Blogs from Hiroshima, Japan, Asia - page 45

This weekend marked the first long weekend in September, as Monday, the 19th is Respect for the Aged Day. I am currently in the process of writing Prime Minister Martin a letter, advising him on the Japanese holiday system (there is another statutory holiday this Friday!) So what does a girl do on the first long weekend of September?! Go to Osaka, of course! My friend Alexis and I started our journey by taking the shinkansen, the Japanese version of the bullet train, which can reach speeds of up to 300 km/h. The journey, which was 280 km, took an hour and a half. It was a smooth ride, and we were in Osaka before we knew it! We started our sightseeing, at Osaka-jo, which is Osaka Castle. The castle offered a good view of the ... read more

MY JOB: From Monday to Thursday I teach English at various schools throughout Akitakata-shi. I have 4 kindergartens (the kindergarten classes take place in Day Care Centers), 3 elementary schools, 1 junior high school, and 1 adult English conversation class. Although the kindergarten kids are by far the cutest, I also enjoy teaching at the elementary schools and the junior high school. (I have yet to begin my adult English conversation class, so I can not compare it to anything yet.) ... read more

In Japan every school has one day in the fall when all of the students and their parents participate in fun games/sports. Today was Yachiyo Junior Highschool's Sports Day, so I went to watch for a few hours in the morning. I thought it was going to be far more serious and competitive, but it turned out to be a fun day with games such as "tug-of-war," or "tsunahiki" as it is called in Japanese. It was a good day! P.S... Mom, this is for you: I took pictures of everything I pass on my walk to school, the pictures will be posted in order so that you can imagine my walk. It takes about 10 minutes.... read more

...looking down on creation....This title comes from a Carpenters classic (or so I've been told!) that some of my first year students chose to sing for a karaoke contest (there was little selection...another Carpenters song, Chicago, and Elton John). Anyways, I thought it was fitting for this entry. It has been said by the Japanese that "you're wise to climb Fuji, but a fool to climb it twice." To that I say, amen! On Saturday, September 3rd at 6 a.m., myself and about 30 other brave ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) departed from Hiroshima towards Fuji-san, a harrowing 12 hour bus ride, which was of course made easier with stops every 2 hours. With a few "gambatte, kudasai!"s (Japanese for "break a leg!") we began our ascent at 7 p.m, from the 5th station which is roughly ... read more

The weekend after our Hiroshima Jeff and I did a little "Island Hopping" around the Seto Inland Sea, just off of Hiroshima. Orientation was actually very important, as we met all the other JETs and learned about life in Japan (basically learned all the stuff I needed to and missed bc I went sightseeing in Tokyo. We learned how to take care of the tatami mats, avoid cockroaches, and why the heck there is a huge raised yellow line in the middle of the sidewalk (its for the blind people!! All along I thought it separated the bike path and walking path!!). Of course we had some time to drink and get to know each other...alcohol seems to help loosen up everyone and we got to know each other a lot quicker. After the orientation I ... read more