End of the School Year

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.

I really like this one because my first thought when I saw it was "baby ent."

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.

I'm alive I promise!

February 5^th – February 13^th

Before I say anything else, I want everyone to know that I’m alive and well. The earthquake and tsunami were on the east and I live on the west coast. I didn't even feel the huge quake because the second floor of the elementary school I was in is so sturdy that my class wasn't even interrupted. At most I felt a few aftershocks over the next few days. I am also well of 300km away from the nuclear reactors. I am paying attention to the news and I am stocked up on supplies if something ever does happen in Toyama. I know I can’t make everyone stop worrying but I just want to remind you that the news is focusing on the areas where the disaster was and making it seem like the whole country is that way. I would never downplay the magnitude of this tragedy but I want everyone to realize that nothing about my daily life has changed other than trying to conserve electricity for the rest of the country. Also, all of my friends and people that I know throughout the country are okay. We were all worried about Jenni for a while but she is safely out of Miyagi and back in America for as long as it takes for her area to get cleaned up. All this said, I am most certainly keeping those affected in my thoughts and prayers and I hope that you will too.

Now that that's out of the way, let me get on with trying to catch up on telling you about my life in Japan. The first two weekends in February I went skiing. Despite being on the seafront, Himi is also located near the mountains so we had our choice of places to go. Katie and I went with our Japanese friend Ryuichi to Ushidake, a small ski park less than an hour away. We found out that we actually know the person (Yukio) who ran the restaurant at the top, which was great because he gave us free French fries.

I insisted that a picture was taken before I made any attempts to do anything, just in case I managed to break an arm on the bunny slopes.

Student and teacher!

At the top! Yukio's restaurant is inside.

Kaite was awesome!

Ryuichi on the lift behind us.

I was a little nervous about the actual skiing because both of them were experienced (Katie at skiing and Ryuichi at snowboarding) but they had offered to teach me so I tagged along. I was lucky in that I didn’t have to rent anything other than ski boots because I borrowed clothes and a pair of short skis from friends around Himi. Short skis are a lot of fun. You don’t use poles and with there being less ski underneath me, there was less for me to trip up on...not to say I didn't spend a good amount of time falling XP

Katie did a great job of teaching me how to ski and by the end of the day I was zipping down the mountain at high speeds (okay that’s a bit of an exaggeration) and ready to go back again. Of course the next day I was amazingly stiff and hardly wanted to leave my apartment but despite that, that night Alex, Joe, and I went out for some okonomiyaki and then to a jazz bar for wine and cheese in honor of Gregory’s 21^st birthday, or at least that was my excuse for drinking on a work night :D

My okonomiyaki mix for the night before I stirred it all up.

Cooking the okonomiyaki!

Kito Kito Ya has a very cozy, swanky feel. Add in the delicious food and amazing wine and I am a very happy camper.

Cheers! Happy Birthday Gregory!!!

After a normal week of work, a larger group of us went skiing again at the same place. This time it was me and Katie again, along with Alex and Joe, as well as Satoru, Eri, and Nabe from Wyatt, and a couple of Eri’s friends. They all knew Yukio as well so we made sure to stop there for lunch (and more free fries and meat buns too this time). I refreshed the basics I had just learned as Katie taught Alex but with a bigger group we didn't make quite as many trips up and down. He still picked up quite a bit and we all had a great time.

The day started out snowy, with giant fluffy flakes.

Joe, Alex, me, and Katie on the lift up.

Katie teaching Alex how to ski.

Eventually the snow stopped and it got sunny and beautiful.

I got a picture of everyone at the top in Yukio's place. Joe, Satoru, Nabe, Eri, her two friends in the red and green, Alex, and Katie.

Winter Wonderland

January 12^th-February 4^th

I didn’t expect to come back from Hokkaido to find Himi looking the same as the north. It has snowed so much here. We had well over a meter of snow. One cool thing that Himi does is that in order to help clear the streets they have installed little sprinklers down the middle of many of the roads. I originally thought they were spraying salty sea water but when I asked around about it, I was told that it’s actually just normal ground and river water. I would have thought that this would cause more problems with ice but it really seems to do a pretty good job. There is a noticeable difference between the roads that use them and the roads that don’t. Regardless, I’m slowly adjusting to driving in snowy conditions and *knock on wood* I’ve yet to get stuck.

The sprinklers. Sometimes they spray more powerfully than this and can be very annoying to dodge while on my bike or walking.

This is what a rice field looks like covered in snow. This is one of the many fields I pass on the way to school...I don't even remember which school I was on my way to when I took this.

This is one of my Elementary Schools. Kume ES is the farthest from central Himi and one of the ones that easily shows the population crisis of Japan. Despite the size of the buildings the whole school (1st-6th grade) is only 56 students.

Kume ES from the front.

The winter view from my apartment. I like the dichotomy between the snow and beach.

The weekend after I got back from Hokkaido John, Katie, Aaron (Katie’s visiting boyfriend), Mariko, and I went to Toyama City to try our hands at glassblowing. I was surprised by how much we were able to do ourselves. There was always someone holding our hand through the process but we participated in every step along the way. We got to design our own cups, including shape and color. I attempted to make a stemless wineglass. ..shocking, I know. It actually came out really cool! I put bubbles in the glass and a swirl of red near the top. I’ve already broken it in with a glass of cabernet sauvignon.

Katie was the first ALT to go.

John put a cool bottom on his.

I was shocked to find out the special tool for this step of polishing and shaping was actually just some folded up, wet newspaper.

The actual blowing of the glass.

Shaping the glass.

Ta-da! Not bad right?

This was the inspiration behind my glass. Not quite the same but they'll both get the job done.

I’ve mentioned before the fish that Himi is famous for, the buri or yellowtail amberjack, but what I haven’t mentioned is that because of its fame throughout Japan it can be rather pricey. This year, because of some strange currents there have been a lot more buri than usual. Masa, our sushi chef friend, sent us a message saying that they had bought a whole buri for the cheapest he and his father had ever seen in their careers. As friends and regular customers this was reflected in the price of the sushi Masa was selling us! Needless to say, I went to Manyo many times to take advantage of this. Even before buri season I have come to realize that Himi has the BEST SUSHI I’ve ever had in my ENTIRE LIFE!!! I’m probably completely ruined on sushi from anywhere else.

Masa hard at work at Manyo.

The head of the buri. Look how big it is!

Buri donburi. Thin slices of buri over a bowl of rice.

Of course nigiri is one of the best ways to eat it. These are both buri just from different parts. The fattier the better!

Masa says right by the fin is the most succulent part of the whole fish and he grilled it up for me and Alex. This picture is literally the best cooked fish I've ever eaten. It was juicy, tender, perfect.

So we don't just eat sushi at Manyo. Masa takes special requests and also surprises us with other dishes that we can try at times. Nabeyaki udon.

Fried oysters.

Calimari and he made three sauces to go with it.

Unfortunately the rest of January ended with me getting sick. It wasn’t very bad but with the flu going around like crazy at many of the schools (at one of my smaller schools I had a class canceled because 7 out of 8 students were home sick and at another one whole grade was told not to come to school) they did not want to risk me spreading anything. My experience with the doctor was a little annoying because the second time I went to get the approval to go back to school, the doctor didn’t do anything but ask if I was ok (we didn’t even go into an exam room) and write a form saying I could go back to work, but I got charged the same as the first time I went and he put me on Tamiflu. Usually healthcare is very cheap in Japan, but apparently that only applies to actual medical procedures and not filling out forms.

I did have one other fun experience in January. Alex, Joe, Cody, and I all went to a local sake (rice wine) brewery. We got a tour and got to sample some sake. I’ve been on many winery tours which made this tour interesting because of how it was similar and different to that at the same time. At the end I bought a small bottle of sake that I planned to drink in honor of Gregory’s 21^st birthday though that didn't actually happen.

The little shop right at the entrance.

Fermentation vats.

We were all wearing those stylish boots.

After the tour he took us upstairs and was showing us some other stuff. This was the most interesting to me. It is a sake glass that was given to every soldier is WWII before the left to go fight.

Here is the sake I bought and the glass they gave us at the end.

OH! My last bit of news is that I officially submitted the paperwork to stay another year! Anyone who has been reading this can tell I’m having an amazing time but aside from the fun I’m having I’m also studying and I can tell my Japanese has really improved. I’m still only intermediate and there is so much more I want to learn! Wish me luck on another year in the land of the rising sun ^.^ The pictures below show the view that helped make me fall in love with it here. Absolutely beautiful.