The weekend came as a very welcome break. The first few days were so packed with sorting stuff - bank accounts, alien registration (just call me ET), introductions etc. The villagers of Takagi and my board of education had been so welcoming, but I really needed some time to chill out. Thank God for the Ringon festival! One of the other local JET teachers picked me up on Saturday afternoon and a group of us, a mixture of new teachers, people who had been there for two or three years and some of the privately hired teachers in the area, joined together for Iida City's Ringon (Apple) festival. The city (which is actually more like a town - quite spread out), was buzzing. There were dance displays by local community groups and school children, drumming displays,
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