Cook-ins and snakes

 

Since we took the extra futons off of our little twin bed so that they could dry out, I didn’t sleep very well on Sunday night.  Not only was my mind racing by making a mental tally of everything I need to do this week, but I forgot just how uncomfortable Japanese mattresses are.  It’s like sleeping on a slightly soft rock.  Whenever my alarm went off on Monday morning, I felt sleepy and even more unwilling to get up than normal!

My first class of the day was pretty amusing….at least it is now.  At the time it was ridiculously annoying.  I have no idea how it happened, but I had a gnat trapped in my blouse.  I thought that it was a loose hair at first.  Ladies, you can sympathize with me!  You know how BAD it is when there’s that one loose hair floating around the cleavage area of the inside of your shirt!  However, IT would move whenever I didn’t, so I knew that there was something alive in my blouse.    Since I was in the middle of class, I couldn’t exactly reach down my blouse and get it out, so I had to suffer with it there for a whole forty-five minutes.    After class, I went to the bathroom to dig whatever out.  I pulled out a gnat that had died in the sweat on my chest.  Yuck!

Ian had to work in Nishiki that day, and we had planned to go to Justine’s house for dinner.  As soon as work ended at 4:20, I had to rush to the train station to catch the 4:30 train.  I made it, but the whole time I pedaled there, it was threatening rain.  In the distance I even heard thunder!  By the time I got on the train it had started sprinkling, and within a few minutes, it was pouring.  Lucky timing!

For dinner that night (since it was Memorial Day) we couldn’t grill out, so we had a cook-in.  Justine has a nice big indoor flat grill that we set on the table and grilled cabbage, peppers, onions, pumpkin, eggplant, chicken, fish, and pork and ate until we were stuffed silly!  Even if we weren’t able to celebrate the holiday with BBQ, we definitely made due. 

Since I left my bike at the train station, I had to pick it up on our way into town and ride it home.  It was nearly 9PM and very, very dark outside.  I always park my bike on our back stoop, and as I rounded the corner, I noticed something out of the ordinary.  Sitting on part of the concrete stoop was what looked like a black fan belt coming from the crawl space.  It took a minute for me to register what it actually was, and when I did, I froze.  SNAKE!    I dropped the bike, screamed, and ran in the house.  I.  HATE.  SNAKES.  My number one fear is snakes.  I told Ian what was outside, and he said, “cool!”, rounded up his camera, asked for some tongs, and went out back.  UGH!  I was freaking out just knowing that it was under our house, and it took me a while to calm down enough to go next the window that overlooks our stoop.  I decided to get a shower, and even though it’s irrational, I was a little afraid that the snake was going to crawl through the pipes and get me.  *shudder* I freaking HATE snakes.

What could make that story any worse?  How about if there were TWO snakes!  Yesterday, I was riding my bike along the cycling road, and as I rounded one of the corners, there was a giant, black snake in the middle of the road.  I screamed (again!) and slammed on the brakes, far enough away to not hit it.  I think the snake knew that I was afraid of it because we were playing this twisted game.  I wasn’t going to go until it got off the road, and it wasn’t going to move until I passed.  I tried shouting and clapping loudly at it to get it to move.  I seriously considered turning around, but it finally slithered off the road.  *shudder*  I felt disgusting for the rest of the night.

Yesterday when I got to the JHS, there was a cookie on my desk.  It had yellow stripes in it, and I thought it was a lemon cookie.  I’m not that big of a fan of lemon flavored things, but sometimes it’s a very refreshing flavor.  I waited until mid-morning to have it, and when I bit into it, I realized very, very quickly that it was NOT lemon.  UGH!  It was spicy mustard.  I didn’t even swallow it.  Instead I went to the kitchen and spit it out, tossing away the cookie as well.  It was DISGUSTING!    Who makes spicy mustard cookies?!?!  Later that morning, my vice principal asks if I liked the cookie.  She was the one who set it on my desk.  I thanked her and told her “of course!  It was delicious!” while still remembering the dreadful taste in my mouth.   

I know this seems random, but I’m going to get my TEFL certificate.  What’s that, you ask?  It’s an acronym for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.  While it doesn’t allow me to teach in public schools in the States, if I want to continue teaching abroad, it’s a very good thing to have.  Ian and I haven’t decided where we’ll go after Japan, but a TEFL certification could come in pretty darn handy if it’s somewhere abroad.  The JET Program is offering 15,000 yen grants for applicants who want to apply, and the total cost of the program is about $190.  Therefore, I’d only have to pay about $40 out of pocket.  The program is 100 hours long, and it’s all online.  Even if I don’t use it until later in life, it’s a good thing to have on a resume!  It honestly seemed like too good of a deal to pass up, so back to school I go!     

I feel extremely busy this week.  I’ve got a list of things to do that’s about a mile long.    I have to finish applying to the TEFL grant by Friday and turn in the information to my supervisor, plan lessons, work on and hang up my June English board, revise my short story, and since our driver’s license test is next Friday, I need to read over ALL of the information again and know what to do right to pass it.  (Don’t worry…..I’ll still fail.)  Even though I have all of this to do, what did I do last night?  ……watched Grimm with Ian.  We started watching it, and it’s an awesome show!  It reminds me of grown-up combination of Vampire Diaries and Once Upon a Time.  To be fair, I did cut out and write all of my captions for my English board while watching Grimm.  All I have to do now is hang it up tomorrow!

That’s all for now.  Please continue to read!

Fun filled friends weekend

First and foremost, I want to make a shout out to my sister and brother-in-law.  Today is their one year anniversary!  Hurray! 

This weekend was a fun filled friends weekend.  It started off with Friday afternoon.  (Is there any better feeling in life than walking out the doors of your workplace on Friday afternoon knowing that there are two glorious free days ahead of you?  )  When I got home, Ian was gone.  He met David in Hitoyoshi so that they could buy kegs for the big party on Saturday night.  Therefore I was home alone and did what I do best….organized and cleaned!  I washed the horrendous stack of dishes, cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, and living room, washed a load of clothes, swept and mopped the floors, made a rice cooker cake, and cooked dinner all before Ian got home.  I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty amazing……

Saturday morning I made French toast for breakfast.  Hurray!  I don’t really make good French toast, but I wanted to try again, and that time was the charm.  It was fluffy, cinnamon-y, and delicious!   Since it was Ian’s sister, Bridget’s, graduation night, we called and talked to her, his dad, and aunt for a good long while.  After we got off of Skype with them, it was time for lunch.  I needed to run to the grocery to grab a few things, and Ian said that he’d have lunch ready by the time I got back.  Fair deal!  I was so surprised to find a delicious grilled panini sandwich waiting on me upon my return.  We haven’t had paninis the whole time we’ve been here, and I asked Ian what made him want to make them.  He said, “Well, you mentioned it the other day and how it was one food you missed, so I thought I’d make them for you.”    Such a sweet heart!

Saturday night was the big “beer pong” party for all of the ALTs and some Japanese folks.  We usually have these things at Brian’s house because he has enough space and a good set-up for hosting.  Most of his BOE members and neighbors were there, and I’d say altogether there were about fifty people.  The BBQ grills were outside, manned by some of his neighbors, and drinks (including non-alcoholic beverages!) were inside.  Although only one game of beer pong was actually played, it didn’t stop everyone from having a good time.  Krista’s birthday was also the same day, so we had planned accordingly.  A couple of us brought cakes, and I had been specially asked to make another piñata.  Most of the Japanese party-goers had never broken a piñata and were a bit confused about the whole process.    After a few good whacks on it, though, they started to have A LOT of fun.  Oh, internationalization! 

What surprised me the most about the party was that the Japanese brought their kids with them.  That would be fine if it was just a typical party, but this was a DRINKING party, and the Japanese LOVE TO DRINK.  Most of the parents were WASTED as their kids watched Mommy and Daddy act a fool.  I really, really didn’t understand that.  One mom who was manning the grills had her kid strapped to her back in a papoose, and his little legs were dangling over the hot coals.  Not smart.  The same mom still had her kid strapped on her as she was swinging the pole to hit the piñata.  Also not smart.    When we left at 12:45, all of the kids were still up and running wild.  I couldn’t believe how late it was, yet the parents didn’t even care that their kids were still running around! 

Sunday made me really, really appreciate the friends that I have.  Ian and I Skyped most of our Paducah peeps in a group Skype chat as they were having a party at David’s house in Paducah.  We got to talk to Adam, Alison, and Daniel (who we haven’t seen since we left since they’re not on Skype!) in addition to the regulars of Kim, David, and Lucy.  Lucy gave me the countdown of exactly how many more days until I’ll be home.    (She knows this because I’ll arrive exactly one day before her wedding.  Insert girlish squeal here.)  It was incredibly great to catch up with the gang and make plans for our visit home this summer.

That afternoon, we went to Michael and Ana’s to join Rebeca in our second writing workshop.  Although Shara was sick and we only had four stories to workshop, we actually took MORE time to do those four because we just enjoyed each others company, sitting around and chit-chatting long after we had finished the stories.  It’s really a bummer because Rebeca, Michael, and Ana will all be leaving at the end of July.  We can only hope that their successors are as cool and fun to hang out with as them!!   

We wrapped up our friend-filled day with an evening trip to Baskin Robbins with Rebeca, Mary, and Justine.  The weather was balmy and sunny all day, a perfect day for eating ice cream!  We got there around 6:30, ordered our ice cream, and loitered in the parking lot for about two hours standing and talking, not wanting to admit that the weekend was over.    I think that’s part of the reason that we didn’t want to leave…we didn’t want to have to go back to work on Monday morning, and going home was accepting that fact. 

Ian and I had quite a surprise when we got home.  I left the windows open when we left for Hitoyoshi around noon since the sun was shining.  It was a gorgeous day all day in Hitoyoshi with absolutely no hint of rain until we were on our way home and turned onto our street.  There’s a large pothole on the street, and it was full of water.  I then noticed that the sides of the road were still wet.  I said, “Uh-oh,” and as if Ian could read my mind asked, “Did you leave the windows open??”    Our bed, which is right against the window, was soaking wet.  We had to hang up the blankets and extra futons that we put on it.  Oops…..

I have a few great stories to tell about my Monday, but I’ll save those for the next blog….

Beach day, baby!

I’m beyond the point of catching up, and I understand this.  I haven’t written about my day-to-day experiences here since April.  Therefore, I’m going to try something.  Instead of wracking my brain trying to remember every little detail, I’m going to write about our beach weekend and then consider myself caught up, beginning with stuff that RECENTLY happened instead of continuing this catch-up game.  Therefore, without further ado, I give you Aoshima Island:

On our way back from Nagasaki, Melissa, Justine, and I were talking about how sad it was that we live on an island, but we’ve only been to the beach once in the last year.  It’s not completely our faults….we do live pretty much in the exact MIDDLE of the island, making it difficult to get to the beach.  I researched early in the week, looking for a nice beach that we could make a day trip to.  I had two requirements:

1) The beach must be sandy.  None of this rocky or shelly business.

2) The beach must be long enough to walk along.  I didn’t want just a strip of sand because one of my favorite things to do at the beach is go for long walks. 

I sent out an email rounding up beach-goers, and Brian, Justine, Mary, Ian, and I met up in Hitoyoshi at 8 AM that Saturday and headed to the beach.  Aoshima Island is in Miyazaki Prefecture and took about an hour and a half to get to.  (I didn’t know it at the time, but Miyazaki is known for having the best beaches on our island!  )   

Aoshima Island is uninhabited, and the only thing on it is a shrine.  You can easily walk around the entire island in less than an hour, and it is known for its strange rock formation, known as “devil’s washboard.”  After years and year and years of erosion, the rocks surrounding the island look like shelves of cobblestone. (below, left)  The island is right off the coast and is connected by a pedestrian bridge.  We didn’t actually go to the beach on the island since it was all rock, but the beaches beside the island were AMAZING!!!  Gorgeous sand beaches for as far as the eye can see……   We all agreed to explore the island first and then make camp on the beach.  Once we were across the bridge, we noticed that caretakers for the island had gotten their truck stuck on the shelly sand of the island.  All of us felt so sorry for the guy and his friend as they attempted time after time to get out, which only resulted in tires spinning.  Luckily trucks here are lightweight and NOTHING like the enormous extended cab, long bed, engine revving Fords, Chevies, and Rams at home.  Justine, Brian, and Ian helped literally lift the back end up and freed the truck. (below, right)    Hurray for foreigners!

 

It was high tide when we were there, so we didn’t see a lot of the crazy rock formations, but that didn’t stop us from playing on them!    We played the game “how far out can we go before we deem it too dangerous?” (below, left)  Mary and I won.    Then we tried to get pictures in the water.  *mental note: Don’t play on the rocks in rough surf.  It won’t end prettily.*  I tried to do my best Little Mermaid pose on the rocks, but the barnacles cut my legs, and wave after wave tossed me off of the rocks. (below, right)  By the time Ian gave up on taking pictures, I have cuts and scratches from my foot to my knee on my right leg and several on my elbow. (bottom, right)    It might not have been worth it, but it was fun/funny!

 

 

We felt very, very weird being in bathing suits even though we were at the beach.  The Japanese don’t really “go” to the beach like we do.  They stand there and admire it, but they don’t really want to go in it.  Since they’re terrified of getting the slightest amount of sun, they cover their bodies with layers of clothing…even at the beach!  So we felt awkward parading around in our skimpy bathing suits and decided to put our clothes back on. 

As we rounded the island, we came upon the entrance to the shrine and went to explore it.  Normally I believe that if you’ve seen one shrine, you’ve seen them all, but this one was pretty cool.  It was dedicated to married couples/eternal love.  Hurray!    Ian and I bought a his and her chopsticks set, and the priestess blessed them for us.  The pathway to one of the side-shrines was really cool because it was lined with messages, wishes, and prayers that people had written. (below, center)  The pathway lead to a spot where you could stack shells in a pile to represent your ancestors and toss other shells onto an altar.  If the shells made it to the altar, your wish would come true.  If not….sorry!

  

After that, we finally got to make camp and lay out at the beach!  All day long I was seriously like a little kid!!  I was so completely, totally, and irrationally excited to be at the beach.  I cannot tell you how many times in the past couple of months we’ve seen a beach en route but didn’t have time to stop and enjoy it.  The weather couldn’t have been more perfect! 

 

After eating lunch, we all laid down for a bit.  I heard one of our lunch sacks rustling, and I thought it was just the wind blowing it around, but when I turned my head, a huge black crow was riffling through our bags!  I shouted at it, which scared it.  Instead of fleeing the scene, the bird grabbed our WHOLE bag of Oreos and flew off.  Justine and Ian tried to chase it down, but the darn crow had outsmarted us. (below, left)    We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the sand and riding the waves.  At one point in time, all of us were in the water, and when we looked back at the beach, two huge crows were taking inventory of our stuff.  Brian raced out of the water to chase the birds off, but that time they made off with two granola bars.  We’d been taken advantage of not once but TWICE! 

Crows: 2

Us: 0

 

Once the tide went out, we went back to the island to explore tidal pools.  I’ve only done that one other time in my life, and it was awesome!  With the rock formations completely exposed, we were able to climb on them and find prawns, crabs, oysters, little fish, barnacles, and tons of other sea life.  Mary is from Delaware, and Justine grew up in Washington, so both knew what to look for and taught us landlocked Kentuckians how to pick up crabs and crack open oysters.    Justine and I went on an oyster smashing rampage hoping that we could find just one pearl….but alas!  The only thing we got from the oysters was oyster goo on our hands and legs.

 

After a long and relaxing day at the beach, we returned home, promising ourselves that we’d be back soon! 

Golden Week greatness part IV: Nagasaki, cont.

After a good night’s sleep in the love hotel, we were off for a full day’s adventure in the city!  We made our way to the hostel we were staying in that night and checked in.  They were extremely nice and accommodating by allowing us to drop off our luggage and telling us where a cheap parking lot was.  (It was EXTREMELY cheap for city parking.  We only paid 500 yen for twenty-four hours!!)

Our first stop of the day was Dejima, which once was a fan shaped island where the Dutch traders lived way back when.  Since they were the only foreigners allowed to trade with the city, the Japanese kept them there.  Even though it was an island when the Dutch were there, it’s now part of the city.  Nagasaki has reclaimed land from the ocean, and in order to get to the edge of the current wharf, you have to walk another quarter mile.  While there were some cool displays and reconstructed rooms, I wasn’t too big of a fan of Dejima.  It was a little boring for me. 

 

Luckily for us everything that we wanted to see in Nagasaki was located relatively close to each other in one area, so we were able to walk everywhere.  Our next stop was Chinatown.  I’ve never been to a Chinatown before, so the thought of cheap souvenirs really appeased me!    We even got to eat Chinese food in Chinatown (note: It’s not even close to being the same as American Chinese food.)  After lunch, we split up into groups of two: Ian and I, Melissa and Justine, and Mary and Hiro to do some shopping so that we weren’t a big group of tourists trying to wedge our way into these tiny shops.  I bought a new change purse.  In the cash based society of Japan, I always have a TON of coins floating around, and I have been carrying around a little peanut butter jar with a hole drilled through the top. 

 

Next up was Glover Garden.  Mr. Glover was a very, very, VERY rich trader way back when, and he built a magnificent garden and houses in the foothills of the mountains.  On our way there, we stopped by a street artist who was drawing anime and could even draw people into anime characters.  Therefore….Ian and I got anime’d!  He really made Ian look like a chiseled GQ model, but I was just whatever.  All-in-all, I was very pleased with the picture and thought it was ridiculously cute!  Justine also got herself anime’d, and with her long, blonde hair, the artist basically made her look like Barbie! 

 

At Glover Garden, we kept seeing Japanese tourists dressed up in old-fashioned clothes and wondered what the heck was going on.  As it turns out, you could rent those clothes and have your pictures made in the garden.  We talked about doing it until we realized it was rather pricey for a short amount of time.  On to the next stop…our hostel!

We were only at the hostel for a little while to get rested up and place our things in our rooms before heading out again.  Nagasaki boasts its nighttime view as the third best in Japan.  We had to take a bus to the station on the mountain and then a cable car up the rest of the way.  I was surprised at how much cooler it was on the top of the mountain, but Nagasaki was very, very right to brag about its view.  I don’t want to be biased, but you decide what you think! (picture below)  It was GORGEOUS!  Although there were people EVERYWHERE, we (being the loud foreigners) managed to clear out a section so that Ian could set up his tripod and take a picture on the nice camera.  We were saying how that would be a great place for someone to propose, and since Justine and Melissa are basically married as is, Melissa got down on one knee and “proposed” to Justine on the top of the mountain.    It was hilarious!  All of the Japanese tourists were staring at us, and to make matters worse Ian had to take several shots because the camera was acting up.  HAHAHA!

We rounded off our night with dinner.  Ugh!  Dinner that night pissed ALL of us off.  Since we were in the city, we thought that we should get food that we don’t have the opportunity do at home.  Hiro had an app that finds restaurants in the area, and we decided on Spanish cuisine.  All of us were starving because it had been a while since lunch.  Prices at the restaurant were typical of other restaurants, so we didn’t think anything about it.  After we ordered, the waitress brought each of us this bread thing with sauce on it, which we gobbled up.  Unlike in the States, dishes in Japan come out one at a time.  It is customary to wait until everyone gets their meal before eating.  Mary’s came first, and it was the tiniest plate I’ve ever seen.  We all laughed and said that it sucked her plate was so small, and we’d share some of our portion with her.  However, as plate after plate after plate came out, they were ALL TINY.  By this time, we were still hungry and upset, but it wasn’t until we got the bill that we were really pushed over the edge.  That bread thing that the waitress brought us actually cost 300 yen A PIECE, and not one staff member warned us of that.  Ian and I spent about 3,000 that night on dinner and walked away starving.  I was soooooooooooooooo angry!!    We still had to stop at a 7/11 and get an actual meal.  All told, we paid about 4,000 that night for dinner.  THAT’S GROCERY MONEY FOR A WEEK!!!  UGH!  After spending 10,000 yen on a room the night before and that much on dinner, I didn’t want to talk to Ian.  Even though it wasn’t his fault, I was mad at the world! 

The next day was much, much better.  One downside was that our hostel was divided into a guy’s and girl’s room, so Ian and I didn’t even get to sleep in the same room.  I woke up early and text Ian to ask for the cell phone charger.  He was already awake and had been out on a morning photography walk.  Since it was still early, we walked down to the wharf together to take pictures and just enjoy the morning.  We usually travel with friends, so rarely do we get to enjoy little moments like that to ourselves.    When we got back, everyone was up and ready to go.

Our last thing to do in Nagasaki was visit the Peace Park and Museum.  I cannot express to you how weird it was to be there.  Even though I had NOTHING to do with the attacks, I felt guilty as an American for being there.  Today Nagasaki is a beautiful, bustling city with all of the amenities, but on the morning of August 9th, 1945, it was reduced to nearly nothing.  Literally.  The pictures showed nothing as far as the eye could see.  Reading the placards about how many people died, were disfigured or injured, and suffered gave me cold chills.  In the museum, there were all kinds of haunting items that survived the blast—a wall clock that stopped at the exact time of 11:02AM, bloodied clothes, a helmet with bone fragments in it, charred rubble, and much, much more.  One of the brighter things to come out of that tragedy are the paper cranes (below, middle).  It is Japanese tradition that if you make 1,000 origami paper cranes, a wish of yours will come true.  Across the park and in the museum, hundreds of strings of 1,000 brightly colored paper cranes are hung that people from all over the world have made for the survivors.

  

After grabbing a quick lunch, we were on the road again.  We stopped at Unzen to see the boiling pits of water known as “Hell.”  The air there smells like sulfur, so of course fart jokes had to be made!    Once you visit Hell (below, left), you can climb to the top of a nearby hill and go to “Heaven” (a Buddhist temple with a rather large statue of Buddha) (below, right) to cleanse yourself.

 

Ta-da!  That’s it!  I’m FINALLY finished catching up from Golden Week!  Now on to the rest of the month….. *sigh*