Been a while, but I’m still here
March 21, 2006 Japan 5 CommentsA lot has happened since I last posted to the site. I apologize for the infrequent updates, but for issues of job security, I don’t want to say to much about my reasons. Let’s see, what can I say? I can say that Japan is a crazy, fun place to live. The people are great and I am enjoying getting to know my students. It is a culture filled with tradition and ceremony. A few weeks ago was a festival called Doll Day. Anyone who has seen Akira Kirosawa’s “Dreams” will be familiar with this holiday as a celebration of the Peach Blossoms as well as a time for young women to hope for a good marriage.
Nicole and I went back up to Ikaho with a few other teachers to watch the procession of young children having their photos taken with the dolls on the steps that climb the length of the precipitous town.
Sadly we missed the main event and decided to hike up to the top of the mountain for a view of the temple and some outdoor ice skating. After the long hike to the top of the hill, we were again disapointed, as the skating rink had no ice.
We were glad for the exercise, though, because the next weekend we went skiing. It was snowing and a bit slushy, and the resort was quite small, but it was nice to be on the slopes again. We went with a few other teachers.
That’s Yoko Oyama on the left, she is one of the Japanese English teachers. Nicole is hiding there in the middle, and Matt is the one on the right. Matt has been here for almost four years and he is fluent in Japanese so he is a good guy to have around. This was his first time snowboarding, so he was sore at the end of the day.
Other than that, I’ve been working hard. Nicole, Patrick and I are looking into taking some kendo classes, and I’m thinking of learning calligraphy as well. There will be no more skiing as the weather heats up, but the Cherry Blossoms are going to start opening soon, so I’ll put some pictures up for you soon.