a quick dash to tokyo and then it was christmas

ok, so i haven't been as faithful at posting as i thought i would be. but, in my defense i have just started my new job and have been busy figuring out things at my new home in takasaki...such as where to buy groceries, how to speak japanese, and what days i am allowed to take the trash out, etc. i have also been teaching quite a bit for my first three weeks and i love it. one thing that i don't love, however, is the 6 mile long bike ride i take to get there. actually, the ride there is great...it's in the morning and the air is so clear and calm, and you can see the snowy mountains beyond the fields. and then around 4:30pm (when i leave for home) the wind starts to pick up. i don't know how it happens, but the wind is always (and i mean always) against me on the way home. but i guess i shouldn't complain, i am in japan and it is beautiful and not snowy--at least it's not snowy too! and i am getting better and better at baring the contemptious wind.

amidst the daily routine though, i enjoyed the company of isaac and his sister, greta, in tokyo a couple of weekends ago. we did it up in style visiting all the hot spots: harajuku, shinjoku, and even ginza. i even snagged a fancy pair of men's (yes, they are pink men's shoes). check them out, they are "oh, so cool and trendy."



we headed to ginza for the nightlife. actually, we just visited one bar in particular that greta had heard about from a friend. it turns out that the bar was really owned by "a crazy japanese man" named marc kagaya. marc's craziness came out as soon as we sat down. he puts on quite a show to bring you your drinks, and well, i guess you just have to experience it so i won't say much more about it. if you are ever in the ginza district of tokyo though i would definitely go!

on the train, we had yet another interesting cultural experience. actually, it was greta's experience. i was just there to document it.






well, i am heading to cambodia and thailand for the holidays with my good friend courtney and my good boyfriend isaac. we have been planning this trip since october so i think we have most of it settled...well, except a few details, but that's how you get a true cultural experience right? anyway, i'm sure there will be more to report when we get back. until then...happy holidays and god bless!

Escaping the hand of the evil one...

I have successfully avoided the lure of becoming a ladder-climbing scuzzbucket. I decided after two and a half months of working for the big man, that I was through. I quit my job and started pan-handling door-to-Japanese door. Sometimes, if I was in a particularly good mood, I would knock on the unsuspecting Japanese person's door and say "trick or treat." Unfortunately, they don't really get those kind of jokes. For real, though, I am going to be an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) at a junior high school in Takasaki City.

But first, before I embark on a new adventure, in a new city, I must inform and share some of my experiences in Ueda-shi, Nagano-ken. Yes, the home of the 1998 Winter Olympics. I arrived in Ueda on the 15th of Septemeber. Throughout my meanderings I have discovered a few things about the city that I would like to share: 1) It is situated in a valley about 25 kilometers to the south of Nagano City, 2) It is home to the Ueda Castle and the seven (or was it eight) samauri warriors, 3) There is a really good Italian restaurant called "Papa Orsos", 4) Just because anyone can get a kareoke booth doesn't mean the person is in actuality a good singer, and 5) I will be sad to leave this place.

I will be especially sad to leave because of how beautiful the fall was here. I would often trek down to Ueda Park and read or watch the multiple school field trips assemble there.




Another benefit for living in Ueda was seeing the Hanabi (literally fire flowers) in Nagano City. Grace, Mike, and I headed over right after work and joined the thousands of festival goers on the grassy hills to watch. Supposedly this was a made-up festival so the firework company could show off their new designs for the up-coming year, but I'm not complaining. Let's just say that the Japanese are light years ahead of us in the spiro-technics department. It was simply amazing! I am sorry that these pictures don't capture the "oooh's and ahhh's" that the fire flowers evoked from the crowd.