Pictures!

Today was my first real day off in Japan -- since last weekend I was in Korea -- so last night Amberly (my roommate) and I slept over at Kira and Jessica's (other Gem School teachers) apartment in Marugame, a city about an hour away from Kanonji, where I live. Marugame is pretty awesome -- it's a lot bigger than Kanonji, and is where our branch is located (I also went to church yesterday for the first time since I've been here -- the English teachers (all 12 of us) make up about 35% of the branch)


So today we decided to visit (drum rolllllll please)

Nakatsu-Bansho Park!















(Historical aside: The second feudal lord of Margame Castle (haven't been there yet, but will go soon) built this park in 1688. The pond at the center of the park is supposed to resemble Lake Biwa, and the islands in the center have cool names like, "Moon," and "Snow.")


The landscaping of the park was such that it seemed that from any point in the park, I could look in any direction and the view seemed perfectly composed or constructed. About every 30 feet there was another photo op. And so...since I'm on an American computer I can share some super-cool pictures with you!

Stay tuned, you guys, this place is a freakin riot.

Okonomiyaki

Yeah, that's what I ate last night -- and it was so freakin' good. Two of the other English teachers invited me to go out to eat with them, so ... Okonomiyaki it was! The little yellow Japanenglish dictionary says that it's a savory pancake, but I would say that it's more of, well, it's eggier than a pancake -- it's eggs and flour and secret Japanese ingredients and then you put green onions and cheese and kimchi or whatever else you want in it, and cook it on like a griddle in the middle of the table. So cool. Then, just to top the night off, we watched anime shorts on my roommate's computer -- I'm not normally a huge fan of anime, but there were some pretty cool shorts -- one that I liked in particular had the Monty Python Holy Grail words dubbed over it -- hehehe.

Japan! Oy!

I made it to Japan. And first off, let me say that I'm sorry that it took me so long to post! I took me weeks to find a) a computer with internet and b) a the _underscore (cuz I need it to sign in) on the Japanese keyboard and c) when I finally found those two things, the website came up in Japanese... I actually wrote a whole post and took a stab at posting it to the internet, but I hit the wrong button and ended up deleting it. Whew!
But, I am here and I am alive. The great and fun job is, well, medium-great. It's an adjustment. I live in a city called Kanonji, pronounced Cow ahn jee, and drive to a different city almost every day. Kanonji city is about the size of Springville...well, at least the main area of Kanonji -- there are several areas spread out that are supposedly "part" of Kanonji, but have different names.
I live in a little apartment with the head teacher, Amberlyn. It's a 5 minute walk away from the train station and the main Gem School office. After living there for only a week, we had a heater installed in my room. We are waiting on hot water and a phone, but every day looks promising.
Last week I went to South Korea to finish getting my visa taken care of -- it was awesome. By no mistake (read: completely by chance) I stayed at a hotel in the fashion district, and had a good time shopping, visiting N Seoul Tower, and several of the imperial-type palaces.
Time to go teach classes..
Now that I've figured out the computers, there will be more to come soon!

Kristen

Up up and away!

This is my first official post since leaving the United States...I'm on my way to Osaka right now, via Korea, which is officially the longest flight ever invented. And, as I'm flying Korean Air, which is a Delta partner -- you know it would be nice if they would tell you that when you book the tickets -- I seriously spent a good five minutes looking for my connecting flight this morning and finally had to ask someone where the flight to Korea was -- anyway, as this is a flight on Korean Air, I am eating what I think is pseudo-Korean food, starting with Sea Weed Soup. Yep. No typo there, folks. It's an intricate soup made of the perfect balance of hot water and sea weed (read: dehydrated sea weed chunks reconstituted in water.) So imagine that you're on a beach -- you know that taste you get in your mouth when you're in the ocean and a larger-than-expected wave comes along and makes you eat it? Yeah, that's the taste.
And that wouldn't be a problem if I hadn't gotten completely air sick on the previous flight. I had my first encounter with one of those little barf bags this morning...which was so embarrassing. With less than five minutes left in the flight I let loose the banana and coke breakfast that I had been clinging to. What's funny about the whole situation is: when I was done barfing, the flight was over, and I ended up just carrying the bag of puke off the plane with my carry-on luggage. Doggy bag style.
Tasty.

Japan Called

So last night Japan called. Now I'm on-call, waiting for the moment they tell me that there's a flight that I should be on. It's been a little weird saying goodbyes and not-goodbyes and re-goodbyes all day yesterday and today. And alas, I am not in Japan. More goodbyes to come...

k.

Happy Birthday

In honor of Trent's birthday, which was today, I thought I would post about Okinawa, his birthplace, and coincidentally, the birthplace of karate. Okay I know this isn't kung fu, but wait, there's a connection.

During the golden era of King Sho Shin-O (1477-1526) a law was passed that banned people from carrying weapons in the Ryukyu kingdom. A century later the island was invaded and the locals basically got mowed by fully armed dudes (Jacking dudes -- how appropriate. Now, if only mongooses were indigenous). So, over the next 250 years, under the thumb of opressive bad guys, the local Ryukyuans practiced what they called 'te' in secret and passed it down from generation to generation. The original characters for karate mean "empty hand." *

Ah, Trent. I should have known all along.

Shi a wa se na tan jo bi.
(happy birthday)

k.


*Source: The Lonely Planet Japan Guide