Christmas Vacation

Well, I was all ready to sit at home and be lazy and bored for Christmas, but luckily that is not the case. I will post pictures later since I am not at home now.
I decided I had waited long enough and opened presents Christmas Eve about 5pm. Thanks to all those who sent presents! Then on Christmas, my friend Rose came over and we hung out and went shopping and to dinner. We also had the traditional Japanese Christmas cake(ee).
The following day we went to Hiroshima and stayed until Dec 29th. I will post more info and pics later, but it was a very memorable trip. We even were surprised with snow! I really enjoyed the city. We also stayed in a beautiful hostel, and met some great people.
So today is the 29th at night, and Rose and I are in Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu. Tomorrow we will take a hydrofoil boat to Pusan, South Korea. We will stay there until the 2nd, and then return to Fukuoka for one night, then head back to Wakayama. It will be an interesting trip, full of surprises I'm sure. But I am really excited to FINALLY go to another Asian country. The trip is only three and a half hours. I didn't realize it is so close.
So wish us luck, and after the new year when I return home, I can post up more about this trip and show you all some pictures.
I hope you all had a great holiday and a very happy new year!
Love,
Leilani

My first visitors: Part 5

Ok, I saved the best pictures for last. My favorite place to visit in Japan so far is Koyasan. It is in the Wakayama prefecture, but way up in the mountains. If going by train, you must take a cable car that takes you straight up the mountain. The leaves were so beautiful and full of color. It was a cold and rainy day, but the pictures still turned out beautifully. Chise and Akemi went with us to show us around.
We had quite a unique lunch experience at the monastery, where we had a special “monk lunch.” The Buddhist monks are vegetarians, so all the dishes were made from soy, tofu, or vegetables. Koyasan is famous for a special dish called, gomatofu, sesame tofu. It is not like soy tofu at all. The consistency is smooth like custard. Very unique. Everything was beautifully presented in colorful lacquerware and ceramics.
We of course saw many temples and shrines. One had hundreds of lanterns, which are said to never go out. On the way there, we walked through an interesting graveyard. I don’t think there were actually any remains there, the headstones were more like “remembrances” for people who have passed away in accidents at companies, construction sites and such. There were also headstones for dogs, some space shuttle, and Nissan. It was strange.
Because it was colder in Koyasan, the leaves turned faster than in the rest of the places we saw. I couldn’t believe how fiery red the leaves could be. Koyasan is a definite must place to visit in Japan.
Well, that’s it for the trip. Thanks to Dad and Georgie for taking the time to come and visit. It was a great time.

Kobe Luminarie Festival

Last weekend, Susanne and I headed up to Kobe for the Luminarie Festival. I’m pretty sure all of Japan was there as well. After winding around one part of the line (which extended from one side of the street to the other), that took about 30 minutes, we saw the sign that said the wait was 90 minutes. But we patiently waited and chatted. We saw a cute boy dressed as Pooh-san that made me giggle. Finally, we made it to the light, which were quite beautiful. We walked through a canopy of lights, then made it to the end where we encountered more lights, more people, and some booths that had various food and cookies for sale.
We then headed over to Osaka, spent the night, and went to the German Christmas Market at the Umeda Sky Building. They had some great sausages, potatoes, and candy. Most Japanese kids, and adults, have not seen a candy cane, so luckily I found one so I could show it to my students.
It was a nice weekend to help us get into the holiday spirit!

"me" update

Just a little update on some other stuff.
Last week I started a new school, Meiwa. It is in Wakaura, right next to where I take hula lessons. This week the Jr. high students were testing for the first three days, so I FINALLY went to visit an elementary school. I had 2nd graders on Mon and 4th graders on Wed. Guess which I liked best? Actually, they were all super adorable. And I didn�t make anyone cry � yay! And once again, I had to do my self-introduction to the 2nd graders, but these kids can�t speak English. So I basically talked to myself for about 10 min. Ok, I guess they knew a little English, like fruit names including �pineapple,� which they all screamed and shouted at when they saw one in one of my family pictures. So after my intro, I was supposed to play �Fruit Basket� with them. Since nobody could speak English, including the teachers, I was at a loss as to how to play. So I was supposed to call out a fruit name and the kids would switch seats. Turns out it is like musical chairs, but with no music, only fruit. Well, being in the mush pot, I was supposed to find a seat too, which I didn�t realize, so the teacher made a boy get out of his chair to let me sit down. Stupid foreigner! I thought for sure he would be the first crier, but he took it in stride. The kids were so cute. When I sat next to one of the girls, they would squeal and hold my hand. I can�t tell you how many germs�. oh, I just can�t talk about it. Then a couple girls wanted to hold hands and sit next to me, which resulted in my arm almost being wrenched off and scratched by a couple of 7 year olds. I reminded them I had two arms, and all was right in the world again.
The fourth graders were, of course, my favorite. After my self-introduction (with more shouts of �pineapple!�), we played �Color Basket.� Oh they couldn�t trick me this time, because I already knew how to play �Fruit Basket!� But this time, the teacher motioned to me to get out of the circle and stand outside it. �Dangerous,� he said. Now they tell me.
With the 2nd graders, I couldn�t answer any of their questions. I felt so bad because they would bound up to me gleefully asking me something, then walked away so dejected when I couldn�t understand them. But for some reason, I could understand many of the 4th graders questions. And they were in Japanese!! Yay for me!
I had so much fun. I really hope I get to visit some more elementary schools.
I also visited an onsen for the first time last weekend. An onsen is a natural hot spring. There are many here in Japan. My hula teachers took me along with her daughter and a few women from Fri night�s class. For those of you who don�t know, you do not wear clothes at an onsen. The only thing I was a little self conscious about was my tummy, but I just didn�t think about it. It was very relaxing, and I can�t wait to go again! Next time in the snow, with monkeys! Sorry, no pictures in this blog :)

My first visitors! Part 4

Continuing on with Dad and Georgie's visit, and I'll try to write less, with more pictures. Then maybe I'll get to finish!
There is a place in Wakayama City that very much reminded me of Monterey. The area is called Wakaura, and it is where I take hula lessons each week. It also is where the school is that I am at now, called Meiwa. Anywho, we walked along the beach and hiked up a small hill to check out the view from up top. Both were quite beautiful.
That night (Wed I think), we met up with a couple of my friends to have dinner. Shogo and Theo picked us up from my apt. and drove us to the restaurant. There we met one of my adult English students, Chieko, and her husband. We had a huge okonomiyaki, noodles, egg dish, and salad. It was a nice chance for my friends and family to meet.
On Thursday, we took an early train to Kyoto. Once again our goal was to see the fiery leaves of autumn, and once again, we were just too early in the season. But a few obliged us, and we enjoyed looking at all the nature. We focused on two areas: Kiyomizu and Arashiyama. Of course we saw many temples, all of which were beautiful. The first day we stayed in the Kiyomizu area. There is a very famous temple and Georgie and I enjoyed the shopping on the narrow streets. Since there is so much to see, we decided to stay overnight. Before they came to Japan, Georgie knew of a place that her friend recommended to her. It is a Japanese style inn. It took a bit of searching to find the small, and very hidden pathway to the inn, but Dad did a good job navigating. We slept on the tatami mat floor (on futons) in one room. There was a nice bath to soak in after taking a shower, which I enjoyed relaxing in.
We also visited the Golden Temple to the north of Kyoto. It is actually covered in gold sheets, and is quite beautiful. We were running out of daylight, so our visit was quick. I would like to go back and see it again.
Another place that was just gorgeous was the bamboo forest. It is a place I could imagine getting lost in for hours. On the way to the bamboo forest, we stumbled across a small group of elementary students on a field trip. Maybe for a school project, they were supposed to be foraging for nuts, but what caught our attention were the little boys and girls rolling down the dirt hill. After a few minutes, they noticed a few foreigners spying on them, so a small group came to investigate. They shouted greetings to us: �Hi!� �Hello! and �Hamburger!� are apparently the only English words they knew. We tried to chat, but I think we were all content to stare at each other and comment on how cute they were.
Overall, Kyoto needs many more days to visit. It is a beautiful place, but way too many people! We were packed like sardines on the bus.