My body hurts!

I have been doing so much lately! I barely have any time for myself. I am thinking this will change as classes start this Wednesday.

Other than orientation seminars in the city, I have had an extremely eventful month. On Saturday I went high up into the mountains of Nagasaki where we hiked down a valley to a waterfall area known as Ryutosen. There we jumped off cliffs over 50 feet high into the deep waters(like 60 feet deep!) of the ravine. It was one of the scariest but thrilling things I have ever done. I can`t even begin to explain how intense it was. There were many diving spots surrounding each pond that varied in height and mental difficulty. I jumped off each one a few times each, but I`d be lying if I said it was easy. It took me a few minutes to overcome my fear on a few of them. The freakiest of all was the main waterfall. That was the one around 50 feet up. Looking down and realizing how high you are is daunting. I still can`t believe I did it.

The next day I was so sore! But I had to go to the river in Kubota to race Dragon Boats. We had a team of 16(7 paddlers on each side, a rudderman, and the skipper who kept us in sync with a drum). We had to race toward a buoy, U-turn around it and go back again. IT WAS SO HARD! It was within the top 10 most taxing things I have ever done. I have aches and massive blisters to prove it. The first race we got third place out of four. The second race we claimed first to make it to the semi-finals. Those were timed and we were outdone. But we did fairly well seeing as we made it to the semi-finals against some serious competition. The ones who made it even further were insanely fast... almost twice our speed. There is a lot of technique that goes into it that we lacked.

Anyway I am sore in every part of my body today. It hurts to move. And my blisters are getting in my way. But I will live. I have to bring my A-game for Wednesday`s classes. My introduction lessons are nearly complete.

I healed my body at the Omachi Onsen which is a really awesome hot spring in the mountains of omachi. When we were soaking in the outdoor onsen it began to thunderstorm. Sitting there in the pool of hot water while cool rain poured down on us, while looking up at the lightning in the sky.... it totally topped off my weekend. My experiences just keep getting better.

The more I think about it the more I realize I may be here for awhile. This place is actually really cool. The environment is so wild and adventure is abundant. Plus, I realize how easy it is for me to travel around Asia. I have gotten great ideas from a friend who travels all the time. I plan to go to some pretty amazing places. I am already creating some itineraries. The longer I stay here, the more I will travel. It really is a great deal... this JET thing.

Pictures real soon!

Soigi ne,
Jonathan