Spelunking in Japan

Although I wouldn't quite call it spelunking, me and Nat just got back from Ikura Ravine, apparently one of the three largest (or longest) caves in Japan (on another note, I don't understand Japan's obsession with making lists of three; 3 best caves, 2 best scenic spots, 3 sneakiest ninjas, 3 different types of commemorative McDonald's Cherry Blossom burgers etc etc.). We decided to go cave exploring because we hadn't really been on any trips for the past few weekends and it was relatively close and inexpensive. We had to go to Niimi station and then we took a bus to the cave. It was really pretty nice. The weather was perfect as well. Blue skies and warm weather. It's just ironic that we spent it in a cave. But yeah, the cave was really cool. I wouldn't call it large as opposed to being really long, steep, and claustrophobically narrow! There were some damn cool stalactites with all sorts of cool patterns and textures. It was pretty fun taking pictures and having no idea where the tunnel was leading us. Our camera crapped out about 1/3 of the way through so that was a bit of a bummer. But otherwise, it was a great. The entrance to the cave was also situated in a ravine and you had to cross a bridge to get the entrance. There was also a pretty awesome waterfall as well.

Last night was pretty fun as well. We went to John Holjo's place in Kitanagase and met up with John, Bryan, Sean, and Mako and did a bit of drinking. We played King's cup in a whisper (so as not to disturb the neighbors), made hilarious music videos, and had an arm wrestling contest. I even arm wrestled a Buddhist Monk...and Won. That was something I can cross off the list!

But yeah, otherwise, work has been really hectic. Practically everyone at my job is new, everyone except the manager. So yeah, I am now the longest tenured teacher at my school which is all a bit strange. Everyone seems to be quite nice but yeah, I don't really know them all that well and strangely, I'm not feeling as social as I usually am. I'm also getting a new schedule with new classes this week and I am really fucking worried. Mostly, I am worried about a certain class that I have. Right now, I am teaching 3 baby classes ( 2 year olds)  and the babies in my class are graduating to a new class. Right now, they attend class with their moms but starting next week they are going to come alone. That means that they are going to cry their tiny little baby sized intestines out and in the meantime make me lose all of my hair. Yes, I have to be the one responsible for getting them acclimated to life without Mommy. That's a hard fucking task. I mean they're still wearing Diapers. They're still hopping and a skipping in their own Feces. To make matters worse, I am a male, a foreigner, and I don't speak any Japanese either. To make matters even worse, I have one student that is absolutely horrible in that he doesn't listen to everyone. To make matters even more worse, I have a student that can't even speak Japanese, let alone English. Ouch. It's gonna be a rough week for me. Hate to complain about work but I think it's a bad idea to put anyone in that situation. But yeah, I'll just have to suck it up I suppose! Wish me luck.