Winter is coming!

Hello everyone!  As usual I have not been updating.  Sorry about that!  But here is what I’ve been up to lately!

Fall is finally over!  Though I love the season, and it was especially long this year, it is always the busiest time of the year for me.  I work a lot of overtime to help my students with their speech contest practice, as well as one on one lessons for English proficiency testing.  I get a kick out of it though!  It is nice to work closely with a few individuals for a change.  I get to know their personalities better, and build a decent repertoire with them.

On top of that I have a bunch of other work that I have taken on; so much so that my free evenings have decreased dramatically.  But they are good opportunities for me and challenge me to expand my teaching experience.

These past three months have been long, but they went by fast!  Brett has been staying with me for the majority of autumn.  Unfortunately he will go back to Chicago soon, but we’ve been enjoying each other’s company, and even went on a few adventures.  Back in September him and Jeff both arrived in Japan.  Jeff was only able to stay for two weeks.  I took them to parts of Kyushu that they have never seen… some of my favorite places.  I feel that this time they got to experience a different aspect of Japan.  It wasn’t the cities or historical places that we went to, but the mountains, volcanoes, highlands and rivers that we saw.  I hope I can show everyone these places someday.

I haven’t taken any serious pictures lately, but I really do need to catch up on all my previous captures!  I’ll do my best to work on them after the holidays are over. 

Speaking of the holidays, I will be going up to Fukushima again this Christmas to visit Reiko’s family.  On the way we plan to stop at Universal Studios in Osaka, and spend a few nights in Tokyo for some Christmas festivities.  Once we get to Reiko’s hometown, we will stay at her parent’s vacation home not too far away.  It is near a mountain called Bandai that has a few decent ski resorts.  So I will definitely get my fill of snowboarding in this season!

I will bring my nice camera with me!  So keep a look out for pictures in the near future.  Winter in Fukushima is very beautiful with plenty of snowy mountains and forests.  The only thing I wish I had was a go-pro!  That’s what I want for Christmas!  Who wants to get one for me?  It’s only like… 400 dollars. :P

I wish I could spend the holidays with you all, but life is long, and I will surely have many years to share your company.  Until then, I love and miss you all! 

Merry Christmas,

Jonathan

Long Time No Blog!

Over three years have past since my last entry.  I'd like to give this another shot.  I think I have been going about this all wrong.  I feel that I must convey all my experiences, and when I fall behind, the daunting task of trying to catch up just keeps growing and growing.  So, in order to make myself somewhat relevant in the lives of my distant friends and family, however little it may be, I'd like to try to share my experiences once again.  I hope you all find this and enjoy what little I have to contribute to our relationship.

Going into detail will be nearly impossible.  So let's just look at some of the things I have done and seen since I have been in Japan.  Here it goes (in no particular order). 

I have...

...become the English teacher of over 800 amazing children that I care for deeply

...met hundreds of friends who have both come and gone, but some of which who are still around

...increased my Japanese language ability 100 fold and can communicate naturally, though I still am not where I want to be yet (gotta keep studying!)

...wore an incredibly embarrassing mawashi (over sized diaper) and competed in my local sumo tournament

...worked one on one w/ many students to prep them for important exams, speeches and interviews

...joined my schools' sports tournaments and realized how much energy kids have and how out of shape I am

...almost died multiple times playing games during recess with cute but relentless children

...been teaching about 23 classes per week, the majority of which I plan in their entirety

...raced a Chinese dragon boat up and down a river leaving blisters on my hands that lasted weeks

...traveled to Bali, Indonesia and hiked, surfed, ate good food, was attacked by monkeys, and attended the craziest new year’s party I've ever seen

...volunteered to be District Representative, helping newcomers and organizing events in my area

...spent many nights out on the town meeting complete strangers and drinking like best friends

...become a decent snowboarder, eventually tackling difficult back-country terrain in the mountains of Hokkaido

...traveled all over Japan, from the southernmost prefecture's ancient forested island to the northernmost prefecture's snowy peaks and beautiful lakes

...saw on that ancient forested island (known for being the inspiration to Miyazaki's Mononoke Hime) thousands of cedar trees dating back thousands of years with the oldest tree in Japan, the Jomon Sugi, being at least 7,000 years old

...after exploring the forests we visited waterfalls with perfectly clear pools and decided to dive in, though no one else was doing so :)

...taken a road trip from my town all the way to Tokyo with no plan other than to have fun

...driven all over Kyushu, visiting massive volcanoes and one of the world's largest calderas, encompassing an entire city, bathing in the most beautiful hot springs Japan has to offer, and witnessing vast terrain that I could not imagine even if I tried

...experienced the unique Japanese spring four times over, as the country's national tree (sakura) bursts into colors of pink and white, decorating parks and temples with beautiful scenery

...ate small live fish (not proud of)

...been to some of the best restaurants in the world, with foods only available in their local regions

...jumped off 50 foot waterfalls into deep pools of fresh water atop mountains in Nagasaki

...traveled to Vietnam, cruised one of the new wonders of the world, Halong bay, explored the lively city of Hanoi, then made my way south to Saigon and stayed at a beautiful resort, enjoying our own villa with a private swimming pool, and feasting at beach-side barbecues

...been on television three times, and featured in the newspaper even more

...hosted English cooking lessons where I taught kids how to make foods they don't often have a chance to eat, such as tacos, good hamburgers etc…

...road tripped to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands, where I camped every night in various mountainous regions

...met an old lady in those mountains that makes life sized dolls out of hay and displays them all over her town (easily one of the creepiest places I have ever been, but the woman is super nice)

...visited a zoo in the mountains of Oita where I was able to hold a baby lion

And I am sure there is so much I am missing but if I continue I will never end up posting this, and you will probably get bored of reading it (if you haven't already).  If you want to know more about any of these things in particular, please comment and I will dedicate a post to it!

This is over the span of four years, so there is plenty of time that I am not doing anything, and just living life day to day.  I am not sure how much time I have left here in Japan, but there is still so much that I want to do, and I hope I can keep this up to keep you all informed.  Oh and of course I will post my pictures and videos too!

PLEASE REPLY SO I KNOW YOU ARE READING!  AND SEND ME A FOLLOW UP MESSAGE TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN UP TO AS WELL!!!

Miss you all!

Soigi,

JonnyB

They came, they saw, they conquered!

Jeff and Matt; having been on such a high while they were here, I am crashing hard. It’s hard to say goodbye again after finally getting to hang with my peeps from back home. Luckily I can push that out of my mind by focusing on my kids. They have a knack for cheering me up. I love them.

Jeff and Matt arrived on Friday, April 29^th and were here until Sunday, May 8^th. We did a lot! We moved around to different environments throughout the trip, so there was a good balance of everything. First, I met them in Tokyo/Chiba and we mainly partied there. We showed Matt some of the main places in Tokyo. He got a kick out of Shibuya 109, the fashion district. We also did a ton of Karaoke which was amazing as usual. I think Matt really enjoyed it. Then on Monday we headed down to Saga Prefecture, where I live.

When we arrived in Takeo City I showed them my place and then we went out for a night on the town. I was excited to bring them to all the amazing restaurants and bars that I have discovered by now. I am pretty sure they agreed on the quality of the establishments.

The next day we recovered and went to a massive arcade called Round 1. The one in my prefecture is the best I have been to in Japan… so that was awesome. On Wednesday I took them on a tour of my town and showed them all the schools that I teach at. My town is really beautiful and I was happy they were able to see what I get to experience every day.

After that we drove to a mountain waterfall in Nagasaki called Ryutosen. That’s the area with super deep pools of water below high rising cliffs. We hit the highest cliff first. Matt, AKA “Kung Fu Panda” promptly climbed up a precarious cliff face, and with very little hesitation, took the 15 meter plunge into the 27 meter deep pool of water. IT IS SCARY! NO I MEAN REALLY REALLY SCARY LOL!! He did great though. Jeff and I went up next. I have done it thrice before, but still had a couple minutes of hesitation. Jeff jumped eventually, conquering his fear of heights. I was proud! We jumped a few more times from different points into different pools of water and then headed home. We got some good videos and I am sure you will see them when Jeff or Matt uploads them.

The next day we headed to Yakushima, an island off the southern tip of Kyushu that Miyazaki used as inspiration for the environments in his film Princess Mononoke. It was just that… freaking Princess Mononoke. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We took a Bullet train and a Hydrofoil Ferry to get there and back. It is a fairly small island, taking only 3 hours to circumvent by car, yet the mountains reach up over the cloud line (some of the tallest in Kyushu). Because of this it is one of the wettest places on earth, which is why it has the most insanely green and perseverant forests I have ever seen. Our main task was to hike the Shiratani Trail, which is regarded by many as the most beautiful area of the island. We trekked for 4 hours through the rain, crossed many rivers using rocks and fallen trees, saw some of the oldest and epically huge trees in the world (look up Yakusugi). It was all so green, and the root system made at seem as though the whole island was one huge tree. The rain soaked us, but it wasn’t cold so we were fine. It actually added a nice element. The morning before we left, we went to a famous waterfall and Matt and I jumped into the plunge pool and swam to the other side in order to climb the rocks below the waterfall. That was super awesome!

We returned to my home in Takeo late on the eve of Jeff and Matt’s departure, went out for a few last “Kampais” (Cheers), and crashed. I took them to the airport the next day (Sunday) and said goodbye. That’s about it. We packed some great experiences in just over a week. I know Jeff and Matt were very satisfied with their trip, as was I. I hope to do something similar with anyone else who is willing to visit me.

I didn’t really take many pictures. I couldn’t bring my big camera to Yakushima due to the rain. But Jeff and Matt should have plenty of pics and videos. So harass them to post it all.

TL/DR: Read it anyway. I don’t care if it’s too long.

Soigi,

Jonathan

Accompishing goals and living life well

Do you guys remember who I am? It’s me… Jon! Time for a new update.

Remember all the things I said I was going to do in the previous post? Well I did them, and then some more. The only thing that fell through was the treasure hunt in Miyazaki. A volcano erupted in that area and the hunt was cancelled. However, I did go to the lantern festival which I have pictures of below. I did go to Hiroshima for an awesome weekend of snowboarding. In fact, I became so addicted that Reiko and I, along with my friends Ian and Lionel went again a couple weeks later. That time was great too, but I ended up wiping out pretty bad and was on crutches for a week. Then most recently I took 18 middle school students to California for a short homestay program over spring vacation. Reiko was here with me for most of this. She stayed with me for almost two months all the way up until I left for California. It was nice to have company. We had a great time together.

The lantern festival was so pretty. Many organizations/companies/schools/individuals make Japanese style lanterns and they gather all of them near a temple below a mountain and light them up at night. They have food vendors and live musicians from the city performing, and everyone drinks and has a good time. Here are some pictures:

















The last one is just a fire we huddled around since it was pretty cold at the time.

Snowboarding in Hiroshima was da bomb. Hiroshima has some really good mountains. Snowboarding has become one of my favorite hobbies. I have become pretty good. I can carve, maneuver, turn, control my speed and switch sides pretty well now. Trust me it’s HARD! I don’t think anyone really realizes how tedious it is to control a snowboard until they have tried it… unless they are a natural prodigy or something. Anyway I just felt myself improving everyday and couldn’t get enough of it. Reiko did much better than most of the other beginners there. I hope she continues to get better so we can snowboard together in the future. The second time we went I messed up my ankle, had to go to the hospital and was on crutches for a week. Sometimes I feel twinges of slight pain if I play any sports, but that’s going away slowly.

From March 25th to April 4th I took 18 middle school students to California for a homestay program. It was my second time in California, but first in the San Francisco area. The kids were great and I became very fond of them. They had a blast. It was their first time in America so they were naturally very excited. It was such a busy week though. We went to the Redwood Forests, Giants baseball game, toured Sebastopol (small town sister city near San Fran), toured San Francisco, went to the beach, did ice skating, and went to American Elementary Schools, Middle Schools and Universities. So it was a packed week, but the kids wanted to stay longer. There were some tears as they said goodbye to their new American friends before we left… choked me up seeing that. It was a great experience for me too, and I would love to be involved in these sorts of things in the future.

So yea… I’m doing a lot... seeing a lot… spending a lot. Jeff is coming in two weeks and I cannot wait to finally see one of my friends from back home again. I also can’t wait to show him my town, and my schools and all that Jazz.

Unfortunately while I am doing all this, people are still suffering the consequences of the March 11th tsunami disaster. It’s… indescribable what has happened up north. Fortunately I am not affected in the least. A few of my friends are going up there in two weeks as an initiative to help people rebuild. I cannot go since Jeff will be here, but I am attending the meetings and trying to help out (barely). “Hotdogs and Hugs”…lol that’s the name. They will kick off their mission by hosting a barbecue at a shelter where they will serve hotdogs and soup, and hopefully have some entertainment to help cheer people up. I would like to go but, I’m sure they will do fine without me.

I have used up almost all my vacation this year so I hope to try budgeting a bit more during the summer. I am planning on filling my time by getting a road bike and cycling around my prefecture (it’s actually pretty famous for cyclists). It’s so beautiful here and I get frustrated when I am in a car and cannot stop to take in the views. So I will bike… far… with my new camera, and I hope to show you guys how beautiful this place is.

Okay! That’s about it! I am going to make an effort to call you guys so answer your phones if it’s coming from a weird number.

Did I ever tell you guys I got E. coli poisoning and felt like I was going to die?

Catching up

I'm going to try to bring this blog up to date so I can post more specific ideas as they come to me. I have already forgotten about a lot of the things that I wanted to post, so unfortunately this update will be vague.

Its already the 7th month into my stay in Japan. It marks a new record for time spent away from home. That record will continue to grow until I come home in October for Josh and Heathers wedding, making it 1 year and 2 months away from home. I hope no one has forgotten about me. Its easy to do when you don't see someone for so long. But I think about everyone back at home everyday, even if for a fleeting moment.

So its my 7th month and its cold. Not Chicago cold, especially from what I have seen on the news. I feel sorry for all you back home. It doesn't get nearly as cold here in Kyushu. School is great. My students are great. And I am coming up with new and interesting learning activities everyday. My second year is going to be a breeze. Just reuse what worked from this year, and tweak what can use some tweaking. Seriously, its such an enjoyable job and I get paid well for it. And on the really good days, the kids smiles and laughs can lift you so high.

Outside of school is also very fulfilling. I travel inside and outside of Japan, and enjoy many things that my area has to offer. I am also really getting along with my friends that I met here. They are really fun and interesting individuals. I look forward to future adventures with them.

This weekend there is a Lantern Festival in my town that is supposed to be awesome, so I will definitely attend that. Also, I will be going on a snowboarding trip to Hiroshima next weekend with a bunch of friends. A couple full days of snowboarding down long powder runs and warming up in our cabin's hot spring baths at the end of the day... yup its gonna be great. After that in early March I am going down to a beautiful area called Miyazaki to partake in a treasure hunt. We have a 10 person team (max amount) and the grand prize is $30,000!

In late March I am taking 18 middle school students to California for a two week home stay. I have been preparing them for their trip for the past few months. They are really a great bunch of kids. I am really looking forward to accompanying them on their first trip to the US.

There is still a lot I want to do. Once spring arrives I will be joining some clubs to get more involved with the community. And I want to travel more within Kyushu. Some parts of Kyushu are pretty wild. A big volcano just erupted south of me.

Jeff will be visiting me from April 29th to May 8th. We will start off in Tokyo to try to relive some of our unforgettable study abroad moments, and then I will take him down to Kyushu and show him what my area has to offer. One highlight that I am looking really forward to is visiting Yakushima, the island that Miyazaki modeled Princess Mononoke after.

If anyone else wants to join Jeff and I let me know. You can also talk to Jeff to help plan travel arrangements.

Well that's all for now. I hope I adequately updated everyone. From here on out I will try to post more often, with shorter but more specific content. It would also help if everyone inquired about things they wanted to hear more about to help guide my updates.

soigi ne,
JonnyB

Bali

Sorry for my lack of posts recently. I am usually either busy with work, or using my free time for other things. So much has happened since my last post. Obviously I am all settled and rolling along with teaching. I am starting to get attached to many of my kids too. Its a good and a bad thing. I love it cause it makes class great, and I love my job. But many of them will be going to a private middle school instead of the one I teach at. So I will have to part with them soon. Its gonna suck.

There is much more than teaching going on in my life. Nothing crazy, but I am having a great experience over here. I'll post more about all that stuff later. Now I would like to put up some pics that I took on my trip to Bali. Many of you have been waiting for these. I'll start with a few for now, and add more as I continue to work on them. Lets just say my new camera is amazing, and I am totally back into photography again.

Well without further ado...

Legong is a traditional Balinese dance with a story behind it. I'll post more on the story later. These are some of my favorite photos of the trip. I had studio-like lighting. It was perfect, and I was in a great position.

Legong Dancer (two photos of same girl)


Legong Prince


Legong Forest Demon


Legong Death


Next up are some pics from the Kacek dance. Different place, different dance, different story. The monkey warrior was bad ass.

Kacek Princess in Danger


Kacek Warrior


Pissed off Kacek Warrior (he was trapped by the fire and went berserk. Began kicking the fire at his enemies)


Now onto a few other places...

Ubud Temple Beast


Balinese Monkey


Baby Balinese Monkey


Balinese Ducks


Ubud Water Temple (very sacred place)


Bali Lily


Balinese School Children


Riverside Stone Carvings (found these WHILE white water rafting)




Bali Waterfall (also while rafting)


Uluwatu Coast


Well that's all for now. More to come. As well as more in depth explanations.

BTW... I love my new camera. Thanks Reiko!

My Apartment

Okay I know. Its been a very long time since I have updated. I have been preoccupied with work as well as adjusting to living here (still not yet fully adjusted). There is a lot to talk about and putting it all in one post would be ridiculous. So I will be posting a bunch throughout this week and next.

Figure I will start with my apartment. I took pictures for you as well as a video.
The video at the end explains a little bit about my place.

Here it is:

My Door


Stairs to my floor


View from hallway



The hot springs in right under that mountain


Entrance way with ghetto door


Looking into my room


My Kitchen



My living area



My Kotatsu with awesome set up


My desk


Desk area window view




Looking in from window area


My bedroom




My Balcony...guess what all that stuff was used for...


Can you find it


To the bathroom





Here is a video tour




Yea its pretty nice and comfortable for me.