Blogs from Miyagi, Japan, Asia - page 4

I think I will affectionately title this entry: "Things Our Hotel Room Was Missing" - carpet - sound proofing - a screen on the window - hand soap - a clock - a decent sized TV (with no static) - internet - an extra pillow or blankets when requested (we were told no, it wasn't possible to have an extra pillow) - a normal sized bathroom - a shower head that worked - a comfortable bed (with springs that didn't dig into your body and leave obvious red welts) And all that for a mere $60 a night! Hotel Park Sendai I... never again. ... read more

Orommel mondhatom, hogy sikerult foltoltenem 156 kepet (a 3200-bol) a netes fotoalbumba, es el is kuldtem tegnap a meghivokat. Aki nem kapta volna meg, kerem, irjon az email-cimemre, es megoldjuk. Itt kovetkezik a folytatas az utolso elotti nap tortenetevel. A hangya es tarsai utan is jol tudtam aludni, nem voltak remalmaim sem :) Reggel kicsit kesobbre kerult az indulas, mert csak a 10 utan kicsivel indulo vonatra volt helyjegy, es ezt a vonatot csak helyjeggyel lehet igenybe venni. Szerencsere erre a napra meg ervenyes volt a hetijegyem - foleg jol jott a jegyarat tekintve. Nagyjabol 2.5 oras vonatozas utan (shinkansen) megerkeztem Sendaiba, Japan keleti oldalan talalhato kisvarosba, ami elsosorban a kozeli termeszeti szepsegekrol hires, ezert is mentem oda. A Csendes-ocean partjan van, es itt talalhato egy kulonleges es talan egyedulallo szigetvilag kis, feheres szinu sziget... read more

I love my students. Especially my Mom students. They are so welcoming and willing to share anything that they think I would find interesting. Since I have already done some study on Japanese culture and language, they like to ask me questions about what I think about certain aspects of Japanese culture, and it's great for class. Tonight I had a Mom that only has a 30 minute lesson and all we do is talk. Sometimes our conversations are a bit strained because her English is a bit low, but tonight it was a great night. I shared my plans for Golden Week, which is totally planned and reserved, and she asked me, "Do you know what today is?" Since I had no idea I told her so and she said, "It's the Hina Matsuri". The ... read more

It's that time of year again! Winter is frosting everything together and making laundry somewhat time consuming. It's also Sendai's Pageant of Starlight again! Jozenji-dori is a huge shinny mass of pretty trees, people, and yaki imo (grilled sweet potato) going down it's long street. I made the annual pit stop with my new co and her BF. It was gorgeous and lots of fun to walk around and enjoy such a winter sight. Along with the lights a skating rink has been set up outside for the public! A couple of my co-workers and I went together and skated for a couple hours. It was cold, but it was great fun to watch all the kids and "cool" guys trying out fancy skating tricks and falling all over themselves. There were a bunch of yatai ... read more

Earlier this week, one of my JTs asked me, "Are you going to the Aoba Matsuri?" Which I responded with a, "Is that what all the flags are around the city?" Needless to say, the Aoba Matsuri is a big event in Sendai. My JT told me that the Aoba Matsuri is to celebrate Date Masamune, I believe. There is also a special dance that is performed. The Aoba Matsuri webpage says, Sendai Suzume Odori Contest(Yoi) It is said that stonecutters danced Suzume Odori (a dance with gestures of sparrows ) at a celebration for building Aoba-jo Castle in the days of Date Masamune, and that it was the beginning of Suzume Odori. Three kinds of the dance are performed in this festival: Kosuzume Odori(a dance by children,) Butai Odori(a dance on the stage) and Nagashi ... read more