I believe I left you on Friday September 30th on my way to Fujiyoshida. I said I had an interesting bus ride then left the update after I’d arrived at Fujiyoshida station. I caught the train to Mike’s and was very happy that I managed to go the right way and get off at the right place and get the right ticket and everything. I even found the right apartment building and hallway. My only mistake was trying the door one floor below him. I got in around 10:30pm and he was still at a school enkai (party). I ate my dinner of yakisoba that I’d gotten at the 7-11 and did some internet and studied Japanese and then decided to go to bed even though Mike wasn’t in yet. I went to sleep around midnight and he came home shortly after. He’s also discovered how the Japanese like to continue their partying from place to place. It worked out fine, though, since we didn’t have to be on the field until 9am. I slept well and the next day was warm and sunny. We went with Kim and Sterling (nearby neighbors, Kim’s a JET and Sterling is with Kim) and were set to work right away. I should explain that the family we were helping has acted as Mom and Pop for Fujiyoshida JETs for a while. They extended their welcome to me and it was a pleasure to spend the day with them. We started by hanging the already cut and bundled rice. (More)
I only had one class on Tuesday (Nov. 22nd) because the other class had been moved to Saturday. I had walked to school that day because my back bike tire finally stopped pretending to hold any air. Luckily I was somehow prepared for this situation and had checked it early enough for me to have enough time to walk to school. It takes about an hour and it’s a rather pleasant walk. After school I helped Yuko with one of her extra classes and ended up staying the whole hour. I love being with the kids and I wish I could just pop into more classes and spend less time planning for just a few. Since I stayed late to help Yuko she gave me a ride home. I was able to get to the bike shop and he replaced the gasket in both tires and wouldn’t let me pay anything. I think that 3000 yen bike seat was a good investment. ;) What a difference it made! It’s so much easier to ride now, though now my back brakes scrape against the tire more than they did before . . . (More)
So, the Kyoto trip started at 6:40 Sunday morning (Nov. 20th) when we got on the tour bus in Kofu station. We made frequent stops and got into Kyoto around 2pm. We went to a few shrines and temples, and the fall leaves were beautiful. I got more signatures for my temple book and I like the fact that I can get a souvenir from so many places without taking up much space. I have the names of the places in Kanji so I won’t write them here. We had an hour to rest at the hotel before dinner so Yuko and I took a walk. The hotel overlooked the oldest temple in Kyoto, which was an impressive expanse of buildings. I don’t know why, but somehow it was more impressive since it was more of an inspiring size than the other shrines. Maybe it’s my American mindset of bigger is better, but bigger is certainly more awe-inspiring. (More)
