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Published: March 10th 2010
Sloan says "I Love my Life!"
Cheering outside the Renoir MuseumHow’s everyone been the past month!? First off I have to say how unbelievable the Olympics were and how amazing it is to be Canadian, no matter how far away I am from the action! It was really tough being away during the past few weeks and missing the unbelievable accomplishments that we as a country achieved. Not to mention the gradual build up to the gold medal hockey game that we won in overtime to set the new world record for the most gold medals won by any country at any Winter Olympics in history!! After years of struggles and let downs from our international athletic competitions I can’t tell you how great it is to see Canada at the top of the podium and to have our entire country rally around our athletes, whether we won or lost. I feel we really showed our pride and spirit as a nation and were able to let the world know how special we are as athletes and people in general. And although I wasn’t around to see it all happen in person, I was definitely sharing the true Canadian spirit with all of my staff and students at Shiki school. Watching
Shaka Shaka Shiki!
Team "Shaka Shaka Shiki" after running the Relay Marathon every event I possibly could on my laptop, I could share updates and discussion topics about the Olympic results and news every day with anyone that would listen. And the cheers and dancing that I couldn’t hold back after Canadian victories were seen all over the streets and on the trains to and from work. While trying not to be obnoxious or gloat to the Japanese, who were struggling to get a gold, it was really fun to share the triumphs of my country and get others interested in watching and cheering for any of the athletes. Getting up at 5am to watch the gold medal hockey game was tough, but after it was over I knew I wasn’t the only one running around on the street butchering the national anthem while waving a mini flag at the cars driving by!
Even with the Olympics taking up most of my free time outside of work I managed to do a whole bunch of stuff this past month. The most exciting of which being a 2-day ski trip to Yamagata prefecture in northern Honshu with a group of students and teachers from Aeon. After at least seven years since the
Launchin
Western Art Museum statue man and me last time I hit the slopes I was pretty psyched to rip through the powdery mountains of ZAO and see how long it would take to yard-sale. I found out pretty quick, since I wiped out on the landing of my first jump before I remembered how to slow down or turn. Whatever right, can’t stop won’t stop! I would have only been disappointed if that stopped my from attempting to get “sweet air”, which was clearly the most important thing in the world to achieve that weekend. And of course it didn’t. After a day of team skiing with the 10 people that went with us, a few of us split off the second day to hit the 10 foot table-top jump at the top of the mountain. Then it was non-stop runs to see who get launch the fastest, hardest and longest with, of course, no regard for proper technique or safety. Seamus and I hit the jumps pretty hard and let’s just say I had no business even landing some of them on my feet based on the amount of air time and flailing limbs. But we had an amazing time hanging out with all the students
Jaz at the Museum
Jasmine rockin a pic and teaching them some good old fashioned Canadian style drinking games at night. Kings and flip cup are now legendary around Aeon shiki, and I don’t think they were ready for the amount of fun/drinking/damage it caused, especially the next morning. But I was impressed to see them all stumble down the stairs of the cabin the next morning and strap on the boots for another full day on the mountain. They sure didn’t look healthy but they had heart! So we went to the top of the mountain and saw the famous “Snow monsters”, which was a forest of frozen pine trees, which were completely engulfed in a layer of snow, causing them to look like endless rows of giant creatures. Super beautiful and really cool sight to see. We also hit up a outdoor hot spring, which was my first chance to experience a true, Japanese onsen. Soaking in the salty hot water after a day of “launching crazy air” was the key to being able to do it again the next day. I recommend for anyone who ever visits to Japan to make it to one of the good ones in the mountains. And, of course that
Jaz and Sloan
Hanging out in Ueno, checking out the parks and museums wasn’t the only adventure in February…
The next big thing that happened, that was more painful than anything else, was the relay marathon we ran at the end of the month. With a team of only four people (after planning to have at least seven) we ran 42.5 kilometers on a rainy, freezing Sunday morning in Tachikawa, Saitama. So Takao, Shota, Rob and I ran five 2km laps each to bring home the trophy (for completion of the race, lol) and were just all happy to make it out of it without frostbite or pneumonia. I can’t forget to mention the amazing help we got from Mika, another Japanese teacher from my school, who battled the elements the whole day to cheer us on, provide snacks, and even run one lap when we thought we couldn’t go on any further. Thanks to her we finished in just under 3.5 hours and crossed the finish line as a team. Thanks mama-Mika!
That pretty much wraps up February. The rest was great in terms of regular workdays and the usual routine is all good still. Classes are ending soon so a lot of interviews for new students and recruiting campaigns
Needs some help
Clearly she's a gymnast too are going on now. Still hitting the gym most night with Dave, when we both aren’t sick with colds that have been hitting hard this winter. I’ve managed to steer clear of most outbreaks but got hit with one the other week that took over a week to shake. But it should be getting warmer soon, and I’m just getting psyched for the visit from Tad and Dad at the end of this month! The blizzard that left a few inches of snow on the ground yesterday should be cleared up and the cherry blossoms should start to bloom right as you guys arrive. The bearded trio should have some great adventures happening soon! We have a school cherry blossom pot-luck picnic planned at the start of April and we will be welcoming a new manager to the school after Takao, our amazingly generous and all around great-guy manager, was promoted to a big school in-need of an experienced guy in Chiba prefecture. With only a few days notice this came as a shock to us and he will be missed greatly, but we have to move on and see what the future brings, right? We had a farewell dinner
Marathon Morning
Team getting ready, trying to get out of the rain at an all-you-can eat Indian restaurant and a Mexican restaurant in Ikebukuro to show how much we appreciated all he did at our school. Good luck Takao! You’ll always be the leader of Shiki, “Like a BOSS!”
With a lot of things planned for the next month I’ll leave it for the next message to talk about and send this one out to you now. I feel like I’m forgetting something but once I remember I’ll toss it in the next blog. Until then I hope these stories give you a good idea of what’s up in Japan and remember to tell me what’s new with all of you!
Peace and Love,
Sloan
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Cousin Kristen
non-member comment
Hey Sloan!
Well, you look like you're having a fabulous time! Saw Erica and the little Goo-Goo Head at my folks' place.....very cute!\--both of them! Hope to see you soon, Mr. Man! Love your Cuz :)