Birthday Surprise from Class 1-1

Today was my birthday. I woke up and looked outside: rain. My plans for the night had been postponed. It was a depressing start to the day, but I tried to not be sad. I was really happy to get to talk to my grandma & grandpa on the phone, as well as my mom on skype, for a few minutes before I had to go to work.

It was a normal work day, although I only had one class which doesn't happen too often. When the class was over, a class of 7th graders, one of the friendly girls who is good at English asked me, "When's your birthday?" I was so surprised, because there was no way she could know. I told her it was today and she, as well as her friend, started shrieking. They couldn't believe they had asked on my birthday!! It was so funny. One of them quickly made me a happy birthday note before I left the room, and a couple students who had overheard came up to say happy birthday, too.

The rest of the school day went by as usual. Lunch was seafood curry over rice, chicken, and salad with corn. Not bad for a birthday lunch!

As I was getting ready to leave work for home, the Japanese English teacher I taught with earlier, who is also the homeroom teacher for that class, handed me some notes. (Her name is Mrs. Takazawa and she wrote on the note, too.) On these notes were a ton of birthday wishes from kids in that class! I was so surprised, I almost started crying right there. Just like that, I stopped feeling depressed and only could feel how blessed I am to be teaching these students. Japanese students may not have the best English, but they are, in general, kind and hard-working kids. I will be sad to say goodbye to them in just two weeks from tomorrow.

I am leaving Japan in 24 days. My time here is almost done. I have experienced so many things and met so many people. I know I would have regretted it if I had not come here. It's going to be stressful and a lot of work to get ready to leave for America, but it's okay. I will focus on the small things and before I know it, I will be in Tokyo, having one last great adventure with my best friend before returning to the States!

Nagano Adventure (with snow monkeys!!)

February 11th here in Japan was a national holiday, so I (and all my friends) had the day off from work. I was planning to just rest, but a week ago a friend asked me if I wanted to go on a day-trip with a few other friends to see the famous snow monkeys at Jigokudani Monkey Park, and of course I said yes!

The day began early as we started driving from Shimosuwa to Nagano at 8:30 am. We reached the monkey park at about 11 am. From there, it was a ~30 minute hike through beautiful snowy forest to reach the place where the monkeys bathe in the hot spring. It was pretty cold, but it didn't really feel colder than where I live. There were quite a few foreigners there and I heard English being spoken by many people. I also heard other languages such as Russian, German, and Korean.

We spent a while at the main valley where people can observe the monkeys up close. I even had a monkey run between me and a friend, in a space of maybe two feet! They weren't scared of humans at all. I was careful not to look them in the eye, because apparently that's a sign of dominance and it can make them aggressive. Anyway, I got a lot of good pictures, so I'm happy. :) The monkeys didn't want to go in the hot spring much, though. I think it was because the sun was shining and it was pretty warm compared to what the weather has been like recently. The monkeys looked so soft!!

After hiking back to our cars, we drove to a ramen shop to recharge. I love ramen in Japan so much, especially tonkotsu ramen (pork broth). It's perfect on a cold winter day. Once we ate, we drove to a place called "Matsushiro." I don't remember all the history exactly, but basically, in 1944 during WWII they built a bunch of tunnels in a mountain that they intended to evacuate politicians and other important people to. They built separate quarters and tunnels for the emperor and his family to escape to. Well, three days before everyone was going to evacuate Tokyo and head to the tunnels, the war ended. So the tunnels were never used for their intended purpose. The tunnels were made with many Korean prisoners and many of them died (partially from horrible treatment). Now there is a memorial by the tunnels and you can go inside a bit. It was very interesting.

Later in the day, we went to Nagano City's main temple, Zenkoji, for a lantern festival. Many people, some students, had crafted lanterns with various patterns. Some of them were really amazing! The temple's main gates and buildings were also illuminated in blue, red, and purple. There were too many people in my opinion, but it was still fun. It reminded me of being in Tokyo.

We didn't get back to Shimosuwa until midnight. I didn't get much sleep and then had to work today, so even now I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open. I am sooooo glad I went, though. It was a super fun day trip and I made many wonderful memories to take home with me to America. :)

Walking behind my friends Amy and Momoko on the way to the monkey park

Monkey!!

This was a lucky shot!

Don't look away, monkey!!

Entrance to the tunnels at Matsushiro

Lantern festival

Gate at Zenkoji

Winter Continues

Well, hello there. It's been quite some time since my last blog post. I feel bad for neglecting it for so long. Yesterday was a new month, and I realized that I should write something, even if there's not much to say.

Actually, I have plenty to say. When a person is sick, they tend to spend a lot of time in reflection (or is that just me?). I became sick on Jan. 22nd, and as the flu was going around my school with a vengeance, I figured it was my turn to get it. I went to the doctor the next day and they said that it thankfully was not the flu, probably just a routine cold. I went home and started to feel better over the weekend. However, I developed a bad cough and my fever kept coming back. I attempted to go back to work and found that I couldn't do much but lay my head on my desk and cough. So my supervisor took me to yet another doctor. This time, they did a chest x-ray and listened to my lungs. My x-ray came back fine, so the doctor diagnosed it as bronchitis.

Well, I won't go into more details, but in any case, I was put on antibiotics and told to stay at home resting for at least 5 days. That time has now passed, and my cough doesn't seem to be much better. But I can't afford to miss anymore work. There are only ~35 school days left before I leave Japan. I don't think I said it yet in this blog... but yes, I will be returning home at the end of March.

Winter is frigid here in the mountains, but I'm grateful for the sun, which makes temperatures bearable during the daytime. So much is going to happen in the next two months. I have my apartment to clear out, things to ship home, and friends to say goodbye to. It will be a transition, to say the least, to return home. I might even have some reverse culture shock to deal with. But I look forward to the dismal rain of Portland and seeing all the flowers blooming for my arrival. :) And of course, seeing all my friends and family!

Walking home from work one snowy day recently

Ice on Lake Suwa

Lake Suwa

What happens when it snows, melts a bit, then drops well below freezing? This.

Seoul Day 2: Insadong & Changdeok Palace

Yesterday we were too tired to make it to the shopping district of Insadong, so it was first on the list today. It's known for being a good area for buying souvenirs, and many foreigners visit it, so I thought we might be able to find some good souvenirs to bring home to people. I was right! Lots of little souvenir shops, with people ready and willing to assist us with buying things. :P The shopkeepers seemed to all speak a bit of English, which they probably have to do since they work on a tourist street.

Anyway, we got there around noon and it wasn't very crowded, but about an hour later there were tons of people. There were some street vendors selling food, so we decided to buy some. I wanted to try a snack called "hotteok" which is a fried pancake with honey and peanuts inside. It was really delicious and a good warming food for a cold day. (Although today was warm enough that I left my hat and gloves at the hotel.)

After having our fill of shopping, we made our way back out of Insadong to the main road and towards our next stop, Changdeokgung or Changdeok palace. Changdeokgung is a less grand palace than Gyeonbokgung, which we visited yesterday, but I actually enjoyed it more. There weren't many people and there were many places to explore, so I felt like it was a more worthwhile experience. There is a secret garden that I've heard is really great to see but you have to join a guided tour, and we weren't there at the right time, so we just saw the main palace buildings (which were very nice on their own!).

We came back to the hotel around four-thirty to rest before heading out to dinner. We didn't want to go far, as it was cold and we were tired, so we stopped in at a small cafe restaurant just a block from the hotel. The menu had lots of interesting items but the bulgogi (beef) meal caught our eye, as it was something distinctly Korean! We both ordered it and enjoyed it a lot. The beef was mixed with mushrooms (enoki in Japanese) and green chili peppers, so our noses were soon running. It appears that you can't make a dish in Korea without adding some kind of spice. :) I haven't minded so far, though.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Korea. We're not entirely sure what we'll do later in the day, but in the morning we'll go to Namdaemun, one of two famous markets in Seoul, for some cheap shopping and street food.

Mom in Insadong

Hotteok (pronounced kind of like "hot dog")

One of the main castle buildings at Changdeokgung

This building was used for ceremonies as well as the king's coronation

I love the architectural style!

So many doorways and gates everywhere.

Bulgogi, salad, and rice with cheese & an egg on top.

Seoul Day 1: Gyeonbok Palace

Neither of us slept well last night, so we were very tired and stayed in our hotel room for the morning, resting and deciding our plan for the day.

In the afternoon, we headed out to the subway. I found it more confusing than Japanese subways, with less signs in English or even in Korean, but we still found our way eventually. At first one of the ticket machines stole 4,000 won from me- which is about $4- but the station guy got it back for me. :) Anyway, after a couple of trains, we made it to our destination: Gyeonbokgung.

Gyeonbokgung, or Gyeonbok Palace is one of or the biggest palace in Seoul. Apparently it was built in 1395 but burned down in an invasion, so it was restored around the turn of the 20th century. The palace is really a large palace complex with many walls, gates, and several buildings. There were many tourists there, including some foreigners, but it wasn't crowded by any means. It was cold, but not as cold as it could have been (which means our faces were frozen but my nose wasn't dripping too much). :P I had a really good time taking pictures and exploring the grounds. Mom thought it was interesting how the statues on the fences were different animals such as iguanas, dragons, tigers, and bunnies!! I don't know if a rabbit is the best guardian... ;)

Oh, before we entered the palace, we stopped at the palace's cafe for a late lunch. One of their seasonal specialties caught our eye. It's called "goguma cheese beombeok" and it was sweet potatoes mixed with a ton of cheese and bits of green pepper & bacon. It was sooooo delicious!! They also gave us free kimchi and pickled radish, which is a custom no matter what you order in Korea. :) I'm looking forward to trying even more Korean dishes in the next two days!

Me in front of the main gate to the palace

One of the palace gates

Our lunch (we both got the same thing)

The interior of one of the palace buildings

Mom and her bunny friend :)

Me in front of one of the palace buildings & frozen moat

Korean money is so pretty! 1000 won is about $1 or 100 yen.

Journey to Seoul, Korea

Today, my mom and I traveled from my town, Shimosuwa, to Seoul, Korea. It wasn't too bad of a trip really- a train to Tokyo, two more trains to the airport, a short 2-hour flight, and then another hour to our hotel- but we are exhausted nonetheless. I just have enough energy to write a quick post before throwing myself in bed!

Our flight was Japan Airlines so I wondered how much English there would be. Thankfully, they spoke English, Japanese, and Korean. There were only a handful of other foreigners (Caucasians) on our flight. The stewardesses were really friendly and spoke great English. They even served us a light meal of a traditional Japanese bento, which was really tasty. It was cloudy so I didn't get to see much out the plane window. Night caught up to us as we neared Seoul and it was dark by the time we landed.

When we finally got to our hotel, we were so happy!! The man at the front desk spoke good English and it was a fast process to get our room key. We have a room on the 14th floor (there are 15) which means we have an AWESOME view!! We can even see the N Seoul Tower which is a famous tourist spot in Seoul. I'll take pictures of the view tomorrow in the daylight. The hotel room is very nice, with plenty of room (I'm used to small Japanese hotel rooms) and a very large TV. :P

We ran to 7-11 to get some snacks since we hadn't eaten since our flight. It wasn't as nice as 7-11s in Japan, that's for sure, but it will do as a place to get snacks & breakfast! I picked up a traditional Korean snack food called "tteokbokki" which is a fried rice snack that is sweet and spicy all at once. It really hit the spot!

Tomorrow we will have our first day in Seoul and do some fun sightseeing. Our plan is to visit the Gyeonbok Palace to see the changing of the guard, and then do some souvenir shopping in Insadong, a touristy shopping area. Should be a good day!

At Shimosuwa station, waiting for our train to Tokyo

Mom in front of my town's station sign :)

Our hotel room

Traditional Korean snack (I think it's pronounced "tuck-bohk-ee")

View from our hotel room

Tokyo Disney Resort "Ikspiari" shopping mall (12/6)

Last Saturday I got up at the unearthly time of 4:30 to begin my journey to Tokyo for two days. I had been planning this trip for months, and had found out just a few days before that Tokyo DisneySea, the only one of its kind in the world, was sold out for that day. So I was feeling really bummed that I wouldn't get to visit Disney.

At 6 'o' clock, I left my apartment and rode through the snow & dim light to the train station. It was freezing cold, so I bought some hot coffee at a vending machine just to warm my hands and throat. My train was set to arrive at 6:29. My friend & coworker, Ken, was coming with me on the trip, as well as his wife, Mizue. But as my watch read closer and closer to 6:29, I got really freaked out, because they weren't there! Then it WAS 6:29, and then 6:35, and the train was actually late!! A few minutes later, I saw them walking along the platform to me. I couldn't believe how lucky it was that they made it before the train came. Limited express trains are rarely ever late in Japan!

From there, the day got better and better. We dropped off our bags at our hotel and then took the train to the Disney resort area. Outside of the parks (Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea), there is a big Disney-themed shopping mall called Ikspiari. We got lunch there at a place called the Monsoon Cafe. I had Pad Thai and Thai shrimp toast. It was really good. :) Then we spent the rest of the day shopping. I mostly shopped at the Disney Store, where I got some Frozen and Tangled goods. I ALSO got a mocha at the Godiva store! I was going to try one of their frozen drinks, but it was cold, so I got a mocha. I think it was made with real Godiva chocolate syrup- it was expensive but soooo good!!

To end off the day, we visited a small yakitori (grilled chicken) restaurant for dinner. The menu was mostly different kinds of meat on skewers, but they also had interesting things like potato balls mixed with cheese, and boiled scallops. Everything was really good. As we were eating, Ken and Mizue convinced me to take a slightly later train home the next day and go to DisneySea with them! They were very convincing and I really wanted to go, so I conceded. That's for another blog post, though. ;)

Scenery near my town on the way to Tokyo

My hotel room (it was really big for one person!)

Ikspiari shopping mall entrance

They didn't know I snuck this pic of them... hee hee

View from my hotel room at sunset