tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21004844887682999452024-03-13T01:57:06.124-07:00All of Life is a Foreign CountryThe adventures of Ari-sensei, Onomichi, Japan.alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-48821314336593442242010-04-27T23:53:00.000-07:002010-04-28T00:03:48.269-07:0093 Days and Counting<b>Things to do before I leave Japan</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>1) Try at least 5 more flavours of kitkat</div><div>2) Swim in the Pacific Ocean (again)</div><div>3) Have good chats on the seaside</div><div>4) Enjoy GK while it's still there (..and so am I!)</div><div>5) Ride the Shimanami Kaido (a 72 km bike path)</div><div>6) Go Camping</div><div>7) Take a road trip</div><div>8) Spend some much needed quality time with my onomichi family</div><div>9) Get Maiko done (dress up like a geisha and get photos done)</div><div>10) Make sure I'm taking my heart with me when I leave this wonderful city.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-85143586098426876932010-01-29T21:13:00.000-08:002010-01-29T21:17:45.268-08:00Hey! Look at me, I'm a teacher!!!<div style="text-align: center;">I don't have a lot of pictures of me teaching, but here's one that was taken at a small school of mine. My coworker just gave it to me the other day, so I thought I'd share it with you all! ENJOY!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJwIEfKLsqq200Q5Fv4-IohQuN9NSJeBe-h5NPTiAY-Gcp0zanQ_ROwcBZzq7rK6RJ0HH8-5H1ByhjeRVgbHiqR7tMBQqYeRoLugVh6JBLosXIYjpxAoplWyJxNV-UQ3vHj-LhW-SjETw/s1600-h/Teaching.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJwIEfKLsqq200Q5Fv4-IohQuN9NSJeBe-h5NPTiAY-Gcp0zanQ_ROwcBZzq7rK6RJ0HH8-5H1ByhjeRVgbHiqR7tMBQqYeRoLugVh6JBLosXIYjpxAoplWyJxNV-UQ3vHj-LhW-SjETw/s400/Teaching.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432397497164421026" /></a><br /><div><br /></div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-30745070851380330742010-01-27T02:38:00.000-08:002010-01-27T02:41:43.099-08:00Wow.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9se29zlQPUJ8R3AQs1pPs04KaR7erVZCpztm1iLVlvVd5sYRVM8ccMZ7VDOJv8ll0ToDjBza-s3PdmKJwLfzSIIEOdni9nHkYiYDD9Xo8HkL-cYdZcuQCVBXMdtAcpmvaltyjERw_hyphenhyphenBm/s1600-h/2676299065_c192aa5926.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9se29zlQPUJ8R3AQs1pPs04KaR7erVZCpztm1iLVlvVd5sYRVM8ccMZ7VDOJv8ll0ToDjBza-s3PdmKJwLfzSIIEOdni9nHkYiYDD9Xo8HkL-cYdZcuQCVBXMdtAcpmvaltyjERw_hyphenhyphenBm/s400/2676299065_c192aa5926.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431367942496244930" /></a><br />What was for lunch today, you ask?<div>Whale.</div><div>Am I kidding?</div><div>Unfortunately not.</div><div>Ergh.</div><div><br /></div><div>School lunch today was fried whale. My eyes almost popped out of my head when the kids told me what it was. Then my eyes closed when I put it in my mouth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Final report; tastes like chicken.</div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-7150693197211428682010-01-24T21:17:00.000-08:002010-01-24T21:22:32.222-08:00As this door closes.....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQI8L1L1PDvuhBQaS_0_GADkByVwrfXxSTegXn3nO6IxYMwTZUlyWlPteOg0JVDjTgj9cG5VK7q4AgjYXlNqZrtOiD-aeIfyt4_yx2T65XWL9-zQ0Uj9tjJEV6GP-0eOfuE6oXnPJexbq/s1600-h/NO.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQI8L1L1PDvuhBQaS_0_GADkByVwrfXxSTegXn3nO6IxYMwTZUlyWlPteOg0JVDjTgj9cG5VK7q4AgjYXlNqZrtOiD-aeIfyt4_yx2T65XWL9-zQ0Uj9tjJEV6GP-0eOfuE6oXnPJexbq/s400/NO.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430543438554427074" border="0" /></a><br />It`s official. I`m outta here. It was a no brainer decision since this past summer, and I thought I`d feel that way all the way through. Then I went home for Christmas. Although it was phenomenal to see my family and friends, I realized how much I`d miss Onomichi and my pseudo family here. I`m happy with my decision not to re-contract, I`m excited for what`s next...whatever that is. But it`s going to be awful to leave my Onomichi family behind. I look forward to seeing you all in September in the 514! Let`s grab a drink on a terrasse before the terrasse season closes. And then I`ll take a couple months to brace for my first full Canadian winter in 2 years! A bientot!alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-17008065354785536912009-12-07T02:54:00.000-08:002009-12-07T03:30:07.403-08:00Oh Japan!<div>Here is a short picture essay on why I love Japan:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen, when you buy a 2 liter BOX of Sake you get a scrunchie. This is not only funny because you get random prizes with the purchase of alcohol (I often get boxes of kleenex with my beer), but it also funny because in Japan scrunchies are still in style. Umm, the 80s called and they said you can keep 'em.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWsA4CdWqr5KFX2DM690cT6MBRPEzJ1P7O7J14uPOSe0OofBX2Sa3otiBbMivWZbhLP64QASdtbyT3bQ98UEFQba-Srn5Sg8fN1ae8YOKEA1argUkyhP6VN3aWBbwcCeQY79hDaaY-B_0/s1600-h/IMG_0120.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbWsA4CdWqr5KFX2DM690cT6MBRPEzJ1P7O7J14uPOSe0OofBX2Sa3otiBbMivWZbhLP64QASdtbyT3bQ98UEFQba-Srn5Sg8fN1ae8YOKEA1argUkyhP6VN3aWBbwcCeQY79hDaaY-B_0/s400/IMG_0120.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412446569747499650" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">I don't think they get the joke. These are small wafer like cookies filled with white cream...and they call them "collon cream"?!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclImv3S9PyVOUIl15JA4TLYbP-4xRHVCqRg_HZCT0hhFEnyAkI5TG_bPnmWQQmSx3UlXmOhzBSEXiI3ffQwAdFSZ_hFc55qZ6zfan4qloHHxz3-5jTTsP-W7dhhO95mA81mL3ZEf8o0Y2/s1600-h/IMG_0123.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjclImv3S9PyVOUIl15JA4TLYbP-4xRHVCqRg_HZCT0hhFEnyAkI5TG_bPnmWQQmSx3UlXmOhzBSEXiI3ffQwAdFSZ_hFc55qZ6zfan4qloHHxz3-5jTTsP-W7dhhO95mA81mL3ZEf8o0Y2/s400/IMG_0123.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412446563963084130" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">At the end of Autumn we get the most breathtaking sunsets everyday in my town. This was a quick snapshot I took with my mobile on the way home from work yesterday.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQ8pyfq9NL8537JNKqx3ULc51BsEAxbBbqSmfmx-0tocD5fDq6BgmUyBmutwR0RFFD-30uno5kKv793u7GZlzGiPzz9pLmQJdFOX7FbZk89QBWOe9ZPCgiHfQ2ZkwEWBRjSAE4PEOTrwp/s1600-h/IMG_0121.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGQ8pyfq9NL8537JNKqx3ULc51BsEAxbBbqSmfmx-0tocD5fDq6BgmUyBmutwR0RFFD-30uno5kKv793u7GZlzGiPzz9pLmQJdFOX7FbZk89QBWOe9ZPCgiHfQ2ZkwEWBRjSAE4PEOTrwp/s400/IMG_0121.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412446562969138066" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">This guy got on the train, sat down, then put his feet up, and minute by minute he got lower and lower until he reached his final (and clearly most comfortable) position. Nobody could write a book about the Japanese and their sleep, because it would be one sentence; Anywhere, anytime, any position.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThGUTNxtv04UHWDysavbFeBhikjEzwvpI4wz6VBgU2VPKfmyYZMJe3o2K4pnXE6ItCP1Xz1yWV5WIzlJ1mcUpMv1dxpTrYzlJ8ADN1q6yEIpC-v2A1vphe70yNGfB4wU99PuNrbh3MMbi/s1600-h/IMG_0125.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThGUTNxtv04UHWDysavbFeBhikjEzwvpI4wz6VBgU2VPKfmyYZMJe3o2K4pnXE6ItCP1Xz1yWV5WIzlJ1mcUpMv1dxpTrYzlJ8ADN1q6yEIpC-v2A1vphe70yNGfB4wU99PuNrbh3MMbi/s400/IMG_0125.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412446551976068082" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-41801589747473726462009-11-27T23:21:00.000-08:002009-11-27T23:41:40.094-08:00Capsule HotelHere's the video from the Capsule Hotel I stayed at in Osaka. A lot less claustrophobic than I thought it would be! I took the video really late at night, so that's why it's so quiet...haha!<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyzhyFRFYYsEyiABMDsUrKIOfn0OTgNPWcL6b87TnuU8xdqxD0nMWmSWeM72DtNUfyDUz1RiF4xEhG0day0OA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-45401651340918943702009-11-25T04:25:00.000-08:002009-11-25T04:28:04.025-08:00What do you want?<div>Yes, that's right, fruits are now verbs. Do YOU want to melon too?</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffX7uDap54rlivOPuU4ZxzoeRfZRTF0OXiYMEhys3MlEf1sY_Fe3Fq6tpbZ_6kT7AJRyWto4UnZZ8jvOlXO7PJgIusyZVL3VYGZMRw4llsLp-wGNAmHpodaENbq6d9Ktn6Q93RS5fzDIU/s1600/IMG_0116.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffX7uDap54rlivOPuU4ZxzoeRfZRTF0OXiYMEhys3MlEf1sY_Fe3Fq6tpbZ_6kT7AJRyWto4UnZZ8jvOlXO7PJgIusyZVL3VYGZMRw4llsLp-wGNAmHpodaENbq6d9Ktn6Q93RS5fzDIU/s400/IMG_0116.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408016623081764530" /></a>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-62303714278401521592009-11-10T01:11:00.000-08:002009-11-10T01:16:59.113-08:00Why I love Momoshima; the smallest island1. Everybody knows your name<div>2. Impromptu plays given by the entire kindergarden class (ie: 2 students!)</div><div>3. There's no convenience store or supermarket on the island so everyone must take a 45 minute ferry ride to do their groceries</div><div>4. It rained today and 2 elderly ladies offered to give me their umbrellas</div><div>5. PA systems for the entire island</div><div>6. Said PA system revealing that there was a wild boar spotting and that they should keep their children close (there are only 18 children on the island)</div><div>7. School events where the entire community shows up.</div><div>8. Walking to the ferry dock and being given persimmons, clementines and figs on a regular basis by passerbys</div><div>9. The ferry that services the island only runs about 6 times a day.</div><div>10. This small island breeds the most wonderful and caring children I've ever met.</div><div><br /></div><div>I heart Momoshima.</div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-22260218688809980462009-11-06T18:14:00.000-08:002009-11-06T18:18:24.740-08:00Ode to one of my coolest students<div>This is to give mad props to the student who says "Hey, baby!" every time he sees me.</div><div>He's in the 6th grade.</div><div>What a charmer.</div><div>If only I was 12 years younger.</div><div>....</div><div>........</div><div>............</div><div>Oh goodness, he was born in 1997.</div><div>Ok, now I have to go vomit.</div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-64203559765720216642009-11-04T23:55:00.001-08:002009-11-05T00:06:54.023-08:00The inner workings of my 3rd grade Jr. High school students.Today was a long day- I corrected about 200 short essays and taught 3 classes. Maybe I should feel overwhelmed but not with ESL students...correcting their work only makes me smile. The topic of the essay was "If I had enough time and money I would....". I'd say about 1/2 of the papers said they'd like to travel the world to see famous places, UNESCO sites or learn about different cultures. Then the majority of the other papers said that they'd like to see a major league baseball game, or go to different places in Japan.<div><br /></div><div>There were a couple special papers though; my favorite was this student who wrote that he wouldn't want to do anything if he had extra money or time because he thinks living a normal life is the best life. His reasoning was deduced from a TV show he watched about a man who had everything but still wasn't happy. So he said that he'd rather just eat breakfast and go to school like usual. I thought paper was really special. He was the only one who wrote on that subject.</div><div><br /></div><div>Only 2 students said they'd donate their money to people or countries who needed it more than them. One student argued that we rely on 3rd world countries for importing goods and that they should be able to rely on us for help too.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course my absolute favorite was the student who wrote that she'd like to go to canada to re-live my childhood. She said she'd go to my high school and live at my family home. Ummm...well I guess I could talk to my family for her. Haha.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was a student who said if he had lots of money he's fly. I didn't have the heart to tell him it's our evolution stopping us from flying and not money.</div><div><br /></div><div>A couple students said they'd pay a scientist to invent a time machine. One student said that he wanted a time machine so that he could go back to when he was born and relive his life. I'm going to be optimistic and hope that it's because he loves his life and wishes nothing more than to relive that joy.</div><div><br /></div><div>My favorite grammar mistake of the day; "I belong to the tennis team." Ummmm, well if they own you, your parents should really have a meeting with the school principal.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's a day in the life of Ari-sensei.</div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-11781045223276674322009-10-25T04:50:00.000-07:002009-10-25T05:14:22.583-07:00Being Takin' Cared in Business!This was so awesome that it deserves it's own post. Check it.<div>So I'm waiting at the airport in Tokyo to board the plane to London and I get called to the front desk. I wearily approach the desk and the ANA woman politely informs me that they have to change my seat. A small part of me gets furious because I had picked my seat online months ago, and I had a seat with plenty of leg room. As I begin to sassily ask her why, she hands me my new ticket and points out the block letters "BUSINESS CLASS". "I hope this is ok." She says to me with a smirk. I'm so speechless, the only thing I can do is nod my head and back away slowly, clutching my golden ticket to Charlie's factory. I line up with the common folk for economy, uncertain of where my perks come in. As I'm walking down the long narrow hall that leads to the plane, I'm trying to think of what is great about business class- more leg room? better food? only 2 seats to a row instead of 3? Then I board the plane and pass by the individual homes that 1st class gets, and go right pass business class seating thinking that it was way too luxurious for me. A flight attendant asks me for my ticket and she chuckles while re-directing me toward the front of the plane. My mouth literally dropped when I saw my seat. It looked like a large armchair. I had 3 window to myself and of course not to mention a partition which created my own little space which gave me the luxury of not fighting with my neighbour for armrest space. I sat down, my mouth still opened wide, as a flight attendant came my way to introduce herself and tell me that she was there for anything I needed. I nodded slowly, still incredibly speechless. I looked around---I was the youngest person in there by about 20 years. As I try to take everything in, my flight attendant (yes, MY) comes back with a glass of champagne, "Miss Cabelli, would you like some champagne?" well well "Yes, please." The perks did not stop there of course, I got a private menu with luxury items such as foie gras and veal on it, along with scallop pottage and 5 different kinds of fresh bread. My flight attendant told me to order what I wanted when I wanted. I turned the page of the menu to find about 40 different kinds of wine, sake and spritzers. My mouth dropped once more. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I sat back (literally, the chair reclined by remote control), popped up the tele to watch some movies and even put up the lazy boy foot rest. "This is the life" I thought to myself. Then, it happens, I see it, and there's no mistaking it...there's a button on my recliner control that says BED. Huh? I press it. And yes, the chair folds back down and under to lie straight. a BED. In an AIRPLANE. And it's MINE! I kept taking pictures of everything, the lady sitting next to me might have been Judy Dench, I dunno, but whoever she was she definitely thought I was either famous or crazy. My 12 hour flight from japan to england seemed to pass in minutes. I kept thinking to myself that they'd have to pry my butt out of my seat, that there was no way I was getting off voluntarily. But like all good things, it came to an end. I skipped off the plane without the usual dark circles under my eyes and crick in my neck, and rather had a bushy tail and a light glow.</div><div>THE END.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>NOT</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I get to London airport after 10 days of phenomenal fun in Ireland (detailed blog to follow soon), heading back to tokyo. As I approach the desk to check in, an ANA representative comes up to me asking me "How badly do you need to get to Tokyo today?", taken by surprise, I reply "Depends." She continues to explain to me that they've overbooked the flight and are looking for people to fly standby. If I fly standby, as a thank you, I can wait in their luxury lounge until the flight leaves. If I get on the plane, then I'll fly in my regular economy class, but if there's not enough space, they'll put me up in a hotel, pay for my transport to and from said hotel, pay for my 3 meals until the next flight AND I get to fly business class to tokyo. That's not all folks, I'd also get the equivalent to about 700 Canadian dollars. "Sign me up!". I hand over my luggage and head to the lounge. This lounge is no regular lounge, it's got the big comfy chairs, sure, but it also has a self-serve bar and snack bar. I'm in heaven. I sit around reading complimentary magazines waiting to hear if I get this sweet deal or get sent home packing in economy with the regular folk. Then a woman approaches me..."Ms. Cabelli, thank you for helping us out, however we have enough room for you to fly home today." Oh great, I guess my luck had to run out eventually...Then she hands me my flight ticket. And there it is, in unmistakable block letters BUSINESS CLASS. Someone is looking down on me from up high I think. I'm never removing the horseshoe up my butt. As I make my way to the gate, every ANA staff member who sees me, calls me by name and thanks me for my cooperation. It creeps me out, sure, but the japanese people around me now are convinced I'm famous. I get asked to give a few autographs and take a few pictures. I don't deny a thing. A girl's got to give her fans the attention they deserve.</div><div><br /></div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-55165153337286196782009-10-21T01:20:00.001-07:002009-10-21T01:22:00.307-07:00Leprechauns and Pots of GoldI'm back from Ireland and London! Promise to post stories soon, as soon as I get everything back in order around here. Tata for now! xoalexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-28995941692816331152009-10-07T23:50:00.000-07:002009-10-07T23:52:10.514-07:00Typhoon, or Sunshine?Sunshine. Nothing but sunshine and some wind this morning. Alls well in Onomichi. Tokyo on the otherhand didn`t do so well- but as you all know, I`m nowhere near Tokyo! It`s the last time I listen to all the hype about the Supah Tyfoon!alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-23396395352233897142009-10-07T05:48:00.000-07:002009-10-07T05:52:30.488-07:00Typhoon MelorSo there's a super typhoon headed our way. It looks like it was strongest while it was in the middle of the pacific ocean and shouldn't be too bad once it hits us. Hiroshima is well protected by mountains and the island of Shikoku, but I guess you never know. Apparently, there is a sweet spot in the inland sea, and if the typhoon hits it, it created a tunnel directly to us. Let's hope that doesn't happen. It was classified the highest level typhoon this afternoon, but it looks like it'll weaken soon. So far so good. I'll keep you updated.<img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 332px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ifxeh-QO2Hct22Ontg7o_blpzzPnMq9yHH_6N2VvsrjPIy91hI3yatpV4C8KdDXN5dUewbB0Xogyj2Bdk8_iXdaHfPBzJepEuiH2u76GxO0BW39ouEZ3-OhvUA9ZzHtYMXa9qnH1hrbn/s400/0918-00.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389839922673955762" /><span><span></span></span><div><br /></div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-72391075914710140552009-09-28T15:07:00.000-07:002009-09-29T00:57:17.610-07:00Toby, the legend<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">This is a short essay that one of my friend's students wrote, when they had to write about their heros. </div>.<img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386644033027649330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTbBnOwQnvNiqXrEvwELnVjIGeFDk4D6qwacdhUhcRRvAtG31Vc2w37WjBxt7DV8VBpawC4n-PpljnPGFIL6B-mp7b9TgTY28WX1sWNxVx601-GP-_c6Gbfgt5cbzesixdbt6GJ5n1hHT/s400/9934_10100107995488064_9356833_62560963_5538897_n.jpg" /><br /><br />It reads:<br />Today, I`d like to write about my hero. My hero is Mr. Toby. I have two reasons.<br />First, he was my ALT when I was junior high school student. At first, I didn`t like english. One day, he talked to me in English. I was very upset. Then He was kind to me. I could feel relieved very much. I became liked english little by little.<br />Second, I want to be a Japanese teacher for foreign children, because He is admired by me. He taught me the charm of english. I want to be like him!! He gave me a wonderful dream.<br />-----<br /><br />Oh, the power of teachers!alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-12654190847647412482009-09-28T03:45:00.000-07:002009-09-28T04:00:34.424-07:00Coffee Coffee Coffee, Koooohiiiiiii!I had a really busy day today. I was scheduled to be at one of my schools for 8:40am and it's a 45 minute drive from my office. I got there just in time, and my vice-principal asked if I fancied some coffee. Of course, those of you who know me well, this is not an offer I can refuse. She notices that the pot is empty and politely asks me to wait a couple minutes while she brews a new pot. At this point my eyes are heavy and in dire need of caffeine and my mouth is salivating at the thought of fresh coffee. Just as she pours me a cup, one of my students comes to get me; class has begun. My vice-principal looks mildly disappointed, but says the coffee will be waiting for me upon my return in 50 minutes. Class passes by and my body is in more and more need of that cup of coffee sitting on my desk. The bell rings and I skip my way to the teacher's room, when one of my first grade students stops me in the hall and asks me to play with her outside. This too is not an offer I could easily refuse as she looks upon me with puppy dog eyes. We change our shoes and go outside for a good 15 minute recess. The bell goes. Oh, good, I think to myself, I have 5 minutes before class starts to drink my cup of coffee. As I step into the teacher's room, I notice that the cup of tepid coffee has disappeared. My vice-principal clearly felt my disappointment and told me that it got too cold and that she's making me a fresh pot. Oh no!! I don't have enough time before my class begins! Of course it's plain torture listening to the percolating sounds of the coffee machine as I watch the time tick by. My students come to get me for the next class and I exit the room making yearning eyes at the coffee pot. Class finishes and I manage not to fall asleep on one of the students in the first row. Of course, now I have to rush over to the Junior High school across the street for 2 lessons before coming back to the elementary to do a fifth. I enter the teacher's lounge to get my bag and there lies on my desk a steaming cup of coffee. I politely tell the vice-principal that I must rush off to teach at the JHS, but I'd love to drink the coffee, hot or cold, once I get back in a couple hours. I trot on over to the JHS and much like at the elementary the principal and I do the coffee tango for a couple hours, before I h<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsrRlhOXrALQjJMbs0ta4ecm8n3SrjRVkL4G1qkIknb__TKuRUNOt9tQJM0N3B9Y3j12Ro6SVlHZPKc8Rg1U6LrVxjmv8q1lRMLKkMLqV_lsaQ8Mrpd8h8zs7OMLXb8uKPb4suKj9uV80g/s320/IMG_0095.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386471341407990354" />ave to go back to the elementary school for lunch, coffee-less. I make my way back to the elementary and am quickly escorted to the 6th graders room where my lunch awaits me. I swallow my lunch quickly in hopes of the coffee I believe will be sitting on my desk downstairs. Of course.....as SOON as I finish my lunch, my students whisk me outside to play. I'm about 30 minutes past exhaustion and I'm pretty sure I had a nap while I was eating my rice at lunch. The bell goes and before I can even think about the delicious taste of coffee, a 2nd grader takes my hand and leads me to her classroom and asks me to help them clean. Then, naturally the bell goes and it's time for 5th period. It's now 2pm and I've been drooling at the thought of coffee since 8:30 that morning. Class finishes at 2:45 and I mope my way downstairs. My spirits are lifted when I see a fresh cup of coffee on my desk.<div>Never has coffee tasted so good and so well deserved. </div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-54946357206130693802009-09-26T20:13:00.000-07:002009-09-26T20:39:05.007-07:00Shilba WeekuThis year a couple public holidays fell one right after the other, so it was dubbed "Silver Week" in Japan. A 5 day holiday! So me, Tom, Chris and Dave took to the street of Japan and went on a sightseeing adventure. For 2 days we visited Nara, the original capital city of Japan eons ago. The city itself was pretty drab but there was a beautiful park in the middle of the city. Nara Park was home to over 1200 deer, one of which decided that Chris' pamphlet would be an excellent lunch. By far the best thing about Nara was Todaiji, which is the world's largest wooden structure, but it also has the world's largest Buddha inside. It was really awesome and really really BIG! We went to a couple other temples in Nara, we also saw Japan's second tallest Pagoda (only 2nd by a few inches). Overall, Nara was good, but a one time visit is enough. We couldn't find a hotel or hostel in Nara so we decided to stay overnight in Osaka, which was only about 1 hour by train away. We stayed in a CAPSULE HOTEL! This was my first experience in one! I figured we were going to be shoved into a coffin sized room, but it was actually pretty roomy. It was definitely long enough for me to stretch out in and high enough for me to sit up. It was fully equipped with a TV, radio and alarm. Of course, not to forget a couple mini shelves and a light. When you stay at a capsule hotel you keep all your stuff in a locker and change in the locker room. They have Japanese style showers and bath (communal) along with a sauna. The girl's shower room was pretty gross, there was just hair everywhere (no doubt most of it could have been mine), but that's always something that creeps me out about public showers. It was a really awesome experience and I'll definitely go back. It was really convenient to stay in Osaka, which gave us the flexibility of going out at night and eating some good international food! <div><br /></div><div>After two nights in Osaka (2 days in Nara), we went to Koyasan. Koyasan is the Machu Picchu of Japan. Koyasan was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. It's a small town in the middle of the Koya mountain range, it's absolutely breathtaking! There are about 120 temples in the small town, some of which you can spend the night at. This is exactly what we did. The monks are incredibly kind and to my surprise some of which spoke perfect english. We visited the Okonuin Cemetary, which is one (if not the) most important Buddhist cemeteries. It's in a cedar forest, surrounded by cedar trees in their hundreds. At first we went during the day, and walked all the way to the big temple at the end. We then went back at night to see it creepily lit up by lanterns. It's a serene place, that is both incredibly sad and humbling as well as powerful and full of solemn energy. The temple stay was great, we had dinner and breakfast in our rooms, both meals we had to laugh our way through trying to swallow the food...it was quite....interesting. We tried to bargain with each other, trading one gross thing for another. We woke up at the crack of dawn to watch their morning ceremony, which was also very calming and peaceful. It lasted about 2 hours and I didn't understand a thing, but the soothing chants and smell of incense was strangely comforting.</div><div><br /></div><div>From Koyasan we tried to make our way to Ise-shi. Ise is the sun goddess of Japan, otherwise known as Ameterasu (Yay, Religious Studies Degree!!!). The shrine is a common pilgrimage site for all japanese people. The shrine itself is in a forest, behind a wooden fence. So yes, you can't actually see the shrine. Inside one of the 3 jewels of japan lay dormant, the emperor's mirror. Only the emperor is allowed to go inside the shrine, as he is considered a direct descendant of the goddess Ameterasu. I was extremely pleased by the whole experience, but Chris and Tom weren't so much...They both had expected to be able to see the shrine and go inside...Considering that it took us a good 4 hours from Koyasan to get there, for them it was pretty dissapointing, but I loved it!!</div><div><br /></div><div>We decided to head back to Onomichi that night (tuesday) so that we could get a good night's sleep in our own beds and have a full day of holiday on Wednesday before returning to work. Overall, it was a great, educational, vacation. Next stop: London and Dublin! In only 11 days!!!</div>alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-10853713035998511532009-09-26T19:54:00.000-07:002009-09-26T19:56:52.186-07:00I'm done donating to Apple.incSo my fancy apple webpage is coming up for renewal in November, but I've decided to keep the money and start working again with this blog. I'll post my photos on flickr and videos on youtube (same as before) but hopefully since I can access my blog from any computer, I'll be more efficient at keeping it up! Here's hoping!alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-7776317836993275682008-09-18T03:05:00.000-07:002008-09-18T03:08:01.201-07:00On to bigger and better things...Hey everyone!<br /><br />I recently got a .mac account which allows me to easily post my pictures and blog stuff all on one page, so please enjoy all your alie adventures from that site from now on!<br /><br />http://web.mac.com/aliecabelli<br /><br />Yay!<br /><br />Thanks everybody!<br /><br />love,<br />alie<br />xooxalexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-71524417192807193802008-09-13T05:31:00.000-07:002008-09-13T06:10:34.102-07:00Life as a TeacherI started teaching last week and so far it's been phenomenal! I have a total of 7 schools to visit, all of which, except 2 are on near by islands.<br /><br />My first day of school was extremely <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">nerve wracking</span>. I was so nervous about everything. I didn't know how the kids or the teachers would react to me...or if I would mess up...or if I would just appear completely clueless. So I drove to my first school, of course arriving about 45 minutes before I was supposed to show up. Clearly due to a nervous sleep the night before and the utter panic that I would be late. The school I went to is called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Takami</span> Elementary, it's on an island called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Mukaishima</span>. To get there I picked up a car at the Board of Education (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">BOE</span>) and took the bridge across. It takes about 20 minutes from the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">BOE</span>, but it takes me about 10 minutes to get to the board. Anyways, I pull up to the school and park near the front, take a deep breath, gather my stuff and step out of the car. My heart is racing and the only thing going through my mind is that I want to jump right back into the car and race back to Canada. Regardless of my anxiety, I step out and to my surprise about 30 six year <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">olds</span> run to the windows, and frantically start waving and screaming and yelling "Alexandra-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">sensei</span>, Alexandra-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">sensei</span>!!". <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Pewf</span>. My blood pressure resumed to it's normal level and all of a sudden I felt oxygen enter into my bloodstream once again. I notice a big smile come across my face, almost spontaneously. I wave back and yell "Hello! Hello!". I continue to the front door and realize that my breathing is becoming heavier and that my nerves are becoming unsettled again. But as I stepped through the front doors of this tiny elementary school, there's a huge sign that some of the kids made, that reads "<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Welcome</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Takami</span> Elementary School Alexandra, we are very excited to have you." I could help it, but it did make me well up a little. I just felt so relieved. So taken care of. So <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">un-frightened</span> in such a frightening situation. The kids at that school were amazing and they all insisted on having their picture taken with me. A great school to go to on a first day.<br /><br />The next 3 days I spent at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Mukaishima</span> Elementary School, which is also on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Mukaishima</span> Island. It takes me about 20 minutes to get there. First I bike to the train station and from there I take a ferry, with my bike, to the island, then I bike to the school. I usually get there a bit early, to sort through my things and put in a bit of face time. My best classes have been the grade 5 students who are singing a Sister Act song for a music show that their school is having. Picture 60 10-11 year old kids, singing Sister Act gospel songs...with Japanese English. It's adorable. Since I don't really get to see them that much I made sure to tell the teacher that if they need more help with the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">pronunciation</span> of the words or help with the rhythm to call me up and I'll come to the school. I'm really excited to go to their music show and watch them sing. I'll be sure to record some of it and post it for you all! I also have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Mukaishima</span> Junior high, but I haven't been there yet.<br /><br />The only other schools I've been to were <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Momoshima</span> Elementary and Junior High. They are on this remote island called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Momoshima</span> and I have to take a 45 minute ferry ride from the train station to get there. I didn't have the chance to visit these schools before I started (which is what I did with most of my other schools) so I had no idea where I was even going. So my supervisor called the school to make sure that someone would be taking the ferry with me to bring me to the school. So I show up at the ferry terminal with my stuff and within 5 minutes of waiting there are 5 teachers who have come to meet and greet me. But of course...none of them speak <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">english</span>. So we all fumble through the little bit of communication we can get to and then the awkward silence falls through. Only to be disturbed by the ferry docking in. The ferry, this huge ferry, bumps the dock and shakes it. Of course my first reaction is to squeal and reach for the first grounded object, which to my surprise was an old man. Everyone looks at me and then starts to laugh. Then the old man whom I'm still grasped onto says to me in Japanese; "First time? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Haha</span>". Yeah...first time. Anyways, we board this huge ferry and go to the second deck where there's an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">air conditioned</span> room. We sit there, me trying to focus not to throw up from seasickness and 5 teachers staring at me. At one of the stops my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">english</span> teaching partner comes on board and all the teachers give a big sigh of relief and push her to sit near me and say to her "We don't know much <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">english</span>, and she doesn't look healthy." Of course, I must have been a bright color green by then. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Rie</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">sensei</span>, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">english</span> teacher, asks me if I'm alright and I respond that I don't do well at sea. She nods her head and says "relax". We dock at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Momoshima</span> island a good 45 minutes after departure and I'm happy to have hit solid ground. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Rie</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">sensei</span> walks with me to the school and gives me a town tour at the same time. There are only 900 people who live on the island. It's small! Very rural! Or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">inaka</span>, as they say in Japan. She points out a huge building on a hill and says that was the old junior high, but it didn't make sense to have to few students in such a big school, so everyone is in the elementary school building. So there's just this huge empty building on the island. Probably the biggest thing on the island. Empty. Strange. Anyways, we get to the school and she points out some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">shrub-ish</span> looking trees at the front of the building that are actually Tangerine Trees. Cool! The school itself was actually pretty big. I'd say the size of a regular elementary school. Except that there are about 11 kids in the entire thing....including the junior high students!!! It's nuts. We enter the staff room and there are about 25 staff members to this tiny school. Yup, that's right, more then twice the amount of staff members to students! On Friday, when I went there again, I taught a class of 1 student. 1! But usually my classes are bigger than that...at least 3 kids!! It's very strange difference to teach to such a small class. Especially when there's me, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Rie</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">sensei</span> (the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">english</span> teacher), plus the homeroom teacher. That's right 3 teachers to 1 student. It's going to take some getting used to. But what I like about that school is that I get a lot of leeway in the classes and pretty much get to make my own lesson plan, which is really good experience.<br /><br />So I still have Harada Elementary and Junior to go to. It's my furthest school at 1 hour drive north. That school combined has only 24 kids. What a big school! Haha. I also have Miyuki Elementary School, which is a 30 minute drive to Mukaishima Island. Oh, and Mukaishima Junior high.<br /><br />But after only 2 weeks of doing this, I definitely feel like I've gotten the hang of it. The students are really interested in me. Maybe because most of them have never seen a white girl with green eyes and curly hair before. In my short time I have learnt one golden rule though; Rock paper scissors is the law with these kids.alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-67471364603547099042008-08-31T22:25:00.000-07:002008-08-31T22:42:10.411-07:00My Japanese FamilySo it's been just over a month already since I've been in the land of the rising sun and our little family here has just been adopted by a local Japanese couple. Apparently (or so the legend goes) this couple became friends with a foreigner who was on the JET program about 10+ years ago and since then loves all foreigners. We were invited over for dinner on a Tuesday night. Our Sempai (Toby) warned us that we will never experience the sensation of being so full like we will after that dinner.<br /><br />So we met up with Koji and followed him up a windy road to their house. Inside Yaeko had cooked up a storm. With no exaggeration necessary, there were about 7 dishes to eat. Just after I finished eating, I thought I<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sp0Q3p1cqeDuqkKAkfQ2L2kn1hFCZLIATLueWw2-_R0-VfyWOXnI3LFneyR6dsRFDUQ81zU3z8_bj4LlELv4kEVbF6TgZVPe6Cy61lI7i9K-gAcVZuK0ZYiC4PYWybuq_WOP_J3Jw_wt/s1600-h/Japanese+family.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2sp0Q3p1cqeDuqkKAkfQ2L2kn1hFCZLIATLueWw2-_R0-VfyWOXnI3LFneyR6dsRFDUQ81zU3z8_bj4LlELv4kEVbF6TgZVPe6Cy61lI7i9K-gAcVZuK0ZYiC4PYWybuq_WOP_J3Jw_wt/s320/Japanese+family.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240923911609348370" border="0" /></a> had escaped the overfull sensation. Wrong. Up comes Koji with a huge plate of Yakisoba and the biggest bottle of Shochu (Whiskey like alcohol). I was then served a plate of yakisoba but was able to escape the Shochu. Then came out some more chicken...where that came from...I have no idea.<br /><br />I was full. Beyond full. Over full.<br /><br />Not over yet.<br /><br />Dessert. There were blueberry cakes, carrot cakes, Marie-Antoinette cake, 2 kinds of tart, pear, apples, figs.....the list goes on.<br /><br />Now I was so full that I'm pretty sure had I eaten any more I would have hurled.<br /><br />Given this experience I've met a lovely Japanese couple who've opened their homes to us. Yaeko is a chef, with her own cooking school and cooking show on local radio once a week. She specializes in cakes. Through our conversations, she's given me her recipe to pear and rose alcohol, shown me her wedding pictures and assured me that I'll be well taken care of here in Japan.<br /><br />Kampai!alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-81044377625548782952008-08-26T18:38:00.000-07:002008-08-26T19:07:07.260-07:00Saijo and Bunny IslandSo I just came back from a week 'language training camp' in Saijo. Saijo is about 45 minutes from Onomichi and another 45 minutes away from Hiroshima City, it's also sometimes referred to as Higashi-Hiroshima. We were staying at this facility called Hiroshima International Center, honestly it felt more like I was in rehab than a language camp. It had a rec room with darts, pool tables and DVDs to watch, it also had a gymnasium where you could play basketball, soccer, ping pong and volleyball. There was a cafeteria where lunch and dinner were the equivalent to about 6$, but of course most of the time the food was repulsive. The actual language training wasn't too bad, but it focused mostly on vocabulary and situational instances. I much rather preferred they focus on grammar. Vocabulary is easier to learn on your own, whereas grammar needs to be taught in order to be fully understood. That aside, I did learn a little and now I have some great vocabulary lists I can study. In the evenings sometimes I stayed in and took advantage of their DVD selection, but after 3 nights I just needed to get out! So one night we took this free bus to a corner somewhere, got off and walked off to a mall. We walked about, some friends of mine needed western style sheets, so we found them there. For dinner we decided to try and find an Izakaya, which is a japanese style pub. Usually they have dishes for about 3-5$ and you order a bunch for the entire table. It ended up being delicious and really not too expensive. The following night we went down into the 'city' again and we found this great conveyor belt sushi place. I know I know....I hated sushi in Montreal. Every time I ate it, I felt sick or repulsed. But...when in Japan, do as the Japanese do. That motto of course led me to eating some wonderful sushi! I started off safe and ate some cooked tuna sushi, but from there I had some salmon sashimi sushi, tempura shrimp sushi which inevitably led me to the mother load of sushi.....Eel. Wow. It was all so amazing and cost under 10$. So, yes this is my official statement, I love sushi (disclosure: in Japan).<br /><br />So I guess in the end Saijo was a success. I'm now a sushi convert.<br /><br />I got back from Saijo on Friday and on Saturday morning I was picked up by a Japanese friend, Kyo, who organized a big camping trip. It's this island called Okunojima, but basically it's a poisonous gas, rabbit island. The island used to have a poisonous gas facility during WWII. After the facility closed down, the rabbits who used to be test subjects were set free. Of course the rabbits now own the island and are everywhere! They're really adorable and for the most part are curious enough to come right up to you. I'm not sure if they're that curious about everyone or just us foreigners (like everyone else....) but either way they were absolutely lovely. The island also had a beautiful beach, which I spent a couple hours relaxing in. The water was really salty, which made floating second nature. At night we had a humongous BBQ and cooked probably the equivalent to an entire farm. We were about 20 people, so the amount of food was quite appropriate. Someone also brought a bunch of fireworks, so we had a little show with those. But one of the most awesome things that there was, were a kind of plankton that light up when agitated. So we spent some time throwing rocks into the ocean, but only a few would glow. I saw a few Jellyfish glow, which made me a bit weary of getting into the water, but they were pretty far from the beach area. So eventually we took the walk to the beach and saw a whole bunch of the plankton light up. I only went in half way, since I didn't have my bathing suit on, but it was pretty cool.<br /><br />Overall, It was a pretty good week. Now back at the office, trying my best not to procrastinate too much on working on my self-introduction for my classes. I start teaching the 4th of September! Can't wait!alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-13080505398519019682008-08-25T16:33:00.000-07:002008-08-25T16:34:50.643-07:00Hollah!Can I get a holllllah?<br /><br />Weather is finally down a little. I ride to the office in 28 degree weather instead of high 30s! And the real kicker is that this morning, like right now, it's 21 degrees! Holllllah!alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-59236765464148395252008-08-25T00:08:00.000-07:002008-08-25T00:10:30.207-07:00Pictures!I've created a Flickr account to post all my pictures. It's easier to load than by email, facebook or via my blog, so please keep an eye on it! I've posted a link to it on the right hand side of my blog! Happy viewings!<br /><br />More to come about my trip to Saijo and Bunny Island soon!alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2100484488768299945.post-87824938959310221102008-08-14T17:50:00.000-07:002008-08-14T20:44:40.979-07:00A Couple of FirstsSo I've been in Onomichi for just over 2 weeks so far and have been crazy busy! At work there isn't too much to do, so besides writing emails, facebooking and seeing how many times I can spin around in my chair without throwing up, I've been studying Japanese. This streak of boredom should come to some kind of stop once school starts. I'll be in a different school everyday, circulating between 7 schools, 4 elementary and 3 junior high. In contrast to my 'busy busy' work days, I've been doing tons of stuff on weekends and after work. Mostly on weekdays we go for dinner and maybe a drink or buy some bentos (usually really tasty premade meals) and sit on the large patch of grass in front of the waterfront, we call the Grassy Knoll (or GK for short). Sometimes we go run some errands at the shops near by, like the Japanese version of Home Depot which is called UFO.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb339Ig6PMTV3un5poMOyIVs8fxE0wO0f4Kxa0_I6ICe9Yxbh5QfbUKvK0AXUvPjHmEhMW1ndOKL147wK3b3Vpshl1I0Ex4W9aGCoKAUl4cyUHjR-a2zieJO07vdqEcoVrDtCmCm-m7uJ/s1600-h/japan+watermelons.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb339Ig6PMTV3un5poMOyIVs8fxE0wO0f4Kxa0_I6ICe9Yxbh5QfbUKvK0AXUvPjHmEhMW1ndOKL147wK3b3Vpshl1I0Ex4W9aGCoKAUl4cyUHjR-a2zieJO07vdqEcoVrDtCmCm-m7uJ/s320/japan+watermelons.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234542090048385874" border="0" /></a><br />Grocery shopping has proven to be extremely expensive. Carrots are about 1$ each and watermelon can go up to 30$....Oh how I miss cheap fruits and veggies! For the most part though, fruits look like they are steroids and apples are the size of a baby's head.<br /><br /><br />On weekends so far we've gone to walk around Fukuyama, which is a big city only 15 minutes by train away. When we were <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpT8jF69ukfFzKwJr6-J3cGiWKasjx6i5QQdWsg8rOxkxZichRAAOywYvkCuWqdTMwHOsb1-sXCc5hNEyMtDJpGtfFnZ5HK3uPyNcAxIz_T71z6K-IpsecuAQJL9NSy2ev70knBeVfvWzf/s1600-h/IMG_0594.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpT8jF69ukfFzKwJr6-J3cGiWKasjx6i5QQdWsg8rOxkxZichRAAOywYvkCuWqdTMwHOsb1-sXCc5hNEyMtDJpGtfFnZ5HK3uPyNcAxIz_T71z6K-IpsecuAQJL9NSy2ev70knBeVfvWzf/s320/IMG_0594.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234573312731322690" border="0" /></a>there this past weekend, we decided to go to the Castle near by. It's huge! As the pamphlet explains, it was built in 3 years and is 6 stories tall, but it was destroyed in 'a' war. Ha! I think we all know what war that is! They've since restored/rebuilt it to look like the original and have converted the inside to a museum. It only costs 200 Yen (1.90$ Canadian) to go in. It was so hot in there though! Unbearable. The downside was that all the explanations were in Japanese so none of us knew what we were looking at. So we wandered up the 6 flights, sweating like dirty gaijin. The top was beautiful though. Looking out on the city was gorgeous. Or maybe I was just happy to have a breeze cool my sweat glands....<br /><br />That weekend we also went to this Dance Festival in Mihara, which is only a 10 minute train ride away. It was loads of fun and really high energy. I'm also really<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMC3dlaMFbHB2pooDcEmG0RhGybDPEAC7_FMG1QfxOZJC4vS4kflz5reJS-L98qPxqwickpd1O7Wp7XWmfyK2JVZsZRibnwCklAutfFSfzghOCsoR6oMfm5lHbZ50trpsmYF8w6kkyXlA2/s1600-h/IMG_0523.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMC3dlaMFbHB2pooDcEmG0RhGybDPEAC7_FMG1QfxOZJC4vS4kflz5reJS-L98qPxqwickpd1O7Wp7XWmfyK2JVZsZRibnwCklAutfFSfzghOCsoR6oMfm5lHbZ50trpsmYF8w6kkyXlA2/s320/IMG_0523.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234572770565841250" border="0" /></a> looking forward to the pirate festival in Innoshima at the end of the month! Here are a couple pictures I took of the festival .<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8wc7wO5cyH9hS97KovjRtrnOF1Iu_ssG-Mq9DxRW7h0aAKOoxReyjKtMobNhyhyphenhyphenJxkKQ_GKPVh2FVgvseUztLbhRNuL-gvBc3K8Sw86jspoYA9x_Cs_5CmWMszKdL889zoQoGI9BUNOP/s1600-h/IMG_0467.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8wc7wO5cyH9hS97KovjRtrnOF1Iu_ssG-Mq9DxRW7h0aAKOoxReyjKtMobNhyhyphenhyphenJxkKQ_GKPVh2FVgvseUztLbhRNuL-gvBc3K8Sw86jspoYA9x_Cs_5CmWMszKdL889zoQoGI9BUNOP/s320/IMG_0467.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234571904073498146" border="0" /></a><br /><br />These past couple days were a blast as well. We were paid to go to this conference in Hiroshima City. Ohh! I fell in love with the city! It's just so beautiful and charming. It was really easy to navigate around the city, especially compared to Tokyo and considering the fact that the entire city was rebuilt after WWII, it has amazing charm and heritage. Of course we went to the Peace Park, the A-bomb Dome Memorial and the Peace Museum all of which were incredibly powerful and daunting. The entire experience is difficult to describe in words so I'll just post a few photos.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnB2HEKUc5GQ_FH-EWbKTeSh016tyJ88zaFototUPJooIS_qFzpFt5gr3AiQVMUUIdXpryh7960OkIDWH_ifCuer9r-dSncU-p11bYfWaAvxeZpFwyM45abcoSHIUiSPvOS4RFc8duKmnj/s1600-h/IMG_0625.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnB2HEKUc5GQ_FH-EWbKTeSh016tyJ88zaFototUPJooIS_qFzpFt5gr3AiQVMUUIdXpryh7960OkIDWH_ifCuer9r-dSncU-p11bYfWaAvxeZpFwyM45abcoSHIUiSPvOS4RFc8duKmnj/s320/IMG_0625.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234574607896706402" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwnlX6fXMK89QpxU3-kH1kBXeY6PkvNZwAKIu7PRZ5MRFidTPL8Hl6wN1EuUFjWp7KzunOKVuG2_fWt1giUJXbV5aFpGIRNMhTCXMExlCDVGaEsF0KQcQeG17m167dYnofhqEuepaQUC8/s1600-h/IMG_0672.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwnlX6fXMK89QpxU3-kH1kBXeY6PkvNZwAKIu7PRZ5MRFidTPL8Hl6wN1EuUFjWp7KzunOKVuG2_fWt1giUJXbV5aFpGIRNMhTCXMExlCDVGaEsF0KQcQeG17m167dYnofhqEuepaQUC8/s320/IMG_0672.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234574974552201026" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />These are paper cranes. After the A-Bomb attack, there was a little girl who was only 2 years old at the time who thought that if she hand-folded a thousand paper cranes, which are a national symbol of health and peace for Japan, that she would get better. Unfortunately her cancer won the battle, but now 1000 hand made paper cranes are the ultimate symbol of peace and health. Hence, they are scattered all over shrines in Hiroshima City especially.alexandrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09728803833129618107noreply@blogger.com0