im so sleepy

i’ve never watched as much tv as i have these past few months in japan, this is why i should have never started watching tv. i’m also doing a million things constantly, trying to pack in a hundred tiny things i want to get done before i leave… and i have done some wonderful things. i would say that if i left japan now, i would be happy- so now im just enjoying the rest of the time i have here (minus my boring job). and crying anytime anyone mentions me leaving

im afraid of the lack of adventure when i go back to my life in america. everyday, every weekend, i do something awesome and new here. i’m going to try and keep this way of life up when i go back to the us.

here are pictures from the last 2 months. im going to try to keep it to a few pictures per adventure, starting from two months ago around

as soon as it got warm out, mika and i went on a bike ride down the river in kyoto- just after the cherry blossoms had fallen. it was great, we saw this couple walking a scary racoon. and we rented bikes from the wierdest place ever

there were many hanami- cherry blossom viewing picnics. it was still a tad cold though… this is in obama

i dont remember what enkai this is, but this is my favorite teacher showing off the sign he made for it haha

i went to universal studios japan and rode my first roller coaster ever. the roller coaster was fun. but i cried/laughed hysterically the whole time. then a month later i went on an internet rampage and looked up all the people who had died at theme parks including a girl in osaka at osaka expo park where her head got chopped off last year.

i walked like a thousand miles and climbed a mountain with second grade. these are my favorite girls:

seaweed drying

these are my favorite boys:

she gave me this sea glass, so sweet

then i went to iwate! iwate really deserves it’s own post because i went to visit nicole on her turf and it was so fun. i thought where i lived was beautiful, but her home blew me away. its gorgeous, but she really does live in the middle of nowhere– tough girl, that one. we just did a lot of hanging out and driving, but it was wonderful seeing her life which is so similar to mine, but very different also. i love nicole. this weekend there was a really large earthquake though. shes been feeling after shocks for days. so creepy. ive only felt two small ones during my time here… but i live in the most stable place, hence the reason why we have so many nuclear power plants— creepy.

gorge

i saw fuji on the plane ride, i was pretty excited but i was the only one since it was a domestic flight and i was the only foreigner haha. I CLIMBED THAT!

my town:

my car was looking really cute in its spring outfit

this is what happens when you take beautiful drives by yourself. this is 20 minutes away from me

we rode bikes around the 5 lakes of mikate. so gorgeous

i started feeding the coi fish with one of the younger japanese teachers at school

all my schools have teeth art up right now

i went on alot of walks/hikes. saw a lot of nice plants

chillin at school

i bought this new ball thing for my car. im pretty happy with it. i also made those origami flowers… ill make you one when i get back

scott showed me his video of him on the price is right. it was amazing

i got attacked by a hawk and it stole my breakfast pb banana and jelly sandwich. jelly was all over the place. it was really scary

mrs shikimi picking me some sort of berries or plums… ume something. from her garden. so cute

there was an obama for obama rally here in obama. it was a little strange

i will miss onigiri so much.

i went to a pottery festival and bought some pottery…

i spent a weekend exploring fukui with kristin and tracy. this was taken on the drive along the coast

tojimbo cliffs. a lot of people commit suicide here

i went on the nicest hike/walk with mika and anna near osaka.. takarazuka. it will soon be dammed and flooded but now it was a gorgeous walk along the old train tracks above the river. and you can hop down and chill in the river. made me nostalgic for richmond- though this was much more beautiful. you also had to walk through pitch black tunnels with a flashlight for like ten minutes- you couldnt see either end– so creepy!

i’ve been making a lot of new friends. it only took 10 months and now im leaving! haha

my most favorite place in osaka. this was the site of the 1974 world fair i think. in osaka. but they have all these crazy “futuristic” things. ive been researching all the world’s fairs since then. at this one people could see a moonrock for the first time. This is maybe one of my favorite sculptures i have ever seen. its by Tarō Okamoto- tower of the sun. this whole place was just so wonderful- and there were huge parks and museums where i saw an indian textile exhibit— a perfect day with mika

the back of the sculpture, and the rose garden

i love mika’s jumps

japanese people wrap everything in cloth. this is my lunch. im adapting this to my american life, i love it

as usual. i have so many pictures like this now, but i still love them

school roosters

how i received my lunch at mos burger. so cute

i spent this weekend in obama getting in some quality time with my lady friends. this is obaachan, she is mrs shikimis mother and shes like 90 or older and still kickin. she taught me how to wear this yukata and some kimono that she made.

i went to about a million tea ceremonies also. this is my friend michiko and her mother. this is her tea house. their kimonos were so beautiful

the crew

we went to see iris’s at this temple.

so that’s that. phew.

lia and bjork

my friend lia and her friends made the outfit in this video for bjork! im so proud of her!

bjork video

you always want what you can’t have!

oh man– im having semi regrets about leaving.

thinking about staying at this job for another year really doesn’t make me want to stay- but thinking about all the wonderful people i’ve met, and how much japanese i’ve learned, and all of the experiences i’ve had in just one year… makes one year seem way too short.

In retrospect, I have liked my job, but there are days that i stare into space for a majority of the day and really, really feel like a waste of space. I know I’m making the right decision by leaving, but i’m really going to miss my life that i have built up here…

not to mention the fact that 10 months into being here I’m finally making some friends my age, and really thinking about how much i appreciate all my other friends and surroundings here. Somehow I’ve gotten involved with so many things and have realized just how many people i know and how being proactive really pays off.

The impending fact that i’m leaving is really making me emotional. every time a teacher or a student finds out im leaving and asks me why? i have no really good reason that i can spit out in japanese.  and i want to cry and I get all bleary eyed, what a bummer. i hate goodbyes

i feel this way about everything though- will i ever find something as good as i have now? should i give it up? i always find something else though. not necessarily better- just different, but in a good way.

my life is wonderful- what will happen next? sometimes it leaves me with all sorts of anxiety- but if i think about it in a different way- its exciting and im very fortunate. my new goal is to think of things from a more positive angle. it seems to be working out nicely so far.

the fam in japan!

my family came to visit me from april 13-28. i only got to see them for two weekends because i worked during the weeks. its always strange and a little fun when two worlds collide. my japanese world and my american world. its also fun to show people what ive been doing for the past 9 months… i can see how it would be a little difficult to fully understand what my life is like over here… it’s strange ..and sometimes i have brief realizations while im driving or biking or staring into space at my desk at work – that im living in the middle of nowhere, japan

its nice remembering how awesome my family is though, sometimes i forget how nice it is having people around that you love and think are so interesting and fun. I forget that i have a built in support network- people who will love me no matter what im doing. being away from my home has made me appreciate how much i love my family and friends. they are all so so so wonderful. I’m happy that im consciously appreciating these things. on the downside, im crazy sappy when it comes to many things… goodbyes- im a blubbering idiot… sometimes when i look at the elementary schoolers that i teach… when im driving or biking through beautiful scenery or listening to good music… or when i watch greys anatomy. im a nutjob

i only wish my brother could have come!

visiting some fish factories/fisheries:

train:

okonomiyaki:

always mr sleepypants:

taking over tokyo:

my moms getting the hang of it :

this is where i come from:

with 10 million screaming school girls. i think they were frightened:

my japanese and american family (eating shojin ryori- buddhist monk veg food):

learning to make soba:

…

trevor:

tofu restaurant:

yo mom

me and moms

family purikura

back in time…

a million things have happened… i feel like my time in japan is wrapping itself up and it’s making me anxious because i still have a million things planned…. and what will happen next? a huge question..

so here is a quick recap of my time in south korea, when my family came to japan, when i went to iwate to visit nicole, when i went to universal studios japan, when i climbed a mountain with the 2nd graders- and a few other random things… in about one month’s time.

SOUTH KOREA april 30th-6th

i met kate and jesse in korea- they are there teaching english.  when i said goodbye to kate in richmond last july- i never imagined that the next time i’d see her would be in south korea…

a few things about korea- its incredibly different from japan. there is american fast food everywhere. the people are a lot more abrupt and basically more rude. i was stared at constantly and noone was trying to hide it in any manner. kate was always mistaken for a russian prostitute and i dont know how she dealt with it because i was about to scream just because people were blatantly turning their head like 180 degrees to stare me down. everything was kind of dirty, most things smelled like sweaty kim chi because they eat it with every meal, everyone spit all over the place, and there was no such thing as waiting in line.  there were street beggars and people selling junk in the subway.. they were also incredibly concerned with appearances and i heard many horror stories from where kate worked. I am now used to the mannerisms of the japanese, where people are always polite (sometimes to the annoying extreme) and i never recieve direct unconstructive criticism… not the case in korea.

on a lighter note- korea had some amazing shopping. so many cheap wonderful things.  they also had the best tea shops i’ve ever been too. each one had incredible character.  there was also a ton going on culturally.  so many art exhibits, museums, and shows.  there were also many really cute neighborhoods in seoul.  overall, i liked seoul- it was just a major culture shock coming from japan- the land of the polite and indirect.

kate outside of her apartment in sanbon, near seoul

one of the tea shops: this one had birds flying around inside

trash

korean style dining! really wasteful but interesting and beautiful none the less

near the markets

the palaces are all very colorful- not at all like japan

at home with kate and jesse:

at school with kate teacher: (kate is the funniest teacher and taught her kids things like ‘have you lost your marbles’ and ‘kick the bucket’)

what kate teaches her almost fluent 9 year olds

war memorial museum. wierd. i also went to the DMZ which was really, really wierd

i couldnt hang out with kate and jesse much because they were working, so most days i spent by myself in seoul or with some other people i knew who were traveling at the same time. on the last day though, i had a wonderful time with them- we went on a bike ride, had delicious food, and found a really cute bar. i wish i had friends to do this kind of stuff with in japan!!

jesse looks very enthused with kate’s model shoot

it was a great trip. i may go back if nicole ends up there but it doesn’t look like she’ll be doing that now.  i want to see other parts besides seoul because i hear its beautiful, and i also want to go to the korean islands at the bottom of the country- so one day! things to mention: i seriously almost got hit by a speeding bus and was only saved by leslie who pulled me back by my purse strap (both scary and embarrassing). and a strange old man in an “embroidery museum” nibbled on my ear while he was showing me around because i could speak some japanese and he got a little too excited about that. creeeepy. i also saw dtn, ate a lot of good veggie food, went to seoul tower, went to an antique market, learned more about korean embroidery and patchwork wrapping cloths (pojagi) which are amazing, and bought some also. it was a great trip…

google horoscope

every day it amazes me

if you are tired of feeling stuck, relief is on the way as you begin to see solutions to your dilemma. Someone may enter your life now to present you with a fresh perspective that guides you into new realms of thinking. Don’t waste any energy resisting the upcoming changes. The truths you discover can propel you out of an uncomfortable situation. The prevailing currents are heading your way, so don’t be afraid to let go and flow with them.

someday soon i will update you on a million things that i’ve done

my dream yoga

many adventures!

heres a brief overview of what i’m doing the next 4.5 months:

jeremy is in japan! 

kelsey comes to japan! march 14-24

nicole comes to my neck of the woods! march 18-26

jordan comes!  march 22-26

i go to korea to visit kate! march 30-april 6

my family comes to japan! april 13-28

i go to visit nicole in northern japan! may 2-6

i go home to megan’s wedding (hopefully!) june 14-24 

in between all that i have many fun weekends, like: camping on the beach, camping in the mountains,  naoshima (artist community island), mizushima (beautiful island beach), going to the german theme park, learning buddhist meditation at eiheji, and hopefully going to okinawa (southern most islands in japan), + visiting other cities/places ive never been, etc…

i have 4.5 months to accomplish this. i cant believe how fast this is flying by!

and i am so happy lately because spring is in the air! some days i can wear a light jacket or sweatshirt. and i go on bike rides again! and i opened my windows and doors for the first time the other day. i love the first time you open your windows to spring!! 

today i left school early because i wasnt accomplishing anything at my desk. i had one class, but when i didnt have anything concrete to concentrate on, all i could do was be sick and miserable at my desk. it was probably one of those times when i should have been wearing a face mask- as most japanese people do when they are sick- but no thank you to that! 

i slept most of the day and I feel a lot better- im trying to be 100% by friday when kelsey comes! party time!

i’ve been studying japanese like crazy because ive had a lot of free time at school. so thats uplifting. funny thing is, when you study a lot, you really understand a lot more. hahaha just imagine how far along id be if i had been studying japanese every day for 4 hours instead of like 3-4 times a week for one hour or less. let this be a lesson to me. 

i also had my first experience at a japanese doctor’s office because i did something to the tendon in my foot. they gave me these magical flesh colored sticky pads that i put on my foot, and they make my foot feel so much better- amazing! it smells like medicine and i dont really know what it is, which is kind of creepy. other then that, my supervisor came with me so it wasnt difficult. i had a huge piece of sock fuz stuck to my toe which was embarrassing/really funny for some reason. we all had a good chuckle. and the doctor kept on looking in medical books that had english translations of the names of all the tendons in my foot, expecting me to know the medical lingo for all my tendons. uhhhh 

i also went to possibly the most fun/amazing festival ive been to in japan (and one of the best things ive done in my life) called omizu okuri. it means water sending. a long long time ago… the gods had a meeting in nara, and the god of my prefecture was late because he was hunting or something. so to make up for the fact that he was late, our prefecture has been sending water to nara since then. (i think) supposedly my prefecture’s water is some of the cleanest in japan. (they write that every where).  the festival is very very old (older than the US- which always puts things in perspective) , and it shows. it was so beautiful. the outfits the monks and priests wore were amazing. it was all very magical. when i come back to japan, i will come for this again…

 

major case of the sniffles

obama

the other day a teacher came over to me and said “fuji tv- tokyo” and then put her hand up to her ear like a phone…

fuji tv???? i was really confused because noone calls for me because i can’t speak japanese very well… another english teacher popped her head up and everyone started talking really fast in japanese and running around. then she waved her hand in front of her face frantically like a nevermind and walked back to the phone saying sorry. i looked over confused at my supervisor- what was happening??? she told me that they were calling to interview me about barack obama and my town, obama, but it was a political subject so i wasnt allowed to speak to them. man- i could have been famous!