Mt. Daisen

This pic is of a house on top of the mountain adjacent to the Daisen peak.
I climbed Mt. Daisen on Monday. It was quite the experience. I can't find the words to do it justice, so I will let the pictures do the talking. Check out my facebook page to see all 43 photos of the beautiful mountain. They are great.

Tokyo Trip

For Golden Week Jeremy and I hopped a train to Tokyo. We took a bus to Okayama and then hopped on a Bullet Train. I usually hate traveling, but seeing all of Japan from the window of a bullet train was fun. I saw Mt. Fuji in all its greatness and many of the famous rice fields. When we arrived in Tokyo I was amazed at the size and crowded subway.
We got to our hotel and then headed to Ikebukuro for dinner with my friends from Fukushima. They are also teachers, we had some trouble finding the place, but once we did we were in for a treat. This restaurant was vampire themed and the waiter and waitresses were all dressed up like vampires. It was a lot of fun, the waiter hit on Jeremy and we took some funny pictures.
The night life in Tokyo was insane, the clubs are open all night and every body dances here. Compared to Tottori where nobody dances at the clubs it was a lot of fun. I can tell you more detailed accounts in person.
During the day, we went to Harajuku, the famous fashion/crazy shopping market. The streets were so crowded in some parts that we were just standing still. It was some of the best people watching I have ever experienced. Some of the people looked like they came straight out of a Japanese comic book/cartoon.
We also went to Tokyo Tower, I had been there before, but we again because it offers the best view of Tokyo. You can see the whole city. The size of the city really left me in awe. If you take downtown MPLS and multiply it by like 50, you get Tokyo. The city is quite impressive, but I can't imagine living there. Rush hour in Tokyo is a good experience. I was pushed by a man with white gloves into a crowded subway, I thought there was no way I could fit, but he pushed me in no problem.
We also went to Nikko the following Monday. It was about a two hour train ride up there, very scenic and peaceful. Once we got there it was so crowded that the peaceful place that I visited when I was thirteen had turned into a circus. Nikko Shrines became a World Heritage Site in 2005, so since then it is one of the most visited tourist spots in Japan. It was still fun seeing all of the cool shrines, but the peaceful place I remembered was taken over by seas of people.

Below is my favorite picture of my trip. The Nikko Bridge, the best picture I have taken so far in Japan.


That is the gist of my trip. A lot of wandering and subway riding coupled with some visits to temples and shrines.

Today I had my first lesson with the Special Needs kids across the street from Mitsue. It was fun, I spoke in Japanese most of the time because they have never studied English before. I taught them introductions, weather and feelings. It was a lot of fun being the first foreign person they have ever seen. They were all so interested in my hair and my eyes. I am looking forward to teaching them every week. It is going to be fun.
Until next time. JB

Day with Mitsue

The pic above is of me at Yonago Train Station at 5am, Jeremy and I decided to take some funny pics...
I had a great lesson with Mitsue today, we took a hike outside at a nearby trail up a mountain. It was quite beautiful, and at the top we could see the surrounding mountain range and the Sea of Japan on the other side. It was a lot of fun hiking with her because we spoke in Japanese most of the time, except when I had a story I couldn't tell in Japanese. We talked a lot about family and I learned a lot more about her. She is going to Paris in a few months and wants to get into walking shape for her adventure. She goes abroad once a year with her husband and has been lucky enough to see most of the world. After the hike we went back to her house and I showed her pictures of the family. I forgot my camera at my apartment so I couldn't take any pics....shoot. I'll get a picture of my Sensei up soon though.

Mitsue also told me of an opportunity to volunteer once a week at a day care for kids with disabilities. I would be teaching them English after my lesson with Mitsue and it will be very convenient because the day care is right across the street from her house. I am excited to volunteer and help out these kids who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn English.
After that I went home and packed for Tokyo!
I am off to Tokyo on Thursday, so get ready to see some amazing pictures soon!
JB

Teaching and More Teaching

I have been pretty busy over the last two weeks at work and haven't really been able or willing to do my usual exploring. I am excited because in ten days I will be on a Bullet Train headed for Tokyo. I don't know exactly what Jeremy and I will do once we get there, but I do know that it is going to be awesome. We are going to visit the famous Nikko Shrine where Ieyasu Tokugawa is buried, of the Tokugawa Shogunate. I love learning about Japanese history because it is so long and interesting. Samurais, Shoguns, Ninjas, Geishas, Temples and Shrines. The list goes on and to be able to go to such an interesting place is going to be awesome. In Tokyo we are going to do the tourist thing, go to Tokyo Tower (Japan's Eiffel Tower) and Asakusa Temple, and the famous Electronic District where robots walk around...not really but the most amazing technology in the world can be found there. I am also looking forward to seeing the busy streets and subways. We are also going to meet some of my friends from Fukushima there, I am so excited because these people are so much fun. Jeremy and I got hotel rooms in the middle of Shibuya which is like the Times Square of Tokyo. It should be a good time. Until then, I am not doing much, just working like usual and hanging out.
This weekend Jeremy DJed at the local club that we go to, it was a good time because our friends from Yonago came and this other Foreign band played. I also met some really nice Japanese girls and talked to them for like an hour in Japanese.
I had a nice lesson with Mitsue today, as usual it was a lot of fun and she made me some pancakes. Except they don't use Maple Syrup here, they use honey or jam. The honey was good, but it made me think of my mom's delicious pancakes and how I could really go for a stack. As usual I miss everyone and have to give a shout out to my guy Dahm for sending a nice birthday package filled with Candy.
I might not post again until Tokyo, so until then.
JB

Cherry Blossoms are awesome.

So this past week was a little hectic at work, but I was rewarded this weekend with the amazingly beautiful Cherry Blossoms (Sakura). They come out for about one week each year and they are spectacular. I have never appreciated trees so much until I saw the amazing Cherry Blossoms in full bloom this weekend. I am a person who loves trees, just ask my family about my favorite boy time hobby, climbing trees.
Jeremy and I went to Mt. Kyusho on Sunday at about 3 pm. They have a festival all weekend to celebrate the Cherry Blossoms. We found a spot to hang and we chilled for about 3 hours. After that we moved to this giant wall on the Mountain and watched the sunset, a little gay, but it was beautiful. I listened to relaxing music as I took the Cherry Blossoms in. It was probably the most relaxing thing I've ever done.
The next day we went and had a picnic under the Cherry Blossoms. This is called "Hanami" and it is a lot of fun. We went to this local river that is lined with Cherry Blossoms and sat under a tree and ate dinner. We drank sake, listened to music and exchanged stories. Jeremy and his friend Todd are hilarious, they are big time video game nerds. I have a hard time relating because the only video games I play are COD and sports games. Jeremy enjoys listening to Video Game soundtracks, it is too funny. Anyways the Cherry Blossoms are beautiful and it was a true pleasure to experience them this weekend.
Tottori is a beautiful place, but the Cherry Blossoms made it a wonderland this weekend. They are literally everywhere you go, they turn a normal street into heaven. Staring down at the Cherry Blossoms from Mt. Kyusho made me feel like I was looking down at clouds, that is how beautiful and fluffy they look.
Another things that I did this weekend was to purchase a Bullet Train ticket to TOKYO! Jeremy and I will be heading there at the end of the month and I am so excited. We are going to visit Nikko (my favorite Japanese Temple), climb Mt. Fuji and party it up in Tokyo. I can't wait!
Enjoy the photos, for the complete album go to facebook, and until next time....PEACE!

John Kelly Kennedy Budge (my older students laugh at my long name)

Japanese Kids

So the conceptions I had of Japanese kids is for the most part true. I thought that the Junior High and High School kids would be all laid back and shy. And for the most part they are, except the classes where one of my jokes lands and they all get the giggles.
Today I was teaching my class of three 13 year girls. They are all usually dead silent and mumble English to me, usually with perfect grammar and pronunciation. Today however, I got them into the giggly mood by cracking a joke saying Jeremy and I were going to take pictures together in a photo booth, a time honored Japanese girl tradition. They all lost it and couldn't stop laughing. The rest of the class was great because they actually had energy when they spoke. I have discovered that the best way to reach these older laid back kids is to crack a joke. And this is not hard to do, because basically anything eccentric I do gets a good laugh. For example, to explain "bang my head" I did a classic moved performed by ZEV in high school where you run towards a door and pretend to BANG your head, but you actually block it with your hand. My students erupted in laughter, they didn't stop laughing for 5 minutes. Laughter is the key method I use when teaching, I remember being a student, and my favorite teachers were always the ones that could make me laugh. I really think that it lightens the mood and makes learning fun.
Some other good news, I got my favorite student Masayoshi back from Jeremy next quarter! So I can continue to teach fun IDIOMS! This kid is a genius and he is hilarious, he makes my day every time we have a class together.
I'm on my way out to the Tottori nightlife, but I'll post again on Monday my time, Sunday your time!
ONE :-)

Tottori-City Life

This week was good, the days seem to fly by so fast. I guess that is what happens when you work full time teaching kids. The little ones are so crazy and full of energy that the time just vanishes. The older students are so laid back though, and it is a little harder to teach them. The older ones are so bogged down with homework and studying that they are so tired. I ask them, what will you do this weekend? And 50% of the time they say sleep. That is what they look forward to the most. The other 50% usually say study. I have some really bright students, their English is great and it is a lot of fun to teach them. I found out the other day that I won't have Masayoshi as a student next quarter. I was so upset because not only is he the smartest, he is the funniest. Last week we spent the whole class telling jokes and just talking because the textbook is too easy for him. I taught him some more idioms and we talked about American music. Japanese people enjoy the funniest American music. They love Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Michael Jackson and the Backstreet Boys. At karaoke they always ask me to sing Backstreet Boys or Bon Jovi, I dislike both bands so it is hard, but I do it to please them. They especially enjoy "I want it that way" by the Backstreet Boys.

Anyways, this weekend I had dinner with this Japanese girl named Yorie. I met her a few weeks ago and she said she wanted to learn English. So I told her we could meet up and talk in English and Japanese. She doesn't know much English, so we spent most of the time talking in Japanese. She is your typical party girl, I asked her what her hobbies were and she said, "drinking alcohol and dancing." Not the kind of girl I am looking for, but she was fun to talk to and practicing Japanese is always good. After we ate dinner we met up with Jeremy and his friend Eri. We then went to a bar and hung out for a bit then I went home. It was a fun night, nothing too crazy, but it was great speaking Japanese all night. At work I have to speak English all day, so I don't get to practice my Japanese much during the week.

The next day I woke up and wanted to go for a long bike ride/hike. I followed this river all the way to this trail that led to the sand dunes. I got off my bike and began to hike through the forest along this trail that led to the sand dunes. I thought it would take me to the tourist spot where I was last week with Mitsue. Instead it took me to this desolate part of the dune. It was great because the sand was untouched, unlike the tourist area that is covered in footprints. I walked around and decided to get artistic, so I wrote some Japanese in the sand. The picture below says, Nature. It was a very peaceful afternoon. I returned home and studied some Japanese, ate dinner and watched a movie.

The next day I went to my usual lesson with Mitsue. It was a little longer this time, I was really struggling with some of the material so we studied for about 3 hours together. She is so sweet, she made me these two delicious sandwiches that reminded me of home because they were on sub bread. We had a good lesson and then I returned home. That was my weekend, the usual, going out, biking, the ocean and finally my lesson with Mitsue.

I wanted to talk about one more thing: Japanese people stare at me every where I go. I thought I would get used to it by now, but I haven't. It is really annoying to pass someone and have them turn their head and follow you as you go by. If the cute girls do this I don't mind, but it is the old people. They give me dirty looks and it is quite uncomfortable. Jeremy told me to give them a big old smile in return, but that is hard to do when they are giving you the evil-eye. I guess I'll have to learn to deal with it, so I am going to take Jeremy's advice and give them a big "AMERICA RULES" smile and move on. That is the only piece of culture shock that I have had to deal with so far. The rest of the cultural differences are no big deal to me because I knew about them before I came.

Till next week. ONE