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Published: February 26th 2008
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The first blossom of spring
A plum blossom in a small orchard that I pass on my way to Nate Elementary School every friday
Japanese Vocabulary Haru: spring
sakura: cherry tree blossoms- for the Japanese their short blooming period I think is supposed
to be symbolic of life- delicate and brief, but unforgettably beautiful while it lasts.
hanami: Flower viewing, when the Japanese people flock in hordes to go see the cherry trees
bloom.
ume: Japanese plum
yuzu: a citrus fruit that’s kind of roundish, but similar in color and texture to a bumpy lemon. It
has a really fragrant smell which makes it a popular item for teas, drink and bath salts.
chuhai: the Japanese answer to a wine cooler, made by combining either still or bubbling
water, flavor syrup/juice or beverage, and shochu (plum liquor)…they are usually only
around 4-7%!a(MISSING)lcohol.
Haru is coming
The weather here has been crazy since we got back from Sapporo. When we first got back it was very cold and it was even kind of snowy…it’s funny because even though Sapporo was colder, it feels colder here. In Sapporo, everywhere you went, including the hotel rooms, were heated to a balmy 27-28 degrees or so (I dunno, maybe mid-high 70s F). Here, even though it’s a couple degrees warmer
our feast at Christine's
if there's anything our little kinokawa family does, it's eat... outside, everywhere other than under your kotatsu and in the teacher’s room is freeeeeezing! But anyways, the weather really has been up and down- flurries of snow, followed by some spring-like weather in the middle, maybe around 10 degrees, followed by cold, clear days with strong, biting winds, all leading up to today…sunny, partial clouds and snow as I biked my way to school.
But despite the crazy weather, springtime is clearly on it’s way at last. The plum trees all over are starting to bloom, just hinting at the
sakura hanami to come in mid-spring. Even though the Sakura blooms are the Japanese symbol of spring, to me the
Ume trees seem to kind of usher in the spring. As I was riding home from my Friday elementary school, Nate Shogakko, last week, I was pleasantly surprised when I passed by a small orchard of plum trees. Most of them were still mostly dormant, their branches lined with tightly closed flower buds, but one tree had even begun to blossom. It only had a few blossoms, but it made me feel like the winter was finally receding and spring was finally coming to bring life (in forms other
chillin
Josh, Zach, Christine, Naomi (Christine's friend from Kobe) and me than daikon and mikan) back to the countryside. It also made me notice that, while I usually bike home in the semi-darkness of dusk, it was still light outside and stayed so until around 5:30. The following Friday, I passed by the same trees, and this time many of them had started blooming.
Another thing to remind me of the imminent return of spring is that Zach and I even went on a bike ride yesterday…we haven’t really done this since the fall, before the weather got really cold and miserable. We rode across the river towards one of my elementary schools, Ozu Shogakko, and discovered this little temple on the side of the mountain. It was such a beautiful, clear day and from the temple grounds you could see the whole city.
Saturday February 16: Lunch party at Christine’s
The Saturday after we got back from Hokkaido, Me, Zach and Josh went to Christine’s place for a little lunch party. Since she had invited a friend from Kobe down, we got together and made lunch- Josh brought Karaage from an awesome shop nearby his house, Zach and I made tortillas, salsa and hummus, and Christine made
artisans...
these are our hand blown glasses, which we made ourselves at Otaru (with a LOT of help from the glassblowers) pasta salad and spam musubi. It was a really nice and pleasant afternoon after all the rushing around of the week before. We also go to use the glasses we made in Otaru for the first time since they were all shipped to Christine’s house, and passed the day eating, playing Zach’s DS and chatting with Christine’s friend, Naomi.
Later after Naomi left (since she’s still only 19, under the legal drinking age of 20), we made eggnog and ate some more!
February 21: My Birthday!!!
This year, my birthday fell on a Thursday- my busiest day of the week. This time, I was at Kaminate where I teach all six periods…luckily the kids are all good and it’s one of my favorite schools. It was also a Valentine’s day lesson, and I made Valentine’s day cards with the first graders, who are soooooo cute! So even though it was a crazy busy day at school, it was fun for the most part and since I had six classes, it passed pretty quickly.
Also, since Thursday is our family dinner night, we met at Josh’s place and had a Yaki-Niku party, where we grilled up beef,
eggnog
yeah, a bit out of season, but brother Evan bought me nutmeg for Christmas and this was my first chance to use it!
chicken, spam, Vienna sausages, bacon, cabbage, eggplant, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and tofu…haha, my purse still smells like grilled beef. Also Lara, fulfilling her matronly duties, made a pumpkin cake/crumble dessert and Zach, fulfilling boyfriend duties, bought me a chocolate snow cake…mmmmmmmmmmmmm…it was the perfect, calorific way to spend my bday!
February 22-24: My Birthday weekend
My Friday was good- only 4 classes and it was an easy and fun lesson…though a little bit CRAZY because I had the 38 student first grader class for second period and they were one teacher short. Sigh…that class is so cute, but always slightly traumatizing…
Luckily, saturday was a sleep in day and Zach had taken the time to plan out the rest of the day for me! Zach, Josh and I met up with two other Wakayama JETs, Tristan (Hawaii/Shirahama) and Zully (New York/Koyasan) to head off to our favorite Onsen, Nohan no Sato, which is two train stops away from me. After a nice soak, we hopped back on the train to our local favorite Izakaya, Souko. I feel like we seem to come here every month or something, at least recently. Not only is the food great (I
Snow!
the view of the snow on the way to school last tuesday (2/18) mean, come on, it’s pretty much all fried), but the staff are all really kind to us in addition to all being young and attractive. Souko is owned, or at least operated, by Kei whose English seems to improve everytime we come. He knows us all by name and is especially fond of Zach it seems. Anyhow, all the staff, especially Kei, are really friendly in general, but they are also really foreigner friendly. It’s really cute, Kei is always asking us how to say different phrases in Japanese and on this occasion he introduced us to the kitchen staff, telling us their names, ages and if they were single or not. They also have a huge menu and a good drink list- their Yuzu Chuhai is the best!
So more JETs from Wakayama came all the way up here to the north to celebrate- awwwww, I love my friends! I was really surprised how many people showed up, especially considering that we are the farthest north in the ken (prefecture). There were about 17 of us for dinner and Karaoke later that night. Karaoke was, as always, awesome…I think my favorite would have to be Stacey and Jessie’s rendition
of “total eclipse of the heart”. It sucked because my throat was sore since Friday (haha, after class with the first graders…as always), but it was just fun to see everyone.
After that, me, Zach and Sarah and Ryan, two JETs in Wakayama originally from Canada and New Zealand (adopted grandparents) cabbed back to my place for the night…but not before stopping at McDonald’s!!! Nothing like a chicken nugget Happii Setto to finish off your night!
We all slept in until about noon and Zach and I made eggs and pancakes for breakfast…we all just pretty much took it easy. Sez and Ry had to get back home, so Zach and I saw them off at the train station and then went for a bike ride around the river. Though the up-hillness and against-the-windness of it left me a little bit short of breath, it was a beautiful day for a bike ride with big white clouds and a beautiful blue sky peeking through. I have to say, all in all, a perfect birthday (minus the sore through…psh…first graders…).
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Zach
non-member comment
Thanks for letting me eat all of those wonderful sweets! Skittles mmmmm how I miss thee! Though, you know it feels like even the slightest bit of sugar is enough to destroy your teeth...poo Japanese diet!