Blogs from Tottori, Tottori, Japan, Asia - page 2

Last Saturday, Rachel's landlady threw her a little party so us ladies decided to get all dressed up in yukata (summer version of kimono) in the pretense that we would head into town for the matsuri (festival) that night. We stayed at the party a bit late so missed all the festivities but didn't miss the opportunity to walk around Tottori in yukata! Pics will best explain this experience...haha. ... read more

Had so much fun, decided to blog about it for a change...haha! Friday night, hit up English cafe with Onika, Megumu, Noriyuki and Rachel. Granted, there were some oddballs there, but we had fun and I got to meet Megumu's cousin and mom so that was really cool!! We went out to dinner after, but I already ate since I made a huge pot of curry the day before and still had leftovers. I just had sweets at Cafe Piace! Saturday, started off early...8:40am I went to Minami Jr. High School which is literally 10 minutes away on foot from my place because my students were playing a game there! I don't know what possessed me to get up at that hour on a Saturday morning, but I did want to see my kids play. The ... read more

Today was graduation and I managed to work it out so I went to Konan's graduation instead of Koto's. You all saw how much I love those 17 kids who are graduating, I HAD to see them one last time before the all went off to high school. The ceremony itself was pretty dry and a little hard to get through because it was all in Japanese. Good thing I knew when to stand and bow though. Also, at least it wasn't too cold today because otherwise the gym is just unbearable. There were speeches by the principal, a guest speaker, a representative from ninnensei and a representative from sannensei. Each of the students got to accept their giant certificate from kocho sensei because we are such a small school. Of course we sang the school ... read more

I am switching to the big school next week. Of course there are pros and cons to this situation. I will definitely miss the school where I am now because I've gotten closer to the students and the teachers here. I'm not as lost in the mix as I am at the bigger school. I can actually joke with the teachers and they are even more willing to speak to me in English. Overall it's just a more laid back atmosphere. At the bigger school I am a lot more shy...if you can imagine that, mostly because I don't feel comfortable enough to talk to all the teachers there. BUT, I do get more work at the bigger school and more variety in the activities I can do. Teachers are more open to new games and ... read more

I leave for the Philippines basically tomorrow night...slightly freaking out? Nah, just the usual anxiety that comes along with traveling overseas. At least the Philippines isn't that far away nor does it require a drastic time change..just one hour behind! Woo! I'm excited to see my family and eat Filipino food! I haven't had a decent meal since I was back home in Minnesota. I rarely cook here...and I really should learn while I'm in the Philippines so I can dazzle everyone with the goodness that is pancit. Or lumpia or adobo...I'm getting hungry just thinking about this! It is getting a little bit harder to motivate myself to work because I keep thinking I get to be in 70-80 degree weather for the next two weeks! Saw the first snowfall (I think, at least technically) ... read more