Fuji-san (x2)

I have heard that there is an old saying about Mount Fuji. Anyone would be a fool not to climb it once -- but a bigger fool to climb it twice. Although statistically only 1% of Japanese people are said to climb it in their lifetime, the volcano still receives over 250,000 climbers a year. Last year my good friend Ann and I travelled to the mountain with the goal of climbing from the bottom of the mountain to the top. Due to bad weather and our own unpreparedness we only made it half way, so this summer we resolved to reach the top. 3776 meters (12,388 ft.) above sea level. After successfully making it to the summit I can safely say that either that proverb is wrong or I am a complete fool. When Metta mentioned that he was interested in climbing Mount Fuji, of course we had to do it! And I am so glad that we did. I had so much fun climbing it twice. I had two different experiences. Both sunrises were beautiful and completely unique. That alone definitely makes it worth the soreness and tiredness.

Mount Fuji is located in Shizuoka and Yamanashi Prefectures. From Tokyo it takes about 2 and a half hours by train to reach the towns at the base of the mountain. Many years ago monks and pilgrims would climb from the bottom of the mountain, stopping at mountain huts that are placed strategically along the path. Nowadays climbers take a bus from the town of Kawaguchiko up to the 5th Station and climb up past the 9th Station to the crater.

 Most people who climb the mountain go up at night and stay to see the sun rise, and that is what we did too. The first time I climbed the mountain Ann and I left Kawaguchiko Station at 9pm and started climbing at around 10pm. In our backpacks we brought food, water, extra clothes and rain gear. It was a slow climb up to the top, mostly due to the crowds of people! The path is narrow, rocky and hard to see at night, so we often had to stand in lines waiting to move forward. As we ascended the mountain we stopped to rest outside several of the stations along the way. We passed many people who were huddled along the side of the path looking tired or ill with altitude sickness. Lots of people were inhaling oxygen. When we finally reached the top of the mountain at around 4:30am after 6 and a half hours of climbing the sky was already starting to lighten.

We found a place to sit and watched the sun come up for the next 45 minutes. Good thing we got there when we did! Soon there were no places to sit and there was still a line of people waiting to get to the top. We could see their headlamps coming up all the way from the bottom of the mountain. 

Waiting.

It's coming.... 

.... 

I was in awe when the sun finally came up. We wanted to walk around the crater but it was crowded and it would have taken about an hour so we headed down the mountain. It was cold and I was exhausted, but it was so worth it. The descent was a path of slippery volcanic rock, and it took us about 3 hours to finally return to the 5th Station. The hike lasted about 10 hours in total, from 10pm to 8:30am. 

When Metta and I hiked the same path about three weeks later the sunrise we saw was completely different. We started our climb an hour earlier; at 9pm. There were a lot less people climbing and we were able to hike at a steady pace without waiting for tour groups and long lines. It took us about 4 hours to reach the 8th Station and around 5 and a half to reach the top. We got to the summit at 2:30am and the sky was still dark. Because we were so early we were able to get a great seat at the edge of the mountain. We sat there and waited as the sky gradually lightened.

4am. 

We could see the lights of Tokyo in the East. The 5 Fuji lakes were visible dark areas in the midst of all of the lights. It was bizarre to see how much of the country wasn't asleep!

4:30am

Anxiously waiting for the sun to rise. I don't know about Metta, but I was so cold!! It's coming... 

 Here comes the sun. 

 The rays of light were unreal. I've never seen anything like it. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, so we could see the sun's progress incredibly clearly. 

 4:45am.
The mountains and lakes and the sun is rising. 

5am. 

It was getting lighter by the moment now.

5:06am.

And I say.

It's alright.

And all of a sudden the sun was up! Everyone became silent for a moment. When I looked back at my pictures I realized that people were praying. Then from somewhere within the crowd a man called, "OHAYOO GOZAIMASU" (Good morning).

In unison everyone answered him, "Ohayo gozaimasu!"

By 5:10am the sun was completely visible and the sky was bright. Almost immediately it started to become warmer. We walked around and explored the shops for a few minutes. On the top of Mount Fuji there are many stalls selling souvenirs, postcards, and hot food. We checked out the crater briefly and then headed back towards the 5th Station. From the time that we reached the top until the sun rose we were probably waiting and watching the sky for about 3 hours. By the time we reached the bottom it was 8:30am. We caught a bus back down, checked into our hostel, and almost immediately passed out for around 6 hours. The entire hike ended up taking us about 12 hours from start to finish, including the time spent sitting at the summit. 

So maybe I am a fool, but if you asked me to climb Mount Fuji I would probably climb it again tomorrow. I hope I can climb it every year. If each sunrise is as uniquely beautiful as the two I saw, it would be worth it every time. 

Beginnings of Summer

Summer has begun. With only 4 more days left of work, the fact that it's here has finally started to sink in. SUMMER!! Yes please, and thank you!

This weekend my good friend Lolo came down from Nagano-ken and we adventured down to Kyoto to see the Gion Matsuri.  A great way to kick off the warm hot weather! After relaxing in Minakuchi for a couple of hours, we made our way to Kyoto. As soon as we got off the train we started to see people in yukatas (the summer equivalent of a kimono). Gion is a festival that takes place for the entire month of July, but culminates on the 17th (Tuesday) with a large parade. On the days leading up to the parade, giant floats (like in the picture above) are carried out to be displayed and many of the main streets are blocked off for pedestrian traffic. We went on Saturday the 14th, also known as Yoiyoiyoiyama. If this is what it's like three days before the parade, I can't imagine what it'll be like tomorrow! It was crowded. 

The blocked off streets of Kyoto. This is as we were walking away, so we weren't fighting against the crowds. 

As we walked through the area with the floats we saw tons of stands with festival foods. They smelled delicious. Some common ones are fried chicken, ice-cream, roasted corn, frankfurters, shaved ice, and candied apples. It reminds me a little bit of the fair without the rides. There are even the same type of games that you can play! This is a stand for bacon egg and cheese sandwiches in the shape of fish! Usually they have sweet custard filling. 

Here's another favorite. Grilled squid!! Delicious. 

I snuck this picture of some women wearing traditional summer clothing, yukatas. A yukata is very similar to a kimono, but it's designed to be cooler and easier to wear in the heat. They aren't worn in everyday life, but people will often dress up in order to go to special occasions such as summer festivals. Learning how to dress in one and wear one is a skill that has to be "properly learned" and some people take classes in how put them on. 

All in all, it was a very exciting adventure. Most towns have their own unique festivals during the summer. Going to one of Kyoto's was lots of fun, and I'm looking forward to (hopefully) going to a whole lot more!! 

So many exciting things are happening and will be happening soon. Traveling great places, relaxing with great people. Having a break from work to recharge and spending time with my family and friends! Summer has definitely begun, guys.  I am pumped!

Resolutions for the New Year

明けましておめでとうございます。

Happy New Year! 

We made it to 2012!

It's crazy to think that this time last year I was living in Vermont and working at City Market Co-op. I didn't know whether or not I'd have a job come the end of February, and if I did I wasn't sure where it would be. I spent the holidays at home in front of the fire, away from the winter weather. 2011 was a good year. A lot has happened and many things have changed.

• I left an old job and started a new one. 
• I moved to a different country.
• I travelled to places I'd never been before. Spain, China, and Australia.
• I began to live alone for the first time.
• I made amazing friends.
• I had some fantastic adventures.
• I found a new home. 

There were definitely times when I wasn't sure I was making the right choices. Not everything turned out the way I expected it to. There were a few months that I knew virtually no one and drove myself a little nuts. But sitting here and writing this now, I wouldn't want it to have happened any other way.

Thank you, 2011!

I spent this holiday in the best way possible, with my family! I had a phenomenal time in Australia, and I was so sad to say goodbye... I know I will see you soon, guys, but I miss you! Until then, I am rejuvenated and re-inspired to work hard and try to be my best, both as a teacher and as a person. You guys keep me sane. Thank you! :) 

During our trip in Australia we explored all around the downtown Sydney area, as well as spending a few days in Cairns. We saw the Sydney Opera House (and "The Magic Flute"!!), the Aquarium, the Botanical Gardens, THE FIREWORKS, the Harbor Bridge, the Quay.... we saw kangaroos and koalas, we ate crocodile and kangaroo(!)... we swam in the Great Barrier Reef... we saw a movie in 4D!!!!!...

But really, we hung out and were awesome, 'cause that's the way we roll. 

If you don't believe me, check out these photos. Password is "happynewyear".

Cheers!

Beijing, China

I'm baaaa~aaack! ^^

The last four days have been a blur of new and exciting things. I'm still processing all that happened. This was the first time I had been on a guided tour and the first time I had been to China, so I have a lot of new experiences to mull over. It was fascinating and amazing in so many ways. The tour consisted of 39 people (myself and my friend Ann included) and two Chinese tour guides. The guides spoke fluent Japanese, but very little English. Because of this there were plenty of times when we had no clue what was going on, but this just made things all the more interesting!

*WARNING: this blog entry is really long >.< sorry! Read or skim at your own risk!*

My trip started off on Wednesday morning at about 10am, hopping the trains to get up to Kansai International Airport where we would catch our flight to CHINA! It took us about three hours to get to the airport and we had minimal transport troubles. We got our itineraries and boarding passes, checked in, and were all set to go! The plane was pretty small, but it was a short flight so it wasn't too big of a problem. Half way to Beijing the plane stopped to refuel (or something). We didn't have another flight number or any indication of what we were supposed to do until we arrived in Beijing, but everyone got off the plane so we followed them in complete confusion. It turns out that we had to de-board our International Flight, go through customs, go through security again (this time for our domestic flight), and then board the same plane again. We even had the same seats!! It speaks to how confused and tired we were that all that we could do was laugh in confusion. Soon we were off again, this time REALLY bound for Beijing.

When we arrived at the airport in Beijing we met up with our tour group and guides and were soon bused back to our hotel. It had been a long day so we soon went to sleep.

Our wake up call the next morning came at 6am and we were on the bus by 7:15am and off to see China! The first stop of the day was the Summer Palace. It was a cloudy and dreary day, but the lake was beautiful and the pavilions were completely different from what I've come to expect in Japan. There was a lot of red, blue, and gold, as opposed to the Japanese orange and black.

A gate between sections of the garden. You can see the tour-guide with the microphone and the flag! 

Kunming Lake - this 2.2 square km lake was man-made and the soil was used to build Longevity Hall, a building within the Summer Palace!! 

Next, we were taken to a Silk Shop. I thought it was going to be a market where we could shop for silk scarves, clothes, and other trinkets, but it actually end up being an expensive silk warehouse. They showed us how silk is made and then proceeded to convince us to buy silk quilts. I'm really happy that I have a really nice blanket for the winter, but the manner in which the quilts were sold to our tour group were a bit creepy. We were taken into the room that had the different types of bedding (all very very nice and very expensive) and shown the quilts and various quilt covers. They did their spiel about the high quality and good price (which I'm sure was true) and then asked us if we wanted to buy one. Although we said that we wanted to look around a bit more and then decide later, they didn't seem to understand and wanted us to decide at that moment. They were nice quilts and I knew I'd use it, so I bought one, thinking that it would be my big purchase of the day. After we bought the quilts they brought us into the downstairs showroom, which contained ALL THE REST OF THE SILK PRODUCTS. Hadn't we just said that we wanted to look around at this stuff before we decided? I had to laugh at myself for falling into the selling trap, but unfortunately for them, I couldn't continue to buy stuff because I spent all of the money I brought that day on the quilt. Tough noogies, dudes. I did get to try on this amazing dress, though!

Next, we got back on the bus and drove to the Great Wall. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!! I was super psyched, and I still am when I think about it. I wish the weather had been clearer (it was raining the whole time we were on the wall), but it was amazing, regardless! They let us go for about 45 minutes and we walked a small portion of the wall. I got tons of pictures and I bought some postcards. 

I have a super cool pancho!

This kid's expression is so priceless!

After the Great Wall, we hit up lunch, which was Cantonese Cuisine. It was pretty tasty stuff, including fried gyoza and some tasty noodle dishes. Every meal I had in Beijing also included a large amount of delicious fried rice! After lunch we went to the Ming Tombs. The Ming Tombs were created by the third Ming Dynasty emperor, Yongle, who moved the capital of China from Nanjing to Beijing. It was built with incredible attention to feng shui. Thirteen Ming Dynasty emperors were buried in the area around the mausoleum, although only one of the tombs has been excavated. The tomb, called the Dingling Tomb, is open to the public and that is the one that we were able to visit. The burial site itself was entirely underground, and not at all as ornate as I would have expected from an emperors burial site. 

Reconstructions of the coffins of the Emperor and Empress in the mausoleum. 

Before we went to dinner we stopped to go shopping for Jade. Similar to our experience with silk shopping, we were taken to an expensive jade jewelry shop and shown all of there expensive products. I don't think many people bought any jade, although it was beautiful! Dinner was Shanghai cuisine. Most of the dishes were chicken or meat cooked in different sauces and steamed vegetables. After dinner, I opted to get a massage with several of my fellow tourists. We were taken to a massage parlor in a different part of town. As we were driving through we saw a lot of Russian restaurants and cyrillic text on buildings and signs. I've never had a massage before so I have nothing to compare it to, but it was very nice after a long day!

We started the next day by waking up at 6am for our 7:30am bus ride to our first destination: the Temple of Heaven! Unlike most of the buildings we had seen so far, the Temple of Heaven is a group of Taoist buildings. I'm not sure exactly what makes a building Taoist, but these were the only circular buildings that I saw on my trip. The complex was also built in the time of the Ming Dynasty Yongle emperor (he also built the Forbidden City, which we went to later). The gardens around the buildings were beautiful! 

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest

I wish we had had more time to explore the entire complex, but soon we moved on to our next destination. THE LATEX FACTORY! This was probably the most ridiculous part of the entire tour. We were taken to a factory where they make latex and shown a presentation (in Japanese) about how the company makes fantastic latex pillows and mattresses. I'm sure they're great mattresses, but... um... we're in China? Can we go back to the Temple of Heaven, please? Haha... We spent about an hour and a half at the latex factory, far more than we did at the Temple of Heaven. Only a few people ended up buying mattresses or pillows, but they tried really hard. Basically we sat around and politely drank their expensive tea. (It was actually really tasty!)

Tiny cups!

Next we went to lunch, Szechuan cuisine. This was probably my favorite meal of the entire trip! The food was really spicy and there were lots of veggies mixed in with the meat. They even gave us watermelon to clear our palates at the end of the meal! Mmmm, tasty... Next we took a short bus ride to our afternoon destination: Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City! At one end of the square is the Monument to the People's Heroes and at the other end is the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. The square is pretty large and very heavily patrolled by both policemen and the military. On the end of the square that is closest to the mausoleum there was a large flag and a station of military guards. There appeared to be some sort of changing of the guards happening, but when I asked I couldn't get a clear answer about why they were guarding the flag or what it signified. 

The Forbidden City itself was ridiculously huge and incredibly amazing. It's the worlds largest surviving Palace complex, covering 178 acres. It was hard to take in all that history and realize how long it must have taken to plan and construct. Any emperor who lived in the complex would have never had to leave; it seems like a self contained town in itself. The architecture is apparently "traditional Chinese", although I couldn't tell you exactly what makes it so. We kept going through gate after gate... when I thought there couldn't be any more, we'd enter a garden or a so-and-so's living quarters... this was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip. We spent a few hours being shown around various parts of the "city". 

Me and Mao Zedong

Policeman to the right and Military to the left

Imperial Gardens

After a long-ish walk, we went to our last dinner in China: Beijing Cuisine. Very tasty food, including Peking Duck. I tried some, but I'm not a huge fan so far. At least I can say I had Peking Duck in Peking! I also got to try some Chinese beer: Tsingtao Beer. Has anyone heard of it? (I don't really know anything about beer...)

Last Supper in China

As you can see in the picture, the dishes are placed on a giant rotating glass plate thinger in the middle of the table. Everyone has their own individual plate and serves themselves from the dishes on the table. (The dish front left was a tofu dish that was super tasty! Spicy tofu = yummy. The dish next to it was chicken with apples. Completely different from what I had previously thought Chinese food was.) This is how all of the meals in China were conducted. Each time I'd sit with different people from my tour. It was interesting to talk to them and see all the different kinds of people that made up our little group. Here's a picture of the people I sat with the last meal: 

Japanese people (and two Americans) in China! What an interesting experience. 

After dinner we finished off our night by going to see a Kung Fu show. I don't really know anything about Kung Fu, but it was so amazing to watch. Everyone in the show was in amazing shape and they moved almost more like dancers than warriors. Every action they took was full of so much grace. They even balanced on swords and broke stone with a single punch, kick, and head-butt! (That last one was hard to watch! Even though they didn't look hurt, I couldn't help but wince.) Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel. The next morning was going to be earlier (5am instead of 6am) so they wanted to give us time to pack and rest. I explored a bit of the area around the hotel before crashing for the night. 

That brings and end to my Beijing adventures. I woke up the next morning, had a leisurely breakfast, and trekked back towards Minakuchi. It was only really two days, but so much happened! Although I was in China, a lot of the time I still felt like I was in Japan. Since I spent most of my time with the tour group I still spoke mostly Japanese. That being said, there were definitely cultural differences that stood out as very different from anything that I have experienced in Japan or any other country. Things were much more straightforward and blunt in China. Whereas in Japan being polite is about being as vague as possible, China reminded me of the USA in it's straightforward communication (both verbally and using body language). The architecture was also different than I'd imagined. It's completely unique although the Chinatowns in the US seem slightly similar, they don't capture the same feel of long history and cultural importance. 

Anywho, I'm sorry this is so long and so picture filled... writing it down helps me remember, so I don't mind if you skimmed through :) I hope everyone on the east coast is keeping safe from the storm and weather. I'm thinking of you all! (And all you west coasters too <3)

Pre-China Trip Awesomeness

I have done a lot of awesome traveling this summer, but it seems like it has all been culminating up to the most extreme trip: China! When my friend Ann first asked me if I wanted to go with her my answer was pretty immediate. OF COURSE! Go to China? Experience a tour with a Japanese tour company? Meet cool Japanese people and explore a new country? All positives and no negatives, in my mind. Although it's going to be a short trip, I'm super excited for the adventures that I'm sure I will have.

That's not to say that everything has been smooth sailing getting there... Booking a tour with a Japanese company when neither Ann or I speaks fluent Japanese was a challenge. We never would have succeeded without the help of various co-teachers and friends that helped translate documents and talk to Chinese Consulate employees. There were several interesting snafus and surprise costs. About two weeks ago we discovered that in addition to re-entry permits we would have to obtain Chinese Visas. This is kind of frustrating because it is a bit expensive and I probably won't have the opportunity to use the visa more than once. Just getting the visa was a process in itself. We made the trip down to Osaka (an hour and a half each way!) with the paperwork and our passports just in time to get the visas completed. After a mis-try (in which I win at trains and directions) I was able to pick up our passports and visas a few days later. 

Chinese Visa: obtained!

In addition to our visas, we recently received the tour booklet that contains our schedule for the entirety of the trip. Some people had been asking me where in China I was going and what I would see and do, and now I can tell you! Each time I read it I get a little more pumped for this trip. It's been a confusing process getting to this point, but I don't regret my decision to go and I can already tell that I'm going to have a great time. So without any further ado, here is the itinerary for my Beijing adventure!

Day 1 - Arrive at Kansai International Airport to meet the tour group at 2:45pm. 

             Plane takes off at 4:45pm.

             Arrival in Beijing at 8:10pm, travel to hotel.

Day 2 - The Summer Palace (or Yíhé Yuán)

              The Ming Dynasty Tombs

              The Great Wall of China

              Shopping - Silk shops and jewelry shops

             Lunch = Cantonese Cuisine, Dinner = Shanghai Cuisine

Day 3 - Tiananmen Square (possibly Tai Chi?? at Temple of the Heaven)

             The National Palace Museum

             Shopping!

             Lunch = Szechuan, Dinner = Beijing Cuisine (Peking Duck??)

Day 4 - Leave the hotel at 6:30am, flight leaves at 9:55am.

             Arrive in Kansai International Airport at 3:10pm.

So that's the plan! It seems like a short trip, but everything on the tour looks incredibly exciting and interesting, so I'm really looking forward to it. Good times will be had, pictures will be taken, and all will be reported!

School's Out for Summer

Today was the last day of classes until the beginning of September. After the closing ceremonies tomorrow, summer can officially begin! It’s been about 4 months since I arrived in Japan and I am looking forward to a month of summer fun! This weekend was the start of the exciting things that I hope to accomplish this summer. 

On Sunday I travelled to Takarazuka to see another of the performances of the amazing Takarazuka Revue. This time the play was「ファントム」or “Phantom”, the Takarazuka rendition of the Phantom of the Opera. The day started early when I boarded a train towards Kusatsu at 7:30 am with my good friends Lauren and Ann. We arrived in Takarazuka (after a few transfers) at around 10am and met up with some other friends before heading towards the theater.

Pre-show curtain

Compared to the first Takarazuka performance I saw, “Phantom” was much easier to understand. “Phantom” was fantastic. Although similar to the Broadway interpretation, the Takarazuka version was closer to the book that it is based on (or so I have been told). The costumes were amazingly ornate and the dancing and acting was very well done. The songs were stuck in my head for the rest of the day, and I don’t even know the words!

Following this adventure, we all took another train heading back to Kansai and stopped by Aeon Mall and...

COSCO! the capital of all things U.S.A. in Japan. It was literally like being back in the states. It was a slightly disorienting experience to be in a warehouse that looked exactly like the one in Vermont while being surrounded by people speaking Japanese. Also, I think it was the largest number of foreigners in the same area that I have seen since being in the U.S. When I decided that I needed a picture next to the Pretz (something very Japanese in a place that seemed very “American”), a passing shopper said “Would you like me to take that?” IN ENGLISH!!! It was his native language! So strange… In addition to selling lots of American bulk foods, Costco also serves the same horribly unhealthily delicious hot foods as it does in the states. Hence, for the first time in three and a half months I ate a piece of pizza. A COSTCO intense piece of pizza. It was amazing.

In other news, my couch arrived yesterday! I specified cash on delivery, so I was stuck waiting in my apartment impatiently all of Monday morning. Luckily, Lauren was there to distract me from my impatience and help me set up the couch when it finally arrived. I am so happy with my choice! The couch is soft and cushy, and it reclines to several different levels, including flattening out so that it can be used as a bed. I feel like my apartment is becoming more and more mine, especially now that I have a comfy place to sit!

Super comfy new couch!

Monday also brought the amazingness of typhoon force winds and rain. The school day was shortened today to let the students go home early in light of the weather situation. While it's a little frightening to hear the gales outside, I feel very safe and cozy in my apartment. The rest of this week has been forecast as rain and wind, thanks to the typhoon. I guess I can forgive the sky for wanting to throw a party.  It just wants to say, "Welcome to summer!"

Happy 七夕

Today was Tanabata (七夕), a holiday that occurs every year on July 7th (7/7). The name Tanabata translates to "the seventh evening". Every year on Tanabata, Japan celebrates the love story of the princess Orihime and the cowherd Hikoboshi.

According to legend, Orihime was the daughter of the Tentei, or Sky King. Every day she wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the heavenly river, the Milky Way. Her father loved the beautiful cloth that she wove so she worked hard every day, but she was sad because she could not fall in love. Seeing this, her father arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (the cow herder star). At their meeting the fell deeply in love and were soon married. However, after their marriage Orihime stopped weaving her wonderful cloth and Hikoboshi did not perform his duty as a cow herder. The Sky King became angry and separated the two lovers, sending them to opposite sides of the heavenly river. Orihime begged her father to let them meet again. He was soon swayed by her sadness and capitulated, saying that they could meet on the seventh day of the seventh month if the princess finished her weaving. Orihime worked hard to finish in time, but they were not able to meet each other because the river was uncrossable. Realizing this, Orihime began to cry. Her tears drew a flock of magpies who promised to make a bridge for the princess to cross the river. The legend says that if it rains on Tanabata the magpies cannot make the bridge and Orihime and Hikoboshi must wait another year to see one another. 

Traditionally, Tanabata is a day to write your wish on a colored piece of paper. The wishes and other decorations are tied to bamboo and sometimes set afloat in a river. I have heard that there are several "matsuri", or festivals, throughout Japan and some people visit shrines on this day to make a wish. 

It has been raining since last night, so I guess the lovers will not meet this year. Regardless, Tanabata was honored the junior high school today. Kyuushoku today was Tanabata soup with star-shaped vegetables, star-shaped croquettes, and Tanabata Jelly. Students wrote their wishes on colored sheets of paper that were hung as decorations inside the school. Although it doesn't seem like a huge holiday as far as Japan goes, I think that it's an interesting story and a great excuse to hold a festival in the summer! 

and the livin' is easy

It's finally here: the last day of June. How did the time go by so quickly? Tomorrow marks the start of July, and the end of a busy week at the Junior High School. It's strange to think that everyone back in the States is on summer vacation. Japanese children are in school from April until mid-July, have a month long break, and then continue in school from September until mid-March. Only two more full weeks of school and I will be relaxing in Minakuchi for a month or so!!

The realization of the onset of summer hit me quite suddenly in the middle of last week.
It went down something like this....

One day it was cool and windy, the next it was BRUTALLY HOT. I have no idea how Japan manages it, but the change of seasons happened literally overnight. The classrooms aren't airconditioned so it's pretty tough on the kids and teachers. Once it reaches the height of the day they tend to turn on the aircon in the teachers' room (which is hotter than anywhere else), but most people have to suffer. It doesn't take long for every single person in the school to be sweating and fanning themselves. The flip side of this is that everyone feels as gross as you, so you can't really feel bad about being sticky and smelly. Chances are the 40 teenagers in the next room smell lots worse....

Despite the heat, the weather has been really beautiful. I went to a volleyball game this past weekend with the teachers at my junior high and took this picture on the bike ride home. I love clouds! 

I am excited for my break to start.... I have some really cool things planned for the month of August. First, I'm going to be travelling to the Tokyo area in order to (attempt to) climb Mount Fuji! Tis the season, and I am looking forward to camping out and watching the sunrise. Directly after this trip I will be able to meet Carlie and Brett in Tokyo. MY COUSINS ARE COMING TO JAPAN! I am so psyched to see them ^^ They'll be here for a week, which gives them time to explore (and me time to be an annoying tag-along, mwa ha ha). The plan is to check out Tokyo, Hakone, and the Kyoto area. There may be other side trips, but that is yet to be decided. Towards the end of August, I will be embarking on the most ambitious of my summer plans: travelling to China. A friend of mine found a really good deal on a Japanese tour of Beijing and the surrounding area. It won't be a long trip, but I hope to get a small taste of China. 

(And check it off the checklist.)

(Mom, Dad, and Metta: this is my revenge for the national parks.) 

This is the tour: CLICK HERE

Just to make you feel better, I can't read it either. Kanji is annoying. But we're having a Japanese person help us out with the details, so it's all good. 

I hope do some other day trips and have some small adventures, but this is all I've got so far. Regardless, I'm super excited and can't wait to get started.

Epic Volleyball Fail

Indiana wants me...

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted last. I have the tendency to update rather spastically and with no particular pattern. I hope that does not bother anyone too much. It is now the beginning of a long month with no particular plans, other than spending time with family and friends. I'm still trying to find a job around town, but I don't have much hope since I will not be in Vermont for the entire month of July. That kind of puts a damper on my marketable assets as an employee...

Since I last updated I spent a weekend in Boston for Anime Boston, which was a BLAST. Maybe I'm just a geek, but I always find conventions very enjoyable. There's something about meeting up with a large group of kindred spirits who all just want to have a good time... gotta love it :D Cat and I had a lot of fun with the sewing machine the week before the convention resulting in some awesome costume-age for the con. I took tons of pictures of amazing cosplayers and friends. I don't know if I'll be able to go to Anime Boston again, but I really loved the experience.

I just got back from visiting family in Indiana, the second trip of the summer. My cousin's graduation was a ton of fun, and I'm so proud of her for all of her hard work! This girl is super-human at school, people! She's pretty amazing! CONGRATULATIONS ON GRADUATING, CLAIRE! [As you can see, her graduating class is pretty big! Around 500 people!]

Something that was brought to my attention recently: just about every vacation that I will be going on in the next year I will get to travel with my Aunt Liz! This makes me happy because my Aunt Liz is a pretty awesome woman and a great aunt. We got to see her in Indiana for the graduation [vacation #1], she will be at Eagles Mere with us for the Fourth of July [vacation #2], we're going to San Diego Comic Con together in July [vacation #3], and she will be coming to Japan in December [vacation #4]! Yet another reason why this summer is going to be amazing.

Now that I'm back in Vermont for around a month [next vacation is Eagles Mere -- July 4th] my next quest is to find my purpose this summer. I am now attempting to (A) Find a job (B) Find a project of some kind. Project-wise, I think I'll start with cleaning out the treehouse and working on the roof. Next up is archiving all the old photos that I meant to go through last summer. Once I've finished that, I can continue with my brainstorm. I have submitted applications to several places, and I have partial hope that I still might get hired, although my chances are looking more and more slim as time passes. I will hopefully be able to babysit my neighbor's children this summer as well.

Oh, and before I forget, DAVID BYRNE CONCERT TONIGHT! You know you're jealous.
http://www.davidbyrne.com/tours/index.php