Mushi Mushi

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I am in Japan!!! A long way from Adelaide, Australia, but here I am in Shizuoka for a year teaching at an English Kindergarten while seeing and experiencing as much of this crazy, mixed up, amazing country as I can!

In Japanese 'mushi' means 'insect', and is most commonly heard in a kindergarten classroom or playground in the middle of Summer, with the child pointing at the insect in question. If the said insect is a spider, butterfly or any other of the thirty five million bug species in Japan the call "mushi mushi " is greeted with excitement. If the insect turns out to be your typical, stock standard Louie the fly, the reaction will be more like sheer terror, mass chaos and possibly tears. No kidding, the kids hate flies, but will gladly go to a petshop to buy an overgrown rhinoceros beetle to keep as a pet for the summer.

'Mushi Mushi' of course, is not to be confused with 'moshi moshi' or in its lengthened form "moushimasu moushimasu" which is said when answering the phone and loosely translated means something like 'Excuse me, I'm going to speak". While this may be bizarre at first this greeting is preferable to the grunt which many deem appropriate to be used as a telephone, or for that matter, general greeting!

This blog includes a selection of the 'mushi mushi' flying around, minus the mega cockroach that joined us on Monday evening (I tried to get a photo before I killed it but it kept getting away so I thought it was better to have a dead cockroach than a photographed one).

There are also photos from Leigh's (Aussie, Wolloongong, met him at the Aus v Japan soccer match) birthday celebration and Lumiere's (Czech, barman at Boozer) going away party, as well as us looking hot in yukata (the lighter summer kimono worn to fireworks festivals and the like) and the legendary Peter Nakos' (aka Blue Steel) karaoke and Flyte Tyme debut.

Stay tuned for Kyoto blog, and I have two weeks holidays coming up, so get ready for a whirlwind through Tokyo with Mum and Dad and John and Pam (including Disneyland- im so excited!), Hokkaido and Kyoto again with Marissa's parents.

Bai bai for now.

:-)

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Photos

Butterflies
'These are either really small birds or really massive butterflies!'

Butterflies

Butterflies

Bees
Seriously the size of my thumb. Winnie the Pooh wouldnt have even thought of going after the honey with these giants around.

Snake
On the road on the way to kindy

Spider
Taken up residence on our clothes line

Bugs
I actually dont mind these cute little green ones

Bugs
Rhinoceros beetles for sale at a festival

Bugs
Rhinoceros beetle

Our Boozer
Our second home, featured in many of the following photos.

Lumieres Going Away
Matt (Melbourne) and us

Lumieres Going Away
One of Matts students, (L), Matt and on the right Ashley (NZ)

Lumieres Going Away
Funny Sleeping Man with Bottle 1.

Lumieres Going Away
Funny Sleeping Man with Bottle 2.

Lumieres Going Away
Funny Sleeping Man with Bottle 3.

Comments

[Lol]

you are having way too much fun, Ame. Great to see. Hope you have a great play with Mum and Dad. Love Lol

[Poo]

you girls seem to pull off anything you wear over there. Anything except those obi gown things. I slipped off my chair lookn at you in those dresses.

[D]

Are you trying to look hot with those fans? keep on trying!

[kstong]

pls help
i have a rhinoceros beetle but i dont know what to feed them. pls help

[leslieb]

WOWW
I work at a restaurant called mushi mushi.. lolol insect??? lolol