was visited by my friends Leigh and Steve. They had been in Kyushyu (a southern area separate from the mainland, Honshyu, made up of nine prefectures) for a stint and were returning to say goodbye to their Tango-parents, the Yoshidas (and to me!) before returning to the United States via Nepal. Those two are what you might call, ‘globe-trotters’. When they were here, Natanya joined us for a weekend of onsen in Taiza, dining on udon in Miyazu, and general socializing with people around the town. I was really in awe of how many people Leigh had come to know in her two years here in Tango, and I have to admit I was a bit envious at how many people wanted to see her before she left. I live here and I don’t think half that many people want to see me! Ah well, it was nice driving around in the last of the warm weather. It was very sad saying goodbye to them after our last supper together at the Yoshidas. I was really grateful to get to see the Yoshidas again because Kumi has been in and out of the hospital with some sort of colon cancer. She seems smaller and has lost a considerable amount of weight, but she looks really happy and healthy and it’s a huge relief. I came home that night to find out that my computer had gone into an iComa and wouldn’t wake up!

FIELD TRIP
I spent one of the early Saturdays in November going on a field trip with my students to an area called “Umi-hoshi Park”, or ‘ocean star park’. We varnished wood that will soon be made into a water-wheel (but perhaps by different students) and went hiking in the autumn leaf-strewn mountain paths. It was really enjoyable to spend some time outside of school with my students, and they seemed interested in talking to me and actually have been ever since. I’m not a very outgoing person, and I tend to keep to myself, so it’s taken me awhile to warm up to the students I teach… but now it’s a really nice feeling to walk amongst them without feeling like an outsider to the extent I was feeling it before. We can’t all be that ALT who jumps around shouting in broken Japanese and making friends, can we! Due to the field trip’s bout of cold, rainy weather, I spent the following day sick in bed with a cold.

OSAKA & IMAC RECOVERY
I recovered enough to spend my day off going down to Osaka that Monday to meet Ian and to drop off my ailing desktop computer at the only apple store in the area. I took the highway bus, which was considerably easy. Natanya was kind enough to house me in Kaya so I could catch my bus from nearby her house. Ian and I had lunch and caught up over coffee after my computer was dropped off. We then spent a frantic hour searching for my bus terminal. I had foolishly not paid attention to where the bus had left me off, and it turns out that there are about 5 bus terminals in and around Osaka/Umeda Stations… so in the nick of time we found a bus guy who knew where our terminal was and we ran for it. I got there 6 minutes before my bus left and there was no time for beer, which was very disappointing. However it was great to have Ian along to keep me calm when I was certain I would not only miss my bus, but have no other way of getting home that night. I slept very well when I finally made my way home that night, and the highway bus was extremely relaxing because I zoned out and listened to NPR podcasts for the 2 and a half hours we drove through the dark highway. Osaka is far too big; lesson learned.

RECITATION CONTEST
The following week was crunch time for the Recitation Contest, in which students from junior high schools in the Yosano District compete for fabulous prizes (coloured folders and a certificate) by reciting stories from their text book in English. As it was last year, I didn’t entirely understand what curriculum the judges were basing their decisions on, but the students were all very good! My two groups of first year students both brought home coloured folders as did my third year student. My second years, who were sadly not recipients of coloured folders, were disappointed but satisfied with their performances, which was fine by me. It was also really nice to see some of the other teachers in the area who look like they’ve early settled into Tango, which is also a relief. Tango is certainly less social than it was last year, for better or for worse. It seems like everyone has small groups of about 2-3 people that they cling to. I am included in this pattern with Kate and Natanya, so it’s nice to see other ALTs with their students from time to time. After the contest, I drove down to Kyoto to pick up Brendan and Kevin from Kyoto Station. However I hd gotten the times mixed up and had to kill 6 hours around Kyoto. I spent 4 of those hours studying in a Starbucks across the street from the station. Afterwards, I met up with Rachel2 and Ian and we ate fruits on the steps of the station and looked out at the 50 foot tall Christmas tree and all of its pretty coloured lights. At times like this, I have no arguments with X-mas decorations going up on November 1st. I met Brendan and Kevin and drove them home in my tiny car.

BRENDAN AND KEVIN VISIT JAPAN
Their visit was really nice! They were excellent house guests. They brought me loads of hand soap (it smells so good and feels so soft!) and more importantly they brought me Swiss chocolates and Kalhua! They ate all of my rice, which I couldn’t believe, but it was so nice having friends around and it was interesting hanging out with people who don’t have the same job I have for a change. One night they came with me to Honeycomb Café to meet Yasuka, a girl I had been in contact with through Toko and Kate. She was really awesome and the pairing of my two weirdo friends from college and a Japanese person I’d never met with before was really interesting. Yasuka sold me, Natanya and Kate tickets to the Nutcracker in early December (or the くるみ割り人形, the walnut-dividing doll).

That week, I took a day or two off to take Brendan and Kevin around the Tango Peninsula. I took them around my town and to meet all my 1st year students from Ine and Honjo Junior High Schools. The Ine students REALLY enjoyed how tall Kevin is. He kept hitting his head on the doorways. Then I took them to Amanohashidate, where they tried to see the dragon in the sky. I took them later on to Taiza and to the same onsen I’d gone to with Leigh. On that day it was snowing! We all got to be in our separate onsen in the snow, which was my first experience with something so very stereotypically Japanese. Sadly no monkeys… although Brendan and Kevin did manage to see a group of Ine monkeys by the temple on the hill.

Eventually I went down to Kyoto to join up with the boys and to hang out with the Kyoto-ites at the monkey café eating hamburgers and drinking leftover liquors in Rachel2’s house. The next day we high-tailed it on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo! Natanya joined us to balance out the gender imbalance.

TOKYO VISIT

Our first night in Tokyo we ate at a cool bar in Akihabara and did some over-priced karaoke. Everyone got pretty into it by the end, especially Brendan! Afterward we went back to our youth hostel and hopped in the indoor onsen before having a nice night’s sleep.

The next morning, Natanya and I went to the MoT (The Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art). It was a really fantastic museum! We walked around the permanent collection and saw all sorts of abstract but very enjoyable “art”. Our favourite was a phone booth with a disco ball and ipod installed into it. If you get into the booth and close the doors, all you can see are endless reflections of yourself. Then you’re meant to get into the music and dance to your heart’s content, while everyone outside the box can watch you and giggle. We deemed this the Boogiebox™ and were using it for about 25 minutes… there was also a video about two guys who caught an octopus and carried it around Tokyo so it could meet city folk and other octopi (octopod?). Everyone naturally wanted to eat it, but it escaped narrowly and was eventually returned to its home.

After postcard shopping, we went over to Shinjyuku and wandered around the crowded pedestrian areas looking at pretty neon lights and stores. Then we took a train to Harajyuku to buy Natanya some glitzy socks (I bought a hat that I will probably never wear!) We then joined the boys for a delicious and glutinous Chinese food dinner in Asakusa, where our youth hostel was.

Our last day in Tokyo was kind of a failure. We got up really early to see the fish market but either we got there too late or the fish market was really low key due to the federal holiday…
whichever the case, there were no fish to be found! We got up at 6:30am for NOTHING!!! After that Natanya and I went home and packed our things to go to Osaka and then home. I said goodbye to the boys and we stole their JR Passes so we could save money on our shinkansen home.
RETURN TO OSAKA
Osaka was PACKED. Natanya and I fought our way through the throngs of people and hopped a cab to the apple store where I picked up my computer. We had just enough time to get back to the hidden bus terminal (without too much trouble) and grab bagels and then our bus home. The bus was late and Yumi was waiting at Miyazu station to pick me up because she is my guardian angel. From her house, I picked up Kirby-kun and drove home, where I became sick for the second time this month (d’oh!).

EPILOGUE
The month isn’t over yet! We still have Thanksgiving at Natanya’s at the end of this week, but I think I’ll save that for another entry as this one has found it’s way into a novel. Until then, let us hope my immune system kicks in and the snow stays away for another month or two…