2012/02/12

寒さに慣れた！and other good news... Sorry for the horrible formatting.

before I got to wakayama, I thought the winter would be quite mild, maybe warmer than vancouver. well, outside is typically around the same temperature (although it rarely rains), and sometimes colder (since I have gotten here, it's snowed 3 or 4 times, but never stuck). however, inside the house seems colder because they don't heat the entire houses. needless to say when I first got here I was very cold and used too much electricity using space heaters. but now I have gotten used to the temperature and everyone marvels at my ability to withstand the cold. then they say, "oh yeah, you're canadian... you must be used to the cold!" also because mom sent me some warmer clothes... thanks mom!

2012 started off well for me, with me eating traditional japanese food (osechi) on new year day with Machiko (my boss) and Motoaki sensei (principal at the JEC).

osechi typically consists of food from the 7 traditional food groups... beans, sesame, seaweed, vegetables, fish, mushrooms, and root tubers (potatoes); so i enjoyed it wonderfully. I just left out the fish... my favourite dish was the citrus daikon sunomono. :)
Pictures: osechi and us with Machiko's brother and his wife's family.















on january 6th, I dressed in a kimono for "coming of age day" (5 years late). this is when japanese people turning 20 dress up and attend a ceremony. I didn't attend a ceremony but I took a lot of pictures (serious and funny...) I can't remember ever being so dressed up, so it was really an experience to remember. I must thank Machiko sensei and her friends Akemi, who did my hair, and Michiyo, who dressed me.

After that, we started evening english classes again. the children are a lot of fun to teach. although some of them can get on my nerves, I can't get angry at them! when I'm not teaching or gallivanting (see below), I ride my bike around the Arida area. there are lots of places to explore, especially in Yuasa town (neighbour to Aridagawa town where I am currently situated)




on january 15th I met my friend Munsu in wakayama city and we went to wakayama castle. of course I love asian history, so it was very interesting to visit.. there were a lot of artifacts (samurai armour, guns, pottery, books, scrolls etc.), some of them dating quite far back. we tried to read the scrolls/paintings but could barely make out any of the characters.


the last weekend of january, I went to tokyo for Akiyoshi (my former tutor of 3 years!) and Satomi's post-wedding party. the building it was held at was very interesting...
they got married in december, but in Tenri city (near osaka), so they had a second party in tokyo since Satomi's from tokyo.

I also stayed in tokyo in 2008, with my friend Yuuki and her family, so it was nice to be back and see them again. on sunday, Yuuki was training for a marathon (!!) so instead of hanging out I walked from harajuku to shibuya and shopped at a 7-floor clothing mall in shibuya called ichi maru kyuu, which is where anyone who thinks japanese girls are shy should shop. the sales girls constantly shout out the specials and saying to you things like "hello!" and "welcome, please take a look around!"... constantly. most shopping centres aren't as loud as this one, but at ichi maru kyuu you sometimes can't hear yourself think... as far as malls go I think it's an interesting one, because each store has a very different style (as opposed to american malls, where all the stores sell basically the same style of clothing).


I went to tokyo and returned home by night bus, which is very convenient, I think. the trip took about 10 hours each way from wakayama city, so I was glad I didn't have to waste my time travelling during the day (or waste money on the train). the only problem with the night bus is you get dropped off at your destination in the middle of the city, at 7 am, tired and disheveled.
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