Kimi means "you" in Japanese

On Saturday I went over my friend Brenna's and we made crepes, or rather, she made them and I watched and drank tea.  They were so delicious, we smeared them with butter and rasberry honey and gobbled them up!  The I went to dinner in Nara City with a load of other JETs and ate even more before we headed off for Karaoke, which is always loads of fun.  Later we went for a night hike up a mountain, and it was so freezing!  We were so exhausted by the time we got to the top, but the view as the sun rose was lovely, and we got to see loads of deer creep out and beg for food.  By the time we got back down the mountain and to the train station it was after 7 and the trains were up and running.  A couple of us slept through our stops, but luckily I woke up for mine just in time and somehow managed my way back home before collapsing in a heap of blankets!

Lately I've discovered Macha flavor, which is a kind of very strong green tea that they use for tea ceremony.  They have macha flavored kitkats and ice cream, but I think my favorite is the macha latte, its bright green, sweet, and creamy!  I've never tasted anything like it before.

Teaching has been going well, though I'm not doing much beyond a self-introduction lesson.  I have only gone to one of my s chools more than once, and sometimes it gets very confusing about where I am going on what day.  But the children are very nice, I love my special needs schools the most because the children are so sweet and just really eager to learn, even if they are a bit slower.  I'm terrible with names, I wish I went to some of the schools more often so I could get to know the students better.

This week my dad and our friend Rob are coming to visit, I'm really excited to see them, even though I will be working for most of the time they are here, I think they will enjoy Japan very much!  I have posted a new album on facebook, please go and look at it!

http://wooster.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020295&l=deb61&id=43200720

Today Masuda Sensei, one of the teachers from work, invited me to come with his family to an town festival.  He has two daughters, Kana and Yuu, 22 and 20, they are so sweet and we communicated through their basic English and my limited japanese.  We went to a Shinto Shrine, then ate at an Okonomiyaki restaurant, it's a mixture of cabbage and eggs and some other things that I'm not too sure of, when it's done, you spread yummy sauce and sprinkle dancing fish flakes, it's very good!  Then we watched a parade, many people wearing traditional Hapi coats pulling a shrine.  It was so beautiful with intricate carvings, it was over 100 years old!

 We went back to their home and ate icecream, then went for a trip to a crazy store to look for costumes for halloween (we didnt find anything), but me, Kana, and Yuu went to a pelicula, which is sort of a pimped out photo booth, and you can add drawings and crazy backgrounds to your photos.  It was so much fun!  After we went back to their house and Masuda San (Masuda Sensei's wife) fed me so well, she made an amazing dinner of Sashimi, rice, miso soup, unagi, salad, and some kind of beef and pepper mixture.   It was amazing, and I ate so much even though I was still stuffed from the okonomiyaki.  I had a persimmon for the first time, it was so delicious, kind of like a mango and peach put together.  There are so many persimmon groves in nara, I saw loads last week when we went hiking, and now is the season, so I hope to try more very soon!

 I have been updating my pictures in my photo album, please visit this link to see them all!

ttp://wooster.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019149&l=c1640&id=43200720

 Yesterday was my first day of teaching. I went to Mo-Gakko, a school for the blind, and I had a really great time, all the teacher's there are really layed back and supportive of the students, most of which live in the dormitories. My JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) was Oba Sensei, a very energetic man who was both the english and gym teacher. He bikes 18 miles to work everyday and speaks very good English.

I had four students of varying ages, only one of which was completely blind. I think he, Tomo, was my favorite. He was very friendly and outgoing, and tried to learn alot. All of the students are at pretty low levels of English, but Oba Sensei helped them understand me by translating some things into Japanese. After I gave a self-introduction, they showed me around the school. Taka was my guide, and I had to hold onto his arm. He was tiny and wore huge glasses, and everytime I asked him something he would look really closely at me and say, ehhhhh?

After lunch they didn't have anything else planned for me, so I spent the afternoon talking with Oba Sensei about plans for next time, and then we played blind vollyball, which was really cool! The ball is rolled along the floor, and the players listen for it to hit and pass it. Teams get points when them get the ball under the net and past the players on the other side. All the players in the front row have to be blind, either naturally or blindfolded, and they squat in front of the net and act as blockers. I can't wait for blind ping pong!

Everyday on my way to work I pass by a preschool, and if I leave at just the right time, I can see the children walking to school with their parents. They're so cute, they all wear adorable yellow hats and red shorts, and when I pass they smile and say "ohayo gozaimasu!"

Its a trend in Japan to buy dangling cell phone charms, and there's a huge variety to choose from, disney characters and hello kitty are probably the most popular, but I've seen everything from baby dolls to vegetables. I finally bought a charm for my own phone, it's a hello kitty dressed as a deer. Nara is famous for its tame deer that live in Nara city park. Yesterday I spent the better part of my afternoon at work talking with the librarian. She's very sweet, and helped me practice some Japanese. She gave me a cell phone charm of a kupie doll dressed as a tuna fish, it's adorable!

I went running yesterday, and it was certainly an experience! I definately stuck out, I dont think many Japanese people go running through the neighborhood, but it was very pretty. I never realized how rural Tawaramoto is, but just east of my apartment is an abundance of rice fields, and I ran through them on a gravel road just as the sun was setting.

Last thursday I joined the flower arranging club at a nearby high school.  It was me and three freshman girls.  The teacher was an older, soft spoken man.  The school nurse also attended in order to help me and translate some.  We each got a bundle of flowers, and were given some instruction, then put to work.  Once we finished though, the teacher came around and completely redid what I had done.  I felt a little frustrated this, but it was the same with the other girls.  He talked about how Japanese flower arranging only has one side, you only view the finished work from one side.  At the end we packed up the flowers to take home, which was nice.  I think I'll give it another go next week, see how it goes. 

 Saturday night I went to Osaka, one of the JETs from Nara was djing at a club.  It was really cool to see the city, all bright lights and so many people!  I hope to go back soon and explore a bit more.

Well, time has been zooming by this week!  I've just discovered that I have very limited photo space on this blog, but you can use the link below to access my album at facebook, enjoy!

http://wooster.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2019149&l=c1640&id=43200720

Yesterday I took a trip to the Inaka, the countryside, for a barbecue at one of the rural JETs houses.  It took about two hours to travel by train and then by bus, so it was a farely remote place to live, but it was beautiful!  It was in the mountains, right next to a river, we went for a swim and the water was so refreshing!  When I was attemting to carefully walk into the river I slipped on the slippery rocks and fell full out on my bottom!  I was surprised at how strong the current was and found myself exhausted after only a few minutes of fighting my way up stream and awkwardly being pushed into people.  I finally got a good clutch-hold on the rocks and managed to stay in till I got good and pruny, then we headed back to the house, met up with some others, and started preparing for dinner.  It got dark early and we could see loads of stars while we cooked our food over the barbecue flames next to the river. 

Every Thursday one ALT hosts a small party at his apartment in Takatori.  Last night was my first attendance, and I had fun getting to know many of the other ALTs.  One girl invited her neighbor, an adorable Japanese girl who speaks fluent Australian english, i could have sworn she was Australian!  She told me I looked like Scarlett Johansen and that I'm very "Kawai" (cute), but then hurriedly said, "don't worry, I like men, i'm not trying to hook you up!"  It was so funny! 

Today I bought maple bread from this little French bakery near me, it's magical!  Tonight my boss is bringing me a couch and futon mattress, so I will finally be comfortable!  Everyone at work is shocked when I speak the slightest bit of Japanese.  The reaction is part of what motivates me.  Today I asked if something was on the second floor, and everyone gasped and said, "sugoi!" (amazing).  Today I like dollar shops in Japan, and I really miss cereal (I might break down soon and pay the 5$ for the tiny box at the supermarket).

It's really amazing the amount of old Japanese grannies that ride motor scooters, they look quite hip zooming around!   Today I went to  Nara city to help plan an event for Jetnet, which is a really unique organization that tries to increase international understanding by bringing japanese and JETs together.  Just to explain, a JET is a person employed by the JET program (Japanese Exchange and Teaching).  My specific position under JET is an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher).  I also hold the position of Prefectural Advisor (PA), which entails counseling other ALT's that might have problems with their host schools or issues of culture shock.  I'm kind of a mediator between the japanese schools and the ALT's.  Along with that position, I hold on a spot on the board of JETnet, hence the reason I spent the better part of today wondering around the Haidaiji Palace Site, where Japan's first capital (about 1300 years ago) once stood.  JETnet is planning a scavenger hunt there, so we had to scope it out.  It was so hot, and I was positively dripping with sweat by the end of it, but we stopped to get ice cream, so it's all good!  The other three members of the board are CIR's (coordinators of International Relations), and work at the government office in Nara City.  Josy is really sweet and fun, and is from Cambridge, England.  Olivier is our fearless leader, from Paris, France, and then there's Abel, who just arrived this year like me, who's from Illinois.  I'm looking forward to working with them, hopefully I can pick up some Japanese from them since they're all fluent!  Hope everyone is doing well!  Today I really like Japanese food courts (full of interesting food!), and I miss being an average size most (my shoe size here is LL!)

I have been in Japan for about two weeks now.  I work at the Board of Education for Nara prefecture.  I live in the town of Tawaramoto just outside of Nara city.  It's very suburban, and I ride my bike to work past rice fields in between the buildings and busy streets, I can see the mountains surrounding the area.  It's extremely hot here, people carry towels around with them to dab their sweat, and yet they still dress like its 50 degrees, in jeans and sweaters! 

The people I work with are wonderful, especially my supervisor, Sochi Sensei.  She is a strong woman, but also adorable, and full of surprises.  She writes lyrics for video games, as well as English textbooks.  One of my other supervisors Masuda Sensei has also been spoiling me by helping me set up my apartment.  Last Saturday he came by with his wife and daughter, Kana, who don't speak very much English, but they were so sweet in helping me.  They brought me many things; a small floor couch, a toaster oven, two shelves.  I've just been overwhelmed at how everyone has been coming together to help me.

I have met some of the other ALT's (Assistant Language Teacher) living in my area, and i am looking forward to getting to know them better.  I think living here will definately be challenging (I can't read anything!), but ultimately I hope to learn a lot and meet a lot of interesting people.  What I like best about Japan right now are the polite social codes and public transportation.  What I miss most about the US right now are hugs.

I will try to update this site pretty regularly, let me know if you have any questions or if you think I'm slacking off.  I also have a ton of pictures already to post, and lots more coming!