An incredible weekend

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This past weekend began with another Ise-Shima night out. As of last Wednesday, all of the JET teachers have arrived. So, we had a night out to meet all the people that will be working in our immediate area. I can't descibe how lucky I am. Everyone was so nice and I think we are going to have a great time together. After dinner, we went out for a night of karaoke, a VERY typical night out in Japan. Unfortunately for all the people with ears, I think this will be a common night out for us. On Saturday, we had the Mie beach party. Mie is the perfecture I live in (larger area that contains many cities). There are about 80+ people in my perfecture, so it was a big party. This was the first time I have seen the beach in Japan and it was beautiful. The water was cold, but it was so hot that I didn't care.

After the beach, several people from my city got together and wanted to go out to dinner. We were so dirty and covered with sand that we needed showers. Being too far away from home, someone suggested we go to an onsen. Let me explain what this is, to the best of my knowledge. An onsen is a natural hot water spring where people bathe together. It's a traditional way of bathing in Japan. Men and women go into different areas. There you shower in a big room while sitting on your individual stool. A few girls were uncomfortable at first, but everyone adjusted quickly. Then you get into what looks like a giant hot tub to soak. We went into one that was outdoors. It was extremely relaxing and a great itroduction into an ancient Japanese ritual.

After the onsen, we went to eat Japanese pancakes, I can't remember how to say it in Japanese. These are nothing like American pancakes. Everyone sits at little tables that have flat grills in the middle. You get to pick between pork, squid, and shrimp. I, of course, chose pork. They then bring a mix of cabbage....and other things I can't remember (but it looked like cole slaw - yuck) to the table. You cook the pork, put down one layer of cabbage, the cooked pork, and the other layer of cabbage on top. It cooks to look like a huge hash brown. You then put either barbeque sauce or mayonaise on top. The picture of me eating with a chopstick is from this night. I actually liked it and am proud of myself for even trying it.

Sunday was my birthday. This was the first day that I was a little sad about being away from home, my friends, and family. Luckily, the other teachers in my city wanted to go out for my birthday. I met Kristine at her house and she opened the door with a strawberry cake. There were candles on the cake that showed 28. She even searched all over to find a birthday card. Cards are not really used in Japan. It was such a sweet gesture and really helped make me feel better about being away from home on my birthday. We met up with friends and the 9 of us went to eat Italian, my favorite! After, we went out for drinks at a very nice bar. Although it wasn't the same as being at home, it was the best I could ever hope for having only been here a couple of weeks.

The entire weekend was great. This week, I'm going to a Mie orientation for 2 days in Tsu, the capital of Mie. I'm excited to see everyone again. Although I've been enjoying my time off, I'm anxious to start teaching in September.

Sidenote, Tommy, your email isn't working....so, happy birthday!!! (belated, I'm sorry)