hisashiburi

long time, ne? gomen...

I have really slacked on this whole blogging agenda I had. I thought it would be easy to just throw my thoughts out into empty space; to record my life and update friends and family simultaneously. easy, right? not for me. I am such a hands on girl. this idea of the internet is a lot for me to wrap my head around. I would much rather, write in a journal. growing up my mom always had us keep travel journals (side note, I have some FUNNY entrys in those!) and that has always stuck. although I have trouble recording everything, it keeps my most precious travel moments, favorite foods, artwork, troubles, the new sights. in one small hand written book I have the essence of adventure. its amazing. but, how do I transform that into this blog? I haven't figured that out.

with a finish line on my japan time I have really started to treasure my life here. although school is still challenging, I have begun to make the most of remaining time in this beautiful country. the bucket list is made, and already has a few checks on it! yesterday, was perfect. after an early morning of laundry, I met jessica and katsue for an aso adventure. the day started at parche, then we were off. we took the back road to aso, which was a bit congested due to a circus that has been set up in a local shopping mall parking lot. it is quite funny to see things like this is japan. I dont know why, but it makes me laugh every time I see it or think about it. it just doesnt seem like a cultural fit to me...whatever that means? we stopped at an amazing cafe called walet. aso has all the best eateries in kumamoto. seriously. its a bit unfair. they have the best atmosphere and food. if I could have a house I would want it to be walet. it was the cutest place ever, with a roaming dog- perfect. after that, we had to hurry to make our sausage making reservation at aso milk farm. yes, we made sausage from scrath. when I first got the invitation from my japanese friend I giggled thinking, "awe, that is cute, she mixed up eat and make..." no, she didnt. we made the sausage, sheep intestine liner and all. weird and cool experience. after the sausage making, we explored the grounds complete with sheep, dogs, pigs, goats, cows, and goats. we were able to feed and pet whatever we wanted. and see way too much milk exposed with the dairy cows. the weather and company was just what I needed after a LONG week at school. we finished the day with fresh milk soft cream and a visit to a vintage kimono shop. these are they days that make life in japan so special.

resolutions and days gone by

as each new year begins i start a new list of resolutions and to-dos as most do. after ten months, this past week i finally accomplished one of my resolutions- baking in the rice cooker. it started with cake. four hours of cooking and still gooey, but oh so delicious! then tuesday evening, the brownies began to bake...three days later, in the rice cooker, they were still baking. thursday evening the baking stopped. they are now gooey centered goodness. yum. and now, the latest batch. this evening i put the blueberry muffin mix into the cooker...and while the first round is still going, I have a great feeling that this may be the only cycle! another new years resolution complete!

time in japan is flying by this year. school is consistently busy with preparations for speech contests, cultural festivals, and testing. and the 27 classes, at just one school, plus four other schools keep me running around.

this weekend there is a wonderful bamboo festival at kumamoto castle. i went last night with jessica. we met one of my elementary school JTEs, Naomi, for dinner at chill then met toshi and kat at the festival. the lanterns were amazing. bamboo and paper lanterns lined the streets. lanterns in trees, lanterns in bags, any type of lantern you can imagine, it was there!

delayed photos

pushing pavement

exploration is different for everyone. for me, its the only way to live. journeys and sights are how I learn and how I grow. it is how I fully experience this world. not everyone is a "do'er," not everyone constantly wants to roam, but I do. luckily, there are others who feel this way. they make for great company while on the road. these last two weekends, after extremely busy weeks at school, nicole, shannon and I have loaded the car and headed out. one of my to do's in japan is to visit every prefecture on kyushu. there are seven; fukuoka, kagoshima, miyazaki, kumamoto, oita, saga, and nagasaki. after a year I have visited all but one, saga. I will get there.

two weekends ago we set out for kagoshima. it is four hours on local roads, the 3 and about two hours on the ic. we left late friday evening and drove to kagoshima city, where we found a nice combini/joyfull parking lot and slept. we awoke throughout the night drenched in sweat, but we were determined to make the trip as cheap as possible, and in japan that is really difficult. we started early saturday morning. we made an hour longer drive down to ibusuki to start the day with sand baths and sweet potato ice cream. kagoshima city is home to one of the worlds most active volcanoes, sakurajima, which supplies the surrounding areas with plenty of warm water and ash. hints, the popular volcanic sand baths. in nothing but a yukata, a japanese style rob, we set off to the black sands. we were then buried alive with shovels, at a very rapid pace. a strange experience, to say the least. our heads were left out and the "bath" began. all the information I read said that most people dont make the recommended ten minutes in the sand, which for the record was hotttt, extremely hottttt! after about 15 minutes we began to wonder when they would be freeing us...being the only gaijin made it a bit awkward. then at almost the 20 mark we decided we maybe we not given instructions because there were none and we broke free. it was for sure a once and a lifetime experience, as in i am not sure i could withstand that amount of heat every again in my life. but it was relaxing. we showered, had an ice cream break and then again loaded in the car to find a perfect picnic spot. we found it at a cute tourist stop with a beautiful overlook of the ocean. we enjoyed our picnic and went to catch the ferry to the volcano! we made the ferry and drove around the smoking volcano in search for a famed onsen we read about. we found it by chance and moaned over the Y1050, about $16, entrance fee. it was worth it. furosato onsen is in a hotel but the onsen itself is a shrine to a local dragon god. it sits under a beautiful camphor tree and overlooks the ocean with the volcano behind. because it is a shrine everyone wears a white yukata, which is nice since it is a mixed onsen. it was the mot beautiful onsen i have been to and one of my favorite memories in japan. after indulging ourself in a long relaxing soak we headed back to the ferry to go into kagoshima city in search of the famous local black pork. we found it at dolphin port. it was delicious! then it was back on the road! kagoshima, check.

this past saturday morning we (nicole, shannon, miyu, and i) set out to hitoyoshi, in southern kumamoto, for some much anticipated white water rafting. it is a few hours away, but the drive on the local 219 is breathtaking. it was the perfect day to be on the river. the sun was shining, the water was cool and spirits were high. it was a day full of cliff jumping, rope swinging, 4 degree waterfalls, rafts turned into water-slides, japanese jokes, splashing, and admiring the beautiful nature that is everywhere in japan. we stopped in yatsushiro on the way home for dinner and ended the night with parikura and karaoke in uki shi!

and yesterday. sunday we woke early to venture to the beaches of miyazaki. after confusion over directions we began the journey. we had surfing and sleeping in mind, but as any great adventure would have it neither of those came to be. we found our way to aoishima by recommendation of shannon. it is a nice shrine seating on a island surrounded by volcanic rocks set in parallel rows, shaped from years of waves beating on them, known as the devils washboard. it is said that the devils comes out to do his laundry there. we did some exploring which included a major photo shoot. we had the famous chicken namba for lunch, lunch was an adventure of its own. we of course sampled more ice cream, i had mango and then went back for grape. we then explored the botanical garden, and wished we could stay for the beer festival that was taking place later in the evening. but back to the car it was!

this morning I awoke at 5:45am to meet my friend, javier, to go fishing in yatsushiro. I met him at 7am at santa karaoke, a christmas themed karaoke joint, close to his house, about 30 minutes from me. I was fishing pole less but made due with surrounding sticks, 5yen and fishing line. javier was kind enough to let me borrow his pole too. we spent the best hours of the morning casting and laughing but were not successful in our endeavor--fish less after three hours.

wednesday morning nicole and I will be heading to taipei, taiwan until sunday. i am looking forward to visiting the national museum and taipei 101- the tallest tower in the world. stories to come!

arkansas, you are missed.

festival season

each night the sky is graced with hanabe, fireworks, and the air smells of tayaki, takoyaki and kakigori. i love it. shannon and i are currently shopping for a yukata, or summer kimono, to wear to all the festival fun. we have "dance" practice tomorrow night because on september 7 we will be a part of shiranuhi's, our local town, matsuri. tonight friends of ours will be dancing in the uto matsuri. so we will venture to the next city to take part in the fun.

with help i have finally learned to play around on blogger, my next goal is to conquer the photos. more to come...

today i had another tea ceremony class. this time shannon joined in on the fun! when we arrived the ladies had yukatas ready. they dressed us and class began.they love hearing about our lives in japan and we enjoy the genuine interest they have in hearing our stories. we hope to get to visit more.

off to pick up shanade at the station!

all my arkansas love! im missing the natural state these days!

cultural captian

this summer i decided with my "free" time i would take on a few japanese traditional classes. i have taken shuji for a year now and i have really enjoyed my time spent with my teacher and learning a bit of the heart of japan through the lessons. however, i though it was time to branch out and see/learn more about this country i am currently residing in. i enrolled in tea ceremony and ikebana (flower arranging) classes. i was a little frightened to go. after a year i speak little japanese. i showed up to the matsubase community center last tuesday afternoon with a note asking for the class in japanese to find the cute old front desk worker waiting to show me to the room. i walk into a traditional tatami room with two women in full kimono gear and three other women. after being at school everyday where my reality and existence is often all together ignored (apparently the gaijin before have left bad impressions, and unfortunately for me and my staff all foreigners are the same, or are they? my teachers will never know, or care)so sadly, i was not expecting the wonderfully warm welcome i received. each women, 62-75, was overjoyed to see me. it took them over a half hour to figure out i truly did not speak japanese. they were over loading me with maccha and sweets and even allowed me to serve them, teaching me the traditions and rules (all with out words- see actions are important!). a true smile did not leave my face the entire two hours. the entire two hours, that i thought i would be sitting seiza! luckily, the allowed me to sit on normally, and when i began to shift my weight they continually offered a chair and eventually gave me a floor pad. i hope to soon be able to write more on the beauty and history of the japanese tea ceremony, but before this gets too long I want to get to my point. when drinking the maccha it is very important to admire the cup/bowl that it is served in. we were using two exquisite bowls, one from the cultural capital of japan, kyoto. after admiring it i asked where the other was from, one of the lady's face began to shine as the others explained that her husband was a local potter and had made it and many of the other supplies they often used during class. they disappeared for a few minutes and returned with samples, and ultimately giving me a beautiful beautiful bowl! I was so touched by their kindness and genuine happiness in spending time with me. I hope to return in a few weeks, where they want to help me dress in traditional clothing!

recently i have been inspired by a few blogs i have stumbled upon. while being away, somewhat isolated in rural japan, i have found that exploration of thought has been a large part of my time here. although i am busy with school and the challenges of living abroad i find that often my mind drifts to deep questions i spend little time contemplating while in my comforts at home. actions have always been a very central part of my being and i truly believe the cliche saying that "actions speak louder than words," but how can i here make my actions speak? i have few words to communicate with those around me and little contact with those i can communicate with...its a question i am struggling with every day. i want to encourage and love those around me.

joy is a lesson i am learning. isn't it true when we become proud we are tested? man, am i realizing the truth in those words. a challenge for me this past year has been finding true joy. challenging my faith and trust in the one who can give me true and everlasting joy. joy in ALL circumstances. i am so blessed to have a true rock, a castle not built on the sand but an ever so deep belief in my creator and the belief that all things come together for good. there is a lesson to be learned from my time here, i am here for a reason, to be used and to be challenged, to show love and accept love, to better myself and those around me. life is so surprising.