It's All Down Hill From Here

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Well, four days from today we'll be back on U.S. soil. Now the challenge becomes trying to describe our year here in Japan. As with many things, the temptation is to write a list of the things we enjoyed and the things we didn't like about Japan. But, the more Jessie and I talk about our experiences here, the harder it is to come to conclusions. Seemingly, every time we've tried to make a generalization, a new experience soon followed and changed our minds.

The adage that "the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know" certainly rings true for us, in this case.

Jessie finished school on Friday, much to the dismay of many of her students. She gave a speech at an all-school assembly in her new yukata, which was given to her by her fellow teachers. The oohing and aahing from the students said it all, and it was a very nice farewell.

Jessie and I climbed Mt. Fuji earlier this week. It was a horrible experience for the most part, but there were a few moments that seemed to cancel out the approximately ten hours of suffering we endured. Jessie remembers more about the ascent than I do. I began to experience altitude sickness about half-way up the mountain and from then on out my mind must have decided it would be best if I didn't remember much from the last few hours of the climb.

Mt. Fuji is less of a mountain and more of a horrible red and black volcano, in our opinions. It wasn't until our bone-jarring and knee-wrecking descent that we were able to see just what we had accomplished the previous night.

But, now we can say we did it.

As I was thinking about this year in Japan and our Mt. Fuji climb, I realized the two parallel each other in one sense. This year has been difficult and awe-inspiring -- full of frustration and bewilderment, freezing temperatures in the dark and scorching heat in the sun. But in the end, it's not until we leave those challenges in the distance that we will likely gain perspective.

In fact, we're guessing we will not realize the ways we have changed until we return to the United States.

In short, we have been humbled by this experience of sharing new adventures with new friends, all of whom have welcomed us without hesitation.

We were thrilled to share our experience with our families. And we were happy to share this adventure with our friends in Marshalltown, Iowa, Green Bay, Wisconsin, and everywhere else we have people who care about what we're up to.

Thanks to the Marshalltown -- Minami-Alps City Sister Cities Organization for making this experience possible for us and for many others who have also enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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Photos

Farewell Speech
Jessie receives a sendoff from two of her students - one of whom Jessie coached to the speech competition earlier in the year.

Kids in the Hall
Everyone scrambled to get in on the picture taking.

Baseball Boys
Even some of the baseball boys were brave enough to appear in a photo.

Jessie and Mr. Natori
Here's Jessie in her Yukata (summer kimono) with our neighbor and friend (and the school's former principal) Mr. Natori.

At the Summit
Here she is, just before the sunrise. Fuji is only the sixth tallest peak on an island, and there are hundreds of peaks around the world that are taller than East Asia's most famous natural landmark. Part of Fuji's allure is that it seems to rise alone and keep going up, and up, and up...

First Glimpse
There it is: 4:35 a.m. Fuji is 12,388 ft. tall, meaning there is about 2/3 the oxygen available and temperatures were below freezing at the summit when we climbed. Its last eruption was in 1707 and is considered "dormant."

Steep
It was better that I not appear in many of the photos. Altitude sickness took its toll...
The mountain is very steep in spots, so the trail down zig-zags for what seems like forever. By the end, we were covered in red Fuji dust.

Dirty but Smiling
Mt. Fuji is not very tall as far as mountains go, but its nearly perfect volcano shape make it climbable for young and old alike -- that's not to say everyone makes it, however. The way down was brutal on the knees, but much easier to navigate.

Grapes
So, summer is definitely here. The grapes, peaches, plums and various flowers and vegetables are growing FAST. Looks like we're leaving just in time, as the heat index has been in the 100* recently.