I feel bad for having neglected my blog the last month or so, but between work, busy weekends, and sheer laziness, it has been hard to keep this thing on the right track. I've been treating it like it's a chore and it really shouldn't be that. It's just that I've done so much lately and I want to write about each thing that I did and do it justice. Basically, after our Tokyo trip, I was so exhausted physically and mentally that I just couldn't bring myself to really sit down and write about my trip. And then recently, we had a surprise visit from Natalie's mom. So, that in essence, is why I haven't really been able to keep up. This weekend is the first weekend I've had in a while where I feel like I have time to do it. I think that there is probably too much to write right now, but I'll just make a short (ish) list. Mostly because I'm lazy and also because I just want to catch up. So here goes:
Tokyo
After New Year's, the rest of the Tokyo trip was just as enjoyable as the first half was. One of my favorite highlights was going to nearby Hakone, where one can catch picturesque views of Mt. Fuji. I feel really lucky to have been able to see it in all of it's glory because in pretty much any other season, she's impossible to see. Although I'd like to climb it sometime in the next year or so, seeing it was amazing. It truly is a beauty. It's elegant and imposing all the same. I think everyone should see it up close. Hakone itself was also a blast. Amidst all of our USA chants and general idiocy, we got to enjoy train rides along mountain sides, bus rides, cable car rides, tram rides, and even a boat ride in a pirate ship replica (where we got to take a picture with a Japanese Pirate headed for Montrose). It was a good time.
In Tokyo, we also got to see the emperor's speech. I'm not sure if I should feel lucky about that one but he apparently only makes a public appearance twice a year and his palace is also only open to the public twice a year. So yeah, we got to see him in his full bullet proof glass protected 2 minute speech making glory along with what seemed like 2.2 millions of our closest Asian friends (and I mean close). Although some Japanese may not like the state of things in the government and some may like it, they got on thing right: Miniature Japanese flags for everyone!
We did quite a few other things as well such as visiting the Onsen spa in which there is a recreation of a late Edo village inside. It was worth going there just to see Anup and Andy wet their panties when they placed their feet in a Doctor fish bath. We also paid a visit to dirty 6th street in Japan. Yes, I'm talking Japanese Exodus and Spiros (back when those places were popular: what's the equivalent now?). Natalie got some free drinks. We almost got hacked by a gypsy. Atit and Andy almost went home with 50 year old prostitutes. We met a Japanese guy and a Japanese Korean who taught us hilarious perverted Japanese words. And we topped it off by celebrating in good ole' McDonald's.
Other highlights included visiting an Izakaya that was cheap and played only Beatles music. We also visited the restaurant in which the Kill Bill fight scene restaurant was based on. C for food but A- for atmosphere.
Overall, it was a great vacation. I loved hanging out with Nat and the guys and I'd love to do it again. Tokyo is an amazing place that just gets my blood pumping in a way that only a great international city can do. I definitely left feeling like I only scratched the surface of what such a place can offer and it made me realize just how much I miss living in a big city. On the way back, we took the Sunrise Limited overnight train back to Okayama. That was really cool in that it was a really clean and modern overnight train. It was a vast difference from the ones we took in Thailand. The only downside was that they didn't give us a mattress. We had a compartment but just a thin little rag of a carpet. What the fuck! Who do they thing we are?
Work
Work has been typical of work. I mean, I get up everyday and go do my job. Who knows if I'm a great teacher, an average one, or a terrible one? The only person I have to judge by is me. I've never observed any one's lessons for the most part. But yeah, I feel really comfortable right now. I mean, stress has just completely gone out the window. Yeah, some classes are harder than others and sometimes even the good ones are worse than usual. But who cares? I see them once a week. I'm doing well right now. But enough about me, work has been marked with some rather big changes lately.
First and foremost, my co-worker left our branch to become a trainer. That was a big change because I've worked with her for 7 months and she's been really cool to work with. This means that a new teacher came through. So far, she's been pretty nice. I haven't really had a chance to get to know her much but hopefully she'll be a good person to work with. The atmosphere in the office has been quite different from what I've been used to and some even bigger changes are coming. In the meantime, I'll just keep working hard and waiting for my chance to improve my situation.
Other Travels
So 3 weeks ago, Natalie's mom surprised us by telling us that she would be coming all the way to Japan from Dallas to visit us and to take a much needed vacation. We were definitely got caught off guard but we tried to make the best of it anyways. We would've liked to have a coinciding vacation but either way, it ended up being a good time. It was really nice to see her and to spend time with her.
We started the mini vacation by basically showing her around some of the sites in Okayama that I've already talked about. We were also able to check out a couple of new places. One of the places we went to was on one of Japan's 4 big islands: Shikoku. We went to a place called Yashima. In Yashima, there is a folk village where traditional houses from all over Shikoku have been transported and somewhat restored for tourists like us to enjoy and climb into. This place was totally off the beaten path and kind of a bitch to get to but it ended it being completely worthwhile. The weather was picturesque and the village was nestled on the side of the mountain offering up good views of Takamatsu city nearby. The whole village was basically deserted. Zero tourists.That's got to be a miracle in tourist laden Japan. We really took our time and explored every little nook and cranny that the village had to offer. We saw ancient lighthouses, an old Kabuki theater, old granaries, old homes, and old store houses in all of their ancient Japanese glory. There was even an old wooden bridge for us to cross (thankfully it was reinforced with steel cables). It was straight out of Indiana Jones. On the way out, we got to eat Udon, which that area of Japan is famous for making.
The following weekend we went back out near Shikoku to Inujima Island, another art island in the same vein as nearby Naoshima. Inujima is much, much smaller and harder to get to but man was it amazing. The whole island only has about 50 residents but it contains one amazing museum. Inujima was the site of a copper mill that was built roughly a hundred years ago and was in operation for only 10 years. Left abandoned, it was recently turned into a contemporary Art museum. It's not one of those museums where you walk around and admire a painting by Picasso or Monet and move on to the next nearby piece. This is one of those museums where the space is the art. Yes, there were some nice modern art pieces to see but the fact that these few (and brilliant) piece are housed in a real, crumbling, and largely left intact copper mill makes it that much more interesting. Combined with pictureque blue skies and it made Inujima island unforgettable. The island also has a few other tiny little art paces sprinkled about but none are as memorable and satisfying as the mysterious copper mill. Naoshima and Inujima will always by a highlight of my stay in Japan. The best part is that there are still a few art islands for us to visit.
The rest of the week was spent eating delicious foods and enjoying the company of Natalie's mom. Good times.
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