catching up

Hey, y’all. Sorry I haven’t written in forever!!  I had a wonderful, wonderful last weekend, but then I got sick and spent the rest of the week in bed. So here’s a catch-up of last week:

Last Friday:

I ended the last blog with how we celebrated Thanksgiving. After having such a great time eating and celebrating on Wednesday with our friends, I thought that missing out on the holidays was no big deal. I arranged with my family to call them at my 7:30AM, 4:30PM central. That was when my family was eating Thanksgiving dinner. I thought it would make being away from them easier, but it was the complete opposite. I guess physically seeing everyone gathered around the table and knowing that I couldn’t be there was too much. I got really, really sad. It was hard to know that everyone was at home together while I’m on the other side of the world. It made me feel like I don’t belong here. I shouldn’t be here. No fears, though. Before you start thinking that I’m slipping into depression and rethinking my decision to stay for a second year, know that that feeling subsided once I got to school.  Once I got back into the normal routine of the school day, I didn’t feel sad anymore.

I always find it very strange how everyone here knows about Christmas. I can’t compare it to anything in the States. What holiday do we as Americans NOT celebrate yet know all about and decorate for? Friday afternoon during the break time, I was wandering around the halls and saw that some students were making Christmas posters. They had Santa, the reindeer, gingerbread, Christmas trees, etc. all over it. I was asking them questions about Christmas, and they knew everything. (I didn’t ask about the religious meaning of Christmas. I tend to not bring up religion at school. While some Japanese are Christians, the vast majorly are not.) When I came home that afternoon and told Ian about the students’ posters and how I’m always amazed at how much they know about Christmas, he finally gave me the answer I was looking for. It makes sense for huge manufacturing nations like Japan, China, Thailand, etc to know about Christmas. While they don’t celebrate it as a holiday, it is the biggest shopping season of the year. Consumerism is at its finest during the Christmas season. Therefore, manufacturing nations like the above mentioned gear up toward the Christmas season so that they can sell more clothes, plastic toys, technological gear, etc. It makes perfect sense!

Last Saturday:

Last Saturday, we started off the day with Skype calls like normal. However, Krista picked us up at 1PM and drove us to Amakusa to have second Thanksgiving and hike on Sunday. Amakusa is a collection of islands off the mainland north of us in Kumamoto. It boasts scenic views and beautiful sunsets. In the day and a half we were there, it didn’t disappoint! We stayed at Ian’s house. (Not my Ian, but a different Ian.) He took us to a lookout point on the top of a mountain where we could see the island chain, mainland, and vast blue of the ocean. It was at sunset, so the lighting couldn’t have been better!

We then made our way across the island to the Amakusa-gun Thanksgiving dinner. It took us about forty-five minutes to drive to our host, Cody’s, house. He has an amazingly large house. The teeny tiny Reed house would fit into it about two or three times. They didn’t have turkey, but it was still a wonderful feast, and it was great to meet some of the Amakusa ALTs. I feel like us Kuma-gun ALTs are very isolated down here at the southern end of Kumamoto, and we don’t often get to see other people. There are tons of ALTs in Kumamoto that I’ve never even met! We played a card game called “Mafia.” I’ve never played it before, but it was ridiculously fun. The rules are difficult to explain, so I won’t go into detail, but perhaps someday I can teach it to some of you.

Sunday:

We stayed the night at Ian’s house and hiked on Sunday. Krista told us it would be a six hour hike. There were a few other Amakusa ALTs that joined us on the hike. One of Ian’s former JET friends that still lives in Amakusa loves to hike and served as our guide. Carl said he’d been up the mountain twenty-five times.

I made the mistake of wearing too many layers. I was used to Yunomae weather, but on the islands it was much warmer and nicer. I left my hoodie in the car, and my long sleeve shirt quickly found its way in my backpack. After working up a decent sweat, I let everyone march up the trail a bit from me and took off my cuddle duds under my T-shirt and jeans. The first mountain wasn’t too bad. We hiked each of its peaks, and the views were amazing. I wish I lived in Amakusa (that is, until typhoons blow through). At part of the trail, it was like being in a fern forest. The ferns were thick and green and brushed up against our legs as we walked through. Ian told me that if Mommy was there, she’d be in fern Heaven. I have no doubt about that! The second mountain’s trail was a little steeper and required more of an effort. When we got to the top, we had lunch on a rock stab with an incredible view of the island and ocean beyond. I haven’t posted pictures yet, but please look at them when I do. They’re phenomenal! The third mountain was the death of some of us. It seemed like we really picked up the pace on it, and I was exhausted. I really thought I was going to die at the beginning of that mountain. I was bringing up the rear (very slowly mind you), and it was all I could do to continue putting one foot in front of the other. Finally, we took a good long break, and that was all I needed. I was tired but much more energized. I can’t say that about everyone. Poor Ian and Cody were jokingly contemplating suicide by jumping off the trail just to make it stop. We were walking too slowly and got separated from everyone else. While I was okay, I stayed with them to avoid any potential mountain-jumping suicide attempts.

At the top of the third mountain was the best view. It was nearing sunset, and the sun absolutely melted over the ocean. Gorgeous! A short walk from the top was a camp site, so we walked there for vending machine refreshments. It was getting dark, so we had to call a taxi to bring us back to our cars. We were all ravenous after a whole day of hiking, so we went out to eat and then to the onsen (hot spring). The onsen ALWAYS feels better after a long day of hiking. It was weird because Kuma-gun is mostly girls, but Amakusa-gun is mostly guys. So, it was only Krista and I on the women’s side, and a whole pack of boys on the guy’s side. Usually it’s the complete opposite. We had a good girl’s time talking. We didn’t leave Amakusa until very, very late, and we didn’t get back until after midnight. I made Krista’s back seat my own personal couch, and despite Ian and Krista’s front seat dance party music, I accidentally fell asleep.

I’m going to stop here, but please know that I have plenty more to catch up on. Stay tuned!