See you
Tomorrow I set off to Vietnam and, in a few days, will be traveling over to Cambodia. I feel the need to pack light, but am not sure of my abilities.
dokidokisuru

Ten grown men and two women
moving two desks in my office.
I sit down.
Everyone else points and looks worried.
My supervisor went to go grab a hoover.
He has become the Hoover Hero.

I read today that the Ede tribe in Vietnam are "matrilineal...the families of Ede girls make proposals of marriage to men and, once wed, the couple resides with the wife's family. Children bear the mother's family name. Inheritance is also reserved solely for women, particularly the youngest daughter of the family. Ede women generally wear colourfully embroidered vests with copper and silver jewellery, and beads". Of course they do...they are special. It's nice to learn these things.

Dancing fish...
On Friday I went to my office "Sayonara" Party, where I listened to many speeches, gave a bunch of flowers to a teacher who is leaving, and got to drink TWO and a bit bottles of oolong tea whilst hob-nobbing with my co-workers.
A lady came round and served us fancy food...and listen to this...she came over with a little bowl with a lid on it and put it down on my table. I had watched her make her way around the room and say something to each person as she put the same bowl down. When she got to me, she said nothing. I picked up the lid, just to see what the next course was, and inside the bowl was a raw egg yolk, surrounded by little squirming fish. Yes, fish that were still alive, kicking, wriggling...alive. I think my face was priceless. I didn't know food could get so weird. The man next to me told me it was odorinui...dancing fish, and he showed me what they did when you poured soy sauce on them. They wriggled even more, and down the hatch they went....off to swim in his stomach. Gag.
So, no, I didnt eat them--I wanted to take them home and keep them as pets. Eating the raw squid sashimi felt quite normal after that.

Are you Herman?
I have had two days of teaching alone at Junior High school. It was very nice! We played many games of Guess Who?, promoting the usage of such words as "beard" and "bald".
We made up sentences about random people cut out of magazines, and then introduced them to the class. The students could do the work...so it was great to see them get it. One of the 14 year old girls came and hugged me as I was washing my hands after lunch. Hmm...I wonder how different it would be to be a base teacher.
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Now I shall tell of my adventure that is coming up...
Next week I am going to fly to Vietnam and take a trip from there over to Cambodia. It is going to be the most adventurous thing I have ever done, seeing as I am not going with anyone I know. The trip over to Cambodia will be with a group of other single travelers, so I am hoping it will be fun. I am ready to see new things and experience a place I have only ever read about or seen in films.

pikachuuuu says mind your manners

omotesando mosaic 

kayako, me and yohsuke at asakusa 

I'd rather be in Tokyo...
On Friday, Jeni, Mike, Caleb and I went down to Tokyo for a weekend of walking and sightseeing. We went to see Bright Eyes at the Liquidroom in Ebisu on Friday night--it was a very good show! We had to hand our cameras over, and I watched a Japanese guy get mad at a girl lining up a picture on her cell phone. I wonder if Conor is opposed to photography.
On Saturday we went to Ueno and enjoyed the park and chocolate croissants. We then met Simone's friend Yohsuke to wander to the Imperial Palace, and we shuffled around the busy temple at Asakusa with Yohsuke's friend, Kayako. Later we were entertained by magic-doing ninjas at the Ninja restaurant, and enjoyed a drink at an English-style pub in Ebisu. Sunday was spent shopping and wandering around Harajuku. It was great to get away for a few days...and take in the coolness of Tokyo.

early blossoms in ueno

karaoke kings and queens 

I was a judge at Neresha's school Topic Contest today. There were some interesting presentations on school bags, treasure that has been buried for years in Japan, and what makes Korean men better than Japanese men. After this, I made my way over to Shingo's karaoke joint and met with san nen sei from Nosawa and Aoki sensei, who I used to teach with. We sang many songs and I was awful...but it was great to sing the Beatles, Avril and of course Orange Range. Good times.
Aaannnnd, tomorrow I go to Tokyo...!

potterottery--i made this lantern out of clay and i painted it two-tone with a handy contraption that blows paint out. it isn't as huge as this picture makes it look...not as big as my head

A note from Seigo from Shingo Junior High...I admire his blatent flirting with a 26 year-old English girl. I am not sure how I could teach how to correct the last sentence (blush). 

Don't hate...graduate!
Today I went to two graduation ceremonies! Yes, TWO! I saw the entire 15 year old population of Shingo village go up to the front and get a certificate. I listened intently to a few speeches that I understood a little of. I heard beautiful songs. I took a picture with the classes, and was beckoned to come to the front by these words from the photographer, "gaijin sensei!!"--funny. I watched all the girls unable to sing because of their tears at Shingo, except for Miyako, who sang away with determination--I was impressed! I watched a couple of the boys blinking away their emotions. I nearly lost it when they bowed to the teachers. I shed some tears at Nosawa, because those kids have been a huge part of my life here in Japan. I left all the graduating kids with a CD of some English songs and the challenge to write to me. It has been a tough day...a day where you can see how fast kids grow up...how we only have a few chances in life to leave an impression. I never had a graduation at school, so I feel like today was a great chance to experience it Japanese style.

Today my students were doing self-introductions...they had to say, I am a girl/boy, I have a---, I like---, Who am I? One girl came up to me and said, I am a girl, I like Inglesh, I am swin (?) who am I? And she then said, you! as she turned over her paper to show a picture of me she had drawn. Do you think she means I am a twin...or a swan?

some fresh fish comin right up, love!

sushi-go-round

Weekly sushi and a shot at pachinko
It sure is windy today. Soo, Jeni, Caleb and Mike and Mike came to visit me in Hachinohe, and we ate sushi at the sushi-go-round at the fish market. It was superior sushi...fresh, with the coolest cups to drink tea from. We spent 10 minutes in the pachinko parlour that opened recently near my house. I won two silver ball bearings after putting in 100 yen. I put them back in and they of course disappeared. I am not sure I understood the concept of pachinko. It was noisy, smoky and full of middle-aged men, but the bathrooms were nice.

spin us some sushi

snow beach 

I took a drive to the beach in Hachinohe yesterday after work, because it was so sunny, and I have always wanted to see snow on the beach...It was shiveringly cold, yet so peaceful because only me and a couple being write-in-the-sand romantic were crazy enough to be out there. Here are some words I came up with about it...

A most beautiful sight...
snow on the sand on the beach.
My breath escaped me, and a dog surprised me,
with his friendly jumps.
I wondered if I should make
a castle made of snow or sand.

peanut dolls 

Today is the Hina Matsuri...doll festival for girls. Most schools and homes have elaborate dolls on display for all to see and to find creepy, in my opinion. Here is a picture of some dolls made of peanuts...much cuter! Today we ate special sweet bean rice to celebrate, except most of the first grader boys were choking around me.

let them eat cake 

I hate goodbyes...
The last class with san nen sei at Nosawa was today. I had the bright idea to write a speech to say to them at the end of the class. I asked the teacher to translate it into Japanese. Half way through the English version, out came the tears, and I knew I wouldn't be able to stop. Then I tried to read the Japanese that was written down on my paper. My eyes were blurry, and I could see the girls sniffling into their handkerchiefs. I read like a child who is on beginner books. I saw Yuta wipe away a tear too (I feel bad that I made a 15 year old boy cry). But, a super cake that Jeni helped me with brought us all back to smiles as we ate and took some happy photographs. We promised over squid ball soup that we would go and sing karaoke together a couple of days after graduation. Best get to revising my Avril Lavigne songs...