spring break 2006!

i say/write that in somewhat of a sarcastic tone, imitating the typical MTV spring breakers. although my spring break has been beach-free and drunken twenty-somethings grind-free, it has been quite enjoyable. after all i am much older (23) and much more civilized. i have spent my break thus far cooking, cleaning, and laundring--being a domestic goddess in general. i have enjoyed running everyday and occasional leisurely bike rides along the river. and i have taken care of some much-needed-to-be-taken-care-of business. for example, obtaining a japanese driver's license. i undertook this feat yesterday. i went into the gunma traffic bureau with knowledge of those before me. i knew what to expect because i took notes (1)go to level 2, desk 7; 2)write name on clipboard and take a number; 3)wait for number to be called, etc., etc.) and all these seemed easy on paper, i thought i would be in and out in a matter of hours. to start off i couldn't even find "desk 7." but once i did i was in the clear, or so i thought. most of the time i spent waiting and wondering if i was indeed supposed to be waiting here or waiting somewhere else, or not waiting. luckily though there were plenty of other foreigners who were in the same boat. i met up with another american, angela, who was also there for her first time and a nepalese couple. there were also a few brazilians and philippinos. we were a cultural motley crew, and all equally anxious and nervous for the dreaded japanese driving test. but before you take the driving test with a professional driving course instructor, you must pass the written test. fortunately you can take this in your own language. it consists of ten true or false questions and you have to get seven correct to pass. it was very easy and myself, angela, and the nepalese lady passed with ease. (her husband had already taken this--he was just there for moral support).
to make a long story short, after passing the written test there was more waiting, and then we finally got put into groups for the driving test. on the way down, i spoke to a lady from the Philippines who had taken the driving test twice already, making this her third attempt at passing it. she kept repeating "strict, very strict" when the instructors walked by us with their self-important strides. i soon found out how strict they really are. i rode in the car while angela drove. i thought she did a fine job, not hitting the poles in the most difficult area--the 90 degree turns and s-curve. and i thought i did equally well. i slowed down when i ought to have, i looked behind, in front, in the mirrors before each and every turn like i had read i should. at the end of the test though the instructor just handed me back my sheets and said "domo." i said a polite thank you and all us foreigners headed back upstairs to hear the results. as we waited i noticed all the strained faces, the worry of our fate in the hands of the japanese traffic officials. would we have to return again a month later and re-pay to take the test? or would we be spared and set free to drive the streets of this wondrous country in glory? well, in a group of about twenty people taking the test, only three people passed. neither angela, the nepalese lady, or i passed. those that did yelled out in joy of their new found love for the fair and just gunma traffic bureau. we congratulated them in our angst and promptly signed up for an appointment to take the test again. ah, the anguish of defeat. i wasn't that upset though considering it takes most people 4-5 times to pass it. please pray/think of me on April 21st at around 2:00pm for i will be attempting my second trial.

on a lighter note, while i was biking over break i met a new friend. i was enjoying the nature and a lovely sunset when a man biked next to me and in his excitement of spotting a foreigner exclaimed "nice to meet you!" "oh, nice to meet you too," i said. we continued biking and talking for awhile. i found out his name is toyoto (not to be confused with toyota) and he likes to paint and he lives with his family in maebashi. so we stopped to exchange cell numbers and then we rode our separate ways. just when i was thinking "wow, that was kind of crazy. i guess i have a new japanese friend," he caught up with me again and asked me to stop. then he motioned to his ear, but i couldn't figure out what he was asking until he said "pierced?", i replied "yes, my ears are pierced." he proceeded to take out his earring and give it to me. "no, no, no, it's ok." i said, but he insisted that i wash it and wear it in memory of him. ah, ok. the earring is currently sitting here by my computer. and whether i wear it or not, he was right about it being a memory--i can't forget the person who performed such a generous and random act such as giving me their earring after knowng me only ten minutes.

things that make me laugh inside my head here: (in no particular order)

1) The 3rd grade student who is the Japanese version of Beavis from "Beavis and Butthead"--he's got the flared nostrils, the puffy hair, everything. i keep expecting him to break out in a "hea, hea, hot chicks, hea, hea." but that would be impossible--i don't teach them that kind of stuff.

2) That crazy lady with the crazy hair at elementary school.

3) When I have no idea what a person is saying, but i nod my head and say an affirmative "yes" in Japanese.

4) When the graduation song is "Halleluiah" from Handel's Messiah. especially when you know that in Japan they pass everyone in junior high school.

5) Emails from friends--actually they make me laugh out loud sometimes.

6) The fact that I get road-rage from riding a bike here. (be you a car, truck, walker, biker, or dog kindly get out of my way. and that includes you street lights too.)

7) When I realize how little my work load is as a "teacher."

8) When students write things like "My dream is to bird" or "My favorite English word is vacuum." actually that last one is great English, and vacuum is a fun word.

9) At elementary school when I neatly took apart my milk carton after lunch and the 1st graders clapped for me. for real, they did, in all three classes.

10) When I didn't know what state Battle Creek (it's Takasaki's sister city) was in and I asked my principal. Michigan is the answer. The Japanese know more about U.S. geography than I do.

so now i ask, what makes you guys laugh inside your head? or way outside your head?

Adventures in Hiking (reference to "Adventures in Babysitting")

Also in reference to the movie was the actual experience. A simple thing like hiking up a mountain and camping turned into much more this past weekend. Isaac and I decided to continue a more active weekend tradition by going hiking again. This time though we one-uped the challenge by also choosing to camp on the mountain in addition to hiking up it. And I won't mention any names, but one of us though it was a bad idea (me), and one of us was all for it (him). Hey, I didn't say names.

So we packed a few snacks, sleeping bags, a tent, etc. and started on up. Mind you, we started around 3:45pm. I have nothing to document our journey upward as we had no time for such frivolities. We were all business about getting to the top before dark...a little later the goal changed to "let's camp at the next semi-flat spot we see". Along the way we also encountered ropes to help us around various ledges and even a ladder (which reminded me of a Discovery channel special on Everest). However, the hike wouldn't have been half as treacherous if there was neither snow nor ice on the path.

Then about 6:00pm we found the "semi-flat spot" we'd been hoping for. Surprisingly we found enough dry wood to make a fire--which was a great idea considering how cold we would have been without it. We were set. We had a blazing fire, our tent up, and a supper of spagetti and beer in our bellies. It was then time to "hit the hay" as we say in good ol' Iowa. Thus, we began the real adventure, an adventure called "We Must Stay Warm or We are Going to Die on This Here Mountain." At one point Isaac text messaged (amazingly he had one bar of service) a friend and let her know where we were and that if she didn't hear from us the next day to send a search party. Awesome. It was really cold and windy, and we weren't prepared with enough clothing or sleeping pads. It was very difficult to sleep because we were so cold. Any part of our bodies that were in contact with the snow (below the thin layer of tent) were basically freezing. So we had to entertain ourselves by taking photos of how ridiculously cold we were and how we had learned our lesson about how important a sleeping pad really is.

The next morning promptly at 6:00am we dubbed it just light enough to start our descent. No, we didn't continue climbing and reach the peak because, well, I didn't want to. And I will stand by my decision because the way down was even more dangerous as the tracks we had left from the previous day were now ice. Both of us fell several times and for me several times on purpose (I am not ashamed that I slid down on by butt out of sure fear). But we were also in much better spirits because, well, we were alive! We encountered the same sights: several frozen waterfalls, climbing ropes, and the ladder; but, there were also birds singing beautiful songs and sturdy trees to graciously break our falls. It was quite lovely. So in the end there is always a moral. The moral of the story is this: When one's boyfriend proposes hiking/camping on top of a mountain in the middle of Japan in winter and your gut instinct says no, go with your instinct.

p.s. mom and dad, it wasn't half as bad as it sounds. don't be angry with isaac or me:)
p.p.s. we vowed to go back when it's warmer to "conquer the mountain"