International Hotel Matsuyama

... photos.<br><br>Anyway, we finally got back to Misen and began our descent down at around 2:00pm. The trip home was much more solemn and much much quicker. We finally arrived back in Joju at around 4:30pm and virtually collapsed from exhaustion. We got back to the bottom of the rope-way at around 5:00pm, just in time to get tickets, share a few laughs and catch the 5:22pm bus back to Saijo, where we just barely caught the last train back to Hojo. We crashed and went to bed.<br>

... other smaller portable shrines down a very high set of stairs, followed by a brawl to collect the pieces.<br><br>I am not really sure of the significance of all this, but it was definitely interesting to watch! I will try to find out more about the meaning behind this festival and make another post about it at a later time.<br><br>For the first night of the festival Jess and I walked down to the water to watch them parade around. It was really ...

So many things to tell, and so little time!<br><br>My first week of teaching in Hojo has been very very busy, and very interesting. I have come home everyday too tired to even check email (so sorry for lack of communication, guys!). That being said, I am hoping to become used to the teaching routine and get my energy ...

... when you are somewhere, where rules and manners are so important. So I often feel weird just snapping away. Especially at things like temples and shrines. I'm not even sure if you're allowed??? I'm going to try and find out though, because there are some beautiful Buddhist temples in Hojo, especially the one, it is just gorgeous.<br><br>I am also going to upload images for the journey here entry. So you can check that out if you want.<br>

... just shared one.<br><br>So the first part of the trip, we just journeyed peacefully around the river being either ruddered or poled in the shallow bits, by a older Japanese man wearing traditional Japanese clothing.<br><br>Quite a long while of this went on and we didn't realize, that this was the time we should be eating our Bento boxes...oops. So when someone finally decided to ask, he was pretty much "hurry up and eat!!!" Finally it was dark enough that the Cormorant ...

... except my parents ) that I was not coming for another 2 weeks. I decided to surprise Jess on her birthday and she was very happy!<br><br>So now here I am, I haven't done a whole lot so far. I have met quite a few of Jess's friends and they all seem very nice so far. A group of us had dinner at this really neat little Korean restaurant in Matsuyama. It was really fun and only 1000 yen each! ( that's about 10 bucks )<br><br>Interesting things so far:<br ...

... me of churches, but with spinning stages and trapdoors. After Uchiko, finally got to Matsuyama, the biggest city on Shikoku. Sunny and warm, the weather was blissfully cooperative. The hostel is up on a hill, which almost took my life hauling up my luggage. Like everywhere else, cherry blossom season is here in Matsuyama so everyone has flocked to the park to grill and drink under the trees. The whole area is more ...

... Test (Test of English for International Communication). TOEIC's max score is 990, and you need to have at least a 900 to become a CEO/President. Gawd, I'm glad I speak English. With other tests, Junior high school (JHS) students must study large amounts of hours to pass a public high school test. If the students fail their high school entrance test, they must go to more expensive private schools. Because of this, the parents tend to pressure their children to ...

... are extremely destructive beetles that lay their eggs in tree bark. The resulting pupae then eat holes in the host tree, carving magnificent holes thru the wood. They then pop out and leave the tree to die, having eaten it's entire vascular system. Scary. Every website I found talked about how to destroy them and report them to the USDA for immediate quarantine of your neighboorhood since they're a plague in the ...

Ashleigh and I finished up at work (my last day at Aiko) and headed home. I was given flowers and my final paycheck, as well as a thank you for helping Aiko out in a tough situation. I was pleased that I could get the experience of teaching children so small. I'd learned so much about how children think and their capabilities. I also was happy I got the opportunity to be around children of that age, now I want my own (-: Kidding, mom, I can wait a few years ...