Advertisement
Published: November 24th 2009
The Crew at the Summit
At the top of Mount Takao on our day off.
left: Shota (Shiki teacher), Takao (Shiki manager), Rob (British training buddy), Dave (Canadian Shiki teacher), Seamus (Aussie training buddy), ?(Aeon manager), Ryohei (Aeon manager), Yoko (Aeon teacher), Me (dude), Alex (training buddy).
Konbanwa Kazoku to Tomodachi!
p.s. if anyone can tell me how to flip a video that i took on my iphone i owe u. it plays fine on the phone and computer but on this dang site its flippy trippy. ok, well here's the rest of it:
So Hello again all my friends and family, and to those I don’t yet know who have picked up the trail of my blog and are enjoying a vicarious adventure through my stories and pics. Well first I thought I would let you in on a little treat this week, as I have now upgraded my bogging skills enough to try out some videos! I have taken a few and took a couple during our trip to Mount Takao this past Monday during the holiday that we enjoyed with everyone all around Japan. The first one includes a brief glimpse of most of my training buddies, my coworkers at Shiki School and a few other managers from other schools, and shows us as we depart on our hike up the mountain to a beautiful view of the countryside and even a clear view of Mount Fuji in the distance. The giggle you
Power Tree
Just soaking in the power that this awesome fire tree was emitting hear halfway through the video is what I hear quite often at school whenever my awesome manager, Takao is within earshot. Although he may appear young and sound like a giggling High-Scooler talking about girls, he is the best boss I could have hoped for, not to mention the rest of the staff that I have quickly grown really fond of. The mountain itself is about an hour trip by train to the west of Tokyo, and is free for the public year round. I recommend it as an alternative to Fuji if you have a bit less time or have already been to the big one. Totally worth it and just as breathtaking a view and just as full an experience.
The second video is one that was taken after about an hour and a half of hiking and climbing up the mountain path and it clearly shows the Canadian Kid out in front! There’s a good idea of what our crew is like and how we act around each other, always joking around and messing with each other, as only the best of friends do without taking offense. Attached are some more pictures taken from that day
Canada Represent!
Our new buddy Ryohei sporting his favourite Maple Leafs jacket and Avril Lavigne pins that shows just how beautiful Japan is during the Fall months. After reaching the summit and taking in the view from the lookout point (with the other thousands of other adventurers on that day) it gave me a huge appreciation for the great variety in scenery and atmosphere that exists across the country. As this was the first true adventure that I have had outside of Tokyo, it has really encouraged me to seek out more obscure and unknown activities and locations that most tourists don’t get the opportunity to experience. Don’t get me wrong, there will still be many trips to Shibuya and Roppongi in the heart of Tokyo to get a feel for the extreme nightlife that I have gotten into in the past month.
Speaking of which, we managed to beat our record for consecutive number of hours dancing in Japan, finishing off our Saturday night at 9am Sunday morning after finding our new favourite all-you-can-dance/sing/drink club in downtown Shibuya. Although you may not always plan to stay out all night in Japan, once you miss the last train home at around 12:30, there isn’t much else to do but keep partying till the sun comes
Hiking Up
Half Way up the mountain, stopped for a pic overlooking the valley. up or shell out the equivalent of $100 to get home by taxi. With my frugal attitude it’s only economical to keep the party going until at least the morning rush! And with the amount of people I meet and the pure workout that we put ourselves through just to make it to morning, I feel perfectly fine with sleeping my Sundays away in my little apartment, dreaming of the next place ‘Team Aeon’ will take over. I mean I still have Monday to be productive and study as much Japanese as I want! Due to the late return to my apartment I didn’t manage to try out the rooftop soccer, known as ‘Futsal’ (corrected from my last blog) yet, but it is in the plans for next Sunday. Unless, on the wild chance that another party may be happening on Saturday, which looks like almost a sure bet these days.
But it’s not all fun and games, I do have to get back to work this week and prepare for my parent observations next week when they join their kids in class to observe how the lessons are going so far. Although I’m nervous about the high expectations
Kanpai!
we celebrated with a beer at the top. Of course Rob was kind of happy that parents have of their kids and the level of education they expect, I’m sure that after one more week of practice I will show them how much I really am working for the benefit of the kids, and that my effort in connecting with the students will result in a great response in class. I’m even getting at least 80% of their names right on the first try, which I thought would have been impossible after finding out I have different students with the names Yuta, Yuuta, Yuya, Yuuka, Yuka, Yuuki, Yukiko, Yue, Yuriko…and those are the rare names! But I’m still settling in and taking extra time outside of work to prepare, just to get that edge so that I can spend more time on observing and interpreting student behaviour, as opposed to just worrying about what to say next!
Well enjoy the pics and videos of the last week and keep your eyes open for some more coming up soon. Can’t stop, Won’t stop and I hope this inspires some of you to get outside and get a taste of what nature is serving up these days!
Jya Mata,
Sloan
Advertisement
Tot: 0.06s; Tpl: 0.026s; cc: 6; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0261s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
