Konno Wedding

Youhei and Asami Konno's Wedding

The main reason why I went to Japan was to attend Youhei and Asami's wedding. Youhei and Asami were our first Japanese friends. They showed us a lot of places and we had some really good times with them. We were even asked to give a speech during their reception. I don't have any pictures of Nathaniel and I, but we were there. My camera gave out so I didn't really get any good shots... will ask Nathaniel for a copy of his.

The wedding was beautiful. It was a TAS hotel and there was probably around 150 guests there. Most of the guests were people Nathaniel and I knew from different drinking establishments around Nagai. This was because Youhei's family owns an Izakaya in Nagai. All us Gaijin sat at the same table; Nathaniel, I, Nathaniel's step-brother Andrew, Andrew's friend Wess and Will (the teacher who took my place when I left Nagai). Also at our table was one of Youhei's close friends and his wife and a Ramen shop worker who is super kind.

The wedding started with an explanation of how Youhei and Asami met. Then a speech from their parents. Then speeches from old family friends. Then a toast. Then speeches from friends (and Nathaniel and I). Karaoke. A fruit raffle. Cutting of cake. LOTS AND LOTS OF DRINKING! (there was Beer, Sake, Shouchou....)Then they had this lighting of flowers on each table and then a larger tube on stage that ended with fireworks! YES FIREWORKS! Then it all ended with a Thank you speech from Youhei and Asami. We were really impressed because Youhei and his father both took the time to incorporate English into their speeches!

Asami looked amazingly beautiful and Youhei very handsome! I was very glad I could be there and be a part of the celebration!

Youhei and Asami in their American Wedding Wear


Asami's Parents

Youhei's Parents

Gamou and I

Nathaniel, Wess and Andrew

Youhei and Asami in Japanese Wedding Kimonos

Asami

Youhei

Chikako's Birthday

Chikako's Birthday Party!

We had Chikako's Birthday Party at Sushi Tetsu! Yoshi, Nathaniel, Takako and I had a great time laughing and talking about the old days and about our future plans. During dinner another Shishi festival was going on and we went outside to see it with the owner of the Sushi shop and had a great time talking with Nagai locals and taking pictures. We ended the night with drunken Karaoke and good times at the Snack Shop Doremi. All in all it was a great night and I was very happy to be there to help celebrate another year of Chikakoness!

A normal Nagai Night

The first Saturday night, after going for dinner and drinks with Chiaki, Takako met up with us so that we could go see one of Nagai's local Shishi's. For those of you who don't know what a Shishi is, its a Japanese dragon. The kind with a head that snaps open and closed and a long cloth tail. Usually its followed by drums and Japanese flutes. I met one of the new teachers Alex and we enjoyed the Shishi and met up with many people around Nagai. Afterwards, Alex, Chiaki, Takao and I went to Paradise to say hello to Gamou! It was nice to see Gamou, but missed Maki who was in Yamagata Hospital for her last month of pregnancy! Congratulations to them both! It was a normal Nagai night!

An unexpected guest

So I started my trip to Nagai with nostalgia and loads of time to write and blog, however, my trip took a turn when an unexpected person knocked on JoeyD's door my second day in town.

I had just been outside talking to Chikako and had gone up stairs to JD's place when all of a sudden there was a knock on the door. I was almost sure it was Nathaniel seeing as how it was the day that he said he was going to arrive into town, but was shocked to open the door and see Chiaki there.

Chiaki and I had been very good friends until Hanami-kai over a year and half ago when we got into a huge fight and stopped talking. The last 4 or 5 months of my time in Japan were Chiaki-less. This was mainly due to stubbornness. So when she was standing outside the door I didn't know what to expect. I immediately gave her a big hug, but was still cautious because I wasn't sure if she was going to start screaming at me or crying or what. She came in and sat down and started talking as if we had never been apart. Over a year and half and we talked as if we were hanging out just yesterday.

She then invited me to dinner and drinks and that was the start of my trip to Japan. She insisted that I stay at her house instead of a hotel like I was planning when JoeyD got back to Nagai. The entire trip she cooked for me, cared for me and was the sweetest kindest person ever. When she cares about a person there is not a single selfish bone in her body. When.

Nagai- A thought or two

Nagai is a place that is always so foreign to me yet so familiar. I know the places to go and the things to do. It has a home feel to it, but it’s the strangeness that keeps me intrigued and interested. It’s like there is always something to learn. Always something that distracts or amazes me. It’s never boring. One could say or assume that that’s because I enjoy learning and observing people, but it’s really the culture. The more I learn about Japanese people in the country side the more I understand and can communicate with them, yet they are never a bore and there is always something more to learn.

What is it about Nagai that I love so very much??

Well maybe it’s the comfort. The sense of family, the sense of community, the sense of friendship. There is this constant sound of children’s laughter during the day. Old ladies in aprons riding their bikes in the middle of the road. Children playing together without a worry of strangers or fear at all. At night when the children are tucked into bed, then the sound of drunken Japanese men Kampi-ing swarm the streets. Young people Karaoke-ing can be heard from blocks until the wee hours of the mornings. Sometimes until dawn. There is always a friendly hello and greeting amongst friends and strangers alike when passed on the streets. Cars are left with keys in them, doors left unlocked, bikes sitting outside and a friendly person chasing you down because you dropped a dollar.

Maybe it’s the vegetation. The greenness and earth. The sense of Mother Nature that brings such down to earth joy amongst there residents. Every house has a tree or a garden. The mountains are full of large green trees, flowers and mountain vegetables. There are personal gardens on every corner. Flower gardens that are more beautiful than words could ever describe. In the spring Cherry Blossoms bloom in full, Tulips, Azaleas, Big beautiful Iris’s. Nagai-jin flock to these gardens full in bloom and celebrate their beauty with huge festivals full of lights, shishi dragons, traditional music, tea ceremonies, and traditional foods like donburi, takoyaki, and okinominyaki. Then when the festival comes to an end there are endless Otsukarasamadishita parties for the adults with beer, sake and karaoke. All this because a flower blooms. Also there seems to be an endless sound of life, I’m not talking just the sound of people, but the sound of secedes, the sound of crickets and frogs. There are dragonflies, and butterflies, there are yellow and black spiders and bird. It seems as though not only people are happy here, but the rest of Gods critters are also.

Maybe it’s because I feel inspired here. There isn’t a shopping mall, a movie theater nor a bowling alley. Just mom and pop shops, restraints and homes. But somehow none of those matters, what I always want to do is walk, paint and write. I feel so inspired here, like I just can’t sit still. I have to be doing something creative all the time. Today, for example, I was inside watching TV, and finally couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to get up. I picked up my laptop, grabbed a blanket and walked to the park (where I am write now) and began to type. Just typing whatever came to mind. Whatever inspires me.

Maybe it’s because I lived here so long that it feels like home. I know the streets, the shops and the people. I still see students of mine at the park and they say “Oh! Hello! How are you?” oh my how they have grown. I see parents who greet me with a “long time no see, are you moving back?” I know where to go if I need or want something; I know what streets to wander down and where to find my favorite food and people.

No matter what it is, the fact still remains, that I have a love for Nagai.

Flowers in Nagai
The Kamio Temple

Street by my old apt

Some country homes and gardens

I love this little walk path

Nagai

I have been away from Nagai for over a year, but somehow it feels as if I never left. As I got off the plane and into the Narita airport, it started feeling very comfortable and like home. However, I was frustrated that I could no longer go through the Japanese Passport line (when you have a VISA with a re-entry permit you can do all Passport things as if you are a Japanese Passport holder) and had to stand in the foreigner passport line for a little while. But it was when I got to Tokyo Train Station and stopped by my favorite Bakery navigating though the Tokyo Station like a pro that I realized how at home I really felt. When I got on the Shinkansen train I let out a sigh of relief and looked out the window at the rice patties, tiny cars and Japanese style houses until I fell into a deep sleep. I woke up just before Yonezawa (lucky because had I woken up 20 minutes later I would have missed my stop) and was greeted with a big hug from Chikako! Oh how I miss my friends from Nagai! As soon as we hugged I realized how much love I had left behind and how it still felt like home here after a year of being away. It was like coming home .
Like always we stopped by the combini and then off to Lesley School Chat Room, where the same students sat there. (Norihiko, how I make him so uncomfortable still! LOL) Yoshi gave me a big hug and looked better than ever. Tomohide walked in surprised to see me (he never knows what’s going on at Lesley). Takako was driving by and saw me in the window so stopped and came inside to chat for a while… it felt like a year ago and like I had never left. The same group of us debating all things in life from Gaijin to Nihonjin to Politics to who has gotten married since I left. Nagai even looks the same (with the exception that World Liquor has closed down and become a tire shop). It felt as if time had been frozen and not changed at all (even my classroom and Lesley School looked the same way as when I left it), it was a comforting and also a nervous feeling. Comforting to have things be exactly felt as if time had been frozen and not changed at all (even my classroom and Lesley School looked the same way as when I left it), it was a comforting and also a nervous feeling. Comforting to have things be exactly the same, but nervous because I have grown in a year, but it looks as if they are still the exact same.
I am staying at JoeyD’s (if only I could figure out how to connect to the internet…), and somehow I thought I knew the exact apartment that he is in, but last night proved that I was 100% wrong! I thought it was 406, and pulled the door, but it was locked. Then I thought, well maybe its 404, but I kept thinking 204, but knew it was on the 4th floor. I went up to 404 and pulled on the door, but it was also locked. So then, Yoshi saw some boys coming out of one of the apartment buildings and asked them if they knew where JoeyD lived. It was a group of three boys and immediately I wanted to run and hide. For one of the boys was one of the only Nagai boys that I had ever taken home drunkenly one night… he immediately noticed me and blushed and walked away…it was awkward, however, the one guy did know it was 402 that JoeyD lived in. YAY! Found it! And it was open of course (JoeyD never locks his door). Then Alex walked up and said “Are you JoeyD’s friend (ahh how the times have changed, it used to be that JoeyD was Monica’s friend, but now I am JoeyD’s friend)” and we briefly met and then it was off to bed I went. Oh how I don’t miss Futons nor Japanese Toilets…lol…first day down… 10 more of Vacation left!

Japan

Well, here I am on the airplane back to Japan. It feels like I am going home. The Japanese has come back so naturally and everything still feels the same thus far.

For those of you who don’t know, my friends Youhei and Asami are getting married on the 22nd, it’s also my friend Chikako’s birthday on the 20th, and also I haven’t been back to Japan in a year. When I found airplane tickets for $850 round trip I couldn’t pass them up! So here I am, mid September in an airplane headed to Japan. Isn’t that cool?! I am typing on a computer in the air on a plane! I love how far technology and society has become!

I don’t really have any plans for my visit. Except to do things as CHEAP as possible! (Teachers don’t make much money) JoeyD rocks and is letting me stay at his place the first half of my trip and I will stay at an old students of mine’s Japanese Inn for very cheap. I will spend the ENTIRE trip in Nagai. Just take it all in and visiting friends and old students. Nathaniel is also coming up to Nagai for the wedding, so I will see him of course. I plan on taking lots of pictures too!! So keep posted for blogging about Japan and pictures!

Romance

Oh Romance, I am beginning to remember the reasons why I hated the whole idea of dating to start with. BUT! I am also realizing that there are many great benefits to it as well. I have dated here and there, and it seems as though as soon as I let go of one another comes along. Some of you might find it interesting to learn that I tend to attract the “monogamous, family oriented, emotionally attached” male. I have never thought of myself of that type of woman and therefore thought I’d never attract that kind of male in a million years, however, it’s the opposite. It might have to do with the fact that my career revolves around children and all that come attached with that stereotype, but still…I always thought I was the furthest from that. So I guess one can say that by dating, I’m learning a lot about myself. I have been dating someone new that is fun and willing to invest time with me… so we will see where that goes. I don’t want to label it just yet.

Update!

I have been very far behind in my blogging since I have gotten to Washington DC. For that I apologize, this is me blogging a whole lot in one day to get everyone caught up.

First, I am happy to say that I have successfully moved into my new place. It’s a town house in Rockville Maryland. It’s about a 5-10 minute walk from the Grosvernor-Strathmore metro. The walk to the metro is beautiful, there is a man made pond that is surrounded by grass and it even has an island in the middle with a weeping willow tree. I am going to have to find the time to sit down and paint it one day. It’s in an area where there are a lot of apartment complexes and condos, so there is a little market and what not close by as well. The only bummer is that because I’m so far out of the city, most places are easier to get to by car. I have been renting a Zip Car every other weekend to go to the grocery store and what not, but besides that the metro takes me everywhere I need to go.
My roommates are very cool guys. There are two of them. The one that is on the third floor with me is Joe. Joe is 28 and works for the Department of Transportation, every time I talk to him I find out a little more about him. He isn’t an over talker, but he is social. His girlfriend, Jamie, comes down and stays with us every other weekend. I haven’t talked to her much, but she seems like a very nice girl. They are both from Philadelphia. Joe met Shaun when they were in college in PA, but they weren’t that close back then. It wasn’t until Joe moved to DC, Shaun’s hometown area that they became roommates. Shaun is 30 and he is a 5th grade teacher and avid Hockey fan. So much that the basement living room is full of hockey paraphernalia. Shaun and I don’t see each other much, mostly because I spend most of my time in, mostly because I spend most of my time in my room and he spends most of his in the basement. All in all, they are really great guys that are super easy to get along with. They are upfront about a lot of things; yet at the same time don’t sweat the small stuff. We are all super respectful and work hard.
The house is a typical bachelor pad, instead of a dining room table there is a foose ball table and dart board, we have a separate fridge for beer and refreshments, my roommates don’t cook at all, there are two living rooms, the one in the basement is a big screen with rock band and other video game stuffs, there is a beer pong table on the back patio and two grills. This may seem a little daunting and people may assume that it’s a party house, but really it’s not. Its clean 95% of the week and most nights we are in our own areas quietly unwinding from work.
As soon as I get back from my trip to Japan (which I am actually typing this blog on the airplane… what else am I going to do for 12 hours?!), I plan on trying to get the roomies out for beer and possibly a game of scrabble for some bonding. Guys are so different than girls, girls you just sit around and say “So, tell me your life story…” and then you talk for hours. Guys aren’t quite the same, so I think will try the beer and game approach.


An update on my job. Well, I am still teaching preschool at Huckleberry Cheesecake, we are STILL interviewing for a new teacher to join our classroom. It’s been a difficult task, not only for us (the teachers in the classroom), but for the directors who spend hours on end interviewing. They said something like 200 people applied. That tells me that the economy really isn’t getting any better. Until they find the right teacher to join our classroom, the position for lead teacher is up in the air. I am hoping that I get it, but if I don’t, that’s ok too. After all, as much as I love teaching, it’s not something I plan on spending the rest of my life doing.