I felt the bus gently stop, and opened my eyes prepared to start another week at the uni. As my eyes scanned the unfamiliar territory around me, I must have unconsciously let out a little squeak… eek! Where am I? The bus driver jumped too, not realizing that I hadn’t gotten off at my normal stop and that he wasn’t alone at the top of the mountain, the last stop on the bus route. I wavered to the front of the bus. “Ano… sumimasen… Hotani wa doko desuka?” (Where would Hotani campus be hiding?) “The BOTTOM of the mountain,” he replied.
Lucky for me, his years of experience resulted in some quick damage control. After a quick radio conversation with the bus driver ahead, he escorted me to the only other bus at the top of the mountain and asked the driver to bring me back to school. And so he did. And so I apologized and thanked the driver. What a great way to start a chilly Monday morning.I used to be so amazed at train and bus sleepers - those people that hit the sit and pass out until their
stop is called, dashing out the exit just as the doors close on their coat tails. Have I become one of ‘them’? Well, perhaps it was a special day for me and I was just dreaming about the past weekend’s celebrations…
You see, December 6 was celebration # 4 – that’s the number of birthdays I have celebrated in Japan, each of them in a unique way. This year, I decided to celebrate with Aki, a fellow Sagittarian. Aki turned into Aki, Josh and Junko. The foursome turned into a sixsome, and the sixsome into a twelvesome.So the 12 of us gathered at Sam’s for the biggest birthday party I have ever held – or attended – with over 100 people, 40 salsa dancers, 25 donuts, and 1 homemade piñata. It was a night that went down in Osaka history.The only other excitement from the past 6 weeks has been a road trip through Tango Hanto. We hopped in a car and simply started driving. The destination was Tango Peninsula and the means a silver Mazda. After
viewing Amanohashidate (one of Japan’s top 3 views) through our legs, we headed into some small fishing villages to find a place for the night. There was one little room left in a traditional minshuku (b&b) along the coast. As we bathed, 3 little old ladies set up a dinner for a king (and a queen) in our room. We finished off the fresh fish, savored the nabe and downed the Asahi beer. Afterwards, I headed to the main bathroom to freshen up. As I passed the aquarium I realized that these beautiful fish were not for display. The 5 swimmers had dropped down to 3 in a matter of an hour... our dinner hour.Oh well, what’s done is done!
viewing Amanohashidate (one of Japan’s top 3 views) through our legs, we headed into some small fishing villages to find a place for the night. There was one little room left in a traditional minshuku (b&b) along the coast. As we bathed, 3 little old ladies set up a dinner for a king (and a queen) in our room. We finished off the fresh fish, savored the nabe and downed the Asahi beer. Afterwards, I headed to the main bathroom to freshen up. As I passed the aquarium I realized that these beautiful fish were not for display. The 5 swimmers had dropped down to 3 in a matter of an hour... our dinner hour.Oh well, what’s done is done!
The next day we followed the coast all the way to Kinosaki, a quaint hotspring town in a chilly valley, to meet a group of 18 friends. We bathed, and bathed, and bathed in the naturally hot water, walked the streets in our yukatas (house coats) and survived on crab and beer. This was a truly Japanese holiday.It’s amazing how ‘normal’ my life has become here in Osaka.With a few escape exceptions, I have preferred to stay in on weekends with a bottle of wine and cook up a new recipe. Nabe is in season and hours have been spent with friends slowly cooking the stew and tasting it at each stage along the way.
‘Normal’ life over the past two months has been filled with classes, books, reports and more classes. I’m almost halfway through my M. Ed and have learnt so much about second language acquisition. It’s amazing how much there is to learning another language,
and thus, a new culture and a whole new way of thinking. I literally spend hours a day reading about language acquisition… and the more I read, the more I realize I have to learn. Guess that’s what school’s all about though isn’t it.Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve got only one more teaching day this year and will soon be heading out to spend Christmas in Cambodia. As usual, my bags are not yet packed, but I’m not worried, as I’ve got many more important things to do… likewriting you. Why Cambodia this year? Well, many have raved about the beauty of Angkor Wat and I figure that I should see this magnificent site before it becomes yet another SE Asian tourist tragedy. Mandy and I leave for Phnom Penh Tuesday and I hope to share our stories and photos in January.
So that’s where I’ll leave you for now. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas holiday. I hope that you are able to spend this time with your loved ones.May 2009 bring you all your dreams and fill your days with happiness.
