Daijobu

This Monday morning was much more daijobu than the last two Mondays. For starters, I did not wake up with a vomit/ I partied too hard taste in my mouth.
I actually woke up feelin' kinda genki.

This weekend I packed up that trustworthy Toyota.


And drove an hour straight up a life or death situation- Japanese mountain highway- to the Iya Valley.


Lonely Planet refers to the Iya Valley as the "Tibet of Japan." I think that it is stupid to compare a beautifully hidden mountain side town (that is being rapidly discovered) in Japan to some other place in the world due to some vague similarities. Iya Valley is just Iya Valley ... a breath taking gorge with vine bridges to walk across, fish heads to eat, onsens to lay in, and and leaves that turn orange and yellow before they die and fall off trees. But, I do not know shit about Tibet. All I know is that I did just rent that movie and I did hang out with Brad Pitt(sburgh) during my stay in the Iya Valley (ha ha).


We camped and literally ran into a Fall festival the following morning. Obviously, there was a festival blocking the road back to Ikeda. There is always a festival in Japan.





After much soba, udon, and coffee we headed back down the mountain to a JET sponsored reality that is only now starting to feel real.


ps- tonight I made dinner that was not very good so I threw it out and ate a piece of cake, drank wine, and smoked cigarettes instead ... I pay bills therefore I do what I want.

Role Model Again.

This is the newest part of my family:
(Henry)

This part of the family is not too happy about the addition:

(Caroline)

If I had a baby I would want it to be a dog:
(Roxy)

28 Days Later ...

it will be my birthday.
So you should send me a letter:

Matsushita Mansion 3-D
Machi 2395-2
Ikeda cho, Miyoshi shi, Tokushima ken
778 0002
Japan.

Or a WQFS sticker.
Or a black speckled composition book.
Or a mix CD.
Or a pack of parliament lights (not 100's).

And I will send you a very thoughtful thank you note in return.

The Word Community

Best thing I learned at Guilford College is to use the word COMMUNITY as much as possible.
When you find yourself in a professional or academic situation and you are not sure what to say, just start talking about community. Even if you do know what to say you should throw that good word in.

I had an enkai (work drinking party) tonight and the principle called me God's gift to the school. Verbatim, she said I was a gift from God to her school. ( But this was one of those situations when I knew that if this person's first language was English that would probably not be the chosen vocabulary).

Not to undermine the existing love.
I did use that good word COMMUNITY at the first enkai.
When asked to give a speech about what I thought about Japanese sports day ... my speech was about community.

Caity Sensei-
What do you like about Japan? Community.
What do you like about Japanese schools? Community.
Why do you think Japanese schools are better than American schools? Community.
What do you like about Japanese food? Community.
What do you think about the students at our school? Community.
Do you have a Japanese boyfriend? Community.
What do you do with your free time, do you have lots of friends? Community.
You are so strong at drinking whiskey, how often do you drink? Community.
Do you drink alone? Community.

Thank you Guilford College.