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Published: August 27th 2007
Jess and Fuji
On a clear day if you walk 20 feet from our front door this is the view you will get of Mt. Fuji.We're trying new things here in Japan. From taking the train to eating things we've never eaten before, these last couple of weeks have been both exciting and filled with anticipation of things to come.
We went out to eat with our new friend Chinami Kobayashi and her extended family Friday night. It was an entirely new experience for us, beginning with cow's tongue, then squid, scallops and finally on to pork, chicken and other parts of the cow that we never were able to identify -- which was probably in our best interest. The food was brought out to us fresh and we cooked it ourselves on a grill set in the middle of our table. The meal took two and a half hours because we only ordered and cooked one thing at a time. Once that was eaten, we would order something else. Most of the talking was done in Japanese since her family didn't speak much English, so we did a lot of smiling and nodding.
The following day we went to Tokyo with our friends Makimi and Josh. Tokoya, the U.S. Air Force base within the city was opening up its hanger doors to the
Fuji Haze
Even while we were taking this picture, clouds began to cover the mountain. It is rare to see Mt. Fuji for long periods of time. public for its annual Friendship Day. The festival showcased military aircraft that you could tour, but most importantly American food.
So, we left Minami Alps at 7:30 a.m. and two hours by train later we were walking around eating hamburgers and drinking orange Gatorade (two things you cannot normally get in Minami Alps). Greg was happy to get the taste of American food again, having not adjusted quite as well to Japanese cuisine as I have. After easting American food all day all I wanted was a nice bowl of rice-I think that means I've adapted well. Plus, I can live without red meat-now donuts are another story, and those they have, so I don't have to worry!
We finished off our busy weekend with a day at the ballet. We were invited to Chinami's daughter's ballet recital which lasted four hours on Sunday! It was an amazing production which showed off how much time (and money) Japanese kids must put into their club activities. Her daughter is only 5 or 6, but the production featured guest performances from professional performers as well as older students. Everything was in Japanese of course, but at least dance is something
Greg & The Minami Alps
The back of our house is surrounded by the Minami Alps. This is also the direction of my school. Just a block that way and I'm at work. you don't need any talking to understand.
Greg had his second interview with Unitas, an English school based in Kofu on Monday. We had to take the bus for the first time, and by ourselves! It was quite a feat. The bus cost about 620 yen each way and it took us about 45 min. to get there. The international church is in Kofu, so this is a trip we are going to have to make every week. Unitas definitely wants to hire Greg, they say he is even over qualified. He would be teaching 2 classes for private companies (adult businessmen) in neighboring cities that he would have to travel to and then possibly 4 classes for kids anywhere from babies through high school, right here in town. The classes are either in the morning or the evening one day a week, so it is definitely part-time, but enough to make a little extra money and get him out of the house.
While we were in Kofu we had lunch at a Japanese-Chinese restaurant (I know it sounds funny). The menu was all in Japanese-no pictures-so we got out our dictionary and read "recommend" to the waiter.
Butterfly
You don't see as much wildlife here (few squirrels, smaller animals or birds), but there are bugs and butterflies. After he laughed at us, a Japanese businessman eating lunch behind us jumped in as a go-between and with a few English words we somehow ordered the best fried-rice we had ever eaten. We now know the words for fried-rice and "that was delicious!"
Our last blog had pictures of the inside of the house, so we wanted to show you what the outside looked like, including our view of Mt. Fuji. So here is what we see every day.
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Matt Johnson
non-member comment
fear factor
haha sounds like fear factor... hope you win 50K