On my Way to PUSAN!!

So I am leaving for Pusan today and I am excited. I can't wait to go sightseeing, eat and party it up in S. Korea's second biggest city. We are going to drive to Kita Kyushu in Japan and then we are taking a boat to Pusan. I have a great book, "Cutting for Stone" so I am not worried about getting too bored on the way. I also hope we meet some cool people on the boat. I really have no idea what to expect, all I know is that I will be with two people that are fun and love traveling. I hear that Korean people are more friendly than the Japanese and that many can speak English. I also know that Korean women are beautiful. I'll write a nice blog after the trip, so until then pray that my boat isn't sunk by a N. Korean Sub.......jk don't worry, we aren't going near the disputed area :-)
JB

Some thoughts on Japan

As I was working out today I started to think a lot of Japan and what I like and what I dislike. Let's start with what I like. First, I like being able to go out and speak another language for a full day. There is nothing better than going out with my friends and speaking Japanese all night, people are so intrigued that I can communicate with them even though I'm a Gaijin. (Foreigner) Second, Every time I work out at the gym I feel huge. I am bigger than everyone at the gym and I can run faster and farther than most people. Also, the dumbbells only go up to 20 kg (44lbs), so I am always lifting the "heaviest" weight available and people always say I am strong......right...it is a nice ego boast. Third, I enjoy the terrain of Japan. Growing up in MN you only get corn and lakes. I love the lakes, but they don't compare to the sea and mountains. There is nothing better than chilling on the beach and looking out towards the vast sea in front of you and the immense mountain range behind you. I enjoy just biking around and taking in the landscape. Check out my pic of Mt. Fuji below, I took it from the plane on my way to Tokyo. I think it is truly one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Amazing.


Fourth, I love my students...well most of them. My high school students are so bright and funny. My junior high school students are worked to the bone and they still come to class ready to learn. My elementary students are mostly cool, minus one or two classes. I have one student named KOKI! So I naturally call him Koki Cola, just like the way my Mom calls her friend Julie Koch Koki Cola. He is so smart, every week he comes to class ready to learn and talk about anything, even when he can't find the words he somehow gets his point across. Brilliant. My young students are so adorable and funny, they always make me laugh. There are many other things I enjoy, but these are the main things.
What I don't like, First, I can't find any anonymity around here. I go out to lunch, everyone stares are me, I go to the supermarket, everyone looks at me. I bike to the store, everyone looks at me....It gets annoying after awhile. Second, I hate the people here who don't return a Hello, I mean how hard is it to say hello...?? For example, I was at the gym and gave a friendly konnichiwa to some old guy. He just looks at me with a disgusted look...The thing is, he is wearing a Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus Hat and shirt and I wanted to talk to him about it, but apparently he hates foreign people, but loves our stuff, movies, clothes ect. My point is, if you are going to consume our culture, don't be a dick when someone from that culture tries to be nice to you....Those are the two things I hate. Other than that Japan is great!
Sorry for the random tangent, I used to be able to discuss such matters with Jeremy, but he is gone, so I have all this stuff bottled up inside of me. Love you until next time, enjoy the photos.

Osaka, Busan, Tokyo Disney World and Trains

Last week I went to Osaka, this week I went to Kurayoshi and Yonago, next weekend I'll be going to Tokyo and then after Christmas I am going to S. Korea.
Osaka is an awesome city. The people are more friendly than the people in Tokyo, they are more open to having conversations with random people and they are very eccentric. They are kind of hard to understand because they use a lot of slang when they speak, but it was so much fun going out and exchanging experiences with random Osaka people. I went with my good friend James who is from Wales. He is just like all of my friends back home, easy to talk to, into a lot of sports, reading and just a funny guy overall. We went to the Aquarium and the "World's Biggest Ferris Wheel." We also enjoyed eating Subway!!!! I think together we ate 10 feet of subs in two days.....yea we were a little excited. We also went to the Hard Rock Cafe, a must when in the big cities, American Music, food and FREE REFILLS!!!! Restaurants here aren't big on free refills, so I get super pumped when they have them. We went out and had a good time then went home.


This weekend I had to get my re-entry permit from Yonago, so I went to Kurayoshi and watched James and Yoshi smash people playing Rugby, then we went to watch our friend Chan compete in a Karate competition, he got second place, pretty impressive. After that Chan, Cian, Ai and myself went to an Onsen (Hotspring) They are sooo relaxing and no one else was there which was nice. The next day I went to the Airport and got a multiple re-entry permit, so I can leave the country as I please now.
The Korea trip is coming up fast. We haven't booked our hotels yet, but we have booked our ferry. Yes a Ferry, across the Sea of Japan to Busan! I have never done such a thing and I am pumped to be at sea, I hope I get to see some whales before the Japanese poach them....my attempt at a joke. We are going to celebrate New Years there, Eric, David and myself. I am going to start studying Korean next week so I can at least ask for a beer. I am excited to visit this city, it looks beautiful. Check it out for yourself. Busan is on the opposite side of the border with the NORTH,so don't worry about me getting bombed or kidnapped.

Next week I am going to Tokyo....not too excited because it is a work trip and we are going to Disneyland.....what am I 5 years old.....so lame. The rides are weak too...I am just going to enjoy the FOOD like I always do in Tokyo.
Keep watching your phones, I will call this week!
JB

I worked out for the first time in like a year..haha

I got a gym membership at a nearby club. The place is cool, but they don't have a bench press...Damn. So I am doing pretty much all free weights. I walk into the place and everyone stares, as expected. I signed up and then they showed me the rules and one of them was no tattoos....so I can't use the pool which sucks, but i joined for the weights. It felt good to lift weights again, it is refreshing. My weekend consisted of going to the gym for 2 hours both days. That was it. The next couple of weeks are going to be rough at work, but come Christmas time I will be ready for a nice, long vacation. It is going to be nice. Another cool thing, my mother is sending me Vince Flynn's most recent novel and she even got it signed!! I can't wait. The problem with his books is that I read them way too fast and the fun is over in like 3 days....
Until next time.
JB

Halloween Weekend

This weekend I went to Yonago for an awesome Halloween party. After work, I hopped a train home as usual to Yonago. This time however I didn't have to train it alone. My friend Erik and I boarded the train in our regular clothes, but we changed into our costumes on the ride over. It is funny because even though I was wearing skin tight pink pants, cowboy boots, and a baby blue hat I didn't really feel like I was getting stared at any more than usual.
We arrived at the club and they had some awesome bands playing great oldies like YMCA. It was fun to get a little taste of home. The party was pretty great. I met some new people and had a blast.
The next morning was tough, I totally forgot that I promised my friend that I would go and play golf at like 9am. Therefore when I woke up, I was totally surprised and stumbled to the golf course in some scrub clothes. The funny thing is, I ended up playing really well as I pared the first 5 holes.....Golf is a funny game, sometimes it is like I am a pro, while other days I double bogey every hole. I ended up at 8 over par for the day. The course was really beautiful and the golf carts were amazing because they were remote operated and they ran along a path. I have never seen that before, so I took a video of it and put it on facebook if you want to see it. The course was up in the mountains again with breathtaking views. It was a foggy day, so it made the course even more beautiful I think.

That was my weekend. Nothing too spectacular, but it was one of the best I have had in some time. It is funny, every time I start to get sick of this place, I have an amazing weekend that makes me want to stay here a little longer. July is the perfect time to come home. Not too long, not too short.
Enjoy the pics

Just Been Chilling Lately

Sorry for slacking off lately with this blog, but I have not been doing anything too exciting. I've just been teaching and exploring my new neighborhood. I moved into a new apartment because our school moved to a new location. I don't really like the new neighborhood, but it is closer to the Ocean, so I can just hop on my bike and be at the beach in like 10 minutes. I have really been enjoying that lately. Even though I can't go swimming, I still enjoy reading on the beach and listening to the waves crash into the rocks. It is definitely relaxing, growing up in the MPLS you don't get that experience. Therefore, every weekend for the past month or so I have been hopping on my bicycle and then I just ride until I find a new ocean spot where I can just relax and read. I know this sounds extremely boring, but for me it is like a new hobby. I don't really have access to any sports right now, so this is the next best thing. I believe that I have been doing this recently because of the book I am currently reading. This book is called, "The Wind Up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami. It is quite difficult to read, but it really makes you think about life and all the things that make it great. In the book he describes how people don't take the time to appreciate nature. I think that is the reason I have been biking to the ocean to read this book. It is really a wonderful feeling to be laying on the beach with the sun, wind, and ocean consuming your every move. Anyways.....enough with the weird thoughts that I have been exploring recently..I have also been having a lot of fun going out on weekends with my friends. I primarily hang out with these 3 guys and a girl. One guy is from Wisconsin, so naturally we get along well. The other is from Boston, so again we get along well. It is funny how much I love Americans and America now...haha. The other guy is from New Zealand and he plays a mean guitar. The girl is from Ireland, so again naturally we get along well. We also hang out with these people from Yonago. They are really fun too. The problem with going out in Japan though is that we go out until 4am. 3am is an early night and 5 am is not crazy at all. I think that is another reason why I head to the beach to relax, some nights are so long I need to realllly relax.

School has been okay recently. I have kind of fallen into Robot mode at work though. Ever since Jeremy left, I don't have that person around who I can be really stupid with and make American jokes with. So I have been doing the robot a lot lately, but my students are all still cool except for one class.
One student has really been warming up to me recently. Her name is Nagisa and I have been her teacher for 6 months now. When she first started she would whisper and never look at me or try and express herself. Now she comes into class with a big smile and speaks loudly and clearly for me. She also knows that I can speak Japanese so if she doesn't understand something, she asks me in Japanese and I just nod or give her the correct Japanese word she is looking for. I was the first foreigner that she had ever been in close contact with, so that is why she was scared at first, but now her mother says she is always excited to come to English class with me. It feels good to get to a student like that.
Other than that, I have been trying to plan my next vacation, which starts on Christmas. I really want to go to Guam or Bali, but my friend is sounding like he might back out, so we shall see. I'll keep you all posted.
Until next time....Love you all.
John Kelly Kennedy Budge (Japanese people say my full name is awesome).

Long time no see. (Hisashiburi)

Sorry I've been absent from my blog for a long time now. I've been busy and lazy recently.

First, a recap of the crazy visit I had from Joe and Zev. They arrived on Saturday and I told them to stay at a hotel near the Airport and then head to Tokyo in the morning. I was afraid they would get lost in giant Tokyo Station. Well they didn't listen and went to Tokyo and got lost in Tokyo Station...haha. Luckily they met a guy who spoke English and they found a hotel.

The next day they came to Tottori. I went to the station and met them at the top platform. It must have been truly funny for the Japanese people there to see three big ass Americans jumping up and down pounding there chests, hugging, howling like wolves and screaming "ohhhh what up." They came back to my place and my friend Ai picked us up and we headed to the beach. We had an awesome time at the beach and then went out for some nasty Japanese food.
Monday we rented some bicycles and headed to the sand dunes. We swam in the sea and ran up and down the huge sand dune for like 4 hours. After that we were so exhausted we came back, took a nap and then met Mitsue at the station. She was her usual Genki self and we hung out at Mt. Kyusho with her for about an hour. After that we went to an all you can drink event at the top of this hotel. It was a lot of fun.

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Wednesday, we woke up early and headed to Tokyo. We had a lot of fun on the trains talking, drinking and being foreign. When we got to Kyoto we found our hotel and it was a sweet Japanese style hotel. The room was really big (by japanese standards) and conveniently near the station. We then headed to Kiyomizu Temple, the most famous one in Kyoto, it was really crowded, but it was still fun. It was fun to watch Joe and Zev take in the Japanese culture and history. It is so different from anything in America and I could tell they were in awe. Joe was scared he was going to break something, so he walked around with his arms behind his back. As we walked around, I kept hearing these Japanese girls call us the "cool foreigners." It is always fun to be called cool, haha.
Thursday was my favorite day of the trip. We took a train to Nara, where we met Jeremy and his friend Melissa. I knew that Joe and Zev would like Jeremy because he is just like us, always looking to have a good time and make a good joke. We went to the Todaiji Temple / Big Buddha place in Nara. It was the most magnificent temple I have seen so far in Japan. The Temple is soooo big and it is made entirely of wood. Then once inside you see this giant Buddha statue. It was awesome. To add to all this excitement, there are like 5 thousand deer rooming the streets of Nara. They just chill and when people bring out food they crowd you and don't leave you alone. I bought some deer cookies and the deer would not leave me alone. The rest of the day was spent wandering, playing at an arcade and chillin out at a sweet restaurant. It was my favorite day by far and we were able to convince Jeremy and Melissa to come to Tokyo with us.
Friday and Saturday were kinda blurry. We got to Tokyo and the partying began. We went out to these crazy clubs and didn't get to do as much sightseeing as I wanted, but oh well the clubs were insanely fun. Friday we went to Roppongi and almost lost Joe...This is the foreign area of Tokyo, so there were a bunch of foreign people, didn't really feel like Japan.
Saturday we did some hungover sightseeeing. We went to Harajuku and people watched in this crowded area of Japanese Hipsters. It was ok...Then we went to the Tokyo Metro Government Building which is the tallest one in Tokyo. I wanted them to see the crazy expanse of concrete that is Tokyo from above. They were impressed, but hungover so we stayed for like twenty minutes and then left. It was still fun for them to see the crazy size of Tokyo. That night we went out to Shibuya.....and we didn't leave the club until 5 am.....I won't go into detail, but one of the highlights was the 4 of us starting a giant dance circle and having the entire club watch us as we performed various American dance moves that are foreign to them. Of course they thought we were so cool, because Japanese people love American Culture. I wish I could have gotten that on video...
The next day, Joe left and Zev and I headed back to Tottori. The next four days can be summed up with one word BEACH. Zev and I just went to the beach and chilled. It was really relaxing after being crazy in Tokyo for a couple of days. Zev left on Thursday and it was back to the grind of teaching..
Let me just say that they made me even more homesick. I don't think I have ever had that much fun in my entire life. It was an amazing experience and it will be hard to top. Enjoy the pics. Check out the facebook pics.

Since then, Ive just been working hard, teaching and I have to move apartments because our school is relocating.....sucks. but oh well. I had the best summer of my life so it is a fair trade off. I lived my first summer by the beach and it definitely lived up to the hype. Beach parties, beach bbqs, chillin at the beach reading an awesome book and playing golf by the beach definitely made my summer. Such an awesome summer.

I promise not to be so lazy with this blog anymore...haha.