Dartboard

Not, really. I'm going over to Sanae's this afternoon and tonight we're climbing to the top of a mountain to see the first sunrise of the year. Have I told you that already? I feel like I have.

Then I'm leaving for Thailand on the 2nd. I know, I know. It was supposed to be Korea and Taipei this year, but now you can think of me as the most spontaneous person you know.

I probably won’t post again until I get back—around January 8th.

明けましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。

It snowed on the last day of school. I like the way Kuro kuma-kun looks with a dusting of white.

My street.

Today I ate lunch with Sawa and her parents. She’s getting so big—especially her cheeks!

These were taken with my cell phone.

A big thank you to Daniel for helping me make the recent changes to my website so it’s no longer “hideous.”

I’ve put a lot of pictures on my website recently.

And I’m not finished. This is a candle I made with Sanae and her mother a few weeks ago.

I made this half of the candle "spring,"

and this half "fall."

Now the hardest part is buring it!

How many hours did I spend video-chatting today? It boggles my mind.

I'd call it mind-boggling.

The first few hours with Joelle and her yoga ball.

Then with her and Mama. (Notice I even changed outfits over this multi-hour event!)

And a little with Daniel before he went to bed.

I actually got a lot done this afternoon, but tomorrow I need to break it up a little by leaving my house and going further than the grocery store.

The weather is sun-shiny.

Now that I’ve posted all my old pictures (a day to finally catch-up!) I’m ready to share Yakushima stories. I’m so excited for you to see!

I stayed Friday night in Sasebo with Yasu’s family. As he picked me up from the ferry port I got the “How to behave in front of my parents” speech. While I appreciated most tips, I think they just made me more nervous than I needed to be. We had a great dinner with his parents and his little dog Momo is adorable. A small dog, but she won me over quickly!

On Saturday morning we traveled from Sasebo to Yakushima—it took all day long! We left at 9 a.m. and didn’t get there until it was almost dark. Luckily I was in good company!! This is Yasu and me on one of the four trains we took, before the taxi and the ferry and the rent-a-car.

This is Sakurajima, an active volcano in Kagoshima. I’ve been there once, but it was during the hitch-hiking trip last spring and we were in such a rush. It was nostalgic to be near her again.

We arrived in Yakushima on Saturday night and got a rent-a-car right away. Yasu didn’t have his license so I was the official driver of the trip (my first time driving anywhere other than my own island in Japan). The minshuku was about an hour away and as I maneuvered the curvy coastline highway Yasu continued to praise my good driving!! He knows the way to my heart!!

We had dinner in the minshuku with all the staff and owner. Because we arrived just at the beginning of off-season for Yakushima we were the only guests and the employees were having their end of the year party. It was fun to join in, but it was just a lot of Japanese that I couldn’t understand and I was too tired to pay much attention.

Sunday morning I was battling painful period cramps and an achy stomach from raw oysters two nights before (and the accompanying symptoms, ehm… if you know what I mean!) It was absolutely awful—horrible luck—but there we were in Yakushima, I had to get out and see it!! We drove around the island taking pictures and spotting monkeys and deer in road. Being the driver and the beautiful surroundings helped take my mind off the pain a little.

Not feeling so hot, but forcing a smile…

The scenery is absolutely breathtaking.

We took the not-recommended mountain road around the west side of the island. I’m so glad we did because it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The roads were narrow and full of curves, but that’s were all the wildlife was! The few other cars that were also driving the road were moving slowly, taking pictures of the animals—sometimes the road was blocked by monkeys for minutes—and we enjoyed the drive. It was perfect.

Monkeys in the road.

A few friends.

A shy deer before it scampered off in the woods.

Yasu and me enjoying the fresh country air.

By the time we had driven all around the mountain road my body was making me miserable and I needed drugs as soon as possible. We found a pharmacy and I started the four hour cycle of dosage after dosage. I didn’t stop taking medicine until we arrived in Sasebo the next day. I didn’t feel 100% better until I arrived back in my own home and could sleep a full 10 hours on my own futon. Yasu said it must be tough to be a woman and he respects us for what we have to go through.

We found an Italian place for lunch, but I knew I couldn't eat anything heavy or even remotely smelling of seafood so Yasu kindly special ordered a pasta bowl with tomato sauce—no cheese! It’s incredibly hard to special order food in Japan. Restaurants just don’t seem to understand that as the guest we should be able to ask for things like no cheese, no spice, no seafood, etc. Replacing side dishes, a soup instead of a salad for example, is simply NOT POSSIBLE in Japan. Wait-staff get flustered and confused that we even ask. I must thank Yasu so much because he honestly translates everything I want, apologizing profusely for the inconvenience, but essentially making sure I get what is best for me. (This wasn't the only occasion!) What a sweetheart!!

Because I felt a little better after the medicine kicked in we decided to go to a park and take a walk in Yakushima’s famous forests. In the mountains the snow was glistening white and the air was so fresh. These pictures speak for themselves.

Yasu and me in the park.

My camera battery was dying so I didn’t get to take as many pictures as I hoped, but I think the ones I got turned out great. We stayed one more night in the minshuku and left early the next morning to take advantage of a half day before our ferry back to Kagoshima at 1 p.m. We drove around for a long time looking for the entrance to a famous waterfall. Eventually we found it and walked down the short path to a spectacular view. Yakushima isn’t a large island; you can drive the perimeter in just over an hour, but this scene made me feel as if I was looking over a endlessly vast space. The sun was shining brilliantly and the waterfall sparkled vividly in the distance. It was flawless.

We had a full day of travel back to Sasebo. We stopped in a Tiffany’s in Kagoshima just to peek, but Yasu says people who shop at Tiffany’s aren’t very efficient. He’ll show me a good jeweler in Hong Kong if I’m serious about jewelry shopping. Speaking of, we exchanged Christmas gifts and Yasu gave me the most wonderful present ever. He’s someone who listens carefully and thoughtfully remembers small bits of information about me.

Christmas without the family wasn’t as gloomy as I expected it to be. I got to have a long phone call with my mom, sister and George on Christmas night. (Sorry Mama, I know the bill will be huge!!!) Spending Christmas the Japanese way (on a date or with friends) was actually quite fun. I hope to spend next Christmas the same way... at least with Yasu, anyway!

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and enjoy the last few days of the year. Don’t forget your resolutions!

After the Aosaga Illumination we spent the evening at George’s Karaoke Bar. Everyone who was anyone came to George’s over packed bar to watch numerous bands and disc jockeys perform. It was the first time I’ve ever had a place to dance on this island and I went a little crazy!

Lori and Andy in back, Daisuke, Vicky, Sanae and Melissa in front.

Daisuke, a crazy (he seriously thinks he’s 2-Pac or Will Smith) guy I met the previous week with Lori.

Vicky and me with the DJ. My red face from dancing the night away.

Ippei, who originally gave Lori and I free tickets to the club, but was in a funky mood and refused to play any good music for me! He promised to cut my hair and if he does a good job I may forgive him…

Sanae and Melissa

Daisuke and me dancing away. He was funny, but borderline obnoxious the first time I met him, but when he dances he so much fun! I got his girlfriend to dance a little, but she was pretty shy!

vicky in da club

Japanese girls don’t dance, so I tried pulling them into the circle of foreigners and getting them to dance. They were extremely embarrassed, but some of them started dancing after a little shove.

I went to Aosaga’s Christmas Illumination event with Lori, Sanae and Andy (a friend visiting from Sasebo). Most the churches on this island (there are 26 I believe) are Catholic and the architecture is so beautiful. Eventually I’d like to see all of the churches on this island, but who knows if I’ll get around to it before I leave.

This is Aosaga Kyokai, a church near Sanae’s house.

It is always hard to take pictures in the dark, and I wish you could see the Christmas lights for yourself, but here is the front of the church.

It was so windy and cold that day. It was snowing off and on, but nothing stuck very much. The typhoon-like winds in Aosaga were blowing my car all over the road. It was a bit scary!!


Here are some of Lori’s students singing Christmas songs. Isn’t the little kid in the Santa hat adorable?!?!

I’m back from Yakushima!! I can’t wait to post pictures and stories!

First, I’ve got pictures to share from school.

This year’s mochitsuki with my elementary school.

やって見て。In the cow apron, doing my best!!

Flying. This looks even better when you can see the legs “flying.”

Making satsumaimo cakes, first grinding down the potato.

Baseball will soon overtake sumo as the national sport… if it hasn’t already.

My “What are you thankful for?” turkeys with 3rd and 4th graders. (a late Thanksgiving project)

One of my high school boys made these two cakes for our class Christmas party. They not only looked great, but tasted delicious!