Blogs from Shimane, Japan, Asia - page 3

MooshiMooshi, and welcome to Part 6 of my tale. Autumn is well under way in Shimane-ken. At night, the air is beginning to chill and I am left wondering what the winter will bring. Japan lacking central heating leads me to believe that it can’t be that cold. Luckily, Ishikura gave me a huge fluffy blue kimono which at first I thought was a duvet, but as I was laying it out I realized it had armholes and a collar. I suppose I will wear it as I am sleeping on it. Although it has been two months now, I am still adjusting to the diet. Most of the dietary intake here is protein and carbs with very little in the way of fruits and vegetables. The variety of produce is seriously lacking, and what they ... read more

MooshiMooshi from the classrooms of Japan! I just finished my first week of teaching at a Japanese Junior Highschool. The week was spent presenting self-introductions to various classrooms of ridiculously cute 12 year olds. My job consisted of showing them photos of ‘American lifestyle’, playing word bingo and passing out stickers. But I only had to say hello in one of their directions to set them off in a wave of excitement. Apparently, I am the first blonde they've ever encountered. The girls come up to me in pairs trying to say hello, and then run off giggling. The boys keep asking me how old I am. The teachers are very kind. There are 500 students and 4 English teachers at the junior high. It is a new 3 story building with fresh wooden interior. The ... read more

I year ago I moved to Japan - sometimes it seems like yesterday, sometimes an eternity ago. I've been places, made lots of friends, and signed another contract. But I still miss people and lots of things from home, especially now the pineapple lumps (generously sent by the NZ branch of T,M&M Global, and carefully rationed) have run out :-( ... read more

Plans for Okinawa never made it off the ground so I ended up going camping with my friends, Nicole, Jackie, and Rachael during the last half of Golden Week. I had to work the Saturday before Golden Week so I got Tuesday off work. That means I had to go to work on Wednesday kind of randomly and then the next day left for the islands. Golden Week by the way is just a week of national holidays that I don't really understand because well, I'm not from here, I don't celebrate their holidays! I just know it's marked in pink in my planner and that I get the day off during those days..haha. We had to take the train to Sakaiminato in Tottori and from there we took the ferry to the main island ... read more

Yabusame (archery on horseback) festival held in Tsuwano. ... read more