Rainy Wednesday

It started raining after dinner on Tuesday, continued through the night, and off and on all day Wednesday (mostly on).  I rode to school with Traci, but every part of me that wasn't under my rain jacket got soaked to the skin. By the time I got back, I didn't feel like I would ever want to leave the apartment again.  I also wanted to run out and buy a car for Traci! And yes, I am used to rain, but at home I have a clothes dryer, and a car, so I spend more time looking at the rain, than actually being drenched by it.

In the morning, there were low clouds, and clouds lying in the valleys of the surrounding mountains.  It was very pretty. The lake was very choppy, the waves blowing from east to west.  Through the day, I watched the clouds (some were small, black storm clouds) come over the mountains to the east, move across the lake, then pass over the western mountains. I waited for a break in the rain to go to the store.

At the store, I found a microwave bun steamer, a small rectangular non-stick skillet, a long angled spatula to go with it, and a dish tub---all things that Traci will use a lot.  I also found what looks like a wide vegetable peeler, but it's for finely shredding cabbage.  That one's for me--it looks like a fun item!

I also went for a little bike ride along the lake, which was very relaxing :)  before cooking dinner.  Traci doesn't have a rice cooker yet, and her stove doesn't really turn low enough, but I managed to cook a decent pot of rice to go with our curry.  I used a packaged of store-made mild brown curry sauce, pork cutlet, onion, carrot and some kind of japanese mountain potato.  It was tasty. :)

Thursday should be sunnier.

Tuesday: Shopping in Matsumoto

Shortly after finishing my last post, we jumped on our bikes and pedaled for the train station.  Traci is now a pro at using the ticket machines, so it only took a minute to pay our $5 fare to Matsumoto on the local train. While we were waiting for the train, we saw Traci's next-door neighbor, Justin, coming to catch the same train.  He is also from the US, and it was really nice to meet him.

Some of the trains only take about 35 minutes from Shimosuwa to Matsumoto, but the others sit for about 10 at a couple of the stations, so it can take closer to an hour.  Traci has the train times written down for the faster trip, so we made sure to catch those trains.  See below pics of me in front of Matsumoto train station, and one of some downtown buildings with billboards.  The Japanese do love their big, colorful (and often noisy) ads.

It was cloudy today, and I felt a few sprinkles this afternoon, but it wasn't chilly.  The clouds obscured any view of snowy alps, but maybe later this week I'll see them.  We went to a big book store, an anime store, and a mall with clothing, kitchen goods, and a 100 yen store.  For lunch we headed back to the station to Mos Burger.  No, they're not green.  Traci and I both had the katsu (pork cutlet) burger, dressed with finely shredded cabbage and BBQ sauce.  It brought back great memories of our trip here last summer.  In July, we arrived in Matsumoto in the pouring rain (and summer heat) dropped our luggage at the hotel, then had lunch at Mos Burger. I prefer today's weather!

After lunch we shopped at a tourist shop in the station, picked up a cold beverage (I had a tea latte which was yummy) then headed out to the platform to catch our train home. The route winds through steep hills and finally through a long tunnel before emerging at Okaya, and then Shimosuwa.  Every where I look, there is gorgeous scenery here! 

On Monday night, while we were at the lake, Traci took some pictures.  I'm posting one here that shows some city lights across the water.

After dinner it was raining pretty solidly, but we wanted to head for 7-11 to pick up some breakfast food - eggs, rice ball :), and coffee, so we zipped up our raincoats, turned on our bike headlights, and headed out.  It was fun!

Traci has to work tomorrow, so I have my to-do list ready: shop at the 100 yen store for little things I want, and a few that Traci needs; cook up some pork/vegetable curry and rice for dinner; investigate the mysteries of the "fish oven"; walk to a different store to look for a regular broom.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow, then clear up and warm up for the next few days.  Traci has a 5-day weekend starting Friday, so we hope to do outdoor activities then.

Monday

Traci had to work, so I was left to spend the day as I pleased.  It was a nice warm day, with the sun peeking out occasionally, so I decided to wash sheets and air bedding.  Usually she hangs her laundry inside on hangers from the door sill in her wash room, but she also has a 2 nice clothes rods mounted outside her bedroom door to the balcony. See photo above. I'm in a hurry and they got put at the top.

I also dusted, washed dishes, and made myself useful in between receiving emails and a phone call from my mom.  It was my birthday on this side of the world. :)  And now it is my birthday back home.  Guess I can celebrate twice! ha ha 

Later in the afternoon, Mt Fuji peeked out for awhile!  I had thought it was just a figment of Traci's imagination, but it really is there! 

I biked to meet Traci after work, and we rode past the train station to the store, then home before going out for dinner at Cafe Gusto.  They have Canadian beef, which is hamburger patties.  We had the same dish--hamburger patty filled with cheese, small scoop of mixed veggies - corn, broccoli and cauliflower, two tater tots, one panko-breaded shrimp, one cream cheese croquette (potato). 

After dinner we biked to the lake.  Even when it's too dark to see the water, it is pretty, because the lake is ringed with city lights.  We didn't stay long, as it was a little windy (understatement).  We went home, started to watch a movie, but went to bed early.  Traci had been needing to get some extra sleep, and she is today off for Showa Day, which is a national holiday.

I am going to take pictures of the sidewalks and curbs around here.  When I am biking, I can't enjoy the scenery, or look at the buildings, because I have to keep my eye on the ground.  It is treacherous.  I almost crashed into Traci yesterday morning, but the only thing that got hurt was my pride.

In this neighborhood, there are several plots of land that have a small orchard or garden instead of a house or two. Next to the apartment building, are some very old apple trees.  There were two men pruning them, so they must still be producing.  Traci's apartment building is named "Apple Arbor", which is "Pomu Aruburu" in Japanese.  Very fitting.

I was too tired to post last night, this is now Tuesday morning, and we are heading to Matsumoto for some shopping.  If we catch the right local train, it will only be a 30 min ride.  The fast train, which takes 15 min, costs a lot more.

Sunny Sunday

It's hard to believe the first weekend is almost over!  I'm still having some jetlag and "travel tummy", so we didn't do anything very strenuous today.  Traci bought 2 small wooden shelf units when Phil took us to the store yesterday, but she had no screwdriver to do the assembling.  After a quick trip to Daiso  (the 100 yen store with "everything") Traci was able to put together her shelves. While she worked on that, I reclined in her new chair and watched the view of the lake.  I saw people sculling -in boats with 1, 2 or 4 people, fishing boats, boats pulling waterskiers, a sailboat; and the swan ferry.

The weather was sunny and beautiful, again, so we headed to the lake on our bikes.  Everyone and his dog was out for a walk!  There are 2 paths that circle the lake, one for runners/joggers, and the other for bicyclists and walkers.  We biked about 1/4 of the lake,  a 13-min leisurely bike ride, to the first swan boat, took pictures and biked back. 

I have been watching in vain for Mt Fuji.  Traci assures me it is there, but I think she was just dreaming about it. :P

We are tired and going to bed early.  Traci has to get up and go to work in the morning. But since tomorrow is someone's half-century birthday, we plan to go out to dinner at Cafe Gusto. :)  And then maybe some stargazing at the lake.

Saturday in Shimosuwa - by Kelly

We took it slow on Saturday morning, and by the time we were showered and headed out to find some breakfast, it was called "lunch" :)  Then we walked up the street to the bike shop, to ask if they would rent me a bike for the duration of my stay.  Fortunately, Traci knew a few key words, like "rental" and "week", and soon the smiling man was asking us to please wait.  A little while later, we saw him wheeling a bike around front and airing up the tires.  Now I have an older blue mamachari-style one-speed, complete with large front basket, headlight, and front wheel lock, for only $3/day!

On the way back, we stopped by the "Dollar Tree", ok it's really the 100yen store called "Daiso", and did some shopping.  Traci had told me they have EVERYTHING there, and she was right!  I found a camera case and a rain cover for my bike seat at home, and Traci got some household items, and a case for her hanko stamp.  A hanko is used in place of a signature on documents.

Traci had asked Phil (her neighbor and co-worker) if he would have time to drive us to the local department store - the Aeon mall - to get another floor chair and futon.  He did (thank you Phil!) and we drove past the lake and a few blocks to the store, in his little Suzuki box-style vehicle--reminds me of a Kia soul.  Since he is Australian, he is used to driving on the left side of the street.

At the store, Traci picked out a thicker futon than the one she's been using, and a cover sheet for it.  She also bought a high back floor chair that has an adjustable back and lumbar support.  It's really nice because it is tall enough to support shoulders and neck.  I was so sleepy Saturday night, that I dozed off sitting up in that chair. lol  When I came to, Traci was glaring at me. <_<

Around sunset, 6 pm, we rode our bikes to the lake.  It had been a beautiful, warm, sunny day with little wind :)  Down by the lake, it was gustier, as you will see in the pictures.  But it was really, really nice.  I would have sat there all evening, but we were on the way to the grocery store to buy dinner, and future meals.  It was dark on the way back from the store, and we bought too many groceries to fit it all in our bike baskets, so Traci bravely carried one bag while riding.  (I'm used to stocking up, lol)  Some streets are not well lit, and the sidewalks, curbs, gratings, etc, are not smooth, so I have found that I better watch closely if I want to stay on my bike!

We picked out some ready-made food for dinner - some huge shumai, which are like a soft sausage/veg ball halfway wrapped with a thin wonton wrapper--and gratin.  Traci had shrimp and I had vegetable, it had macaroni, meat or vegetable, and cheesy sauce.  We were too tired to cook, even though I had figured out the mysteries of her gas stove.  This morning I made scrambled eggs (Traci made the toast in the skillet).  The "fish oven" reminds me of a toaster oven, and I hope to play with it one day soon.

The town has speakers mounted all around, and they play music at 6 am, 12 noon, and 6pm.  A different tune for each time of day, and we have been told the songs change from season to season.  I wish I hadn't been awake to hear the one at 6am, but it is pretty.

My Mom's Journey to Japan

wow. again wow.  Seriously long journey from Portland to Shimosuwa.  Not for the old or faint of heart. lol!  This is Kelly -- I'm the honored guest blogger today :)

I got to the airport around 5am, to catch my little plane to Vancouver BC, which had a capacity of 50 passengers.  I had a window seat in the back row, but it seems the whole Pacific Northwest was having rain, so there was nothing to see during the flight.  As we descended, I enjoyed the view of water and mountains.  It was very beautiful!  The airport is very spacious and wasn't at all busy in the international terminal.  There was a stream running through the shopping/food court area to a large pacific coast aquarium.  As I ate breakfast, I looked at the starfish, sea anemones and rockfish (snapper).  See photo below.

I snapped a pic of my plane, an airbus 300, which had a seat configuration of  2-4-2.  There were lots of empty seats, so I ended up with a window seat and empty seat next to me.  It was a very nice flight, no real turbulence, crying babies were far away, and I took a nice solid nap for an hour or so. I also read a book, watched movies, and visited with a Seattle couple who were heading to their first vacation in Japan.  But, 9 1/2 hours just gets long, no matter what you do.

Narita airport is nicely set up, so about 45 minutes after landing, I was through immigration, quarantine (they check you for a fever), customs, had all my luggage, rental cell phone, and was loaded onto my shuttle.  I had worried about finding the driver, but he was inside the building, right where I exited customs, holding a sign with my name. (written in English)!   We then drove to the domestic terminal to pick up two more passengers, so it was about 11:45pm PDT when we started the drive to Shimosuwa.  I enjoyed the drive through Tokyo; I saw familiar sights from our trip last summer.  Also, the weather was warm and sunny, and I enjoyed seeing beautiful Tokyo bay and the rivers that run through the city.  I was feeling a little exhausted, so I didn't try very hard to get pictures.  I took one on the tollway from the airport to Tokyo.  The road signs are too far away to see well, but it does show us traveling on the left side of the road, with the driver's seat on the right.

We traveled the Chuo expressway to Shimosuwa, and when we started into the hills, it was so beautiful!  Of course, every time I tried to snap a photo, there was a hill or wall in the way, so I gave up and took a little snooze.  I have looked at Traci's town so many times on google streetview, that when we got close, I could tell the driver where to turn. lol!  I sent her a text when we exited at Okaya, the town next to Traci's, and she was down to meet the van as we pulled in about 7:30pm JST. (3:30am PDT Friday).   By that time, I didn't know what day or time it was,(barely remembered my name) so it wasn't too hard to just switch to Japan time.  And now, after a night of pretty good sleep, it's Saturday.  It feels like I got on a plane early Thursday, flew a few hours, and suddenly it's Saturday.  I'm not sure I like this time-travel stuff!

I woke up at 4am, JST, and I was so hungry I couldn't sleep. My body thought I had missed both breakfast and lunch on Friday.  My tummy was growling so much Traci woke up and heard it.  So I made a snack, drank some tea, read for a while and felt much better. Then went back to sleep.

Now we're off to find a meal, rent a bike, do some shopping, and see the lake.  Mt Fuji is shy at the moment, but I hope to see it soon.

One Month in Japan

I can hardly believe it myself, but it just struck me about ten seconds ago that I left for Japan almost exactly a month ago. Not quite, but almost. Can it really be a month since I got on that airplane? So much has happened- good and bad- and I have so many feelings. On the one hand, there are parts about living here that are much easier than I expected. It's really not that hard to keep my apartment clean, commute to school by bike, or even teach (sometimes). The hard part is having to make all new friends. I hope that the people I am getting to know now and will continue to get to know over the next year will be friends I can treasure for the rest of my life. I'm here in Japan, after all, to live my dream and create great memories. :) I have had a lot of fun so far and am already making wonderful memories. I know there will be many, many more in the days, weeks, and months to come.

Okay, enough of the sentimental stuff. :P Today was my first BUSY day, like truly busy, and even then I only had two classes (technically three but the first one I just introduced myself and then left, so I was only in the class for 10 minutes). It was kind of nice to be busy because it made me feel like I was actually doing my job. :) I see two classes in particular a lot and they are starting to get pretty familiar with me. It is really fun to see students outside of class and have them recognize me. Sometimes I even see kids on my way home from work in my neighborhood. ^_^

I don't take many pictures during the week, probably because I'm tired when I get home from work, but today I did get a picture of the sunset. It was the best one I've seen since living here. The sunrises are probably a lot more spectacular, but the sun rises very, very early here, so I haven't gotten to see one of those yet.

Cherry Blossom Extravaganza

I'm posting this today (Sunday) because I was too tired last night, but this post is really about yesterday (Saturday).

I thought it was going to be a relatively quiet, uninteresting day, but Brendan and his buddy Phil invited me to join them and Phil's wife to go look at cherry blossoms. We drove a little ways away from our apartment building to a walking path surrounded by blossoming trees. It was really beautiful to walk down. Excluding all the wind, the weather was basically perfect. :) We ended up walking to a small flea market alongside the lake. One friendly lady came up to talk to us and said that she had come all the way from Nagoya! (If you don't know where that is, it's about 112 miles SW of here.)

Next, we drove to Kamisuwa, the next city over from my town. It was very busy with people who were also enjoying the blossoms. We ate lunch at an Indian restaurant and I got chicken curry, which was really good. Afterwards we happened to walk by this place where there's a famous geyser (man-controlled) that shoots off about once or twice an hour. It was literally like 2 minutes before it was supposed to go off, so we went and checked it out. I took some video which I tried to post, but for some reason it didn't work. :/

Then we drove to a restored castle, Takashima Castle, which sits in a very beautiful park with many cherry trees. Lots of people were having picnics (called o-hanami) under the cherry blossoms. We paid 300 yen (~$3) to enter the castle and enjoyed a really nice view at the top.

It was a really busy day, and that's not even the end of it! After we got back, we ran into another apartment buddy, Amy, and she invited us over to eat and play card games. We ended up playing and visiting for over five hours!! It was a lot of fun, but today I have to make up for all that partying I did by cleaning my apartment and doing laundry. Haha.

Cherry blossom lane :)

My beautiful lake Suwa :)

Don't really know what's happening here...

Turtle ferry ^_^

Japanese lantern

View of the castle park from the castle

Takashima Castle

End of the second week

Well, this week was definitely busier than last week. I had a total of 8 classes (normally I'll have around 12) plus two meetings, so it was a productive time. :) I've basically figured out how the school runs now, or at least I think I have. It was all very overwhelming at first, but I feel better having some idea of what's going on.

Students eat in their classrooms during lunchtime and teachers eat with them. At the beginning of lunch, a tv set is turned on in each classroom, and a student or two broadcasts throughout the school, usually giving announcements and a description of the lunch (which seems funny since we're usually already eating by the time they tell us what we're eating). The last two days, 3-4 new teachers were introduced each day over the broadcast system. They just said a few things about themselves, like hobbies, where they're from, etc. So today was my turn and also the other English teacher at my school, Ken. I was a bit nervous, and I'm not sure how I did, but I felt like I was okay. Probably talked too fast... I thought I was getting better at speaking slowly so the students can understand me, but one teacher today told me to slow down...

Which leads me to my next point: the 3rd graders at my school are a world apart from the 1st and 2nd graders. 1st years are still pretty young, with lots of energy, and full of jokes. 2nd years are kind of in a transition phase where some are still very energetic, while others are beginning to get more serious/shy. Having taught all grades at some point now, I have to say 1st grade is my favorite, just because they go along with anything. 2nd graders are also great too, though. They still like to laugh and have fun. The 3rd graders... I had my first class with 3rd years today. Let's just say, it was the first time I left a class feeling worse than when I went in. It was right after lunch so the students were half-asleep (some were fully asleep). 3rd graders don't really want to raise their hand, or call things out, so the last option is to pick on people, which I can't do yet since I don't know anyone. <_< I went into it trying to be optimistic, but it was still kinda hard. I'm only going to have about two 3rd-year classes per week, though, and hopefully once they get to know me more they'll be more friendly. That's the other thing, they don't really say hi to my in the halls. Versus the first years who can't say hello enough times. :P Incidentally, I'll be seeing the 1st years a LOT. They have English twice as often as the other grades.

Okay, well, overall it was a good day, if kinda busy. I topped it off this evening by biking to the lake after dark and just sitting by the lakeside, looking out at the lights around the perimeter. It's cloudy and a bit foggy tonight so the lake looked like glass. I'm really happy to be living in this location. I have more to be grateful for than not. :)

Used a low-light filter so that's why the image is grainy.

Typical Day at Shimosuwa Junior High

A typical day... I bike to school at about 7:45, which takes ~10 min. Then I greet everyone in the teacher's room and look at my schedules (I have like a million of them, haha) for the day/week. There are 6 periods in a day but so far I've only had up to 2 classes in one day (today being one of those days). Today was my first time actually teaching using the method I was trained on, called PLS, but it was still pretty basic, so I can't really say how a normal class will go. Plus my actual "teaching" time (when I'm not assisting) is only 15 minutes each class, and only for 1 out of the 3 grades.

Then lunch time is from approx. 12:45-1:15. I arrive at the classroom (I'll rotate every month to a new room) as the students are dishing out food to all the desks. Usually the lunches have some kind of vegetable soup, salad (what we would call a pile o' vegetables), protein (chicken, fish, etc.), and carbohydrates (most commonly rice, but sometimes a roll or noodles). It's very good and I haven't really had anything I didn't like yet. I say yet... because it's bound to happen, haha.

The last few school days we've done the cleaning in the morning, but normally it will be done about 2:30. Cleaning lasts about 15 minutes and everyone in the school helps out. The students have specific roles, like sweep, wipe down the floors, clean the chalkboards, etc. I usually don't do much except move the desks back and forth. Lol.

At 4:50 I head for home. Sometimes I stop at a supermarket or the 100 yen store on my way back. And that's pretty much it! At the moment I'm spending a lot of time at school sitting at my desk bored, but as classes pick up, I know I'll get busier (in a good way).

Cherry Blossoms in Matsumoto

Today was a very interesting day. It started with the normal things, like making tea, watching stuff on my computer, doing laundry... Then about 3 pm, I biked to the station and took a train to Matsumoto. That's where it all started to get a little crazy.

You see, I invited three other teachers- Brendan, Max, and Jazz- to join me in going to Matsumoto to check out the cherry blossoms at the castle. Let's just say when we're all together, it's pretty strange. Half the time I don't know what they're talking about, the other half I know and I want to un-know... XD Joking aside, I'm really glad everyone went, even if I did have to suppress a lot of rage (especially when Jazz kept pretending he couldn't find Matsumoto castle despite it being huge and directly in front of him). ;) We walked around the castle's outer grounds while it was still daylight, ate dinner at a Thai restaurant that was way too fancy for our jeans and t-shirts, and then walked back to the castle to see it lit up. Apparently they thought when I said "lit up" I meant something more spectacular, like fireworks coming up out of the trees, but alas there were simply flashlights illuminating the blossoms. How disappointing. <_< Anyway, it was a pretty fun day! Might have to smack Jazz next time I see him, though...

The Japan Alps

From left to right: Jazz, Max, and Brendan

Matsumoto Castle

Some cute Japanese teenagers wanted to take our picture, so I asked them to take one with my camera, too.

The cherry blossoms were so beautiful. :)

Almost in full bloom (but not quite)

End of the first school week

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, it was a busy week and I decided not to post while I was at work (even though technically I could have). I was at the school my normal working hours (8-5 basically) every day this week, but I only had two classes, so mostly I was bored. Haha. But I did get a chance to slowly get used to where things are, how lunch and cleaning times work, etc. The students are all really cute. Before entering the classroom, I get nervous, but once I see their faces and how interested they are in what I have to say, my nerves go away. :) Next week I'll have a more regular schedule, but I still only have like 2-3 classes a day, so I'll be able to ease into school life.

Tomorrow I'm going to Matsumoto Castle to check out the cherry blossoms with some other teachers like me, so that will be really fun! I'll be taking pictures for sure. ;) It's still pretty cold here, but in Matsumoto the cherry blossoms are almost fully bloomed, so it's the perfect time to go check them out. It looks like the weather might be warming slightly this week, too, so maybe I can finally stop wearing my gloves everywhere. :P

I'll try to post again soon, so ttyl for now!

Mt. Fuji from my apartment

Mt. Fuji & the amazing swan boat from the lake

A classroom at my school

Random hallway at school

The moon!!

Opening Ceremony

Today was the opening ceremony at my school. It consisted mostly of a lot of bowing followed by even more bowing. :P I kid, but seriously, the hour-long ceremony was probably 45-min worth of bowing and 15-min of actual talking. The new teachers were introduced (which included me) as well as the students who are first years this year (we call them 7th graders back home, lol). I was feeling really sick and gross this morning, but as the day went on, I started feeling better. My school's kyoto-sensei (Vice Principal) even drove me and the other English teacher like me to 7-11 so we could pick up lunch, since there was no school lunch today.

I got to wander around the school with the other teacher, Ken, and we started to figure out where things are. It's actually a really nice school despite a slight lack of Western-style toilets. :) My first day actually teaching isn't until Wednesday, so I still have some time to get adjusted.

I took some pictures but wasn't able to put them on here, but anyway, today I saw Mt. Fuji from my apartment!!! It was so beautiful. I can't believe I'm living someplace where I can actually see Mt. Fuji over the beautiful Lake Suwa. This place is so perfect. :) It helps the homesickness to be less... haha. Anyway, bye for now!

Settling In

Tomorrow is my last day of training and then Friday is the opening ceremony at the school. I've been so busy since I got here that I haven't had much time to relax, but thankfully today I was free and got to buy some things I needed, as well as finally walk down to the lake that is only 5 min from my apartment building. I think I heard that junior high students have to take tests the first few days of school so I may not actually be teaching until the middle of next week or later. Don't know what I'm going to do this weekend but I'd like to do something fun in honor of feeling mostly settled in. :)

Last night was a welcome party for new teachers at my school and all the staff/faculty was there. It was really overwhelming for the first hour or so because everyone was speaking super fast Japanese and I didn't really know what was going on, but then I got to give a short speech about myself in Japanese, which everyone was really impressed with. Lol. They made some kind of bad Japanese pun out of what I said... <_< The principal of the school later had me join him and some sweet ladies in conversing. Turns out they are school lunch cooks. He helped translate and I had a fun time speaking broken Japanese. They were all excited to touch my hair and asked me what shampoo I use... haha.

I don't know when I'll next be able to post, I'm borrowing my neighbor Amy's internet. Be assured I'm doing well (although I have a slight cold) and am settling in fine. Sometimes it feels like I don't have many friends but I'm doing what I can to not get lonely. My apartment buddies help with that a lot. ^_^

I'll be posting pictures of the beautiful lake next time I get online, so you can look forward to that. It's almost like the ocean because it's SOOO windy beside the lake. :)