Marissa, Kate and I headed off to Disneyland for the day. We were all very excited, like children really. Marissa had been before but it was mine and Kate's first time. The one thing I knew was that I wanted Minnie Mouse ears........ After 3 trains we arrived our child energy was reaching its climax, Yay Disneyland!!!!!! I found a fabulous set of minie mouse ears, with love heart earings and everything, I loved them. I got to be Minnie mouse for the day, minus the furry costume and I wore them all day and night even on the train ride [View Full Entry]

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Day 1 I am sitting writing this blog at Ks House, I think this is the first time I have written my blog whilst traveling, its a nice change. Today Cate, her mum and I hired a car in Shizuoka and headed to see the 5 Fuji Lakes. The traffic was a disaster, I haven't seen so much traffic before on that road and I have been on it many times. The long busy road lead us to the beauty of lake Motosu. It was a little magical for me, I felt like I was not in Japan. The water was [View Full Entry]

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Kyoto Well it's holiday time for me here in this lovely country that is Japan...... I headed off to Kyoto for 5 days of exploring the city and surrounding areas including Nara, Arashiyama and Kurama. The first thing I have to say is that it's sooooo hot there, summer has arrived that is for sure. It is such a different heat from Australia and sight seeing all day long in the sun was not fun. Of course the sights were beautiful and Kyoto has unique temple and Shrines but after 5 days of walking around in the heat and sweating I [View Full Entry]

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Kindy has been very easy......it is currently summer session which means I only have between 11-17 (much nicer than 27)kids a day and the day is only a 3 hour block. Summer session is 2 weeks before my holidays and 2 weeks after. Its been great!!! The session is morning routine, an art activity, playground, waterplay and relaxation. Maybe some free play or singing..... too easy!! The kids are loving it, have a look at the photos. [View Full Entry]

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It finally feels like summer. The rain is slowly stopping, no more rainy season, about time I have not liked rainy season. The weekend made me feel like Summer at home, drinks in a beer garden and the first beach trip. Tomoko's Tanjobi On Friday night some of the MEK staff headed out to help Tomoko celebrate her Tanjobi. We went to a Beer Garden, it was very different to beer gardens back in Australia. It was on top of a department store, 7 floors up and there were no lovely trees or the pub next door. But it was great. [View Full Entry]

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I was so excited Kristie (my bestie) was in Nagoya on a flight. We hadn't seen each other for a year and that was in London. We were making jokes last night about neither of us ever being in Adelaide and if we would ever be in Adelaide just hanging out together again. I made my way to Nagoya and I have to say I am a little in love with the Shinkansen. It is so quick and convinent. It only takes an hour to get there from here so very cool that I could just pop up there for [View Full Entry]

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On Saturday morning I headed off to Osaka for the long weekend. I knew it would be a wet weekend due to the Typhoon that had hit Japan. My boss was very concerned that I was heading west, I don't know what she thought would happen to me...... my theory is that she was more concerned that I wouldn't make it back to work on Tuesday rather than my actual safety!!! Anyway I was excited about Osaka, my sole reason for going to Osaka was to go to Universal Studio's. I had heard great things about the place from other [View Full Entry]

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On the weekend Shimizu held the Tanabata festival. I have mentioned in a pervious blog what Tanabata is but just to refresh your memory it is: From Wikipedia Tanabata (?? tanabata?), meaning "Seven Evenings") is a Japanese star festival, derived from Obon traditions and the Chinese star festival, Qi Xi. The festival is usually held on July 7, and celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Milky Way, a river made from stars that crosses the sky, separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year. This special day is the seventh day [View Full Entry]

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Oh God, Oh Shit, Oh God, Oh Shit and many Oh Fu*#s...................these were the words coming out of my mouth. Mario, Marissa, Steve, Marteen, Patti, Peter and I headed to Fuji Q Highland for a fun filled down of being scared shitless. Fuji Q, what a day, what an experience and yes I lived to tell it, despite feeling like I might die several times during the day!!! I remember being much braver on rides, being scared and flying through the air upside down was something I used to like I am sure. Maybe it is getting older and loosing [View Full Entry]

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The months pass by so quickly here. Term 1 at MEK is coming to an end and it has been busy,the days filled with the usual kindy rountine and adorable children behaviour. I have had the opportunity to see a few new Japanese Traditions that take place within a Kindy. 1. We had a morning of potato picking at Mrs Nagata's house. The children got their gloves on, small pick in hand and dug up as many potatoes as they could found. It was fun to watch an something I have never seen take place in in Australian schools. The [View Full Entry]

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