KiNdErGaRtEn!

Today and yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the local kindergarten. The kids are soooo cute! The kids were learning English so we played games and practiced English phrases like, "How are you?", "Join us!", and "I am three!" The kids also made me gifts which are absolutely adorable. My desk is now full of paper necklaces, origami, and picture books. This is the all-American classic, "Big Bad Wolf." I, of course, was the wolf so it was more like the game, "Big Bad Foreigner."
This is where the "Big Bad Foreigner" tries to catch one of the children and eats them, I guess. Notice the little boy in the background crying. I guess I played my part a little too well.
I apparently suck at musical chairs. (Because the chairs are about half the size of my butt) I was forced to sit on the losing side--one of the joys of a shame -oriented society. . .After the kids gave me the book they made, they wanted to see everyone else's drawings so I was caught in the middle of a "4-year old frenzy."

Lions and Shrines and Temples, Oh My!

My host family and I walked to the nearby shrine on our way to the local cafe to eat breakfast. The shrine is part of the famous Tokugawa Shogunate which reigned over this area for like 400 years or something like that. Anyways. this shrine is approximately 400 years old--I think. Well, I can't remember. It's just really old, ok? And to me, that's mind-boggling. (obviously)
This is only the entrance. The actual shrine in under construction. They have the re-thatch the roof every 40 years and this year is the year.
This is the roof of the Daijuuji temple, also apart of Iyesu Tokugawa's family fortune. The circular symbols are the Tokugawa family's crest--three fans. This shrine is really interesting because it houses the memorial tablets of the ENTIRE successive Tokugawa shogunate family. There is like over a thousand years of family history in this one room. Overwhelmingly fascinating, but you can't take any pictures for preservation's sake.

This Buddhist alter is at the front of the temple. I thought the underlying oath was kind of interesting. . .and true. Maybe we all should "learn a little buddha!"

Weekend Update

I don't have any pics from this week because I did very little worthy of a picture. I did however, get a little bit of studying done because it rained like crazy all weekend. I have been communicating with my Osaka host family and my two friends from Kansai Gaidai contacted me.

These are pics of my friends from two years ago. Nobu is now interning with the Kodo Taiko Drum group in Niigata--probably the most famous taiko group around. He has to intern for two years, then he is put on a probationary year, then they determine whethere he is worthy enough to be a member! Whew, ganbatte Nobucchi! So check out the Kodo Taiko website--they do some pretty amazing stuff: www.kodo.or.jp


Masaru is the ususal Masaru but a lot more grown up (^_^) He works for a large equipment company and he travels to South America frequently to sell equipment parts for his company. Surprisingly, he is getting to use his Spanish after all! I am so glad they have both found their niche.





I took this picture of Donald (my awesome friend from Belgium), Nobu, and Masa two years ago. Surprisingly, it won 2nd place at this year's Public Affairs Conference Photo Contest at Missouri State! The title was: "No Matter What Language You Speak, Goofy Posing is Always Universal"

Ree-too-oh Wa-ru-do ("Little World" in Japanese)

Okay, here's the pics from over the weekend. My host father took these and he is a professional photographer (well, he claims he's not but everyone keeps calling him "Sensei." So I am in the process of debunking this mystery) .
All dressed up with no where to sweat. . .
Little World is an outdoor museum with replicas of historical houses from all over the world. Interestingly enough, there is NO Chinese home, just Taiwan's. I thought you would appreciate that tidbit, Dr. Hickey! They also have an amazing exhibition hall of anthropological artifacts from all over the world. I could have spent an entire day just in there.

Park Day

Today I went with the Park's and Greenery Board. It was fun because we toured the local parks and sport center. That included one very quick lesson in Japanese archery. . .
There is also an Iris Festival going on at the local Higashi-koen. I had no idea that there are over 89 different breeds of irises! They are all displayed at this park. . .

They park also houses a small zoo with an elephant and a donkey( named Ipiki 2) donated by a Chinese mayor during a Sister City exchange. Ipiki 1 died so the Chinese city sent another Ipiki.You can feed the elephant via a conveyor belt. The elephant moves the conveyor belt herself with her trunk, you just put the food on the belt. Afterwards, if you quit feeding her she gets pissed! I was standing there with a bunch of "suits" and the elephant sprayed nasty "spit water" all over us because we stopped feeding her.


We also visited a beautiful ancient manor formerly owned by a shogunate family. It has now been restored and is used as a local park and tea house. It is absolutely beautiful. The ponds are full of fish and the garden is full of little critters. One lizard was nice enough to hold still for a picture. . .



Until next time. . .

Everything I Know I Learned from Sewage. . .

Today, I visited the local water treatment plant and pump site. I was fortunate to be accompanied by one of the employees who knew a little English, so understanding the process was a little easier. Still, it is not a subject often found in class textbooks. . ."Ok, students, now please open your book to page 27, 'The World of the Sewage Treatment Process in Japanese. . .'"


These are pics of the rotaries that separate the "sludge from the not" and then "the not" is distributed back into the local river. It is interesting, the entire process only takes 7 hours. . .

Over the weekend, host family and I went to an outdoor museum called, "Little World." It was a lot of fun but me --being the idiot I am--forgot my camera memory card for the SECOND time so I don't have any pictures to share with you. My host father took a lot of wonderful pictures though.

Okazaki Pics

I made it to Okazaki, although the transition has not been easy. In fact, there was no transition. I arrived late Saturday night, tried to recuperate on Sunday and began work on Monday morning. I met the mayor, met my host family, met my co-workers all in the same day--a lot of bowing.
I have been really busy with work and research, so I have not had a lot of time to take pics, but these pics I took when I was with the Public Relations Department. The local tourist "hotspot" was coming out with a new menu so we took pictures of the food, then we ate the food. It was good. The cherry in the picture is mochi! It was my favorite (^_^)/
The city here is definitely more "country" than Osaka. There is only ONE mall (what am I to do?) and it is really far away. But I need shorter work pants because of the heat. So I am going to venture out over the weekend and try to find it by bicycle, but it is about 5 miles away. When enjoying my pics, please remember that it is hot here and there is no air conditioning. The office air is stagnant and stuffy. That sensation is hard to capture on film. . .

Everyone here has been wonderfully nice and welcoming. My host family is great and really funny. They are an older couple and they are really laid back because they have hosted over twenty foreigners in their home. There is one native english speaker here from Australia and that's it. Trying to find an english speaking "outlet" has been my biggest challenge. There is no one here that I can really relate to and that has been a little difficult. Although my Japanese has improved by leaps and bounds since I first arrived, it still sucks and everyday conversation is still very difficult, frustrating, confusing, stressful and all that good stuff!