Autumn Events

The rice patties around our house have all been harvested and with that seems to come the changing of the seasons. Finally, it is not so hot and humid everyday and red, orange and yellow leaves sprinkle the sidewalks in Yamadaike Koen (park). Autumn also includes the National Holiday of Sports Day, which for me means another three day weekend. This holiday is held on the second Monday of October in commemoration of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics and is set as a reminder of the importance of healthy and active lifestyles. Basically, the Sports Festival is the equivalent to an American Field Day, with some differences. The children have been practicing for weeks and months on the events, most of which are relays and races. The highlight though, is the marching band. These particular kids have been practicing for months and months and will also perform at Kansai Gaidai, the local international university. They are spectacular in their little uniforms with their big 'ole drums and so precise.  All parents show up for the events held on either Saturday or Sunday and participate by either acting as volunteers in setting up and organizing or actually running in the races with their kids. I have had several three day weekends since being back at school for holidays including 'Respect Your Elders Day', Autumn Equinox and the Sports Festival. I was recently told about Hinamatsuri; a festival of dolls or 'girl's day' in March. I'm looking forward to that one!

My leg is pretty much back to full working order. I have been walking in the park nearly every single day, but have yet to work back up to a run for fear of doing more damage. Also, sitting in bed for nearly a month has me severely out of shape. My first day out after the attack was an afternoon and evening spent in the Minami district of Osaka with our friend Shinobu and her little boy Rantaro. She showed us a new stretch of streets we had yet to see. 

First we saw Nipponbashi aka Den-Den Town which is Osaka's main electronics, comics, and anime district. It is the second largest district of this type after Tokyo's Akihabara. The streets are lined end to end with stores packed to the gills with these items. This obviously is a big draw for the "Otaku" which is the Japanese name for people who obsess over these types of things. Lining the streets were girls dressed up as their favorite characters, pop-stars and French maids. Yes, you read that right, French Maids. These girls are enticing you to patronize their "Maid Cafes" which are places where socially awkward men can pay to live out a fantasy of having a cute girl as their flirty servant who will do nearly whatever is asked of them, including hand feeding, massages and such. 

Next was Sennichimae Doguya-Suji aka heaven, a shopping arcade lined with shop after shop filled with every type of utensil and kitchen item imaginable, you could literally buy everything needed to start a restaurant that specializes in any type of cuisine there. After I learn to make takoyaki (octopus balls) I plan to purchase one of the specially shaped pans for making them here.

After our window shopping extravaganza we headed to a quaint little Mexican restaurant filled with all the other gaijin of Osaka. Man, was it delicious. We were a little worried at first, since the salsa they gave us for the chips as an appetizer left a lot to be desired, but our entrees were amazing, better than pretty much any Mexican food in Boulder.

 It was amazing getting a tour of Osaka from a local who was able to take us places we had not been, and could answer our questions and explain the culture. For example, she explained to us that the high pitched voices the women in Den-Den Town were using was a mimic of anime characters. Plus, she and 2-year-old Rantaro are just great fun to be around. 

Yesterday we again headed to Umeda for a few hours before another Nowhere show. We had lunch at a delicious Korean restaurant inside Daimaru Department Store. Highlight of this weeks Osaka visit was the Water Clock Monument on the outside of the building. This is a clock designed from water dripping down the face of the building. Check it out! After gorging ourselves on Korean food and the crazy shopping experiences that are Japanese department stores we spent the evening at the Halloween themed Nowhere show, always a grand time. 


Along with all this, last weekend we had our first private Japanese lesson with Masayo, a woman who came highly recommended to us through Janel and Kevin. We met with her again this morning and are really feeling positive that are Japanese is going to improve, and come into existence, tenfold with her help. We absolutely love her.

I must also note that I have become much more comfortable in the classroom. I was asked to include more cultural lessons in my classes though, so have been racking my brain for ideas of all things American or Western. A couple of mother's classes have been added to my schedule, which are always fun. They are mothers of the children that go to the schools and just enjoy practicing their English by chit chatting for an hour. In the next few weeks we will be talking about how to throw Halloween parties! Because it is a brand new holiday to Japan there is much to be taught. We did, however, find an all dog costume shop in Shinsaibashi so I think they are catching on...

Rantaro is doesn't usually eat meat, but after seeing this, we had to take a quick chicken finger break.

Den-Den Town

Every store is electronics

Photobooth

Another sunset from our porch

Game faces before performing during the Sports Festival

With a few of my students

Getting ready to march!

Best marchign band I have ever seen!

Nowhere in costume

Note: If you click on the pictures you can see them in full size. My skype name is livgass and would love to talk to you all!!!

A few updates

I know it has been a while, I have been slacking. Life is crazy, always crazy. Shanghai was more fantastic than words can describe. Being around close friends was a nice dose of home. Being bit by a centipede or stung by a wasp (I have a feeling we will never know what is was) was a complete fiasco. Nearly four weeks later and I am still not completely healed. My foot looks almost normal and then after spending a day at school it is swollen enough to receive gasps from my concerned coworkers.

But before the insect incident we had done and seen so much. With Evan in town for ten days we were everywhere. We went to a part of Kyoto we had not seen yet. We walked 20 minutes on a trail in the misty mountains and ventured into a monkey park. Here the monkeys roamed free and it was us humans who went inside of a caged off cabin, trapped inside to feed the pesky beasts. It was really an adventure.

The day after that we went to Nara which is famous for the parks that have wild deer meandering. It is believed that they are messengers from the gods and therefore left alone to do as they like. These spiritual deer even bow their heads in acknowledgement. I was carrying a plastic bag that had a few wrappers of our snacks from a convenient store and of course the deer spotted it and would not stop hassling me, to the point where I was surrounded and one ripped it out of my hand spilling the contents on the sidewalk. The older woman sitting at a stand a few feet away selling deer biscuits only glanced our way and offered a garbage pail.

Another new place we explored with Evan was Koyasan. Koyasan is a little Buddhist mountain town. Though it was a good three hours away by train it was a beautiful ride and being in the mountains sure felt good. We began here with a short pleasant hike up Bentendake Peak to a tiny shrine. It was only recently that women were allowed here, and I am grateful that I could enjoy my time. We toured many a temple and finally at dusk we walked through the famed cemetery. There were thousands of Buddhist statues and burial sites and giant cedars. There was something quite magical about walking through this area at this time of day. It is most common for people to stay the night in a monastery when they come to Koyasan, but we skipped out on this, packed into one full day and enjoyed the quiet trek home, conversing most of the way with a friendly German fellow.

And of course, we had to take Evan to the aquarium.
With all our guests gone we are attempting to get back into whatever regular schedule we can claim here. With my foot not cooperating it has been harder than expected, but we are indeed getting the hang of life here. Rob even has an interview on Monday evening for a company that helps with setting you up with teaching English lessons.
Monday was the 'Respect the Elders' national holiday, Friday is Autumn Equinox and today's lessons were canceled due to a typhoon so this is a short two day week for me and my foot is appreciative of that.

A few links to photos for those of you without facebook. Enjoy!

Osaka

Shanghai

Monkey Park

With Evan

It's about time...

This month of vacation has been spectacular. I cannot even believe how much we have seen and done and how much I need to catch you up on. So here is the beginning of it.

Our friends Shelly and Chad were here from Hawaii for a good week before we all took off for China. They also had a flight to Shanghai on the 6th of August. Their flight was earlier in the day and our flight was later in the evening. We arrived to the airport with just enough time to check in and make it through security without any problems. After sitting at the gate for an extended period of time we learned that our flight has been canceled due to a typhoon. And so we end up spending the night in the airport waiting to see when we'll be able to get a flight, which turns out to be at about 4 the next day.

Finally we arrive in Shanghai and take the subway all the way across town to Diva's house which is a bit in the country, as she describes it. We are welcomed by a full house, a set table and several glasses of wine. It was perfect and relaxing.

Shanghai is an absolutely amazing city. It is very international and seems to be experiencing a sort of boom right now with new buildings going up and more and more people visiting and living there. The buildings were one of my favorite things about Shanghai. They are so, so tall and so modern and trendy. They all have to stand apart from each other, and it shows. They are covered in different colored lights that go in all kinds of patterns and even large screens that stretch the entire length of the building. It's beautiful. The population is also something to note. We were definitely taken aback by how many Westerners roamed the streets and how much English we heard.

At the same time, China seemed a bit grittier and more raw than what we're used to in Japan. The first time we stepped onto the subway we noticed how much people were pushing their way on to get any available seat. We noticed couples holding hands, which I realized is a rare site in Japan. The language itself was a huge difference as well. People speaking Chinese are so loud and angry sounding. It's all a bit more abrasive than the polite Japanese culture we've already become accustomed to.

On top of all that we did and saw so much while we were there. We went to Yuyuan, the old town where the pedestrian streets are lined with all kinds of shops and people haggling for the best prices. It was here that we had what most consider the best dumplings in the world, and I can now confirm this. The streets were lined with people waiting their turn to order the crab stuffed goodies. One portion of the street we had to walk by holding our hands to our noses hoping to escape the retched stench. We quickly learned that what we smelled was fermented, stinky tofu that people eat and love.
After stuffing ourselves with dumplings we took a ferry across the river and met up with everyone for some drinks and pretzels at a German pub where we could sit outside and enjoy to night scape of the city.

We went to the Jing'an Temple which is located in the middle of the city and sits between some very large skyscrapers creating a very interesting, yet typical in Shanghai, contrast. We didn't actually go into the temple but wondered around this part of town looking for food.

Shanghai was also a good place to splurge on things since everything was so incredibly cheap and bargain-able. One evening all six of us, Diva, Robby, Shelly, Chad, Rob and I, got foot massages while watching Mulan, which was purchased across the street for about $1. One evening Diva and I went to a spa and soaked in various different bathes following a full body scrub. Purely amazing.

There was so much that we did that I can't even keep it all straight at the moment. Also, this past Friday night as Rob, Evan and I were walking in the park I was bit by a centipede, or so we think. On Saturday when I woke up I was swollen from the mid-calf down and decided it best to go to the Dr. As he was looking at it it continued to get worse and so he told us to go to the hospital where they gave me an IV drip and antibiotics. As of today I'm doing a bit better but still can't put any weight on it. And now I am trying to prepare for going back to school on Thursday...

Osaka with S&C

We have some more visitors!! Our friends Shelly and Chad are here until the 11th of August, which means they'll be coming to China with us! We've been keeping nice and busy. We've mostly been cruising around Hirakata and Osaka with them. One of their main objectives in traveling is eating the best food, and that we have been. 

We had an amazing, very Japanese lunch on Saturday afternoon in Umeda. 

This was the best tofu I have ever had, eaten with a spoon!

We took them on the Ferris wheel at Hep 5 in Umeda. Here is a view from the top. This city is outrageous.

Beautiful husband with Shelly and Chad in Shinsaibashi, the main shopping area of Osaka. This place is lined with the craziest stores and the hippest people you've ever seen.

And finally we get a picture of the two of us!!

Just another beautiful store.

An entire store devoted to Kit-Kats. They come in every flavor you can imagine. So far my fav. is Green Tea.

And this, my friends, is Namba Hips. The most beautiful building ever. And yes, that would be a pink climbing wall down the center that moves up and down and the pink part changes colors. I'm telling you, this city is out of control, and I love it.

The sign for Namba Hips. We've seen a few like this around town, covered in plants and thought they were amazing. 

Around Hirakata

A few weekends ago we took our bikes out for a spin around town. Our goal was to get to the mountains (we're missing them hard) We managed to find them, but by the time we were there we were too tired and sticky to walk up much of the trail we found. So we slowly made our way back home, always on a different path. Here's a peak at what we saw along the way.

Hirakata Mountains

So very green.

Spider friend we had to walk under, she was huge.

Houses on top of houses. 

And rice paddies right next door.

A closer look at the cute houses that line the narrow streets.

Fromage and a Japanese Parade

It was a big weekend for us...

I bought a pink bike and call it the 'Pink Fromage'. We've been ridin' all over town.

We went back to Kyoto for a festival called Gion Matsuri. It was mostly made up of a parade with several floats (30 or so) which to us all looked very similar. They depict ancient themes and figures and were awfully tall...

And pulled by men. It was very, very hot, too.

With beautiful paintings of different scenes and men riding on the floats ringing bells...

Some floats were also carried by men...

It was a great, three day weekend. It's started raining again and I only have 3 more weeks for school before our summer vacation, which is going to be filled with friends visiting us and going to Shanghai! I am quite looking forward to the nice long break and maybe when we get back it will start cooling down a little bit here.

Earthquake...?

We felt our first earthquake today! And let me tell you, I wasn't even entirely sure it was an earthquake. I thought that a large truck was rolling by in the street or somebody was moving something large above me. Mr. Nakamura didn't mention anything about it so I noted the time, went about my day and forgot about it. When I got home, Rob mentioned he felt rumbling at the same time but also wasn't sure if it was psychosomatic or not. Then I remembered and became excited for living through my first earthquake. It was negligible and we haven't seen any news reports of it, given the tiny magnitude of it. Yet, it was certainly an experience and I feel silly for being as excited as I am to have finally felt an earthquake.