This week saw me off to Kakegawa, for the final installment of training. Which really wasn’t training. About 2 hours of the 30 scheduled were useful. But, it was away, and with the other JETs. I made some friends that live close by, and there will be shinannegans in the future.
After the 3-day training fest, folks went to a bar in Shizuoka. It was great and small and had really good art. After about 3 hours, the bar sold out (completely dry), so we moved on to karaoke (what else would you do?). After 2 hours of nutsness, we pushed on to a final bar called “Our Boozer.” A pub owned by an Englishman. We watched the opening ceremony and cheered for the countries that were in our group (Canada, Oz, NZ, USA, UK, Jamaica).
The next day, I went home (crashed at a Jason’s in the city) and wandered around downtown Shizuoka. A festival was on, and under one of the tents, they had a taiko drumming arcade game tournament. It’s like Dance Dance Revolution, but with Taiko drumming.
That evening, my neighbors invited me for dinner, but I had already made a curry (I figured out my rice maker! huttah), so I said next time. They knocked again a few hours later and said they were having a few drinks, so I joined them. I was glad that they invited me again.
I met a few other teachers at the school that night - one was on the chef/food prep staff. I asked him to identify the mystery jars left by my predacessor and he said they were expired rice topping and marmalade. Nuts. But, he said he’d make some more for me!
And, my neighbors also offered to take me up to Mt. Fuji the next day. I was planning already to hike the mountain at the end of the month, but I didn’t want to refuse their hospitality. I was glad I said yes. We went to Fuji-yama, but the weather was raining, so we couldn’t see the top (nor did we want to climb).
Instead, we went to nearby waterfalls and a temple made for Mt. Fuji 400 years ago exactly. I cleansed my hands and mouth at the entrance using water from Mt. Fuji’s springs. Then, I dropped a Y5 coin in the prayer box, bowed twice, clapped twice, and bowed again (as instructed by Takahashi-sensei). It was a great experience. I felt a new wave of perpective wash over me as my skin tingled. I didn’t understand what I was doing, but taking part in such an ancient ritual really impacted me.
I bought them a gift melon the next day to say thank you (plus I burned a jazz CD). It was a watermelon and cost about $13. Fruit is prohibitively expensive here. But, the gift was nowhere close to good enough - they drove me, so they paid the tolls and petrol (about 100km), they bought my lunch, and showed me all over. I’m glad to have neighbor you talk to. It’s so different than in Boulder or Fort Collins.
I have a camp this week. But it’s not camping - not sleeping outside. Nope. This is a summer seminar for high school students who want to practice their English. They’re coming from Shizuoka and other parts along the coast on the train, and we’re taking a bus to the Yaizu Youth Center, where we’ll live for the next 3 days and 2 nights. They have games and skits and contests already organized; I get to play camp counselor! This should be a blast. I’m really excited.