Tazawako Lake and walking 10 kilometers!

April 26
In Akita, an hour away is the deepest lake in Japan. In the prefecture above there is another lake called Towadako. There is a legend that Tazawako has the spirit of a woman who turned into a water dragon of the lake because she drank too much of the lake water in order to become beautiful. Lake Towadako is her husband that too turned into a dragon of Towadako. I can't remember why. They say that in the winter Tazawako never freezes over because of the heat coming from the two dragons that meet and then making love. Ohh naughty...

Hiraizumi- The "would be" Kyoto

April 19 to 20

Chuson-ji Temple






Takkoku Cave (A shrine inside a mountain)
There is also a Buddha carving on the rock.




Ichinoseki City and the Geibekki Gorge.
Just to be confusing there is a Genbekki Gorge 40 kilometers away. We ended up ping-ponging between the two because we didn't know which one had the Flying Dango.

Full Bloomin' Sakura

This weekend we experienced one of the best reasons to be in Japan, Hanami season! Hanami means "Viewing the flowers", but in real Japan-speak it means "Drunken parties with your friends under the Sakura trees." On Saturday we had our first Hanami with our new Japanese class. The weather was kinda blah and the white sky sort of washed out the flowers, but regardless the time was well spent. However, God decided to give us a break and on Sunday the sun shone and the sky was an intense blue. The park that we went to that was deserted with a few scattered, shivering Moriokans was now busting out of the seams with parties, bright blue tarps, and singing from various musicians. We had our second Hanami party with people from a cafe that we frequent. Nothing could have beaten our Hanami. We had great food, great conversation, and even a Charlie Chaplin mime. He was excellent! The colors of the sky made the flowers extra pink and nothing was more beautiful then that day. It was even worth not drinking just to enjoy the view before it would go away. But of course... we did drink. Because not even alcohol could have made us overlook the beautiful scenery that was surrounding us.






Hanami Kanpai!

桜咲く The Sakura Blooms!

After bearing the sweltering, sweaty armpit, constant forehead drip of August, conquoring the drenching rain and typhoon of September, barely making it through the negative temperatures and disaterously dangerous icy death traps of November, December, January, February, and March, it has all been worth it to finally see... SAKURA!!! This past week, little buds of pink have been coloring the grey streets of Morioka. Everyday is a Sakura watch and everyday that I go to school I look at the three huge Sakura trees in front of our school to monitor its progress. Whenever I'm teaching in class, I have to make sure not to look outside or risk getting mesmerized by the pretty pink clouds of love. Finally today they are nearly in full bloom. The flowers overpopulate the trees, but they are still a pale pink. By tomorrow of early next week, they ought to be a beautiful pink color. Tomorrow will be hectically busy. It's Hanami season which means tons of drunken parties in the presence of the Sakura trees.

Happy Birthday Yohei Party

So there's no pictures right now. I'm really just making this post to save the date. That way when I finally can set up pictures, you don't see a slew of them on the first of May. Man I miss my home internet. This old school computer doesn't cut it. It doesn't even recognize a camera. Sigh...

YAY!! Yohei party pictures!

The time for flip flops has arrived!

Well, last weekend we went out with our friends for the first outdoor river BBQ of the year. YAY! We went to the nearby river and set up along the rocky ground. I was hobbling like a bent over baachan (granny) while I teetered on my two inch heeled shoes over the rocky ground. I felt stupid, but empowered. The weather, nor the rocks, not my embarassment can keep me from wearing open toe heeled shoes on a bright sunny day! Our friend Kenta bought over ten pounds of meat and we ate heartily. We had a great time chatting and bathing in the warm sun. It was short lived as a chilly wind started to brush against us and we had to retreat to warmer areas. At least we had that one moment. It was like our own oasis.

A New Season

With the start of April, I can see why spring has that essence of new beginnings. Even in our own lives, we have experienced a multitude of things that brings us to a brand new place. Within a month, the snow has completely melted, new flowers have bloomed, there are birds chirping in the early morning, Ron has started his new job, I have begun to wear open-toed shoes. We have put away the skiis and started to pull out the road maps. And the most surprising change of all... this past weekend, we moved into a new home!

It was neither expected nor was it something we ever thought we'd consider, yet in a weekend we have moved from our 3 room, 9 meter squared two-story apartment, to a 5 room, 20 meter squared one-story home for only $230 a month.

There has always been a house behind ours that we always assumed was taken, but my supervisor recently told me was vacant and if we wanted to see it, we could. Curiosity killed us and we looked at this new place. Apparently it is the teacher's housing for principals or vice principals, but since it has gotten so old, they don't use it for their housing anymore. What we came to was an incredibly spacious home, with a backyard, easy access to our garden, ample parking space, and a dance floor (as Ron calls it).

Our home has always been wonderful, but there has always been a few things that has kept us from truly loving it. Since Ron and I are spending more time together, it is hard to both be in a space meant for one person. Also, the stairs that we have are really scary and I always have the fear that one day, it will take my life. And... probably the worst of all, everyone knows of Ron's teeny bladder and he continuously wakes up in the middle of the night needing to relieve himself. He has to trek out of the warm room, into the cold, brave the deady staircase, make his way to the bathroom, and then find his way back, in the dark. He tells me he's fully awake by the time he gets upstairs. Now all he needs to worry about it making it the meter from our new room to the new bathroom.

We are so happy with our newest string of luck and we are looking forward to lounging in the backyard, having an American style BBQ with friends. We are also looking forward to people visiting, both in America and in Japan and being able to give them a whole room to sleep in, rather than a portion of a room in between the dining room table and China cabinet. We are continually being blessed by so many wonderful things and we can see that both prayers and good vibes are keeping us happy, healthy, and apparently, in new housing.

Everyone, please come and visit.