IrishOboe

Well, the past twelve days I have had no guilt that Mom is daily searching for a blog post, so writing slipped from the “to do” list a little. Mom and Dad just went home yesterday and I’m about to go to work and we only have three days to prepare for when students come. I learned on Saturday what classes I’ll be teaching and we’ll find out the class schedule on Wednesday. Yes, it’s very messed up that the system only gives you a few days to prepare for class, but I won’t go into a rant now.

Mom, Dad and I had a lovely ten days in Japan even though the weather was not as cooperative as I would have liked. Mt. Fuji came out only a few days so I couldn’t show off all the wonderful views from school and my commute and on other bike trips. At least they did get to see her in her full glory the morning they left!Starting at the beginning, I finished cleaning my place March 23^rd then walked to the Kofu bus stop and took the four hour bus ride past Tokyo to Narita airport. It was just about perfect timing since I was able to find where Mom and Dad would be coming out and buy tickets for the three of us back and only had to wait a little for them to arrive. I had failed to tell them how far Ryuo was from the airport and sprung the news on them just before we got on the bus that it was a four hour ride! Door to door their trip took 30 physical hours and they skipped a day in between.

Naito sensei and Yuko met us at the bus stop and they drove us and the luggage to my place, which was very nice. We had enough time to settle in a little then we went to bed. In terms of jet lag, their flight had perfect timing.

Friday, March 24^th, we spent the day touring Ryuo and all the little local places that I go to all the time. I’d borrowed a bike from Naito sensei and one from Mark so we could all ride. I thought I’d picked out the easy streets to ride on, but I’m used to more dangerous situations than I thought. It was a bit scary for Mom and Dad! They got used to it eventually, but I’m glad they decided to bring their helmets from home!

I made a Japanese style breakfast with miso soup, tamagoyaki (Japanese omlet), and rice. For lunch we went to the houtou place the Niko took Mark and me to before. We visited Dragon Park, but we couldn’t see Fuji. However, there was a wonderful view of Yatsugatake (to the north), which we might not have noticed if we could have seen Mt. Fuji!

On our walk I took a different rout between places and we discovered a rather large (for a city in Japan) garden area. There were lots of labeled plants and trees and a few example Japanese gardens. It was a great discovery!

The tour trip ended with a stop at the grocery store so they could pick up interesting Japanese snacks and pick out what they wanted to breakfast. I found that with all the foreign food I was eating when I first got here I really wanted something familiar for breakfast, so I figured they might have the same trouble.

For dinner we went to Kaiten sushi, which is where the sushi comes out on a conveyer belt. It’s not bad sushi, and it’s so Japanese!

We celebrated my birthday that evening since they won’t be here on my actually birthday. I got all kinds of goodies including books, maple syrup, and buckwheat pancake mix(!). I also have to decide what cool thing to put the Maggie P. logo on!

Saturday, March 25^th I had to go to school for the closing ceremony and Mom and Dad came with me. I bought them obento (Japanese boxed lunch) and we biked to school. Sadly, Fuji was hiding, but it was a nice bike anyway. I kept them busy talking to students and meeting teachers. Mom said “yoroshiku onegaishimasu” (a greeting when you first meet people) after I introduced them at the morning meeting and the teachers were very impressed. In fact, she showed a wonderful ability to speak good Japanese at the right time the whole trip! They also brought omiyage that was a real hit with the teachers: American candy bars (Halloween style).

During the big cleaning some students stayed to talk with Mom and Dad then we all went to the ceremony in the gym. For me, it was much like any ceremony, so it was interesting to hear of Mom and Dad’s reactions. I’d written out the roman letters from one verse of the school song so we could all sing it during the ceremony. It got reactions from not a few students and teachers!

After the main ceremony there was another one for leaving teachers, but since it was all speeches that Mom and Dad couldn’t understand I set them up in the LL room to watch Swing Girls, my Christmas present to them. I can’t say I understood the speeches any more than they did, but it was good to be there to say goodbye to the teachers. I don’t understand why the school board feels the need to move about 10 teachers every year, but they do, and I don’t know if I’ve mentioned yet that my supervisor is one of them! It’s very sad. I also got a taste for what it will be like when I leave. I’m going to cry!!!

We chatted a bit more with some students and teachers then we had to bike back for church. Students got a kick out of seeing my on my mountain bike with my American style red helmet followed by my parents, with similar style helmets! I might note again that almost nobody here wears helmets, and none of the Shirane students do.

Anyway, by the time we got to church all three of us were quite tired. The music was the loudest it’s ever been (I’ve never needed earplugs before!) and I’m afraid we slept through the sermon. I knew the first few days would be the busiest, but I was so excited that they’d be here for a pot luck party at the Brown’s after church I didn’t think about it being too much. Mom and Dad were so exhausted that even after a little nap in the Brown’s upstairs they couldn’t enjoy the company much. At least they had another week at church to talk to people.

That wasn’t the end of the busy intro either. On Sunday, March 26^th, we biked to Kose Sports Park at 9am to watch a kyudo game. It was about a 50min bike ride, and it wasn’t bad weather, though it was overcast. They enjoyed the game and got a chance to talk with students a little before we had to head back home so we could catch the train to Kiyosato for Kasia’s concert. We were picked up by her friends and taken to the sake brewery in Kokuto city where we got to hear Kasia play a cello concert. It was a great concert, and it was great to hear a concert again. I was surrounded by them so much at Eastman; it is something I miss here. I particularly enjoyed when she cut loose and played Piazzolla with friends on sax, guitar, and bass.

After the concert we had dinner in the upstairs of the brewery, which was very traditional Japanese food. I’m glad Mom and Dad had a chance to have a traditional meal. The whole weekend was good for those traditional experiences because we stayed at a Japanese style hotel, bathed Japanese style (shower first, then share the same hot bath), and had a Japanese style breakfast.

The next day (March 27^th) Kasia picked us up and we went hiking then enjoyed some scenery and Kiyosato soft cream. It’s the best! It might even top gelato. We hung out at Kasia’s for a little then she drove us into Kofu since she had to be there, too. Bonnie was a little late picking up for Bible study so Courtnay, Atley and the three of us enjoyed a treat at Tully’s Coffee. That was a nice chance for conversation before Bible study at the Brown’s. Everyone was late for one reason or another, and we still had a good study. Bonnie and Atley were kind enough to drive us all the way home so we didn’t have to wait for the late train. That was a great blessing indeed since we were all exhausted! Of course we were having a wonderful time, but having fun takes work, and being in charge of other people’s fun takes more work than I thought it would. By the end of the week I was more tired than my parents!

Tuesday, March 28^th we had a lazy start to the day then walked toward Kofu stopping at the Prefectural Museum of Art and Literature and the Crystal Museum on the way. I had never been in the Prefectural Museum, and it was nice to see. The grounds were also beginning to be beautifully adorned with blossoms. The Crystal Museum was also new to me and it was small, but I really enjoyed it. It was a bit of a long walk into Kofu the rest of the way after walking and standing in Museums for so long, but we made it – only to find that the Organic Café I wanted to eat at is closed on Tuesdays. We tired to see if the yakitory place was open for lunch (it was our planned dinner meal) and it wasn’t so I suggested we jus walk until we find a place, which shouldn’t be hard in downtown Kofu. I saw an advertisement for a place on the third floor of a building and it looked good and such arrangements are not unusual so we headed up the stairs to find it. After two flights we were met with a locked door, which didn’t surprise me too much since some places are only accessible by elevator, so we took the elevator up the remaining flight. To explain the slightly unusual circumstances I said “Sometimes the best places are tucked a way.” And Dad said “sometimes,” to which I had to agree since I was beginning to be worried that I wasn’t being a very good tour guide. The elevator doors opened and we were lucky that the pile of trash on the landing didn’t fall in on us. This wasn’t neat trash, or new trash, this was a mish mash of random trash and litter the cluttered the whole area and looked like it’d been there a while. Fortunately it was terrible enough that I busted out laughing rather than crying. Even more fortunately, the elevator doors closed (the trash shifted in when they had opened) and Dad said “going down” we all enjoyed a good laugh. We soon found a nice Italian place, which I thoroughly enjoyed. We also have something very funny to laugh at, though it seems to be one of those “you had to be there” moments.

After lunch we toured Kofu a little and went to the castle, which I really think is a great treasure of Kofu. The cherry blossoms were really starting to come out, and it turns out the castle is full of them! We did some shopping at the Okajima (and I foolishly bought a Narnia book in Japanese – it’s way over my head (though that doesn’t seem to bother me) and it’s an adaptation from the movie (and that does bother me)) so Mom and Dad could have some souvenirs, then we had a light dinner of yakitori, which is one of my favorite types of Japanese food, and took the train back to Ryuo.

Wednesday (March 29^th), Niko picked us up and we went to the Kawaguchiko Music Forest since Mom and Dad had liked what I said about it in my blog. It was fun to go again and I was glad they could meet Niko. We spent a few hours there then came back to Kofu for lunch. After lunch we tourned Niko’s new house then we rested at home for a little before Bonnie and Atley picked us up for a Thai dinner which we enjoyed together.

That ended the crazy part of the visit and we spent much of the next day (Thursday, 30^th) resting at my place. We went to the sushi place that’s just down my street, and it was very good (and pricey), and the chef was very friendly. He gave us some extra sushi for free then gave each of us a very nice chopstick pair when we left. I’ll have to go back!

We biked to my landlord’s house so I could pay rent, then biked down the river park and enjoyed the cherry blossoms. On the way back we stopped at the park we’d discovered before, though it hadn’t changed up since we went before. The weather turned out to be quite cool much of their stay, and as I said before it was mostly overcast and hazy. The warm day that brought the cherries into full bloom didn’t happen until after they left. L

That evening Niko’s friend picked us up and went to Niko’s new house for dinner. She had prepared quite a spread of scattered sushi (I don’t remember the Japanese word), and many side dishes that I can’t remember because we ate so much during the visit! Niko’s Uncle and a former student also joined us and we had a good time together. Sadly, I was still quite tired and called the visit to and end since I was falling asleep!

The next day (Fri. March 31^st) we rested again and I think we stayed inside most of the time. We just enjoyed each other’s company while doing our own work. I read Narnia (I managed nine pages while there were here!), Mom read and did computer stuff, Dad worked and read books left to me by my predecessors, etc.

That evening Mark took us to Maman Pumpkin for my birthday celebration a week early. Many people I’d wanted Mom and Dad to meet couldn’t come (that’s the trouble with spring vacation), but it turned out to be a good group of Guests (Dennis and Eun, Courtnay, Mark, Naito sensei, Yuko, Rudy, and Adam). It was a feast indeed, though I felt bad that the set dinner turned out to be so expensive. It was a lovely way to celebrate with family and friends.

After a lazy Saturday morning (April 1^st) we went to Big Boy for a hamburg lunch (it’s modern Japanese!) and took the train into Kofu for the Hippo club meeting. We went to the Kofu castle watch tower, which was closed when we went to the castle before, and met one of the Hippo members there! We all enjoyed the hippo club, and I was happy that the kids were happy to see me again. Kids are so friendly! I’m mad that I have to work this Saturday so I can’t go (I couldn’t go last Saturday for the same reason!). I don’t know how much language I’ll learn in four months of attending, but it sure is fun and it can’t hurt!

After the club we walked to Takeda shrine, which turned out to be lovely since the street was lined with cherry blossoms. The shrine was smaller than I’d thought (we can’t go around in the grounds), but at least Mom and Dad got to see a shrine that’s more like most (and not tiny like the one in Ryuo). We tried Yamanashi mochi, and I couldn’t believe that I liked it when I’d hated it so much when I first arrived! In fact, I was surprised to see that I now have a more adventurous pallet than Mom, and maybe even Dad.

We went to church again that night, and this time we were all more alert and were able to enjoy the conversation at dinner afterwards, which happened to be at the first restaurant I ate at after arriving in Yamanashi: Bamyan. Again, Atley spoiled us and took us all the way home afterwards . . .

On their last full day in Japan (April 2^nd), we had a wonderful sushi lunch at Naito sensei’s house with Yuko and Shimizu sensei. I got to help make sushi, which was fun, but I made a mess. I also learned what classes I’ll be teaching this year and with whom. Turns out that have one class (3^rd year English conversation) with Naito sensei (hurray!), two classes (oral communication I) with Yuko (hurray, but it’s only two L), and ten classes with a new teacher! The work load is two more hours than last year, but it’s the same amount of prep time. Now, if I could only prep a lesson in a few hours instead of days . . .

I also learned that my new supervisor is Yuko! What fun that will be, though I’m sad to see Shimizu sensei go. I’m glad we all got a chance to have lunch together. A lovely time was had by all.

In the evening Aden picked us up and he made a Chinese dinner for us, which was wonderfully tasty as usual. In China the cook doesn’t eat with the guests, which was too bad, but we had good conversation over desert (oranges). He gave Mom and Dad a present of tea made in his home village. Everyone is so generous here, even if they aren’t Japanese! I’ll leave it up to Mom and Dad to talk about all the presents they got, I’ve failed to mention them along the way, sorry.

All good things must come to and end and Mom and Dad’s visit ended on April 3^rd (Monday). Naito sensei and Yuko took us and the luggage to the bus stop at 8am (it was a replacement holiday since they had school meetings on Saturday) and were even so kind as to wait with me until the bus left. I was glad it as a bright, breezy, clear day because Mom and Dad got to see Fuji in her full glory and it was hard to be depressed in beautiful weather like that!

In her new role as supervisor Yuko took me out to breakfast to help me recover from the goodbye. I spent the rest of the morning cleaning my apartment to the state it was before Mom and Dad came, but that’s the end of Mom and Dad’s visit, so it’s the end of this post. It was wonderful to share everything and to be with Mom and Dad again. I wish I could go into more detail with their reactions to various things, and I know that’s the interesting part, but you’ll just have to wait for those things to come out in conversation. I’d do nothing but write if I could write about everything!