It’s been far too long since I’ve posted anything on here…Gomen! I could literally write a book about my
adventures backpacking solo through Japan, hiking up Mt. Fuji, meeting and
spending time with people from all over the world and trying some amazing food from
street vendors and tiny Ramen shops tucked into back alleyways. I will eventually, I promise! At the moment, though, I find myself entrenched
in my work.
It’s been just over a month since I started teaching at the
kindergarten, and I can say that I am falling into the rhythm of things quite
well. The work is challenging but
rewarding, time-consuming but fulfilling.
Since I live in the ‘big city,’ I find that everything I need is within
biking distance of my apartment. The
biggest challenge so far with transportation has been shopping and trying to strategically balance
all of my bags on the bike while still weaving my way through the busy city
streets.
The language barrier continues to be a hurdle for me in terms of daily life. My survival Japanese is slowly growing and expanding, but I've found that not being able to have meaningful conversations with people is tough. Hopefully, the more and more I settle into a normal routine, the more time I'll find to study Japanese and interact with people.
The weekends are the time that I can explore the city and
hang out with friends that I have in a small town about an hour’s train ride
away. Because Japan has such a rich
cultural history, there is no lack of Matsuri (festivals) that we can go to,
each one impressive in its own way. Last
weekend another teacher and I went to the Morioka Music Festival. It was epic!
There were stages set up throughout the city, each one with different
bands and performers. We watched
everything from traditional Taiko drumming to Heavy Metal and Punk. It was super fun and interesting!
This weekend in Oshu there is a huge Cast Iron festival that
I’m going to with some friends. Rumor
has it that you can buy really pretty cast iron tea kettles and frying pans
really inexpensively. I really want
some, so fingers crossed!!
I'll upload some pictures soon as well as write about my actual life as a super genki sensei. I don't have an internet connection at my apartment, so finding the place and time to properly update everything on here has been difficult.
Well, I'm off to get some cast iron cookware. Ja matta!
