Castle in Autumn

This week has been very quiet at school. I had classes only on Tuesday. The students were testing from Wednesday – Friday, which means I have no classes and sit at my desk bored to death. Luckily on Thursday, my supervisor signed me up to attend a presentation at a nearby elementary school. In the morning, I went to the Wakayama Castle and took pictures of fall leaves. The day was very cloudy, but the leaves still looked beautiful. I enjoy being only a short walk from the castle.
Then I headed over to the elementary school where the 6th graders told us about different things in Wakayama. We sampled some food, they taught us a traditional dance, we learned some Wakayama dialect, and how to properly eat a mikan (Wakayama style). All this was in English, and they did an amazing job! I was so surprised at their level of English. It is much higher than the Jr. high school kids I work with, and they had so much energy and enthusiasm. I really miss working with elementary school kids.

Which brings me to an important decision that I am thinking about. Next year. I have really enjoyed this opportunity to live and work in Japan, and I am so lucky that I still have a job to return to when I go back to San Diego. So, do I end this journey in Japan and head back to teaching in California, or do I stay another year? If I stay another year, some things will be different here. Wakayama City is going to cut the JET Programme, so instead I would work directly for Wakayama City as a private ALT (Assistant Language Teacher). The pay is lower and I may have to move to a different apartment, but I would be able to work with a few elementary schools in addition to the Jr. high schools.
Pluses to living in Japan: I enjoy traveling around and living in a new place. I like my apartment. I meet some nice people. I have a super easy job. I like the funny English. I don’t have much responsibility.
Why I want to leave: Japanese bureaucracy drives me insane. People still stare at my like I don’t belong here. It would nice to feel literate again. I am nervous my managers will find out about Sumi. I don’t know if National City will keep letting me take leaves of absence. I miss my own classroom. I don’t like being an assistant. I miss having a car when it’s either really hot or really cold and/or it rains.
That’s all I can think of for now. I guess I am leaning towards coming home, but I have not decided for sure.
Please send me some comments and tell me what you think!

Momiji

On Sunday, I went on a “hike” with some friends to Itakiso Shrine and Shikinosato Park. I got to ride on the Strawberry Train again. The shrine was pretty much the same as many others I have seen, but it was nice with the fall colors.

Momiji 2

The park was really nice. I haven’t seen anything like it in Japan yet, it was like an American park. There were BBQ pits where the group baked sweet potatoes, play area for kids (and Scott), a large slide, picnic benches, and a huge grassy area with a fountain and small stream running through the middle. As you know, Japan has limited space, so this park is unusual. Most of the parks I see here in Wakayama City are the size of a parking space- an American parking space, so that's a tad bigger. I took lots of pictures, bought a cheap bag of mikans (Japanese oranges), had lunch, and a hot sweet potato. It wasn’t much of a hike, as we only walked from the train station to the shrine, to Lawson’s, to the park, and back to the train. It was all flat and on paved streets. But the scenery was nice. Wakayama is not a big city, but it is nice to have a small escape out to the countryside.
Oh, and some of these pictures are from the walk to the park, not at the park.

Scaredy Cat

poor Sumi!!

More adventures of Sumi and Sonoko

Sonoko ended up staying with us until Sat night. I thought that Sumi was being pouty and jealous because he stopped playing with us, just sat by himself, and was looking sad. Well, I took him to the vet today, and it turns out he caught a virus, and actually is sick. My brave little boy got two shots and an IV, and will take medicine for the next week. And thanks to a handwritten explanation of him symptoms in Japanese by my neighbor, Hitomi, I didn't have to act out all Sumi's symptoms. The main one of which is him gagging every few minutes. So, hopefully he will start feeling better soon and have enough energy to climb the curtains again in no time.
Of course when Sonoko was here we played a little bit of dress up. Maybe playing is too strong of a word. Endured is probably more appropriate. But she looked so cute!! One step closer to becoming the crazy cat lady. And it’s all documented here on my blog.
You can also see in the pictures, Sonoko and Sumi playing, and Sonoko when her head was caught in the Kleenex box. Sumi was completely innocent of course.

Sumi’s Slumber Party

This past weekend, my friends Theo and Shogo went on vacation to Tokyo for Theo’s birthday and I kitty-sat for their 2-month old kitten, Sonoko. She is pure white with little pink paws, little pink ears, and a little pink nose. She has one green eye and one blue eye. She is also deaf. They found her about a month ago, and have been taking care of her. She is absolutely adorable!
Before they left her with Sumi and me, they came over for an introductory visit on Tuesday. Sumi, I realize, is pretty calm and well behaved when he needs to be. He sat and looked at her, giving her space, but still really interested. Sonoko on the other hand, hissed and made a long strange meow that said, “back off!” Sumi really wanted to play with this new fuzzy white toy that moved and made so much noise, but was confused because the noises and tiny claws told him to stay away. Why would I give him such an intriguing but dangerous toy? So, in true male-stalker style, he kept a short distance while following her everywhere and watching her every move.
After staying with us since Friday, Sonoko is feeling more comfortable. The strange meowing has stopped, and she lets me pick her up, and she purrs when I pet her. On Sunday, she and Sumi chased each other all over the apartment. I’m sure the downstairs neighbors loved that! And after realizing that I hadn’t heard a peep from them for a while, I went searching and found them sleeping in my closet. They were both exhausted from playing all day.
Sonoko is a little skittish. Probably due to the fact that she can’t hear when we are close to her, and often end up scaring her. So when Sumi creeps up behind her, I can tell him to stop without disturbing her. She is also a really good hider, and the first morning I couldn’t find her at all for about 15 min. I checked all of Sumi’s hiding places, but she found a new one inside the back of the TV stand on top of the DVD player. The only clue was a little toy mouse she left behind the TV set, so I peeked behind and under and found her.
Even though she is about 1/3 the size of Sumi, she is a tough little girl. She takes swipes at him with her paws and puffs herself up as much as she can, and it works because every time, Sumi goes running and hides under the table. What a scaredy cat! And she looks so innocent!
So the boys plan on picking her up on Tuesday. Until then, Sumi and I will enjoy her company very much. She is an adorable kitty, and we are having so much fun with her! We will both be very sad when she goes home. I just might have to hide her myself when they show up. :)

Kishiwada

At my last school, I went on a field trip up to Kishiwada in Osaka. It is about a 30 min train ride. We visited a museum dedicated to the Danjiri Festival. It is known for being quite dangerous due to the hundreds of participants pulling large wooden carriage-like things called danjiri (I’m standing on a small one in the picture) through tiny streets lined with spectators. Each danjiri also has a man who rides on top who jumps and dances around. At the museum I saw short videos of the festival, “retired” danjiri’s, and wore a happi coat. I helped the teachers who were checking off groups of children who came in by sitting and stating out of the way. After a very delicious “Viking” lunch (long ago there was a buffet chain called Viking, and now all buffets are referred to as Viking), we went to the Natural History Museum where students were able to learn some things about nature and pet some dead animals. I snapped a few pictures of the castle. As you can see, a few leaves are starting to change color, but it has been so warm, they are taking their time changing! Oh, and I highly recommend a children’s book called Freddy the Leaf. It is in the 8th grade English textbook here, but I had never read it before. It uses the seasons to talk about life and death. I found it a very touching story.

Fruity Kit Kat

Here are some of the fruity flavors of Kit Kats. Mom tried and liked the pineapple.
If any of them look good to you, let me know!

Kanoyas in Kyoto

The Friday before last, I went up to Kyoto after school to meet up with my Uncle Hajime, Aunty Clare, and cousin Tyson (from Missouri); and my cousin Justin, his wife Sheila and their daughter Marissa (from San Diego). My Uncle Hajime is from Japan, but has lived in the US since he was 18. Marissa was born just a few days before I left for Japan last year, so it was nice to see her. It was a short visit, but I spent the night and headed out Sat morning back to Wakayama. I stopped in Osaka for a little shopping and lunch.
I do plan to go back to Kyoto when the leaves start to change color. This summer was so hot and long, that it seems to have delayed color-changing time. In case you were wondering, the red leaves in the background are fake. Nice though.