おひさしぶりですね (long time, no see)

So time flies and it has already been two weeks since my last post. This blog is my only form of writing out my thoughts while I am here so I want to make sure that I am consistently writing. Since the last time I wrote...I think I am pretty much settled in to life here. So maybe I have felt that I don't have much to write that is new but there are still things all the time that are different, shocking, exciting, etc.

Last Weekend

Last weekend in Fukui were the Halloween celebrations planned by the local International Club. It happened a week earlier than I am used to Halloween being, so I was not in the Halloween mood but I did go to the local mall to see a bunch of cute kids dressed up. We also had the international festival at the local international association. Yuki and I stayed all day, first volunteering to monitor kid games and face paint and then enjoyed food from around the world and all kinds of performances (dance, singing, capoeira, etc.) It seems like I always see Japanese people around so it was nice to see some of the foreigners in Fukui come together. I still get surprised when I see a non-Japanese person. Japan is a homogenous country, and there are more and more foreigners coming into Japan but it still throws me off.

School

Ichi-nenseiis are doing show and tell presentations. I have been getting very angry with students who talk during other students presentations. It is not really my job to discipline but some classes probably think I am mean because I have gotten really stern with them. With the ni-nenseiis I am still trying to figure out how to teach Writing. I just feel bad that they are my guinea pigs.

I helped a JTE out with one of his classes where he would be evaluated by other teachers and a member of the Board of Education. He was so nervous which made me nervous but it made me remember when my supervisors would come into watch me student teach. I told him that he is a great teacher and they just want to help him improve.

I have been going to cooking club and am going to start going to Tea Ceremony Club and hopefully Japanese Music Ensemble club.

This weekend

This weekend was so great because May (and her friend Holly) and Kelina came to Fukui. It made it feel more like home. So now I am less homesick. We did a lot, so we are exhausted today. On Saturday we went to Katsuyama where some other JET's drove us around. We went to the dinosaur museum (many dinosaur remains have been found in Fukui), the Big Buddha (supposedly the biggest in Japan, was built only 20 years ago so doesn't have much historical significance or get much recognition) and Heisenji (a beautiful nature walk with fresh air and like "natural refrigerator" because the air was so cool). Yesterday we went to Takefu to the Crysanthemum Dolls which depicted the story of the Tale of Genji (which I don't know) and to Tojimbo cliffs (the place I went before when Yuki first arrived, it is known for it's beauty but it is infamous for many suicides).

In general

It is getting colder...and with no central heating I am not looking forward to the winter. In school the hallways are as cold as outside so I will probably dread leaving the teachers room.

Yuki got the job at McDonald's but first has to go through the Japanese paperwork process. He needs a postal bank account (Japanese post offices do much more than mail), but before that he needs a certain type of Japanese identification, before that he needs a copy of his koseki (family registry) and also his hanko (personal seal). So hopefully it won't take too long.

I am procrastinating on writing our dad a letter. Maya wants Yuki to take care of it and Yuki doesn't know what to write so I think I will write him an impersonal letter asking him to meet with us and see if he responds.