Bike to Work week!

I'm sure that bike to work week has long past back in Cowichan but we finally have the weather for it here. The snow is almost all gone now and the path, though still scattered with debris from the trees, is passable.
My goal is to not allow myself any excuses and to make myself ride my bike every day possible. The ride to school in the mornings is very quick - only about 8 minutes - because it is all down hill! Of course that means that on the way home I get to struggle all the way... I did it Tuesday and Wednesday - very slowly but biking all the way. Yesterday (Thursday) it rained so I had a good excuse to let my body rest for a day. Today I start at the office, then go to the kindergarten and then the Chugakko and I'm biking all the way! My legs haven't been too sore so far (hot baths at night help!)

These two photos show the view from the back of our house. This is actually about 10 metres over from our back door. I will be hiking up the mountain with Naomi when the snow is gone.

This one shows the little stream that runs down beside our backyard area. It's all very serene and a lovely place to sit outside and just "be".
On Monday I went to Tatsunan and then out to lunch with Mayu. I had a bit of time in between so I went and took a walk near the river where the cherry trees are in full bloom. There was a nice little circut to walk that involved two bridges and both sides of the river. As I was finishing the walk there was a group of seniors setting up for what looked like a picnic lunch down by the river. It was all very beautiful.



Monday night I picked up Naoko and took her with me to Date. Joisan went to dance and a group of us (Naoko, Mayu, Yasuko, Rianna and I) went to karaoke. It was fun! I was way less self concious this time and found a couple of songs I want to work on. While I was playing the tambourine along with someone else's song I burst a blood vessel in my thumb and it swelled up so I could barely move it. The swelling was down by Tuesday but my thumb and the area all around it has looked dirty all week from the huge bruise.
As you can gather from the fact that I have resorted to reporting on my bruise, nothing too exciting is happening here this week. Although spring is definately here and there are some things in bloom, the cherry trees in Otaki are still bare. I don't mind though - it means that when the ones in Date are done I'll still be able to enjoy these ones a bit longer.
This weekend is a farewell party for Rianna (the AET in Date) before she goes back to Montana. They have not hired anyone as yet to replace her so I've been advocating for them to have Ian do it - at least for 28 hours per week. They don't always operate in logical ways here so I'm not sure if it will happen or not.
Ian is still working on getting the paperwork in order to officially work but he did do one day of volunteering with a local farmer this week. They really hit it off and spent a lot of time talking and visiting as well as working. I think Ian will be volunteering with him as often as he can.
We're still looking forward to having some visitors... anyone?!?

Surprise!

This is one of Joisan's class photos from this year... I had it on the computer so I thought I'd include it. (You can click on any of the photos to make them bigger.)


We had a fun week here... it was a little busy though. On Monday my plan was to go to Karaoke with Naoko and Mayu while Joisan danced but Naoko couldn't come and Mayu and I decided to postpone the Karaoke and just go for tea! Afterwards we went to the arcade and used one of these awesome photo booths they have here. For 400 yen you can take a whole bunch of poses, then pick the ones you want and decorate them! Here are the results of my photoshoot with Mayu!!


As I mentioned in the previous post, Joisan's class met the 2000 Olympic gold medal marathon winner on Tuesday... here is another photo...


On Friday night we were invited to join Ato san at his mothers restaurant to taste test the gyozas she is going to be making to sell. We were not sure if it was really dinner or just a tasting snack so we had some curry rice before we went and then of course it turned out to be a full meal. It was sooo very good though and we all stuffed ourselves! Joisan had been trying out the Otaki dance class but found that it is not really very challenging so we're not sure if she'll be going back to it or not. It's a shame really, because we don't have to drive 40 minutes each way to get there! Oh well. After we finished eating, Ato san and Misuzu came back to our place and we played a friendly game of poker.

All week I was busy planning and organizing things for Ian's birthday on Saturday. I had taken Joisan on a secret trip to Tomokomai on Mother's Day while Ian was otherwise occupied so that she could pick up this fabulous gift for her and Taran to present to their father on his special day!

Joisan had it all set up for him so when he got up in the morning to use the bathroom there it was! Ian has decided we need to have a family tournament now! So... another reason to plan a visit... the Fireball Invitational Potty Putter Golf Tournament... and you're all invited!!!

I arranged to buy Ian a guitar for his birthday since he's been looking and looking for one since we got back at Christmas time. Luckily for me he's been too afraid to buy one for himself without some guidance because it made for a perfect birthday gift. One of the teachers at the school has more than 50 guitars and he was quite happy to sell me one at a really good price. Here is Ian opening it...

In Tomokomai I also found some very strange toothpastes and bought a few for novelty gifts. Ian got curry flavor and pumpkin pudding! He also got a package of meat flavoured toffee. FYI - it's marginally better than the beer flavoured toffee! (that's not saying much!)


Somehow, even with all the time Ian spent with Ato san this week, everyone managed to keep the surprise birthday party under wraps! I used the "I'm going to cook you dinner" excuse to send Ian into Date for the ballet run on Saturday and Taran and I quickly cleaned and set up and decorated for the party. I had invited about 28 people but only about 20 showed up. Ian and Joisan unfortunately got caught up in some stuff that delayed them in Date but everyone waited very patiently and eventually they made it - about 1/2 an hour later than I had anticipated. Ian was completely surprised and thoroughly enjoyed himself. Here's a couple of photos from the party... the cake was all natural and egg and dairy free. It was made by my friend Natsumi who has a small baking business. It was wonderful!



There's a few things planned for next week - including Rianna's farewell party and possibly a Sakura Matsuri (cherry blossom festival). The cherry trees in Otaki are not blooming yet but the ones in Date are starting now. It's gorgeous! Photos next week - I promise!

Happy Mother's Day!

I know I'm a bit late in the sentiment but it was heartfelt!
On Friday night we had Joisan's teacher and Naoko over for dinner. Ian made a yummy dinner and Kayo san brought a Mother's Day cake...


On Saturday Ian and Joisan and I went to Muroran to check out the track and field meet. There was evidence of spring in Mororan - so I made Ian pose by it so we'd have lasting proof that spring really does come to Hokkaido!


The track and field meet was fun to watch. It was all very official and Joisan and I were particularly facinated with the hurdles. It's quite a feat to be able to run and jump those! We watched a couple of people fall - it looked painful. It was a good scoping trip to see how it's all going to go next month when Joisan participates.

On Sunday (Mother's Day)I was treated to stuffed French toast for breakfast - made by my daughter! Ian had agreed to help Takeshi for the day so I had to run him out to their place for 9am. He worked all day starting mushrooms and splitting wood. The kids and I came back in time for dinner when Takeshi made us fresh soba (buckwheat) noodles. It's quite a process and it was amazing to watch him make them.


We had an amazing meal and the company was fantastic.





We still have not heard from the hospital about Taran's MRI so I expect we'll have to call the hospital and find out what's up.

On Tuesday Joisan's class walked to a nearby farm where then began an eight week program of work experience. This farm has a sponsorship relationship with a Q Chan - the 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the marathon. She is quite the celebrity and it was quite the media circus. She had some serious paparazzi with her and she couldn't move without cameras in her face from all angles. The kids all worked hard and planted trays and trays of broccoli seeds.






I'm not sure if Q Chan will be there every time but I'm doubting it. I really can't see them having that media circus there every time.

That brings us up to today - I was so excited at the adult class tonight because I found out that one of my students is expecting a baby!! I'm doubtful that I'll get to be involved in any way but I'm still really excited about it!

I'm putting another photoshare up either tonight or tomorrow so look for it!

Golden Week Continued...

So, Monday and Tuesday we didn't do much of anything. We enjoyed the opportunity to Skype with those we could find online and Ian and I went for a looonnngg (15km) bike ride on Tuesday. We started by riding to the seniors centre where Ian does his volunteer class. I enjoyed meeting the people and getting to sing a few songs with them. Then we continued the ride all the way to Kitayuzawa before we turned around to head home. The first half of the ride was all downhill which of course meant that the second half would need to be all uphill. We took a few breaks on the way back - soft ice cream at Ato san's mother's restaurant, a few groceries at the Seiko-mart, but it was still quite difficult. My legs were in awful pain for the whole evening but after some self-medicating and a hot bath they got better.

Wednesday we had earmarked to go to the Ainu museum in Shiraoi. The Ainu are the indiginous people here and I had been told that the museum is great and there's a nice walk around a small lake nearby. We ended up getting an invitation to Natsumi's house for lunch and sweets-making so we bailed on Shiraoi. Natsumi is one of the lovely women from my Wednesday night class. She has three children - one of whom I have both at the Sho gakko and at the after school program. Her husband, Takashi, is also very nice and we felt very honoured to be included in their Children's Day celebration. Taran opted to stay home by himself but Joisan came with us. We had a very eclectic lunch with smoked scallops, inarizushi, a special salad and some makizushi. It was all fabulous and although Joisan was fairly bored, Ian and I enjoyed ourselves very much. Ian has volunteered to help Takashi with some chores around their farm on Sunday and we will be having Mother's Day dinner with them. Takashi has promised to make something wonderful!

The other big news is that Ian received a call from Naomi about someone she knows who is looking for some help. Ian hasn't had the final confirmation yet but it's looking like he might be doing some work on a local farm. Yay!

Taran had his MRI yesterday. He said it was REALLY loud and despite the earplugs they gave him he got a headache. We don't quite know the next step but if we don't hear from the hospital in the next few days Ian will call and investigate. In the meantime, Taran is in pain and finds it difficult to walk even to the bus stop.

It will be a busy weekend - Joisan's teacher is coming for dinner tonight and then there's a track meet in Muroran we need to check out tomorrow. Joisan was not quite ready to participate fully in the track and field so we agreed that she'd watch the first track meet and participate next time.

I'll work on having some photos for the next post :)

Spring? Is that you???

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself again but I think Spring might actually be here now... we've had many false starts and some serious flirtations but this might actually be IT! We have had a couple of days of warm (but heavy) rain followed by several beautiful days of sunshine! The snow is melting fast and there are green things poking their heads up... I walked outside the other day and it SMELLED like spring! Yay! (mind you, it's about time!! It's MAY!)

We are officially into Golden Week now. It consists of several days off in a row for different holidays including Showa Day (used to be celebrated as the Emperors Birthday), Constitution Memorial Day, Greenery Day and Childrens Day. It is the busiest travel time of the year here so we elected to lay low rather than go to Hakodate as was our original thought. It's kind of strange though - we had Thursday off and then had to go to school on Friday. Then we're off from Monday through Wednesday and have to go back to school on Thursday.

Anyway, we didn't do much on Thursday - just kind of laid low - it was one of the rainy rainy days so it seemed nicer to just stay home. Ian took Taran to the hospital for his follow up appointment on Friday. He asked about the possibility of Taran seeing a specialist to try and get to the bottom of the problem so Taran was given an MRI appointment for next Thursday! It's amazing to us that he could get in that quickly! I'm sure the only reason it was six days later is because there were four days of Golden Week! On Saturday Joisan and Naoko and I went to Tomokomai for the day. There is a big western-style shopping mall there that we wanted to check out. We left around 9:30 and we shopped till we dropped! We didn't actually buy much but we poked around almost every store. We had Takoyaki for lunch (octopus balls - you didn't know octopus had balls did you?!) Just before we headed home (as we were about to drop) we stopped for some Baskin Robbins ice cream. Yum!

Naoko stayed for dinner and we discussed a cell phone deal that we had seen while we were shopping. We had been considering getting a cell phone for those emergencies that might arrise and for the convenience of being able to communicate with each other while we're out and about. We decided to go for it since there was a great sale on so on Sunday we headed into Date to make the arrangements. What should have taken only an hour or an hour and a half wound up taking most of the day but we ended up with two skookum cell phones with cameras in them! One is pink and one is white but otherwise they are identical. If anyone wants to send us a text Phaedra's phone is: pink_cakeness at ezweb.ne.jp and Ian's phone is: ninja_kittens at ezweb.ne.jp

We're not sure what the rest of Golden Week looks like but we'll hope to catch some time on Skype with anyone who's there! I have photos to add but I'm on the wrong computer to do it right now so they'll have to come later... sorry!

Snow : (

It is Wednesday, April 28th today and it is snowing. I heard the wind start up last night but I had no idea that it was going to bring white stuff. I'm feeling a bit disheartened since I really thought that we'd seen the last of the snow. Yesterday was beautiful and warm. Ian even rode his bike to the seniors centre to do his class! Maybe if I chant a nice rhythm... I do believe in spring. I do believe in spring.

For those who are not on facebook regularly and have not seen Taran's status update, he is back to using crutches again. (I think he referred to them as "underarm chopsticks"!) Anyone who is reading the blog regularly will recall that two weeks ago Taran hurt his knee again while stretching for club. He rested and iced it for more than a week and then felt that with my knee brace he could go back to some activities. Then last Friday during gym he said it felt like it went "out" several times although he was wearing the brace. On Saturday he had his legs up on the couch and he relaxed and he said that something did something (good explanation eh?!) and then it not only hurt in his knee but also all down his calf. He limped around for the rest of the weekend and we took him into the hospital on Monday morning. He goes back on Friday for another check and I think we're going to ask about seeing a specialist at that point.

Nothing else of much note - Golden Week is coming - several holidays in a row next week. We're going to do a few day trips and check some stuff out. I'll try and keep it updated! No photos today - sorry!

Trying for a new posting format...

So I saw someone else's blog where they just embeded the photos and videos into the blog posts and I thought I'd try it. Unfortunately the videos didn't upload at all. I've posted them on Facebook though so check them out! There's one of Taran speaking Japanese at the welcome party for the new grade ones a couple of weeks ago. The second one is pretty cool - Taran's class did a bit of a dance to Thriller!
I have just uploaded a couple of new photo shares too so check them out!

Last week Taran made a new invention... I think that Apple will be after him for the rights to it any day now! He has to walk to the school on Wednesday nights for soccer so he built a contraption that would hold his iPod in front of his face so he could watch a movie while he walks! Here are some photos... (I think we'll call it the iWatch!)





The movie night on Friday was fun. We had some time to kill while Joisan was at her dance class so Ian and I did a bit of poking around in various shops in Muroran. We left Taran and Saya at the "mall" to have a chance to be without the parents for a bit. After we picked up Joisan from her ballet class we headed for the movie theatre. Here are a couple of photos of Taran and Saya at the theatre...


Yesterday I went into Date for the adult conversation class that has just been started. It was our second meeting and although it was less of a structured class than I think they really want, I was quite comfortable with it. They are a really nice group of women and I enjoyed talking with them very much.

The end of next week is the start of Golden Week here and we're still deliberating about what we're going to do... there are many interesting things that are close enough to make day trips but I'm also interested in the possiblity of going somewhat further afield. We'll see. No matter what we'll take some good photos and keep as up to date here as we can.

Off to Wonderland...

Taran's got a date!!! Okay - he has to bring the family along but still... he's invited Saya to go to the movies with us tonight and she said yes!!!
We have to go into Muroran for Joisan's ballet tonight anyway so it seemed like a good time to check out Alice In Wonderland. Unfortunately, Saya's high school finishes quite early today so it's going to be a bit of a push to get ourselves to Date and not keep her waiting too long. On the plus side it should mean that we have lots of time to get Joisan to her dance on time. Not like last night...
It was inspection day yesterday so they took my car to Date to check the transmission and all that stuff. They told me I could pick it up at the office at five which would have just given me 5 minutes to inhale some dinner and then head out. When I got there right at five there was no sign of my car. I expressed some concern for the time and they made contact with the Toyota guy who said it would be ten more minutes. So, I sat down to wait... and wait... and wait. By 20 after when he had still not showed up I was getting agitated. They called again and found it would still be ten more minutes! (Man - the original definition of ten minutes was way off!!) Long story short (or not so short - sorry!) it was past 5:30 before I got the car back and by that point there was no way that we would be able to get there for the full lesson. I was fairly choked - as was Joisan - but there was nothing I could do about it.
There has not been any decisions made for sure about my going to Date Chugakko so I will be going to Tatsunan again this week and we'll see what happens from there. There's no ballet in Muroran tomorrow but I wound up booking myself to do an advanced adult class so I'll be going in anyway. My goal is to post more photos and some video this weekend so check back for that.

Rough Weekend

So, it was a good thing that our weekend was scheduled to be low-key anyway as we got some difficult news. Our cat Minuet (who is living in Mill Bay with my mother) was not doing well. She has been ailing on and off for more than a year and we were actually a little surprised when she lived through last summer and even made it to Christmas. This time though she was clearly on her way out.
On Saturday Mum held her in front of the computer for us so we could tell her how much we loved her and say goodbye. She seemed to be a little zoned out at the time but she didn't appear to be in any pain. On Sunday she was a bit more with-it and seemed to respond when we talked to her. Monday morning (Sunday afternoon in Canada) Mum reported that she wasn't in any pain but couldn't walk and wouldn't eat - though she was still holding on - but just at dinner time at the weekly Sunday dinner when all the family was there Minuet died. It was just after lunch time on Monday here when I got the email and I was a big mess. It made for a rough start to the week. My mum is awesome. She took such good care of Minuet and then she took her and burried her at our house. It's still a little unreal to know that she's gone. And I feel really guilty for not being able to be there with her. I'm sure Brody (Joisan's cat) is having some difficulty adjusting but I know that Mum is loading lots of love and attention on him.
Monday night I was feeling quite down so I decided I needed a pick-me-up. While Joisan did ballet in Date Naoko and I met with Mayu (the translator from City Hall) and one of her friends and we went to a Karaoke place. We got our own little room with a karaoke machine and for one price we could choose what we wanted to eat and drink and we could play in there for two hours! It was lots of fun! Just what I needed.
This week Joisan is participating in a sort of Master Class for ballet. There is a Russian teacher who has come for the week and she is doing daily classes in Muroran. Joisan has opted to only do four classes rather than the full slot of six and she has decided to do just the classical class not the character as well but it is still going to keep us hopping all week! Muroran is about 20 minutes past Date so I'm really glad she's not doing the character because it would be 10:30pm or later before we would get home! It's going to be a looong week!

Wow! I'm honoured! (I think!)

So, we've had more snow this week and the most amazing winds! I was woken up several times over two or three nights with the sound of the wind so strong that I thought we might be on our way to Oz. I could almost hear the witches theme in my head! (do do do do do do, do do do do do do)... we've also had some torrential rain and some gorgeous sunshine so it's been a bit of a potpouri!
The kids seem to have settled back into the routines of school - they both managed to hurt themselves this week! They've started the clubs after school now and on Monday Taran put his knee out (though not quite so badly as before). He was just doing the warm up stretches and one of them required a bit of a twist... On Tuesday Joisan did something to her ankle but it wasn't so bad either and she was able to dance the next day.
The information gap is still a problem - I showed up to do the kindergarten last week and the Shogakko this week and both times I was told (when I was already planned and there) that English won't start until May. Oh well, I'm just trying to roll with it all.
This afternoon as I was trying to leave the Chugakko there was a call from a teacher at Date Chu. He didn't know yet that I am coming to work there but he was happy to hear it. He was calling to ask if I would be willing to make a presentation to all the English teachers in the area about team teaching. I am not sure what makes me such an expert but it would appear that I will be speaking on June 2nd at the English teachers Pro-D day. With great (ha) authority! You're all invited!
We have no major plans for this weekend to tell you about so I'll finish up now with a renewed promise for some new videos and photos soon... really! I promise!
Also - a quick shout out to my favorite sister... happy birthday Aurora!!!

Zzzoooom! That week went fast!

I'm struggling with getting enough time to do all the things I think I should be doing - including getting this blog done!
Last week was a bit busy with the welcome ceremonies and parties and general beginning of the year stuff. We started on Tuesday morning with the opening ceremony for the school year where the new staff was welcomed. In the afternoon the new grade 1's arrived for their induction and welcome ceremony. I find it quite facinating to watch the formalities that are observed here. It was almost as big a deal as the graduation ceremony had been. It was on Tuesday that I really began to miss Hiro in ernest. She was the one who kept me informed about everything and made sure I knew what was expected of me. I know that Naoko is now a classroom teacher and has many things on her mind but there were some bits and pieces slipping through the cracks. Taran and Joisan missed the bus on Tuesday morning because we were not told that it would be 20 minutes early. I didn't know what to say during an important part of the welcome ceremony because no one told me that there was a point at which I'd have to speak. Anyway, I'm sure it will get better but I was really depressed about it at the time.
On Wednesday I went to the Shogakko (elementary school) and watched the welcome ceremony there as well as the induction of all the new grade ones. I had taught all but one of them at the kindergarten so it was really cool to see the ceremony. It was also interesting to note that all of the students sat quietly and respectfully throughout the ceremony. The school culture here is definately different than in BC in terms of what is demanded in the way of student behaviour.
On Wednesday afternoon the principal of the Jr. High informed me that a meeting had been arranged for Friday afternoon when I would meet with some representatives of the Date School Board. They wanted to ask me to take on some more work - to add another Chugakko to my list of duties. I was not thrilled about the idea but at least I had time to think about it.
So, we had the meeting and they want me to do two days a week at Date Chu. It had over 1500 students and 4 English teachers. It is a bit overwhelming to think about but I figured that it's worth a try. I told them I would do it but they would have to give me some extra gas. (I wanted to ask for more money too but I didn't quite know how to go about that!)
I won't be going to Tatsunan after next week which is a bit of a bummer since I really liked some of those students and was looking forward to having them from the beginning to the end of the school year!
We had a few sunny days that made me think that spring was on its way but the weather patterns here are a little fickle and now I'm not so sure!

School starts tomorrow...

So, as of tomorrow Joisan will be in grade 8 and Taran will be hanging with the grade 9's again. They have both been working on their correspondence courses over the break so I think they are both feeling fairly motivated right now.
All the students at the Chugakko are going to be visiting Cowichan in October for the first part of the exchange program. Students from Cowichan will be coming here in January or February. Joisan has been working on her powers of positive thinking and she's really hoping that the definition of ALL the students will include her and Taran. I'm really not seeing the educational value in them visiting Cowichan for a week but since it's really up to the Board of Education here (they pay for the trip for everyone) I'm not getting my knickers in a knot over it. We'll let you know how powerful Joisan's positive thoughts really are!
We did manage to get the snowboarding trip organized for Saturday. Joisan and her friend Misuzu and Taran were going and then at the last minute Naoko decided to go too. I drove them all to the mountain (only 1/2 hour away - skiers take note for a potential winter vacation!!!) and they snowboarded all day while I sat in the cafeteria and worked on my computer. It was not very busy - probably because the snow was not very good anymore. The kids said the mountain they were on in the morning was very icy and not very good but the one they were on in the afternoon was better.
Misuzu's family came for dinner on Saturday and Naoko stayed as well. Ian made curry rice and salad. Ato san (Misuzu's dad) brought some crabs and we had an impromptu crab party before dinner. It was fun but the kids were all pretty tired from their long day.
On Easter Sunday - (I forgot that it was Easter until I heard from people at home) we had grand plans to use the last of the arcade coupons with Chinami and her boys. We went into Date in time to do some shopping before Naoki's (the younger boy) drum concert. Taran and Joisan both got new runners and we got some much needed groceries. On a side note... it is a challenge to find shoes big enough for our giant children. They both have larger feet than typical Japanese people. Of course back home they are probably both average with Taran at a size 11 and Joisan at a size 8. Anyway, after shopping we went to the recital. It was held in a small (130 people) theatre on the second floor of an office building. The remarkable part is that it was very well laid out and equiped. It had a raked audience and a proper stage with legs and blacks and curtains and a full set of lights with what appeared to be a fully functional booth. It was very impressive - and just what Duncan needs!
The concert itself was good. They had supporting players and a singer for all the drummers. It got a bit loud though so I was grateful that I happened to have a set of earplugs in my purse. Ian left before the end because it was bothering his almost 44 year old ears!) Naoki played the Beatles' Lady Madonna and he did really well. Afterwards we went to the park at the cultural centre rather than to the arcade since I had managed to leave the arcade coupons at home by accident. We tried to fly a kite that Chinami had in her car but there was no wind. The boys played soccer in the muddy fields for a bit and I had to yell at Ian to stop when he joined in since he's not supposed to be doing anything more than walking until June.
We went to Chinami's house for dinner again but this time we brought dinner. I had made a tomato sauce which I added some clams to and we had spaghetti and garlic bread. Taran and Joisan both enjoyed the time there where they can play video games and lego. It was a struggle to get them to leave!
That's about it for today. Don't get too attached to these more frequent updates since I will have to start back to a regular schedule this week too!
Happy Easter everyone!

Visitors Please....

It's only been a few days since my last post and nothing much has happened. The old teachers have left and the new ones have started. I met everyone today. I'm still not sure if any of them speak any English but they all seem really nice. All three of the new staff are men so the balance has been tipped the other way. We now only have 6 women on staff and 9 men rather than 8 women and 7 men. The custom here appears to be that the staff who are leaving all give a goodbye gift to everyone and then the new staff all give a gift to everyone when they are coming so now I'm loaded up on cookies, cakes and treats for quite a while!
The teachers are all completely focused on prepping for the new school year but it's interesting to watch them because there seems to be varying degrees of efficiency being practiced. Many teachers stay very late but it seems to be more for visiting than working!
We had planned for Taran and Joisan to go snowboarding with friends on Monday (their last day of freedom!) but I have just found out that the mountain closes for the season on Sunday :( I'm working on some alternate arrangements for tomorrow (hopefully) but at least one of the friends won't be able to come. Bummer.
We are really looking forward to having some visitors... (HINT HINT!) We have rumours of a couple of possible sightings sometime in the undefined future but we would all like it to be known that we would like to see some familiar faces here in the land of the rising sun.
Speaking of the rising sun - we are all having some issues with it right now. None of the windows in our house have black out curtains and there is no daylight savings here so the early sunrise seems to be disturbing all of our sleep. We're working on some make-shift curtains from large towels and I've started wearing a sleeping mask but we'll have to see what other measures we can take. Not that I am complaining about the sun mind you. I am very much appreciating the warm days we've had. I'm welcoming the rain and the sun and whatever else comes to help get rid of the snow!
Oh! I almost forgot! We had an earthquake at the beginning of the week. It registered 5.8 and was centred in the Sea of Japan. I felt it here at the school but none of the other teachers did. The kids felt it at the house but Ian didn't. I did not hear any reports of damage at all so I'm guessing everything was fine.

Saying goodbye to Hiro (sob sob)

The office retirement party last Friday was okay but not nearly as much fun as the teachers parties. We went to the local hotel for the dinner and toasting but I felt really out of it since there were not many people there who spoke any English. One of the women at my table tried as much as she could to talk with me but I still felt awkward. I really need to work harder at the learning Japanese thing. I swear though, it goes in and then falls right out! Anyway, I was glad that I went because Kabara-san seemed happy to see me and the principal of the kindergarten was also retiring so I got to wish her well also. I was able to meet Takemura-san who will be replacing Kabara-san but I didn't get much of an idea of his personality or his English abilities. I took the early bus home rather than stay for Karaoke. Maybe next time!
The weekend was mostly the usual. Joisan had ballet on Saturday and we went into Date on Sunday to get some dance gear at a big sale that her ballet school had sponsored. Unfortunately, when we got to Date we found that the sale was actually being held in Muroran so we had to high-tail it so we could get still get everything done that we needed to do. I had never actually been to the Muroran studio so of course we got well and truly lost! It took about 45 minutes of driving around and asking for directions before we finally found the place! We found a pair of toe shoes at the sale and then on our way out we poked our heads in to the office to say goodbye to the dance teacher. She pulled us in and then proceeded to do an exchange of Joisan's old toe shoes for another pair of new ones. It was a bit weird since she took back the ones Joisan has been wearing for the last two months at full value and for that we got another new pair of toe shoes, a pair of toe guards and 270 Yen. I have no idea what she will do with the used shoes or how she can afford to give us all that stuff! She also gifted Joisan with a new pair of ballet slippers! Weird!
Anyway, we booted it back home as fast as we could because Ian had invited Joisan's friend Akari and her family for dinner. The dad was not able to come but the mum came and so did Akari's two sisters. I made a yummy tomato-clam sauce with fresh clams for our spaghetti while everyone else went out to play in the snow. We all enjoyed ourselves very much.
Monday and Tuesday for me were all about hanging out at the school and helping Hiro when I could. She had an awful lot of stuff to pack and organize. Yesterday she had a little work party help her to pack the stuff from her house into the rail container that is being sent with all her stuff in it.
Today we moved desks around in the office so I have a new home by Chinami (nurse), Yuki (dietitian) and Kayo (J's homeroom teacher). Hiro came in and dropped off her key and then headed out for some last minute stuff. Everyone gathered at her house around 2pm to see her off. She is now gone.
When we got back to the Chugakko I worked at my desk using Hiro's computer rather than having to come into the conference room. It's a total bummer that I don't get a computer at my desk. It means I spend a lot of time moving stuff back and forth from one computer to another. Ugh.
Ian and the kids had gone off to pick up Chinami's boys and go bowling in Muroran. Chinami took Naoko and I home with her after school and we all met at Chinami's house for Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki. It was yummy and fun but unfortunately I had to leave to go back to Otaki for the adult class. Ian and Naoko and the kids weren't ready to go yet so I booted it back by myself - breaking some land-speed records I think - and did the adult classes and then went back to Date to pick them up. It was a long and emotional day.

Two down, one to go!

It's Friday here (Thursday there) which means I've made it through two of the three farewell parties. The first two were difficult in some ways (because of who we are saying farewell to) and a ton of fun (because they were with the teachers). Tonights party, for Kabara-san, will be significantly different - there will be no teachers there and I don't think there will be anyone who speaks much in the way of English either. The office staff are very kind to me though and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to socialize with them.
Last weekend was fun. On Saturday Joisan and Taran and I hit a new arcade that was opening that day in Date. We had coupons from the day we went to the movies that gave us free tokens to play some of the games so we went to check it out. I would not be at all surprised to learn that the big casinos own the amusement places because they seem to just be training places for learning how to gamble! Joisan and I have both learned to only take the amount of cash into the building that we are willing to lose. It is just so difficult not to keep prying open the wallet when you're right in the heat of the moment!
On Sunday Ian and I and Joisan went to Muroran for the day. We did a bit of shopping - checked out the big second-hand store and the sporting goods store and then we had some lunch and went to the concert. It was the Muroran Wind Society with a special guest (Eric Miyashiro) and it was very impressive. Eric in particular was increadible and I've got a bit of video of him playing that I'm going to post on YouTube and link to so watch for that!
Monday night we had Naoko and Koshizaka-sensei (the Japanese teacher) over for dinner. It was the first time that Koshizaka-sensei had come for dinner and we enjoyed having her over. Tuesday was fairly low-key with wrapping stuff up at school and for the afterschool program. Wednesday was the closing ceremonies and the announcement to the students of which teachers are leaving. Of course I cried and cried at the closing ceremony. I have known since just after we decided to stay that Hiro is leaving. She has been secconded to another district far far away on Honshu (the big island). She will be gone for two years and I am a little devastated. She has been my friend and advisor and I'm not sure how I will manage without her - except that I've made some wonderful connections among the rest of the staff (Naoko in particular) so I'm sure it will be fine - just different. Koshizaka-sensei (Japanese teacher) and Kyoto-sensei (vice-principal) are also leaving to go to other schools but it was watching Hiro as she struggled not to cry that really made me feel lost.
Anyway, the teachers farewell party was Wednesday night. We all went to a hotel at Lake Toya where we feasted and talked and drank and played bingo to win our end of the year prizes! We spent a couple of hours in the very intimate (read tiny) bar visiting and drinking. Later on (after the VP had been poured into bed) we played pool and then some of us went for a bath at the onsen. Hiro had pretty much passed out by then and Naoko didn't want to bath with us so there were only five of us female teachers and it was very late so it was very empty! There was an outdoor bath and it seemed like paradise to be out there laughing and talking with everyone. I didn't sleep very well - strange futon, strange pillow and the room was too hot. When I got up I could still smell cigarette smoke on myself despite my bath the night before so I went and had another bath. We had a large traditional Japanese breakfast including raw egg and natto (fermented soybeans), salmon, miso soup, seaweed and rice, and then we were taken home. Oh yes - I forgot to mention that the hotels around here will pick you up and deliver you home! And for the evening-only events there is always a bus to transport everyone. No drinking and driving here!
All the teachers (eventually) dragged themselves in to the school yesterday. There was a fair amount of moaning and groaning going on but no one failed to show up at the next party! Last night was the PTA party so Ian came along too. We went to one of the local hotels and had amazing food and lots to drink. There was a Karaoke machine and despite the fact that Naoko said she would not sing, much sake helped her to get up with Ato-san and Ian to sing "Let It Be". Of course, Ato-san dropping his pants twice made her run away! At the end of the song, when he had been abandoned by Ato-san too Ian decided to start taking off his shirt! It was a little funny and a little embarassing. Anyway, there was more drinking, followed (inevitably) by more singing. Ian and Hiro and I sang "Eight Days A Week" and then it was time to go. We got all the way out to the last bus and Ian decided to go continue partying with Ato-san so I rode the bus home by myself. I left before he got up this morning so I'm still not sure what time he came home.
That catches us up to today. I'm on my way to the Chugakko now and then this evening I will be going out with the office staff to celebrate the retirement of Kabara-san. I really hope that his replacement is as nice as he is.

New Photos!

Check it out - there are two new photo shares and more to come!

That was wishful thinking...

Let it never be said that I'm a 'glass half-empty' kind of girl but there are times... It is still snowing and life is still chaotic and I'm still trying to get everything accomplished that needs to be done.
Next Wednesday we have the closing ceremonies for the end of the school year and then there will be an almost two week break for the kids. I will be working at the school or at the office still but it's getting better. I will probably focus most of the time on making plans and resources for the next school year and I'm optimistic (there I go again!) that I will get lots accomplished and be a way better teacher because of it!
Last weekend Joisan had her long anticipated birthday party. All five girls in her class were invited but only four were able to come. The girls slept over and did some fun games (picking up tiny candy with chopsticks, eating jello with chopsticks, a snowball fight, a snow maze) and they also decorated cupcakes and broke a pinata. I made an amazing pinata for the party (photos to be posted I promise) and Ian and Joisan both helped to decorate it. It's of Kitti-chan (aka Hello Kitty) and it really was heartbreaking to have it get beaten up! There was more than 25 hours of labour that went into making and decorating it. Luckily they didn't do the pinata until Sunday when I was not there so I didn't have to weep over it!
On Sunday Taran had arranged a lunch and movie trip with his class. Unfortunately Kenta was sick so it was just Taran and the three girls. (He hated that - NOT!) We all met at our place and Hiro took her car with one of the other 3rd grade teachers and I took the boy and girls in our car. We met Naoko at the restaurant in Muroran. The kids were pretty fun in the car - Taran was forever trying to take pictures of the girls (one in particular) and the girls were always hiding behind their hands! I managed to get them on to trying to teach me some Japanese phrases which I promptly forgot! I am discovering that the language centre in my brain has atrophied and it's really hard to get it moving again! I can still come out with the phrases I want in French but the Japanese just won't stick.
Anyway, we had lunch at a western-themed chain called Donki where we ended up in the smoking section because that was all that was available. I really miss those BC smoking laws! After lunch we went to the movie theatre and bought our tickets for Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief and found that we had some time to kill. They gave us free bowling coupons when we bought our tickets so we went to bowl. Unfortunately there was too long a wait so we played in the arcade instead. The arcades here have some of the games we're used to but they also have a lot of those claw-type games where you try to win a prize by picking it up and dropping it down the chute. Taran won a little stuffed animal and gave it to one of the girls (Saya) and then he won another and gave it to Miyu. That of course meant that he had to win one for Ayano too. He had managed to get the first two on one try each but the last one took many many tries and much money to get! We went back to the theatre and when we went in I was surprised by how small the theatre and the screen was. I would be surprised if the theatre sat more than 100 people and the screen looked like about six or eight of the biggest tv's you see in Future Shop put together. It was great though - intimate but big enough to be impressive still. We all enjoyed the movie.
Taran has been in mourning since last Thursday because his 3rd grade class is finished but he still has to go to school and be with the next 3rd grade class (currently grade 2's). He is really missing his pals. He seems to be a bit more focused on schoolwork this week - I'm hoping it will stick! Joisan has begun her grade 8 courses and could reasonably be finished BC grade 8 by the end of the summer and start grade 9 work in September. We'll see. She's still dancing three classes a week and there's a possiblity of a fourth class too. Again, we'll see.
Both the grade 1's and the grade 2's performed this week for the Warashibe. They did two Robert Munsch plays - Pigs and Mortimer. I was a bit worried when we started the rehearsals but they all worked really hard and did a fantastic job! I was very proud!
We have next Monday off for some national holiday so it's a long weekend. We'll be doing our "Sunday dinner" on Monday night because Ian and I have been given tickets to a brass and woodwind concert in Muroran on Sunday. We're looking forward to it. I have to run off now to the elementary school graduation ceremony and then to the Chugakko. I will try and get some photos posted tonight!
Love to all...

Chaos is drawing to an end... (for now!)

Well gentle readers, there have been many events in the last two weeks that have taken much time and energy from the assorted Fireballs. We are nearing the end of the school year in Japan and thus are dealing with the Grade 3 graduation and all the pomp and circumstance (Japanese style) of that. Because Chugakko 3 (our grade 9) is the end of compulsary schooling here it is a really big deal. Most students go on to high school and college or university so that they can get a good job but their regular public education only goes to the end of Junior High.
There has been much rehearsing and decorating leading up to yesterday - the actual graduation ceremony. We had a graduation party day on Tuesday that was lots of fun! The students spent the morning playing a basketball tournament (Taran's team won!) and then the afternoon was spent performing skits and songs that they'd been practicing for several weeks. Joisan's class did a game show with the grade 3's as contestants. Taran's class performed a very short version of Snow White and then they played Country Roads on their guitars. Hiro and I sang with them for that and we also performed a dance and another song with the rest of the teachers. I have a few photos I will post here and Taran has posted a video of Snow White on his facebook page if anyone is interested. I am hoping to get my hands on the dvd they made of the whole thing. The tv station films everything here!!
I know I've been promising photos for quite a while now and I went on to upload them to a photoshare this week and all my photos since Christmas morning are gone! I've lost my DisneyWorld photos, my ski marathon pictures, photos of the Yukigassen, pictures of Girls Day and the ice cave. Even the photos of Dave trying to deduce what the suspicious looking "thing" from Japan was! :( I cried and cried when I discovered the loss. I will endeavor to be more diligent about uploading pictures now so that this will not happen again.
The other thing I think I have not been totally clear on yet is that we are staying here for another year. We have made arrangements to rent our house to some fabulous people and I've received approval for another Leave of Absence from Cowichan. We will be here until August of 2011. Start planning your trips please! We want visitors!

Camelot

Just a quick note... we seem to have entered a lovely pattern of weather here where it is sunshiny and beautiful all day - warm enough that it is even melting some of the snow. Then at night the temperature is dropping and it is snowing just enough to dust the trees so that they look sparkly and beautiful with all the sunshine in the morning! I had my coat undone and the car windows open today! I am hopeful that this is a sign that we're almost finished with winter... I don't want to jinx it by saying the S word but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Sunshiny March!

Oh how I am welcoming the sunshine that has become the trend over the last week! Actually, I have to say that this winter has not been nearly as bad for light as I had feared. I think it may have something to do with the snow and the light that reflects off of it but I have not found myself lacking for light this winter at all. That said, I am still rejoicing at the longer days and the sunshine that is warming them up!

We had a very busy weekend - aside from keeping up with the Olympic Events and medal count - YAY CANADA!!! -　we were experiencing all we could of the Japanese culture. On Friday afternoon I had a meeting with Kabara-san at the Ootaki office about staying for another year. There were a couple of details that needed to be addressed and he is contacting the Date Board of Education about it but it's looking more and more like we're here until the summer of 2011. I was a bit devastated to hear that Kabara-san is retiring this month as I've grown quite fond of him and it's totally fun to try my pathetic Japanese on him and make him laugh! I hope the new guy will be as kind and helpful.

On Saturday Ian and Joisan and I went to Sobetsu to watch some of the Yukigassen (literally: snow battle). There were many teams competing and although it was not exactly how Ian had pictured it, it was still fun to watch. It is quite a big deal here - many of the teams had special uniforms and everything! There were about 9 or 10 people to a team. They played on a fairly small field that had a few blocks of snow on each side to take cover behind. Each team had the same number of snow balls and if you get hit you're out. The games are timed and at the end the team with the most players still in the game is the winner. While we were there we went to visit Ato-san who had his deer burger booth set up. We had a quick visit and then left to get Joisan to her friends house for a lunch date. We still had to do the ballet-run after her visit at Akari's house and then after dinner Ato-san and his friend and his daughter came over to do some drinking. It was fun!

On Sunday Joisan and I went on a hike to Nyoro Nyoro. It is a cave here in Otaki that gets some amazing icicles growing up from the floor and down from the ceiling. It takes about an hour to hike to it - along a narrow, snow covered ridge. We managed to hold our place at the end of the line quite well! Ato-san's daughter Misuzu came with us - which was a little uncomfortable since there was another girl who came along with her parents and she is the target of a lot of bullying by Misuzu. Ugh. Thirteen year old girls are fun! Anyway, we have some photos which I will post today if possible!

When Joisan and I got home we found Ian and Taran watch tv and shivering under blankets. We had run out of oil :( I made a couple of calls and managed to get a plan in place to make it through the night. Naoko and I took a jerry can to Sobetsu where there was a fuel station open. We bought 18L of heating oil and we were optimistic once we got it in that things would be fine. Of course it wasn't that easy. We had to get Ato-san and one of his buddies to come and help us bleed the lines before it would work. Oh - heat is a wonderful thing!

School is going fine - we're in wrap-up mode for the end of the school year. Naoko and I have the grade 1's and 2's working on plays right now. I've done scripts of a couple of Robert Munsch books - Pigs and Mortimer - and we're working on understanding the words right now. We're going to perform it at the Warashibe in two weeks.

There's not much excitement planned for the next few weeks. Joisan will finally have her birthday party on the 13th. She'll be starting grade 8 in April with her class here and I've arranged for her to start the BC grade 8 core subjects at the same time. The kids are still not thrilled about the idea of staying for another year so I'm hoping that we'll get some visitors over the next year that will cheer them up. Hint hint!!!