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