nihontiff's Xanga

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:08:49 GMT

In the last two months, I've visited Nara and Osaka (my fifth, sixth time?) and Tokyo (fifth time?) but never had the chance to post pictures.

NARA was beautiful and there were so many things to do--walk around the forest, feed deer, explore countless temples and UNESCO sites.

Daibutsu-den

Huge Buddha

OSAKA Aquarium

On the left, an octopus curled up in the corner; on the right, some big spider crabs!

The most famous sea creature at the aquarium, this huge shark!

HELLO KITTY in Osaka

HANSHIN TIGERS vs TOKYO YAKULT SWALLOWS baseball game at Koshien Stadium--crazy!!! Japanese baseball games are 10x more exciting because all the fans get dressed up in gear (shirts, towels, hats, the works!), sing chants for each individual player, and cheer like mad while beating together plastic baseball bats in a wild frenzy!

Everyone releasing their balloons after the 7th inning

Last week we had the CLOSING CEREMONY at school. I had to make a goodbye speech, and afterward, some girls were crying! It was bittersweet and I was definitely flattered that they were moved enough to cry. Then two of my favorite third years, Chihiro and Manami, came up to present me with a bouquet of flowers and read a speech to me. The students are now off for summer vacation (but all of them still show up for club activities every single day).

On the right is Yamamoto sensei with a picture I drew of him (doesn't it look like him!?). He's one of the teachers I interacted with most (other than my JTEs) because he's traveled a lot and speaks some English.

Then on Saturday (my second to last weekend here), we had a LAST JET GET-TOGETHER in Okayama City. I think over twenty JETs, both staying and leaving, showed up for dinner at Moby Dick's (where I bumped into my dance teacher, Ce-Bo!!) I don't have any pictures from the dinner, but here's Jon, Dennis, Marisa, and I posing with a giant Snoopy before we met up with the others.

After dinner, Lauren, Marshall, Tibor, Reed, and I strayed to Joypolis instead of karaoke where everyone else was. We played House of the Dead 4 (my favorite! I got a blister as usual though), Mario Kart, air hockey, and basketball. I was exhausted by the end! Here's Marshall and I posing as JR conductors.

And most recently, the teachers at my school threw a GOODBYE PARTY/ENKAI for me on Tuesday night in Tsuyama. They surprised me by taking me to a yukata store and getting me dressed up in one, complete with geta, (several other female teachers got dressed in yukatas too) and I found out later that it was a goodbye present from all the teachers! It was my favorite color--red--with a stylish modern obi. We ate at this amazing Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant, Cielo, where they served up dishes like sweet honeydew wrapped in prosciutto, raw fish with arugula drizzled in olive oil, sea urchin and tomato pasta, etc. I had to make another speech thanking the teachers and again was presented with flowers. It was a lot of fun, though karaoke afterward dragged on. The principal pulled me to the stage to dance (seku-hara! ) and some male teachers were totally drunk and out of it. A last crazy enkai to remember...

From the side, from the back!

Now my life is about cleaning, packing, shipping, cancelling accounts, taking care of last bills. It is the hugest hassle to move, especially from one country to another. I have to throw so many things away and pack up what remains of my life here into suitcases and boxes. Looking through all these old receipts, admission tickets to shrines, travel pamphlets, little notes and trinkets buried in the drawers and underneath papers has reminded me of the trillions of experiences and memories I made this year. I'm going to miss 久米南町 so much!

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 03:24:37 GMT

Whoopee! I got published in Kansai Time Out and my article is the cover story!
You can't read it on the website but at least you can see my name there: http://www.japanfile.com/modules/news/

Flashback to Naoshima trip with Lou & Marshall-- Naoshima is an island in the Seto Inland Sea that belongs to Shikoku, even though it's far closer to Honshu. It's famous for contemporary art and architecture. Many of the public institutions and buildings were designed by the same guy. Tadao Ando, a renowned Japanese architect, designed several important buildings on the island too, including the Chichu Art Museum and the Benesse House Art Museum.

Here we are visiting the Benesse Art House.

"100 Live and Die" by Bruce Nauman, which I wasn't supposed to take a picture of.

The first pumpkin!

The one on the left is by Andy Warhol.

The view from Benesse Art House [it was super windy that day!]

Exploring the works of art outside

My favorite pumpkin by the sea!

The Benesse Art House also built hotel rooms so visitors could stay overnight. Though we couldn't get in, we managed to get a glimpse of the outside.

Gorgeous photo opportunities like this were all over Naoshima!

But my favorite one of all was definitely the pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama, created in 1994.

Post-hip hop class!!

This was also a while ago--visiting Okayama-jo (Crow Castle) and Korakuen, one of Japan's top three landscape gardens which just happens to be in Okayama City, with Marshall and his friend Chris!

In the garden with Okayama-jo in the distance...

Awww with Momotaro!

And finally, the long-awaited castle.

That night was the overnight sayonara party at Jibutei Samurai House (a real samurai house!) in Kumenan! That's right, all these JETs had to trek to my town for the party.

The lovely Jon & Marisa

The samurai house!

I had to steal several pictures of the party because I didn't take many. On the right is Bob, Ludo, and Jon dancing to Outkast's "Hey Ya"!

Watch this great video of their dance!! It's fantastic!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

With the new Fuzzy Peach editor, Richard! And then with the old editor Bob and neighbor Maricar.

The next morning, Marshall, his friend Chris, Dimple, and Bob started off from the samurai house at 6am to get to the Yuge train station in time for the 6:59am train. Marshall, Chris, and I had plans to hit up Hiroshima and Miyajima in one day so we had to get an early start. I didn't think they were going to make it but just as the train was about to leave, they rushed through the station!! Anyway, when they were walking down from the samurai house (it took one hour down the mountain), Marshall got some beautiful pictures of Kumenan at dawn.

First we went to Hiroshima. Here we are at the ruins of the A-Bomb dome.

Thousands of strings of paper cranes!

The eternal flame.

After we had explored the museum and eaten Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, we went to nearby Miyajima, where I had a great time with all the deer roaming the island!

They were so adorable!

...and also very aggressive! Marshall was eating corn and one deer started to attack him. Then some other deer knocked food out of people's hands and there was a huge mess.

The famous floating torii

More updates later! :]

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:01:48 GMT

Saying goodbye is proving to be far more difficult than I thought!

Today was the last day of English class for the first year students, before summer vacation begins next Thursday, July 19. But by the time classes start again, I won't be here, so I asked Miss Ishiyama if we could take class photos. After we finished doing 1-on-1 interview tests and the students had settled back into their seats, Miss Ishiyama asked me to explain what I wanted.

"Today's your last day of class until summer vacation," I began. "And I want to take some pictures with you guys."

As Miss Ishiyama translated this into Japanese, the students bobbed their heads in understanding, murmuring "Shasshin! Pictures!"

Then Miss Ishiyama carefully explained the reason why I wanted to take class photos was because I was leaving Kumenan and a new ALT would come to replace me in August. There was a huge, collective gasp and a loud "Ehhhhhhhhh???" from all 25 students. They were completely stunned (even though most of the teachers and staff knew about my decision not to re-contract since March, none of the students were informed), shocked, and in disbelief. All the kids started talking loudly, yelling, "Why? Nani? Nani?", and looking at me with these sad, forlorn little faces. Then Miss Ishiyama said, "So is it okay to take pictures?" and all the students (many of whom dislike taking photographs) shouted, "HAI!!!"

My eyes actually watered as the students rushed up to me, held my hand, hugged me tight, clamored around me, asked me why I was leaving. We went outside to take pictures, group by group, and ended with a class photo at the end. The suddenness of the news really hit them and it touched me so much to see the first years (mostly the girls) stare at me with big, sad eyes and stroke my hair and talk in rapid Japanese about how much they'd miss me and implore me not to go.

The routine happened twice (for both first year classes, 1A and 1B) and I honestly had to struggle to maintain my composure. The students were so obliging about taking pictures, so affectionate. I have four more sets of classes to break the news to, then a goodbye speech (in Japanese!) at the closing ceremony next week, so it's not going to be easy.

They drew a picture of me!!

Sayonara...!

Friday, July 06, 2007

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:20:56 GMT

.Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, and Okayama.

So I went to Tokyo...once again! This time I had an interview at the Major League Baseball company in Tokyo with their managing director, Jim Small. If I got the job, I'd basically be a day-to-day liaison between MLB and sponsors in China and Taiwan, which is why the position calls for strong Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and English fluency. I also met my visiting sister in Tokyo!!

Devil Hello Kitty

Nakamise-dori in Asakusa

Senso-ji

Dinner in Shibuya with Ayaka and Tetsu

A quick train ride to Yokohama with Tetsu as our escort, and we ended up at our beautiful Intercontinental Hotel Yokohama. Look at the view from our room! It was incredible.

Fortunately, Tetsu was our nightlife guide in Yokohama and since he is DJ Tets, he has contacts everywhere! Here we are at Bridge in Minato Mirai with Sanno-chan, Izumi-san, and of course Tetsutaro.

Dim sum at Hei Chin Rou was delicious, of course!

Sami & Mamoru with our desserts

Je visited my school in Kumenan! The students loved her.

Cleaning period & with the squealing little first year girls!

After lunch period

After a sweaty and particularly fun hip hop class with Marshall

Kyoto (second time)

Kiyomizu-dera

Cobblestone streets with charming, quaint architecture

Smooch!

Yasaka-jinja, one of my favorites

I mean, how could you not love the sight of all those beautiful lanterns?

Dinner in Gion, where we glimpsed a couple maiko hurrying along the street.

A dressed-up cat in front of Kyoto station, where I also "bumped into" Ishiyama sensei!

Hozu-gawa River Trip

...which conveniently deposited us at Arashiyama!

Fushimi Inari Shrine...gorgeous! I loved the endless rows of red torii gates!

It's a must-see if you ever visit Kyoto!

My sister visiting SSC : ] With my boss Taka, and several of my students.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 12:50:33 GMT

A Weekend in Kyoto (6.2-6.3)

The futuristic-looking JR Kyoto Station, which I thought was gorgeous!

First stop, Miss Ishiyama's old apartment when she used to attend Kyoto Women's University. Then we checked out the neighborhood Hokoku-jinja (or Toyokuni Shrine).

One of Kyoto's most famous sights: Kiyomizu-dera! We were basically racing the sun, so we walked really quickly all the way uphill to Kiyomizu. We were rewarded with awesome light and some time to roam around the sprawling complex of Buddhist temples and shrines.

Otowa-no-taki is under the main hall of Kiyomizu-dera, where three channels of water drop into a pond and tourists line up to catch the water in metal cups and drink for their health, success, etc.

As we walked away from Kiyomizu-dera, we ate fish sticks and observed all the pretty restaurants and souvenir boutiques lining the streets.

We walked through the narrow streets of Higashiyama district towards Yasaka Shrine (aka Gion Shrine), which was beautiful because of the illuminated lanterns decorating the stage.

Afterwards, we walked straight into the Gion district and I was lucky enough to spot two maiko and two geisha (I later discovered it's really rare to spot them)!! I felt a little bad for one geisha who was hurrying to work and pursued by 5-7 people, snapping pictures and chasing after her!

The main street is full of super expensive restaurants, while the small alleys around the back are smaller shops or even the homes of maiko. You can tell because their names are written at the entrance door.

Despite the outrageous prices of some of Gion restaurants, we decided to eat at one slightly affordable place for dinner. The food was some of the very best I've ever eaten in Japan. Delicate dish after dish of exquisite and unusual Japanese food was served to us, and ended with strong matcha and mochi--my favorite!

I wanted to try one of these ice cream sundaes (azuki, green tea ice cream, condensed milk, ice, chewy mochi), but I was way too full from our elaborate dinner!! Next time :]

Then we headed to Kawaramachi, which was packed with restaurants, nightclubs, and boutiques. I saw one club that should have been mine: Club Ling (my awesome middle name)! And then there was Club Laid. Very subtle.

We hung out for a while with Jon and his visiting friend Lindsay at Ing, a small, loud, smoky bar. Jon and his friend just happened to be visiting Kyoto at the same time! What a coincidence!

The next morning, we woke up at 6:30AM to beat the tourist crowds. After a quick bath (communal, since we stayed at a traditional Japanese ryokan) and a Starbucks breakfast (green tea latte...mmm), we hopped onto the bus for another of Kyoto's famous spots, Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion). Even though we arrived before 9AM (the place opened at 9), the front courtyard was packed full with Japanese tourists, foreigners, backpackers, and hordes of students on their school trips!! What great timing. When they let us through, it was swarming with people and noisy.

But it didn't detract too much from the beauty of the Golden Pavilion!

We got fortunes. I got an excellent one :) But Miss Ishiyama wasn't so lucky, so she folded and tied hers (so it wouldn't come true).

The serene rock garden (well, its peaceful atmosphere was compromised by the presence of chattering school kids) and the lush expanses of intensely green verdure were some of my favorite parts of Kinkaku-ji.

Definitely a great highlight of Kyoto was Arashiyama, a district known for its bamboo groves. Even the Saga-Arashiyama station was really unique, done up to look like the ceiling and pillars were made of bamboo.

Of course the station paled in comparison to the real thing. Unfortunately we were caught unprepared in the rain as we started to walk around, so we waited it out under some trees. Though there were several tourists in the area, the tall bamboo trees created a quiet, cool, shaded atmosphere.

Almost forgot! We enjoyed tofu soft ice cream...it's a lot more delicious than it sounds, really! The owner of the shop insisted we take a picture holding our ice creams upside down...they don't fall out, it's magic!

As we were finding our way out of Arashiyama, we came upon this beautiful field of flowers.

My nose was replaced by a piece of scrumptious katsu filet!

One of our last stops in Kyoto--Heian Shrine.

Goodbye Kyoto!

News: I bought my return ticket home last week! I leave Japan from Osaka on July 31 (Tuesday) and fly to Hong Kong. I'll be in HK for 6 days and leave HK--> LAX on August 6 (Monday). Exciting!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Sun, 20 May 2007 10:56:45 GMT

SPRING IN JAPAN

Look how beautiful springtime is in Kumenan! I'm a sucker for bright blue sky and green leaves. But the rainy season is approaching...which I'm not looking forward to...and after that, it's going to be awfully humid.

Marshall and I went to the Nanagozen Festival in Kibitsu, supposedly one of the prefecture's three biggest festivals. When we got there, we saw a bunch of kendo matches and a few food stalls. But still, the Kibitsu Shrine was beautiful so we wandered around for a while. The area looks like old Japan, which is why I liked it.

The fountain in the middle of the courtyard at school has always been kind of dark and murky. So it was a huge deal when they brought in some guy to pump out all the ugly dirty water, and make it clear again! Now we can see the turtles and koi fish swimming inside! It's so much better. And the school is just coming alive again with green grass, flowers, trees, warm sun. The students play outside now during passing periods, and we all don't have to bundle up in 5 layers anymore!

I watched Spiderman 3 last week (watching movies at the theater is super expensive here). The best part of the movie was when Peter Parker started dancing on the street in his new black suit...I was laughing so hard! Hilarious! My favorite scene:

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Sun, 13 May 2007 11:11:10 GMT

The weather is warmer, the birds are back, everything in Kumenan is rich, green, and flourishing--what more could a girl ask for?! ^o^ I've never appreciated spring time so much. Life is pretty good overall, still busy, very close to the end of my JET contract (less than 3 months and counting!), and lots of indecision about what I should next.

Tetsuya, Manami, the receptionist (I suck because I forgot her name but she's great), me, and Taka-- from SSC Academy

Some of my favorite advanced students from SSC: Hideharu, Ippei, and Saiko. They were all in various states of deep thought because I asked them to make a sentence using a certain pattern, and they just couldn't do it. They sat like this, muttering "Eto..." and "Eeeh?", for about 5 full minutes before Hideharu piped up, "I want to tell a girl I love her, but I cannot." That boy is hilarious! Once, during a lesson about compliments, I asked him what kind of compliments he's received from people. He said, "One time, a girl said I am a good cook. I think this is false. Another time, a girl said I am cute. Ah, this...is a fact."

Aww, my little Haruka, all grown up into a first year high school student!

Shabu shabu dinner in OKC with fellow JETs, my mom, and Marisa's visitors!

A delicious chocolate dessert from Lux Restaurant. . . but look how tiny it is!

Beautiful flowers in Kobe

Life back at the junior high is great. The other day we played Guesstures to practice the past progressive tense.

It was also parent's day, so lots of moms and dads were visiting and observing the class. We called on some parent volunteers to participate, and this one mom drew the "hugging" card! So she persuaded her husband to join her up there and hug in front of everyone. :]

Hazuo sensei, who moved to Osaka to teach high school. He came back to visit one day though and some students were crying because they missed him so much! He was definitely one of my favorite teachers.

I don't know why I made this face of delight...because I actually hate natto! Natto is stinky fermented soybean. In Indonesia, we have tempeh, which is also fermented soybean but in a cake form. For some reason, I adore tempeh and despise natto.

A weekend visit to Akaiwa City to see Hanae's glass studio. It's pretty cool, she is featured in several magazines, and her studio is steps away (literally) from her family's house.

Mothers & daughters!

We ate at the most delicious tofu place on the outskirts of Okayama City. This restaurant absolutely gives tofu a whole new meaning. . .definitely not your everyday tofu!!

During Golden Week, my mom and I visited the Kanto region. First stop, Tokyo!

At the New Otani Hotel in Akasaka

Hanging with Ayaka and her fiancee, Nori, in Shibuya, where everyone is young (think teens), hip, and trendy.

Then to the more upscale Omotesando Hills mall. . .which puts South Coast Plaza to shame.

Breakfast buffet at New Otani with a glorious view of the city

My mom on the streets of Akasaka at dusk (isn't the lighting perfect?)

We took some time to explore the 400-year old garden of the New Otani.

Then it was off to Yokohama, with Sami and her boyfriend Mamoru driving us from Tokyo. We stopped at Yamate, walked around the beautiful streets, and took in the view of Yokohama Bay.

Yokohama Bridge!

At Minato Mirai, where I bought an incredibly affordable yukata, just in time to wear to summer festivals.

The largest ferris wheel in the whole world : ]

Behind us is Landmark Tower, the tallest building in Japan.

We enjoyed the most sumptuous dinner at Hei Chin Rou, Mamoru's father's restaurant in Yokohama Chinatown. I've missed Chinese food so much, and the 12-course meal there was FABULOUS. Because I mentioned to Sami and Mamoru that I haven't eaten dan ta (egg tart) in a long time, they served that at the end and gave me some to take home. I was in heaven. Hei Chin Rou dan tas rate up there with JJ Bakery's!

It was the Kawakami's 33rd wedding anniversary! Here we are with the lovely, wonderful Kawakami family-- Akio and Eri, oldest daughter Ayaka and her fiance Nori, younger daughter Sami and her boyfriend Mamoru, and the youngest son Tetsutaro. The funny thing is that Nori is half-Chinese and Mamoru is full Chinese! Eri was wondering why both her daughters ended up with Chinese boys. : ]

Outside the pretty 7-story restaurant. . .

Nighttime in Chinatown

The next morning, my mom and I explored Chinatown again. Yokohama's Chinatown is definitely the biggest I've ever seen and is far cleaner and quieter than the noisy, dirty ones in L.A. and New York City. I was so excited just to be surrounded by small Chinese shops, restaurants, grocery stores, cafes. I bought all the things I couldn't normally find in Japan, like XO sauce, Chinese mushrooms, crystallized ginger. People were walking around on the streets drinking boba and eating huge stuffed bao. It was great.

This is probably my favorite entrance gate into Chinatown (there are 5). Mamoru's father actually helped designed them!

The streets were absolutely packed with crowds of Golden Week holiday-goers on vacation. You could barely navigate through the streets, you had to push and shove. But still, it was the most orderly Chinatown I've seen, and boy was it clean!

We took the fastest elevator in the world (so I was told) to the top of Landmark Tower to drink in the breathtaking views of Yokohama.

Then we visited the Yokohama Royal Park hotel for a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, a very interesting experience.

Yokohama at night, especially the Sakuragicho area where we stayed, was just so pleasant, warm, and romantic that I wanted to move there right away. Yokohama is a huge place, very urban, but less crowded than Tokyo, more scenic (since it's a port city), and overall more relaxed. Plus, the craziness and chaos of Tokyo is only 30 minutes away. Yokohama is now my favorite city in Japan. It just seems like the ideal place to live.

We took a walk across this long, beautiful bridge to World's Porters mall. There we enjoyed the most delicious matcha pudding I've ever tasted.

We finally left Yokohama for Atami City (my second time there), which is a big onsen resort city near Tokyo and favorite holiday spot. Uncle Kawakami made some time out of his busy schedule to come and join us.

Our hotel, the Royal Wing, was just huge!! The room was the biggest hotel room I've ever stayed in (beating out the Wynn in Las Vegas even). We were also lucky enough to witness a Japanese wedding and take a picture with the bride and groom.

My mom in the yukata and happi coat before going to the hotel's rotenburo onsen, which had tons of these fully blossomed, dark red roses floating on the water.

We ate dinner at the hotel. It was exquisite. So dainty!

And finally, it was Sunday and time to return to Okayama. We packed our bags and left Atami. (Here's us with the dolphin-nosed Nozomi shinkansen whizzing by).

Fashion is so different in Japan. . . ^^

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 10:21:48 GMT

After nearly 15 years of playing professionally in clubs, he finds them changed. To him, most places are no longer about dancing and having fun. “They are a tangible representation of what I like to call the universal lie,” he explained. “It’s a place where people pull up in their Porsche, show off their new Marc Jacobs bag or jewelry or, ‘Hey, look at me in V.I.P. with five bottles on my table.’ All this stuff means I’m someone in God’s eyes. But that’s the lie.”

Though he is part of the machine that keeps club life humming, he perceives it with a clear head. And he says he’s not tempted to hop back onto the hell express. “I get to watch people fall down and puke on themselves,” he said. “Or watch the liquid-courage guy who weighs 120 pounds try and beat up the bouncer, or the coke girl who’s like” — he worked his jaw and slipped into a Valley Girl lilt — “ ‘AM, can you play this song?’ ”

“No,” he said dryly, “I can’t play that song.”

From NY Times Article, DJ AM: His Life, Times, Shoes

In two landmark rulings, Japan’s highest court on Friday rejected compensation claims filed by former wartime sex slaves and forced laborers from China but acknowledged that they had been coerced by the Japanese military or industry.

The decisions were handed down as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tried to head off a resolution on Japan’s wartime sex slavery in the House of Representatives during a two-day visit to Washington.

It was the first time that the Supreme Court has ruled on lawsuits by Japan’s mostly Chinese and Korean captives during World War II, effectively quashing dozens of similar cases that have been working their way through the lower courts in recent years.

The court said in both cases that the Chinese plaintiffs had lost their rights to seek individual legal claims against the Japanese government and companies because of a 1972 joint statement in which Beijing renounced war reparations from Japan, a decision supporting the government’s position that postwar agreements cleared Japan of responsibility for future individual claims.

China’s Foreign Ministry denounced the rulings, describing them as “illegal and invalid” and calling the court’s interpretation of the 1972 statement as “arbitrary.”

From NY Times Article, Japan Court Rules Against Sex Slaves and Laborers

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:29:07 GMT

It's strange to observe how much I've come to love my students. The more time I spend with them, the more fondness and affection I feel. I love the new first years. They are adorable twelve-year olds, tiny little things with chubby faces and big wondering eyes. I've witnessed the most adorable scenes in the last two weeks since they've been initiated into school through a formal opening ceremony. The second years have grown closer to me, less intimidated. They're still babyish and immature (just today, boys were wrestling and soon a mountain of students were sprawled in a heap on the ground...in class), but have an air of superiority over the new babies. And the third years are more chatty and familiar than ever. I really miss the old third years who have graduated onto high school. Occasionally, I'll see a few of them on the local trains in their new uniforms and get really excited.

Even though I miss the old teachers, I've been having a lot of fun playing matchmaker between my JTE Miss Ishiyama and the new science teacher, Sugiyama sensei. He's 26, she's 24. She's unmarried and wants to get married, to my knowledge he is single. She's tall, he's taller. It's a match made in heaven if you ask me. Plus he is pretty hot.

And the college students from my second job give me great joy as well. I was teaching a lesson about "Giving Compliments" to one of my favorites, Hideharu. I asked him what compliments he had received from other people. Hideharu: "Some girls say I am a good cook. But...I think this is not true. And some people say that I am cute. This is a fact."

Pictures from when my mom visited school and made a speech about herself!

Sakura in Kurashiki's Bikan area, okonomiyaki in Okayama

Cutie patooties

My principal gave us a whole cooked chicken! (First time I've seen this since I've been in Japan)

We checked out Tsuyama's famous Kakuzan Koen with 5000 cherry blossom trees! And had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants there.

Hanami at Himeji

Here we contemplate the ephemerality of life...

We saw ninjas who tried to attack us... and a wedding!

And cute elementary school children in the smartest green little uniforms and backpacks!

We got a nice look at the famous Himeji Castle and ate oshiruko, delicious mochi in red bean soup!

We visited Kamakura (old capital of Japan) with Horiguchi sensei and a group of other people, including LUDO, my fellow Okayaman JET! Horiguchi sensei's husband is a teacher at Joto High (I heard it's the number one high school in Okayama-ken) as well as a priest, so we got many special privileges and were allowed inside the temples to see the prayers and everything!

There's a great deal of interesting history surrounding Kamakura and I was able to read about it in a great little book called "Kamakura" by Iso Mutsu, a British woman who married a Japanese diplomat, and lived in Kamakura for a long time.

Daibutsu, one of my favorite spots, with a huge copper Buddha statue (we were able to go inside the hollow statue for 20 yen)

We stayed in Atami City and enjoyed the onsens there. Both Kamakura and Atami were beautiful scenic cities with stretches of beach and a very Southern California feel (outdoor cafes and restaurants, surfers and beach bums, sunny weather), so I loved it!

A lavish dinner and onsen afterward!

The next morning, a huge breakfast and Hakone (my second time there)! We had a great clear view of Mt. Fuji!

My new boyfriend, and one last shot of the beautiful sakura...most of the cherry blossoms last only two weeks and now their pretty petals are all over the ground.

Lastly, the news about Virginia Tech shocked, disgusted, and pained me. When I found out the shooter was Korean, it shocked me even more. Since I'm currently not in the USA, I rely on NYTimes.com to keep me informed. I don't really know what media coverage has been like in the States, but I can imagine the scrunity that Asians, the "model minority", must be getting in the media. I'm sure Asians will receive a great deal of media attention because of the massacre and that bothers me for reasons too complex to cover. But most of all, I feel so very, very saddened for the victims of the massacre, for Virginia Tech, and for the hundreds of people who will be affected by the tragedy. The mayor of Nagasaki was recently assassinated too, so this has been a depressing week in the news.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:25:40 GMT

Sotsugyou season! My third years graduated last Friday in an impossibly formal, extremely official ceremony. The graduation, spanning two hours in a freezing cold, unheated gym, is one representative slice of Japanese school life I'll never forget. Attendees included the entire school body, their parents (mostly mothers dressed in formal wear or kimonos and geta!), the town mayor and important officials from the Board of Education and other offices, and us teachers and staff. Everyone, except the kimono-clad women, dressed in formal black suits with corsages pinned to our left lapels. The male teachers had to wear black suits, white collared shirts, and cream ties. The students can be loud, noisy, and out of control in class, but during official school functions, I've observed that it's all business to them. They sat quietly in their neat rows, feet planted firmly on the ground, hands still in their laps. The gym was deathly quiet and I was afraid to even turn on my camera for fear of making too much noise. Throughout the ceremony, there was an excessive amount of bowing--bowing to the mayor's table of important officials, bowing to the teacher's table, bowing to the massive Japanese flag, bowing to the student body. There were dozens of speeches. Sad songs were sung. Towards the end, half the female students began to cry and break down. To my surprise, several female teachers cried too. The relationship between students & teachers here is really close. I think the formality of the ceremony made it more poignant and emotional. I was definitely sad to see my san nensei leave the school.

On the momentous day the Tsuyama line was fixed (glory hallelujah!!) during the train ride back home, I was sitting and reading my book "Flyboys" by James Bradley (highly recommended for anyone with even a slight interest in WWII). Anyway, an older Japanese woman got on at a stop and sat across from me. She noticed my English book, leaned forward, and said (in Japanese), "That must be very difficult to read!" I realized she thought I was a native Japanese girl reading a whole English book! I laughed and said, "Amerika-jin." She was shocked! Then we engaged in a short choppy conversation in Japanese. She asked me where I was from, I told her California, she said sorry that she assumed I was Japanese and we had a nice little exchange until my limited Japanese ability prevented us from continuing any further. Grassroots internationalization, anyone?

On March 15, we celebrated Jon's 24th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JON!!!

He even cried a little when he read my touching heartfelt card. That's what happens when you receive a one-of-a-kind Tiffany Card Co. creation.

March 14 (a day before Jon) was Marisa's 24th birthday! But we celebrated the following Saturday (also St. Patrick's Day) with dinner at this great restaurant! And we even had these awesome tiaras! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MSPICE!! Glad you enjoyed the birthday dinner and karaoke!

And it's spring break now for schools, but teachers still have to show up! Even though there aren't any students or classes to teach! It's sad, I'm losing three of my favorite teachers and my supervisor Takano-san. I'm losing Hazuo sensei, the young history teacher who is leaving to teach high school in Osaka. I'm losing Horiguchi sensei, the librarian who is leaving to become a librarian at the Kumenan Town Library (at least I'll still see her around!), and most painful of all, I'm losing Kita sensei, the vice principal who was for all purposes my supervisor, my second mother here, the one who did and cared most for me. She is going to become a principal at Mitsu Junior High in Okayama. It was a sad, rather emotional day today saying goodbye to them (it was their last official work day). I'll probably see them again at the upcoming farewell party in a few weeks, but still, to know that the new school year will start without them is just horrible! : [ Meanwhile, even though there's no class, we had a huge teacher cleaning day (ugh, terrible back-breaking hard labor), and we go out to eat lunch around town every day since there's no school lunch for now. Today I practiced singing with Yamamoto sensei, his guitar, and Hazuo sensei upstairs in the library for a good hour. They're planning on serenading the vice principal at the farewell party and hoping to make her cry. I'm going to miss those three teachers so much!

This fresh self-serve udon restaurant in my town is so delicious! I can't even describe it! And cheap!

Almost forgot about my one-day trip to Kobe!

Final thing, my mom is visiting (recently arrived)! Hurray! She's been cooking me the Chinese food I've longed for.