Coastline Adventure

As promised, now I will let you know how my coastline adventure last weekend went. Another ALT and myself decided to explore the northern coast of the Ishikawa peninsula. We started in Suzu (and made it almost to Wajima) driving down the roads that hug the sea and stopped and got out whenever we found a neat spot. 

First, we stopped at the Suzu Shrine. Outside of the shrine grounds we went inside a little shop selling various local produce and goods, and the old lady inside gave us figs to sample, and they were the biggest most delicious figs I have ever eaten! We of course bought a package of six and later that day ate all of them while sitting on top of a mountain.  Suzu shrine is considered to house a deity that is a guardian of/from the Sea of Japan. According to legend, there was a huge sea battle between two warring Japanese lords off the coast of Suzu, when a huge storm blew in and drowned one of the armies while carrying the other army safely to shore. So this shrine was built in dedication to the Sea (deity) that saved the one Japanese army. The Shrine even houses a wooden flute which is a relic from the battle. 

After leaving the shrine we headed down the road and stopped at an area called sanctuary cape. It has a great look out point, pretty little rocky beaches, and is the location of a very fancy and well known traditional Japanese inn (ryokan). Apparently this inn is very luxurious with a pool and bath houses overlooking the sea. After admiring the view above the ryokan we wandered to the other side of the cape and found a pretty place to go swimming. We clambered around on the rocks for a while and then swam in the sea. While sitting on the beach to have a snack we met a group of Japanese guys and found out that one of them is actually friends with another ALT that lives in Nanao- it is such a small world!

 

Our next stop was an old lighthouse...

After leaving the lighthouse we continued along the coast and found an area, that is not a tourist spot, but was certainly scenic with its awesome rock formations. This was actually my favorite spot we went that day, I thought it was so relaxing to be able to go sit out on the rocks with the sea roaring and lapping up against the rocks all around. We saw a man fishing off the rocks, probably catching that night's dinner for his family...

Our next stop was a shrine on top of a small craggy mountain at the edge of the sea. We waded through ankle-thigh deep water along the path of gates that were built from the road to the mountain, and then clambered up the mountain in our flip flops to find a tiny shrine. Luckily for the deity, someone had left him two bottles of sake and a coke, but they were pretty old bottles so we determined that not many visitors brave the water and steep mountainside to visit. Between the running around on the sharp rocky coast earlier and wading across this rocky water the bottoms of my feet were all cut up by the end of the day! But it was a great view and definitely worth it.

Our last stop for the day was "Godzilla Rock." Yes, a naturally occurring rock on the coast that someone decided looks like Godzilla and now it is a popular tourist attraction.

ロミオとジュリエット

Today I saw Romeo and Juliet at the Noto Theater, and it was a phenomenal production! The acting was great and I was even able to understand a lot of what they said. I did not understand the first monologue at all, but after a few minutes I warmed up to listening to the actors and understood much more of the rest of the play. The acting was really good, the actors all conveyed their emotions so well. But the costumes were my favorite part- they were gorgeous! Every character was well dressed and the outfits were very detailed and beautifully made. Also in the second half of the play they actually opened the back of the stage and used the outdoors as part of their set! When the curtains opened we had a moment of disbelief wondering if that was really the outdoors we were seeing, and it sure was! They used the darkness, trees, and a wooden stair built back there as part of the set. It was so awesome because you could hear the bugs chirping and after a few minutes the cool, fresh air reached the audience and smelled wonderful. 

On our way out of the theater one of the girls in our group was stopped by a television crew for an interview, and right after that we were stopped by a newspaper reporter who wanted to interview us for his article!

柔道、生存、－ Update!

Sorry I have been slacking on posting the past couple of weeks! With the commencement of my study of Judo, and getting into the routine of teaching I have been so exhausted that I just want to eat and sleep when I get home! 

I started studying Judo last week, and so far it has been very painful! I have bruises on my arms, shoulders, and lower back from practicing how to fall properly. But it is a lot of fun, and I am so excited to start learning more moves! My teacher has told me, "At first it will probably hurt, but endure the pain and you will get better soon." 

Judo practice starts with everyone lining up in front of our teachers, bowing (which must be done properly), and a minute of meditation I think? At any rate we close our eyes for a bit, then the teacher gives his comments and we begin practice. We start with preparation aerobics, consisting of stretches and warm ups across the floor- including front rolls, back rolls, front/back rolls to splits, hand stands, walking hand stands, etc, etc. After that the other students start their drills, and I go to the side and one of the teachers works with me to teach me the basics. They took great care to teach me how to bow properly, the correct degree to  bow, where to put my hands, where I should point my eyes (not in front, but not straight down either). Then I was taught the four ukemi, which are ways to fall that protect the body and head. Also this third practice I went they taught me how to walk for judo- your feet never leave the ground so that you are always stable. Also I learned the first part of throwing your opponent over your shoulder. My teacher informed me that I "must practice the correct form many many times; and then, maybe, you will become good at it." Also they assign me physical training like pushups, situps, etc. My sensei told me, "If you practice your push ups every day, maybe, you will become strong like me." 

There is a lady that also goes to Judo here, her sons are in it, and she is helping to instruct me in Judo. She was in Judo when she was in school, and still enjoys the sport very much. She is very sweet, and has already told me she wants to take her family to Texas to visit me after I return to America! 

At the end of practice we again line up at the edge of the dojo, bow to the dojo flag, bow and thank our teacher, meditate, and the teachers give their closing comments. 

I am so glad I found this opportunity to study Judo, the people involved in the class- teachers, students, and families- are all great, and I am sure that I will continue to enjoy studying this sport.

Last weekend, I went on an awesome coastline adventure, post coming soon!

I recently attended a dinner with one of my schools in celebration of their successful Undokai (Sports festival) and my joining staff! The party was held at a fancy restaurant located in a spa on top of a mountain. Our staff had a private tatami room set up with individual tray tables. As we enjoyed the food and socialized, the restaurant staff would come in periodically to bring another course of food. It was delicious! We ate mushroom stew, snails, sashimi, and so much more!

One of my recent cooking experiments, Soborro ramen and bean sprout salad.

Yes, this salad was served in a shell. 

 In the grocery store today I saw this package of "spray," aka sprinkles!

生花

Today I started an Ikebana class, Ikebana is the art of Japanese flower arrangement. You need three tools, the vase, scissors, and a spiky plate which you insert into the vase to stick the flowers and foliage onto. The teacher is a lady who is also a teacher at one of my junior high schools. Under her guidance, I made the following arrangement. She explained to me how you determine the length of the longest piece by measuring it against the pot you are using, and how to determine the length of the rest in comparison to the first piece. So from now, I will have a bright new arrangement every month to decorate my room!

I'll post another pic when the lilies bloom! (*.*)/

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school. This morning started with the school opening ceremony, which consisted of the singing of the school song, a speech from the principal, and a speech from me as the newcomer. During the assembly the kids were already friendly, constantly smiling and waving at me. After the ceremony was finished several of the girls came up to talk to me, and even throughout the day some girls would walk up to me in the hall to chat with me. 

Some of the girls commented on my "petite face," and later the English teacher that I work with explained to me a Japanese idiom, "hatoushi bijin." This expression has several parts that make up the entire meaning. The kanji is 八頭身美人、which in English would be translated as eight-face-body-beautiful woman. One of the conditions of beauty is thought to be that the length of your head 8 times is equal to the length of your body. So if you have a small face (like many westerners) it is likely you fulfill this condition of beauty. This is why many Japanese people like to praise westerners for having small faces!

Today there were no classes, because the students were practicing for the undokai (sports festival) this Saturday. They practiced ラーディオたいそ which is the exercise routine that used to be played over the radio every single morning that businessman, schoolkids, and everyone would do together to warm up their bodies for the day. I joined in on the practice for this!

Also, the kids practiced traditional dances which they will perform this weekend at the festival. First they practiced the "Oklahoma mixer," which I did not know before. And that surprised many of the teachers since they consider it to come from America. Well I had certainly never heard of it, so I did a bit of research online (evidentally other foreign English teachers in Japan have also come across this) and found that after WWII the founder (who was Japanese) of the Japan Association of Teachers of Dancing created this dance. I read that he attempted to introduce the "Oklahoma Schottische," to elementary and junior high students but the steps were too intricate to teach to a bunch of school kids. Alternatively, he borrowed the music "Turkey in the Straw" and made a dance for it, which was derived from the mixer style. Now in many schools this dance is taught to kids to perform in school functions. So although people think it is from America, it actually was invented in Japan!

The students also practiced a traditional Japanese folk dance called namchusola, which is a dance to a song that the fishermen might have sung while working. The dance was invented by a teacher at Minami Jr. High, which is where it gets the name. During this dance the kids imitate the work of a fisherman through their dance moves, pulling in the net, throwing it over their shoulder, and so on. After watching the kids practice, I am really looking forward to watching them at the sports festival!

My first school lunch in my life!

能登島水族館ー Notojima Aquarium

10 ft long whale shark! :o