So I decided to start a blog so I can keep track of all my adventures in Japan! I will try to write in both English and Japanese. So it's been about 2.5 months since I've come to Japan...Things are starting to settle in quite well...I really enjoy my job, and my town is nice and small and comfy. But, my manager just found out last Thursday that she was being transferred...and she was told to go to the new school..ON FRIDAY!! (less than 24 hours after she was told she would transfer!) so that sort of sucked...but we had a farewell party for her on Sunday, which was fun.
I had my first three day weekend this weekend! It felt weird not going to work on Tuesday, but it was nice. For those of you who don't know, I work from Tues-Sat 12pm-9pm. This Tuesday was Equinox day, so the school was closed...So on Sunday, my friend from training and her manager came to visit from Shiga, near Kyoto. I met up with them in Nagasaki city, and I took them to Peace Park and China Town, where we ate lunch. Here are some pictures of the Peace Park:
The sign for 平和公園（Peace Park)
The memorial. A place to pray and place flowers.
Part of a wall that was destroyed when the Atomic Bomb was dropped.
Paper cranes-a sign for peace.
Peace statue. One of my students, who wants to become a Nagasaki tour guide, told me that the arm in the air signifies a warning for people of the atomic bomb, and the arm stretched out signifies peace.
This is the fountain in peace park. There is a story written on a stone in front of it, telling about a girl who was involved in the atomic bomb and was so thirsty she drank the water that was "filled with oil." The fountain was built in memory of all those who couldn't drink fresh water during that time.
That night, we had my manager's farewell party. About 8 students came and then it was my manager, the other teacher at my school, my friend who visited, and her manager. We went to a restaurant (complete with all you can drink) and then afterwards, to karaoke, and then to get some late night drunken noodles. Here are some pix!
The beginning of the night in the restaurant!
Afterwards in karaoke!
To the left is the other teacher at my school, and on the bottom is my manager who transferred
group pic at the end of the night!
The next day, one of my students (who is a monk) invited us to his temple. His family has owned this temple for the past 400 years(!!!) It was amazingly beautiful and he even had scriptures that were actually used by his ancestors hundreds of years ago. His house is connected to the temple, so you walk down a hallway and into his home. The gardens in his house were also amazing! I want to live in a house like it someday!
The altar (?)
My student and I
400 year old book
His yard
In the background is 島原城
Later that day, my student dropped us off at the ferry port, where we headed off to visit another friend from training in Sendai in Kagoshima prefecture! That night, in Sendai, there was a tug-of-war festival! Many people came out and it was a huge game of tug of war!! There were a lot of yakuza (Japanese gangsters) there so I was pretty surprised! We were allowed to participate too so we pulled on the rope too!
Me and Sachi, Leslie's manager
Sachi, me, Josh
Tug of war!!!
Us pulling on the rope
At the end of the night, they cut the rope and everyone can take some home for good luck!! It's also amazing how clean they kept the streets. Every few minutes a man/woman with a cart would walk through and pick up all the trash!!
The next day, we went to Sakurajima on a ferry from Kagoshima. It took only about 15 minutes, and we got to see an ACTIVE volcano, although it didn't erupt while we were there... Supposedly it erupts about 120 days a year!! This is where 圧姫 (Japanese drama) is filmed.
Volcano
The ferry we took over to the island.
SO TIRED!!
Yup, so that was my first long weekend...I'm hoping to travel a lot more during my year here!! :)
今週末の写真です★三連休だったから色んな所に行って来てチョウ疲れたけど楽しかった♪日本は電車があるからやっぱり便利だね。いつでもどこでも予約なしで行けるからそこが良い★☆又これからも色んな所に行ってみたい！！そして、このブログに写真とかをいっぱいアップして行きます〜〜！！
