Kaikatei Hamamatsu

... or talked me into confusion--joining their local team), and on my way back home on the winding road, when I spotted something moving on the road. Now in this area, this is a common occurrence. Wild boards (Unoshishi), deer (Shika), and all other forms of life find their way onto the half-wild half-tamed highway that runs through these parts.

"Wild" would describe the ...

... me her shortcut. I remembered the way I took with Yamashita-san (which was the even LONGER route there, because it wasn't as confusing for me), but she insisted that I follow her. So, learning the first lesson about taking directions, I realized that I did NOT have enough information on Mrs Tanabe's home to accurately find my way there. I realized I had a very common piece of information: Past a certain highway, after the first bridge you see (I passed like three before I saw my ...

... fished it out for me).
The feast was amazing. Some of the local ladies who owned the little shack we were cooking at prepared a delicious Ayu stew, tons of Onigiri (rice balls with surprise stuffing!), and served fresh produce from their gardens. The cucumber and tomatoes here are juice-spurting goodness. And, there was tons of Ayu to be BBQd, so while others tended to that, I enjoyed the hot weather in my drysuit (I'm just used to calling it wetsuit), and talked to the other ...

... br>A funny thing happened that night, in which the video explains everything. I repeat the caption: Beware "Linda Linda" when playing in Japan. Jesus....
Was a little tired the next day for what was to be my first successful experience with Hikkake, Japan's traditional river-fishing. This time, I met my vice-principal outside his house and we got changed at his place into wet suits. A few other things ...

... up along the mountain is the road I take to get to Tomiyama, the smallest village in Japan and my other school that I teach at. This road is SCARY. They are narrow, and constantly winding around the mountain and river edge, offering side-mirrors to give you hints about the oncoming trucks carrying lumber, or the speedy k-cars/trucks timing how fast they can reach their destination on these death-bends. Recently, this road was just re-opened because of a recent land-slide ...

... I remember fumbling over the 'cleansing routine' that Derek had showed me the night before, spitting water (optional) back into the taking pool, after sipping it FROM the cup...*sigh*
By this time we were starving, so we left our date-spot and came into Shinshiro city for a bite to eat. It was here that I had my first Japanese beef at Bikkuri Donkey (translation: Donkey Surprise, or Surprised Donkey), and was shocked to find the washroom covered in blood. Already a ...

I was all excited this week because a friend I met at the Nagoya orientation -one of the few who could hold his own- invited me (in my first Japanese keitai text message) to a tour of the area. Not having much planned yet, we agreed to tour around Saturday and maybe Sunday.
Less than a day or two later, my gym teacher (a personal favorite) brought up a BBQ he was hosting with his friends and family on Saturday. It being my first 'official' invite to any sort of co-worker outing, I didn't ...

... the rate these balls fall. anyways, I'm no Ojisan (grandpa), and I don't have money nor time to waste perfecting it, so having that under my belt of experiences I left b4 things got ugly. The man who helped me looked very disappointed.
The rest of that evening was spent on a short bike-ride around town. I didn't go as far as I've gone more recently, due to the murky weather. but some of the shots I took give you an idea of the area close to my vicinity.

... we took part in a Tea Ceremony at one point, with both of us having to kneel down in front of an old Japanese lady and watch as she whipped the powder into a frothy consistency. We then had to follow suit, before meticulously lifting the bowls up and taking a sip (something I wasn`t looking forward to doing after my previous encounter with green tea). After the initial sip, we had to drink the rest in one, and actually it tasted alright, as did the Japanese sweet we ...

... strong and now I'm starting to get lower test scores. I suck at classes like that. I get amped and do really well, then I start to falter.. Quoting Fred Lopez, quoting someone else, "it's not how you start, it's how you finish." Anyways, I've applied to one other job, although they don't seem as interested in me as the other school, and their position starts in June 23rd. ****! I'll end this one here.