February 14-March 20
The rest of February was pretty laid back. Some of us did take an impromptu trip to US Land, which is basically Chuck E. Cheese for adults. You pay a set fee and get access to a range of activities including karaoke rooms, pool tables, arcade games, batting cages (as well as whatever you call the equivalent for soccer and tennis), ping pong tables, trampolines, video games, a fishing pond, and more. I had as much fun as any kid ever did at Chuck E. Cheese!
I started March by going skiing again. This time I went with Katie, Ryuichi, and Cody to a bigger place that was farther away. Yet again we had a great time and this place was really beautiful. Also, I’ve reached a pretty average level of skiing ability that I’m happy with.
Beautiful view from the top of the mountain...if you hadn't noticed I've forgotten the name ^^;
Funny igloo type thing. Of course we stopped and played. Katie looks a little too happy for someone being eaten.
Chopper!! Even on top of mountains I can find One Piece stuff.
Obligatory ski lift shot. Me, Ryuichi, Katie, and Cody.
I also met my new friend Ayumi for coffee. She is a Japanese lady in her 30’s and I met her through Masa’s girlfriend. She is very nice and we turned a simple coffee trip into a nice half day adventure. The coffee shop turned out to have more than their own hand ground beans, they also made an amazing curry. After that we did some exploring and went to the beach and some little shops around the area.
Inside the swanky coffee shop.
The amazing curries, though Ayumi's was better than mine.
Dessert came with the set. Sadly I thought it looked better than it tasted. Ayumi's had the outline of fork on top which was pretty neat. Also her cake was again better than mine.
The view of the mountains was amazing that day as we were driving around.
I got tickets for myself and the other ALTs from one of the teachers I work with to see ikebana or flower arranging, in which she had participated. The beauty and variety of the designs was amazing. I took pictures of every design but I'll just pick a few of my favorites to show. I'll start with a picture of my teacher's design.
School wise, March was characterized by the wrapping up of the school year. In Japan school starts in April goes until August, then there is a month of summer vacation, then about three months until a few weeks of winter vacation, followed by about three months before the school year ends mid March. Then there are about two weeks of spring break and the new school year starts up. It’s pretty different than what I’m used to but rather nice to get several long breaks throughout the year.
Sadly, in Himi we switch schools twice, once at the start of the new year and again after the new JETs come during summer vacation. This means I've left the five schools I’ve been with since I got here. My new schedule has me at one big junior high school (Hokubu) and two small elementary schools (Nadaura and Kaiho). I was sad to leave the familiarity of my old schedule and the students that I like but it was exciting to have a fresh start, this time with a bit more knowledge about what I’m going to be dealing with.
My last classes at my schools were all fun. We played lots of games and I was able to bring in an English episode of Dragon Ball Z Kai with Japanese subtitles to show in some of my classes. I have to give a HUGE shout out to Chris Thomas for all of his help in getting the timing of the subtitle file to actually match with the video, thank you so much!!!
Some of classes and students and even schools gave me something special as a farewell gift. I also had to speak Japanese in front of everybody a couple times but I survived and I now have many cards, pictures, flowers, and candy to show for my efforts. Below are pictures of some of my favorites (also I didn't take photos of most of the cards but I am keeping them all safely together in a drawer.
Thank you card from one of favorite students at Kubo Elementary. She liked me because I like One Piece.
Another Kubo student made this thank you card. They both wrote messages but all in Japanese. I don't think that reflects too poorly on my teaching abilities because they don't really learn writing until middle school.
A student made this for me. Actually this was also a Kubo student. I really miss them!
Flowers from Hayakawa Elementary.
Unfortunately, all JHS graduations are on the same day and all ES graduations are on the same day so I was only able to go to two of my schools. I went to Jusan JHS and Kubo ES. The ceremonies were pretty similar to any graduation (speakers, procession, diplomas, etc.) but instead of shaking hands there is a very formal bow. Also, the students sing several songs and wear their uniforms instead of any sort of cap and gown. After the JHS one the teachers had a celebratory enkai. We all had work the next day so it wasn’t a huge party but the food was delicious and everybody was very happy.
This is probably the only sign of my productivity during the break between graduation and school starting back up. It's a model of the Dawn Treader from the latest Narnia movie. They were free at the movie theater.
