See that white stuff? It's called snow.

When I was a kid, we lived in Halifax, and I remember thinking that my birthday was the greatest day of the year because it was always the day we had our first snowfall. Now, I have no proof that it first snowed on November 22 consistently every year, and when I think about it, I'm sure there were years when it snowed much, much sooner. But for the last 10 years or so, it's been the reverse: No snow on my birthday. Winter has been coming later.* So I was thrilled this year, when on the 20th and 21st, we had little snowfalls, and then a big one on the 22nd!



This is a picture of our little backyard and the park behind. Sadly, we are in need of more snow now, as it doesn't look so pristine anymore. The last few days have been mild, and it's started to melt and become half-icy, half-slushy. I never thought I'd say this, but I WANT MORE SNOW!!!

In other news, the birthday was well-spent. It was really low-key. I spent the first part of the day lazing around, then I went to the gym. Then Randal made me dinner and it was sooo tasty: bacon-wrapped scallops for an appetizer, butternut squash soup, salad with mangoes and pomegranates and apples, then a main course of baked salmon, and finally, birthday carrot cake and tea! Lovely.

Over the weekend, we painted one room - the little front bedroom that is now going to be our "office" (computer room, really). Instead of butter yellow, it is now a nice dark, mossy green. Today we are putting together the IKEA computer desk. Tomorrow, I'm off to the gym. Wednesday, we're painting our bedroom. Then, Thursday, we're off to Toronto for the weekend. Next week, more painting.

So you see, I don't just sit around in my jammies and play video games all day long. Though that sounds awfully tempting.

* And before you all start saying, "No snow! Isn't that great!", let me compare the lack of snow in Japan in Nov/Dec/Jan to the lack of snow in Canada during the same time period. In Gifu City last winter, the snow was almost non-existent. It didn't even get very cold, for that matter. (At least not for a Canuck.) The grass stayed green. The skies were often blue. Plants continued looking nice. And people grew flowers, yes, flowers, outside in pots throughout the winter. It was pretty and colourful. I told my students, when they asked me why I thought it was better to have lots of snow in the wintertime, that the snow, in Canada at least, where nothing else is growing in winter, hides the ugliness of winter. It is bright and crisp and clean. Of course, I left out part about the spring when it all melts and becomes a foot of slush. Yuck.

Impeccable timing, as always...

We're headed to Tokyo tomorrow afternoon after a brief stop in Nagoya (Randal needs to get a few travel vaccinations before we hit Thailand in 2 weeks).

This will be our last trip to Tokyo (of 3, if you even count the stupid first 2 days we spent in Japan holed up in a hotel at a boring orientation conference), and I'm really looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, we are not the only ones planning to hit Tokyo tomorrow.



Allow me to introduce Typhoon #4. It's expected to sweep directly across all of Japan over the next 24-48 hours (in fact, it's already over Okinawa and well on its way to Kyushu), with our area in particular being hit tomorrow during the day. Currently the JMA is forecasting nothing worse than thunderstorms in the region, but I've been told by a number of people that we may expect some shinkansen delays.

Of course, we're used to those by now.*

* For those who didn't hear the sad story, last weekend on our way home from Fuji, we were already a few hours behind schedule when our 9:30 shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya was delayed for HOURS because someone, at a station farther up the line, had committed suicide by throwing themselves in front of a bullet train (ouch). We ended up leaving Tokyo at midnight, and only got home to Gifu at 3:30.

Wow, that was weird.

We just had an earthquake.

It was the weirdest one EVER. I was sitting on my couch, debating going to bed (it was about 11:48 p.m.), when I heard a noise like a door being closed in another room, and then one-two-three quick shockwaves rattled my room just a little bit, like waves hitting a boat in quick succession, in a strange up-and-down fashion. I've never felt an earthquake like that. It really felt like a ripple moving across the surface of the earth. And it was so fast. About three dishes in the kitchen had time to rattle, then it was over. It lasted about 2-3 seconds.

I waited about 5 more uneasy seconds to see if more was to come (sometimes that is just an initial shake, then there is more), but nothing. So then I called Randal...except my phone was already ringing. He'd felt the same thing.

I'm such a fast blogger, it's not even on the JMA's radar yet. Ah, here we go:



And now I see why Randal called first - it happened in the west end of Gifu Prefecture, so he would have felt the shock first. Anyway, it's ringing in at 2.0 in the west end and 1.0 over here. Seems like my earthquake kit shall go unused for yet another evening...

Tsuyu time

So the rainy season is finally getting underway. It's a little late this year, and it may last anywhere from 2-4 weeks (depending on who you ask). Longer in other areas, I think, but if Gifu has anything going for it at all, it's that we don't tend to get as extreme weather as some of the rest of Japan.

Japan has two rainy seasons - one through June and one through October. Last October's tsuyu was virtually non-existent. Two weeks ago, someone told me that tsuyu would be starting soon. Last week, after one day of rain, I was told that the Japanese weather people had declared tsuyu officially underway. But we had sunny and heat and humidity all week until today. It's supposed to rain through the weekend. But even when I ask, I am told, "Oh, no...real tsuyu will be much heavier rain and much more humid." Sounds marvelous.


Castle and mountains, gone.

Anyway, this post is just an excuse to show off how fashion-conscious I have become since coming to Japan. I learned long ago (from my days in Halifax) that when it rains steadily and hard all day, there's just no real way to keep dry and be stylish at the same time. I have taken to bicycling to school in a raincoat with hood, and oh-so-chic plastic pants.


She's got legs...and knows how to cover them.

It's a great look, I know. My old plastic pants were transparent, but this new pair is even better since I can hide the fact that I'm actually wearing a skirt underneat (which I am in this picture). Which means I don't have to be ladylike about pedalling to school in a skirt in the rain. Because no one can tell. I love it.

The Japanese way of cycling in the rain, however, astounds me.


Abunai! (Danger.)

This lady is not wearing any rain gear at all, and is just holding her umbrella above her head with one hand, and steering her bike with the other. I see people doing this all the time. And what really gets my goat is that, no matter how hard it is raining, and no matter how wet and dripping yours truly is, these umbrella-wielding fools arrive at their destination DRY. I've tried to bicycle like this and refuse to do it anymore - it's dangerous as hell. I can barely pedal in a straight line with both hands on the handlebars, let alone just one and the other precariously holding an umbrella in high winds. Honestly, there's many better ways I can think of by which to die. No thanks!


Flooded roof next door.

V for Volleyball

When I was in high school (long, long ago), we played the same four sports every year in gym class - soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball - with a bit of badminton and (urk!) dodgeball thrown in for variety. Not being the most athletically-inclined duck out there, I tended to loathe gym class. But volleyball in particular holds a special place in my heart - I hated it so much, I was actually thrilled to see spring roll around, when we were sent outside in the damp spring chill to play softball. At least with softball, you can stand in the outfield and know that you're fairly safe from the wrath of most balls (at least, you are if I'm at bat).* With each volleyball class, on the other hand, it was a down-and-dirty competition between my best friend and I to see whose arms more closely resembled a lobster post-game; aka, who was worse.

So, a few weeks ago, when I was asked whether I wanted to join the teachers' volleyball team, I breached Japanese protocol and laughed. Long and heartily. Then, having regained my composure, in a mix of Japanese and English (it was a non-English teacher who asked me), I made it perfectly clear : "Juri - baréboru - damé, damé - watashi wa ... very, very bad." (I'll be bilingual in no time, I'm sure.)

Whew. Having dodged that bullet, I went back to my less-than-spectacular life. Then last week, chatting with one of the English teachers after teaching a class with her, I speculated that perhaps her students - who were normally quiet but that day had been somewhat rowdy - were looking forward to the sports day that we were having the next day. Yes, she replies, and then says something about volleyball.

Uh. Yes, I heard right. Sports day is actually going to be volleyball. All day. Oh, crap.

We had a sports day back in early September, and it was so much fun. My memories of "sports day" from my high school days (we called it "field day") is a mish-mash of track-and-field events (relay races, javelin-throwing, and a game of basketball or two), a day in which most students sloughed around trying to figure out how to avoid the high jump or ring toss. Not so these kids, and not so this past sports day. They had been split into 4 teams (of about 250 kids each, mind you; almost as big as my entire high school!) and had spent the better part of the previous week under the tutelage of the student cheerleader teams, learning chants and cheers for the pep rallies that would form part of the sports day (practicing one to two hours a day). They played capture-the-flag, giant games of tug of war, "windsurfing", and much more, with just a bit of relay racing in the late afternoon. And lots of cheerleading, of course.


The always-popular "Piggyback Fights".

But volleyball all day? Ugh. In addition to my general dislike of volleyball, Randal had had to endure a sports day last fall that was entirely volleyball, and he was not pleased to report back that it was B-O-R-I-N-G. I wasn't therefore looking forward to it; however, I figured I was willing to watch. Really, I mean, it's not like I had any choice.

***

Well. Who knew volleyball could be so much fun?



I forgot that when my school does something like this, they tend to go all out. Here, second- and third-year students had decked out their gym uniforms with various themes. It was hilarious just to walk around all day and see what I could find.









As for the volleyball itself, there were something like 40 games going on at any one time (until the elimination rounds started in the afternoon), so there was always something to watch.



See the entire set here.


*Honestly, it's a miracle I ever passed gym class and was allowed to graduate.

Kemushi, or my close call with certain death

As the weather has gotten warmer and warmer here in Gifu, I am constantly reminded that the spiders here are insanely crazy-huge. Everyday, I walk carefully up three flights of outdoor stairs to my apartment, avoiding the myriad cobwebs that lurk in the corners of the staircase (both at floor- and head-level. Each morning, I get down to my bicycle and brush it free of yet another set of cobwebs.


Beware of monstrously large spiders. At least they're not this big yet this year, and I will hopefully be gone before they get this size again.


However. It turns out spiders are not my only foe.

Today, after school, I walked down to the bike racks, unlocked my bike, threw my purse in the front basket, and wheeled the bike out to the parking lot. I was about to jump on, when suddenly, on the right-hand handlebar (the side I *wasn't* holding - thank god), I saw THIS:




I almost dropped the bike. But I managed to put the kickstand down and then just stood and stared. What was I going to do? How was I ever going to get home? I couldn't bicycle home with that thing on my handlebar??? Where else might such fierce monsters be hiding??????

After scratching my head for a minute or two, I did what any self-respecting, independent, modern woman would do - I called my boyfriend.

Randal: "Hello?"
Julie: "Hi sweetie."
Randal: "Where are you?"
Julie: "I'm in the school parking lot. Uh, I have a problem."
Randal: [sounding concerned] "What?"
Julie: "There's a caterpillar on my handlebar and he's HUGE."
[silence]
[more silence]
Julie: "Hello? Sweetie? What should I do?"
Randal: [starts laughing] "Aww, caterpillars are so cute! Take lots of pictures! Is he big? Is he hairy? I bet he'll become a big, beautiful cicada."

Men.

Finally I managed to get Randal to stop laughing at me and explain the proper procedure for caterpillar removal from handlebars; namely, take a stick and a leaf, prod the hairy beast onto the leaf, and then deposit him in the garden.

But caterpillars don't always do what you want them to do, and I couldn't get him to move! Where oh where are the students when I need them???

Luckily, just then, our school caretaker came out of the main doors. I ran over in my best damsel-in-distress fashion (luckily, I was wearing a skirt today, so it was pretty easy), and then, despite any Japanese-language skills whatsoever, got him to come over to look at my bike (my communications consisted of "sumimasen ... jitensha ... caterpillar ... onegaishimasu" and a bunch of hand waving). He laughed when he saw the caterpillar just sitting there, as content as could be, then went to the nearby storage shed, pulled out a broom, and gently brushed the caterpillar onto the leaf I had been using and put him in the garden. He then went on to carefully brush off my handlebar, and taught me the word for caterpillar: kemushi.

It was a close call and I'm surprised I made it through in one piece. Phew.


I tried to get a face shot of the caterpillar in all its fierceness, but was obviously too frightened by it to get close enough to get a decent shot (yes, even using my zoom). What can I say? I'm a city girl.

My mom is the coolest person ever*

My mother could barely type 10 years ago, and she has since taught herself to be quite computer literate. Her specialty is photoshopping pictures (she uses ACD-See, actually, which I have also just started using since it came free with my digital camera), and the proof is that she removed the telephone wire which was obscuring the nice view of the mountains and clouds in my previous post. (The other two wires remain, but they would be more difficult to remove, and they don't impede the view as much anyway.)



Thanks, Mom!

* And it's not even Mother's Day yet!

An afternoon in the life

So I left work at 4:30 (I finish at 4:10 but never actually leave then) and cycled to the bank and to the pharmacy. On the way, I passed a few students who actually called out to me and asked me how I was, and I told them, "Kyotsukete!", which means "Be careful!", as they cycled off. I took my time cycling home, and even stopped at the conbini (convenience store) to pick up a salad and onigiri (rice ball) for tomorrow's lunch. (I usually leave this till last minute on my way to school, which often translates into not going at all and then scrounging around for lunch food.) I also picked up a large package of edamame, the best beanpods in the world. I'd take a picture but, alas, they are already no more...

As I locked up my bike downstairs, I had a sudden moment where I actually thought to myself, "Gee, it might have been nice to stay here a second year."*

Halfway up the stairs, I realized I had left my bike key in the lock, so had to go down to retrieve it. I do this on a fairly regular basis (my mind is going). However, it's Japan, and even though bike theft is not unheard of here (and in some urban areas is apparently an actual problem), it's pretty likely my bike would still be there the next morning. Once I went away for the weekend and left my bike key in the lock the entire time. But I'll try to not repeat that.

In my apartment, it was hotter and stuffier than hell. I think I need to kill the rest of my plants and just start keeping the curtains closed all day long. My windows all face south. (OK, who'm I kidding - my ONE window faces south.) Out of short-sleeved dress shirt and light grey dress pants, into shorts and a tanktop. What I wore all last August, September and most of October. Summer is back.

It was quite hot today, and now it has clouded over and the air has that heavy feel it gets before it starts raining. I hope it rains. The rainy season is coming, however, and I've heard that can be less than pleasant. I'm not afraid of rain, but unlike, say, Halifax, where heavy rain will last an entire day and then go away, I have been told that here, heavy rain will fall for almost the entire month of June. In fact, when I mentioned to one of the teachers today that there had been some rain in Kyushu while we were there, she said, "Oh, has the rainy season started there already?" Maybe.

On my day off on Monday, amongst other things, I finally decided it was time to pack away my two heaters. I am stubborn, however, and refused to take the fan out - it's only early May! But last night, I slept with no covers and was still too hot. Resistance, I fear, is futile.

Anyway, all of this is really just an excuse to post a picture I took upon returning home on Sunday, in the late afternoon rain. I got to my floor, and was taken aback by the neat effect the low clouds and light were having on the distant mountains. (Now, if only someone could remove those telephone and electricity wires.)


* Luckily, it was merely a fleeting moment.

A festival from afar

A few weeks back - April 7th, to be exact - I was sitting in my apartment on a mild but slightly grey and slightly rainy day, nursing my yucky non-Hokkaido cold and feeling really sorry for myself, when I suddenly became aware of a ruckus going on outside. I went out on my balcony and saw the beginnings of merriment at the shrine and neighbouring playground on the street behind my building.



A festival! For the whole morning, I caught snatches of music but not much was going on yet (at least that I could see). I debated going out to investigate, but my misery knew no bounds, so I contented myself with spying from the balcony. (aka, I could stay in my PJs that way.)

Early afternoon, chaos was unleashed. Well, OK, Japanese-style chaos, which is orderly and tidy and subdued.



You can't really see it here (I did the best with my optical zoom), but here the guys on the platform (VIPs of various types) are throwing motchi (sweet(ish) rice cakes with anko bean paste up the middle - actually quite tasty) to the people below. I've been at festivals before where they threw motchi, but never for this long. It went on for almost 15 minutes!

Then, just as my camera batteries started to die, the portable shrines, or mikoshi came out. Panic ensued, but I found replacement batteries, as you can see:



And they headed straight down the main street past my apartment! Cool. I'm sick, miserable, and unhappy, and thankfully don't have to leave the comfort of my own home to indulge in some Japanese culture, for once.







I believe hiding under that plastic (it was drizzling at this point) was a giant taiko drum.



Here's a snippet I took of the procession, including the proper way to transport a mikoshi:



The people at the old folks' home across the street from me couldn't contain their excitement at the merry-making.



You can see a little old lady in a purpley-grey shirt leaning forward toward the passers-by, with a guy in a white shirt right near her - he was making sure she didn't hurt herself - she was so excited, dancing and clapping and waving like mad at everyone. Later I could see the hospital staff talking about her (as they were bringing in the chairs and stuff).

And then - so soon - it was over.



I went back to my normal life. However, about an hour later, I heard the telltale music once again! I rushed out to the front door, and sure enough, the worshippers were on their way back to Tsushima Shrine, the mikoshi's tour of the neighbourhood completed.









And then it was, this time, actually all over. I went back to being Poor Little Sick Julie For Whom Nothing Interesting Ever Happens In Japan (Until Something Does).

Back to the Winter

Not starring Michael J. Fox, but Julie and Randal, and, of course, Simon, the Original Homie in Hokkaido.

We're headed to Hokkaido tomorrow night, and will be back in Gifu Tuesday evening.

Here, the weather has been lovely and mild as can be (with the exception of yesterday, which was chilly and damp as all hell*). Our temperatures are ranging in the 10-20 degree range. In Sapporo? Temperatures continue to hover around 0. Yikes. So I guess I'll pack my momohiki. You know, if I ever get around to packing. What's the rush? I still have exactly 24hours left (no minutes, no seconds).


* Yes, I realize hell tends to be neither chilly nor damp, even on the best of days.

An effective alarm clock...

I need one of these at home.

Having ignored my earlier alarm clocks (why do I bother setting them on Sundays anyway?), I had no sooner fallen back asleep and was having a dream in which I was fleeing some now-unremembered foe in a car, which was rocking back and forth...in a dreamlike sway.

I woke up, instantly wide-awake, to realize that no, it was my apartment that was swaying. And it was no dream. I quickly put my glasses on, and made a mental note of the location of my earthquake kit (about four feet away, under my makeshift desk. Then I sat in bed, and listened to my dishes chink in time with the gentle rocking.

It lasted maybe 5-10 seconds at the most. Not as long as the last time and perhaps as intense (which is to say, not very intense at all, as far as these things go).

I see the JMA doesn't have its final results up yet, but it looks like a strong(ish) (5.0) earthquake in the Japan Sea north of here, which means we really only got the tail end of it. My end of Gifu Prefecture is marked at about a 2.0, which seems about right. They are showing two, at 9:47 (I remember it being a touch earlier, but it's possible) and 9:57, same intensity; I wonder if this will updated and consolidated into one earthquake as they get more information. I certainly didn't feel a second one here.



As soon as it seemed everything was going to remain stable and not shake any more, I called Randal. He'd also been woken up by it, and was diligent enough to get up to turn the gas off (I don't have a gas stove, so I don't need to worry about that in a disaster, thank god), but the earthquake stopped before he actually got there. Anyway, he has no internet at the moment (down all weekend), so let me tell you here that he's fine and in one piece. As am I. For now at least.

Update (10:27 a.m.): Huh. I just clicked my picture of the quake above to see what the most recent info was, and it turns out there was just an earthquake, at about 9:40 this morning, north of New Zealand, of 7.3. (The JMA displays distant earthquake info when the quake is of magnitude 7.0 or above, but this is the first time I've seen that function in action.)

Update (10:43 a.m.): OK, so I can't read maps. The earthquake (at 9:42, which is the time I thought - the two times I reported above is just the times they got different reports at, though they don't usually list them like that, I don't think)was a 3.0 seismic intensity in Gifu area, not 2.0 as reported above. And, it was a whopper of a quake - a 7.1 just off the Noto peninsula which is a little stick of land a couple hundred kilometres due north of here. If you don't believe me, full deets are here.

On your marks, get set...

ohmygodiamsoexcitedandneverwanttoleavejapanbecausethisisthebestthingever!!!


This is the report for March 8. Click here to get the most up-to-date report.

I only currently have one picture of progress here. Nagasaki claims to have started already, but I'm skeptical.*

* See, Elliott? I don't always blog about snow.

Random thoughts

So Randal said it best. I advise you go read his post first; I'm going to make some random comments about life and living in Japan, and our decision to not recontract.* He covers the general reasons very well. I'm going to talk more about teaching, and also a bit about Japan.

I haven't blogged a lot about how I like living in Japan, for the simple reason that, well, I don't think I really do. I like Japan. Gifu is even okay some days. I like teaching. My school is fine. There are a number of gems among my students, and every now and then, something happens that makes me feel GREAT about teaching there.

For example, last week I found out that two of the 3rd year students who have been coming to see me for the past month or so for a bit of extra help with translation work and conversational practice (I don't teach 3rd years at all, so this was nice) in anticipation of university entrance exams, BOTH got accepted into the Tokyo University of Foreign Languages (one to study Portuguese and the other, Polish), which is apparently a very difficult university to get into. That was nice.

The reason I usually give to other JETs when they ask me why I chose to not recontract is that my job is unfulfilling. (I didn't tell my school this, as I don't think they would have understood; a bit of a selfish Western concept. I simply told them that I wasn't in a position to commit to what was, in effect, another 18 months in Japan. That is also true.)

I like teaching. I have been lucky enough to do some teaching twice in the past - at Dalhousie, when I was assistant teacher for an undergraduate course in communications, and, of course, last year, when I taught a first-year law school course in legal research methods. Also, when Randal and I took a short certificate course in TESL methods in Jan 2006, I ate it up.

However, I just don't enjoy teaching in Japan as a JET. Though I am luckier than some others, in that I am pretty much given free reign with my lesson planning, teaching what I wish and what I think is important, most of the time I feel like I am more The Resident Gaijin - amusing, but a sideshow to the real work of learning and teaching English.

English is a mandatory course at all junior and high schools in Japan, for all grades, but there's a major disconnect between what the Ministry of Education says and what actually gets implemented at school level. Reading and writing are taken very seriously, in a let's-learn-English-the-way-they-used-to-learn-Latin kind of way. But speaking! Let's leave that to Julie. Oh, and let's make her class worth NO MARKS so the students know it's as important as dirt. I'm at a high school which is quite academic - we're the second-ranked school in the prefecture, and most of our students go on to university. However, being smart doesn't mean these kids WANT to learn English.

I come from a bilingual country. Most provinces allow you, at some point, to stop learning French if you should so choose. (Quebec is an exception, for understandable reasons, and you must take French every year; but note that students at French schools must also learn English every year until graduation.) The onus is then upon YOU to decide whether or not you want to become fully bilingual; that is, whether or not the second language (in some cases, of course, it is a third or fourth language) will be useful to you in the future. I think this is smart, and I think Japan could learn a lesson or two from this.

Part of the problem, I think, is that, in Japan, the group is more important than the individual. Always. The nail that sticks up gets hammered down, is a well-known expression. In education, this translates to everyone learning the same thing at the same pace. Of course, they are streamed and re-streamed at various levels (the JHS students write tests to get accepted into various HS, depending on their academic level and career goals; students at my school can focus on science\math courses, or just take a general curriculum), but accepted to a school or university, everyone is pushed through at the same rate. It's really perplexing, and it doesn't work.

It also drives me batty a lot of the time.

Other than work, Japan is okay. There are many days where I wish I could go into a store and NOT have the store clerk say, "Irrashaimase" ("Welcome, thanks for shopping") and then blush furiously and avoid my gaze when he/she realizes I am not Japanese (and break into a sweat if, god forbid, I have to ask a question, which I only ever do if I'm fairly certain I will understand the response). Also, and don't tell my school I said this, but I don't really like a lot of Japanese food. I didn't think I was a picky eater. But they do weird things to vegetables, and are fond of weird cuts of meat. Ebi (shrimp) is virtually impossible to avoid (I'm getting almost fond of it...almost), and eating ika (squid) and tako (octopus) are, unfortunately, national pastimes. Mostly, however, it's the vegetables. No more tsukemono! Not every vegetable is improved by being pickled. Ugh.**

Anyway, I wanted to keep this short and I did not.

Before everyone freaks out and thinks I am miserable here, I am not. I find small moments, small tasks that give me some satisfaction. I plan on enjoying my last 5 months here. I want to do a good chunk of traveling, both in Japan and elsewhere. There are a number of things I still want to see and do. But could I do this for another 18 months? NO.

In other words, I'm looking forward to coming home, but I'm glad I'm not leaving next week. I think that's key.


So what's next?

When we return to Canada (we don't know which city yet), I want to go back into a library, and hopefully one where I can do teaching/training (not necessarily an academic or law library). I've even toyed with the thought of - gasp! - working in a public library for a bit, just to get the experience.*** Or maybe not. Anyway, I'm lucky, since, unlike many other JETs I know, I'm already highly employable in a profession I truly like. I would be interested, however, in teaching part-time at a private English school once I return home, if at all possible. I really do like TESL teaching. I'm also interested in maybe, maybe, maybe, at some point (in a year or two), doing some further studies in the educational field (like a Master of Curriculum Studies or something). Just ideas. I am also lucky in that, with my library training, I am qualified to work anywhere in the world, and I hope to someday be able to take advantage of that fact. If you hadn't noticed, I like to travel.


I am now going to amuse myself (and hopefully you) by posting some random pictures to Flickr.


* Or not-so-random. If your name is Mark Reynolds, please don't blow my cover by pointing out that many of the thoughts I have set down here are stolen almost word-for-word from an email I sent you back in January.

** Also, Canada has better sushi. Yup, I'm definitely a 3 on Randal's Re-contracting Regret Scale.

*** Public libraries scare the frick out of me. I'm not sure why. It seems to me that you'd need to be smart and quick-thinking as all hell to survive as a reference librarian in one, however.

Last blast?

Winter arrived in Gifu for just under 18 hours last night and this morning.

Midnight (a few hours after I posted the photos yesterday):

Soudensakaemachi never looked so snowy!

Then, to prove for once and for all that I'm a bit of a nerd (or do I mean a loser?), I set my alarm for 6:10 - a full hour and a half earlier than I need to get up - so that I could take some pictures of snow before it was all melted away (as I was sure would happen):

Early bird gets the snow.

Even at that early hour, it was warm enough for me to stand out on my balcony in PJs and bare feet to take the picture. And I have to say, the snow made north-end Gifu look almost pretty :)

I went back to bed and can reassure you that at 8:00 that same morning, when I checked on the snow's progress, it was already steadily melting. I then took a picture of my favourite mountain, since it was looking plenty cool:

Mt. Kinka In Snow and The Disappearance of Gifu Castle. Authorities are investigating.

I tried to convince Randal that he should call in sick and go snowboarding on Kinka-zan (nuts to this driving two hours just to find a hill with some snow on it).

Some flurries as I got ready for work, but by the time I was cycling to school at 9:15, I was glad I had peed before leaving, since I was accompanied by the steady rushing drip-drip sound of rapid melting. It snowed a few more times over the morning, but by noon (when I was set to head out with my camera to capture some real flaky goodness), the snow was gone entirely, leaving only giant puddles. And lovely memories. And purdy pictures.

With any luck, this may be the last time I blog about snow (or, more usually, the lack thereof) in Gifu. However, as we're headed to Hokkaido in just over 2 weeks, and I've been informed by none other than Elliott* that he was woken up yet again at 5:30 in the morning by a snowplow this morning after yet another heavy snowfall, it might not be the last time I blog about snow.**

* Who, incidentally, isn't going to be in Hokkaido when we go to visit him, the meanie that he is.

** Though, strangely, Simon, who will be in Hokkaido when we go to visit him, says that things have been rapidly melting in his neck of the Hokkaido woods. He lives northeast(ish) of Sapporo, while Elliott lives further south, so perhaps Elliott is (as he is wont) just trying to cause trouble.

It's snowing!!!

Look at those flakes fall...


Click to closer inspect the Snow Queen

Just a little while ago, it was snowing beautiful, big, fat flakes that stuck to my nose and glasses. However, in the 15 minutes that it took me to snap some pictures and post them here, I note that it has now largely turned to light rain. Oh well. For the briefest of moments, there was a smidgeon of hope left for something vaguely resembling winter.

I just can't help myself...

Since I haven't raised the topic in a while (yesterday's mention-in-passing doesn't count), and as I note the Ottawa webcam Ottawa shows still much snow on the ground,* I feel compelled to inform you all of the weather here in Gifu for the week. The JMA doesn't list Gifu itself, but being only 30km north or so of Nagoya, I figure their weather is a good bet for us (we being all on the same floodplain).

I can't unfortunately copy the information with its pretty pictures (sunny sunny sunny) directly here, but the gist of it is as follows:

NAGOYA
Mon: low of 4, high of 15
Tues: low of 4, high of 14
Wed: low of 4, high of 11
Thurs: low of 0, high of 13
Fri: low of 2, high of 16
Sat: low of 6, high of 16
Sun: low of 7, high of 17

Those kinds of temperatures, at this time of year, just strike me as stupid. Stupidly good.

Now if they could only do something about the food here,** I'd stay forever.

* I also haven't taunted Elliott about it in a while. But, since I may be going to visit him soon, I will be nice and not mention the utter and complete lack of anything resembling a winter here this year.

** And shoes. I need to find shoes in my size. That goes for pants, too, and blouses.**

Two years in the making...

For the bibliophiles in my readership, you probably already know that about two years ago, I started a second blog with reviews of all the books I was reading. I am pleased to announce that two years later, I actually have reviews of every book up! This means I might actually be able to start reviewing them now shortly after I finish them.

pixxiefish in the stacks

In other news, while it might look like I haven't done a lot of posting here this month, I've actually been doing a lot of background stuff. I added labels to every post, both here and in the stacks. I made some small Template changes (nothing earth-shattering or indeed very interesting, so I'll spare the details). I also have been hard at work updating my Library Thing site, which is my newest favourite toy, and, of course, putting up oodles of pictures on Flickr for you to enjoy. I spend Thursday nights drinking beer and knitting with some other girls downtown. I went to a doll-making class about two weeks ago, and really ought to put up pictures of my doll for you to all enjoy. There have also been two abortive trips to Nagoya (one ended in downtown Gifu instead, and the other never left the house), as well as Osaka (that was downgraded into Nagoya, which in turn was downgraded as mentioned above). I've barely even been out to Kitagata this month to visit Randal! God, what have I been doing with my time all month???

The weather here is getting nice. We are probably too late in the year now to do any snowboarding (though Randal may still try one day). There was virtually no snow. I have almost permanently stopped wearing my momohiki for the year. I had my balcony door open all afternoon yesterday to get some fresh air in here. But I will keep the long underwear handy, however, and not get too revved up about open windows, as we are in the process of planning a trip north to Hokkaido in mid-March (heads up, Homies!) during Spring Break; if, that is, we can actually make it past the Gifu JR station this time. :)

And now, I must stop procrastinating (you all knew that this was what this was really about, right?). I must go clean my bathroom, take a shower, eat some breakfast (yes, at 2:00 in the afternoon) and finish my Japanese language test for the month. (I have over halfway to go still, and I don't understand a thing. In fact, I haven't looked at it in almost 3 weeks, and I don't even remember what I'm supposed to have learned this time 'round!)

bienvenue chez moi

I was feeling a bit under the weather (still am - I'm battling a low-level cold) this weekend, and I stayed home in my jammies and cleaned almost the entire apartment (there's a few corners I left untouched). Then I took a bunch of pictures for posterity. Since it's become obvious to me that no one is going to come visit (well, OK, the Homies and Erin did, and they were most welcome), I decided to stick these up on Flickr in the form of a tour. You are invited to view the set here. Many of the pictures are worth (I use that term loosely) viewing in their full size, as I have taken full advantage of the "notes" function this time around.

And if you DO want to visit, you have till the end of July to do so!

An evening of excitement...

So, two things of note to report for the evening:

1. It snowed!!! Well, OK, it snowed for about 10 minutes. Fattish flakes that melted almost the second they touched the ground. I was out for the evening, and we saw it snowing through the front window of the bar we were at. A few people ran outside to savour the snow. (I did not. Viewing it from the window was adequate for me.) As I walked home later from the bus, there was not a speck of snow to be seen as proof of this occurrence, other than a few car roofs with the barest dusting.

2. I learned to knit!!! Well, OK, I was taught the basics of knitting. Whether or not I have actually managed to internalize these teachings into anything remotely resembling "having learned" remains to be seen. I met up with some girls, mostly other JETs from the area, who get together every Thursday at a bar or cafe downtown (this week it was the bar), and they knit and chat. There was about 7 or 8 of us. I was taught how to cast on (put the yarn on my needles to start) and how to do a basic knit-pearl stitch. I am making a 27-stitch width baby-pink scarf (3 knit - 3 pearl). I debated taking a picture of my first night's accomplishment, but during the 3 hours I was there, I had to re-cast and re-knit my first row four times. So there's not much to photograph just yet. Maybe in another row or two. (If I make it that far!)

I must sleep now. I have a sore throat, and tomorrow I have to teach 5 out of 6 periods (including going in early for an 8:35 class) because of a few rescheduled classes from earlier this week (the schedule at school is just messed up these days). Now, off to dream about knitting a snow-white fleece... (it's cold in here right now).

As a side note, Blogger made me upgrade tonight (in order to post this) to a Google Account Blogger account, and I can add *labels* to my posts. I shudder to think of all the time I am going to waste in the next while, retroactively labelling my posts...

It only took me three months...

Homies in Honshu (Nov. 3-5, 2006)

The Homies in Hokkaido, Simon and Elliott, come to the "mainland" for a whirlwind tour of Gifu, accompanied by the spunky, irrepressible Erin-of-Nagasaki. Join us as we visit the Site of Reversible Destiny and Gifu Castle, take pictures of giant spiders, and generally attempt to irritate each other...

View the set here. Don't delay - see all 122 pictures today!!!


Coming up next: My Christmas vacation from six years ago. S'all good.