Another day, another update. I've been in Japan long enough to recognize all of the instrumental Jpop they play at the grocery store.

Today was the school's choir contest.. Yes, contest. Apparently it's kind of an old-fashioned event, and few schools do it anymore. But we got the afternoon off, and went to the Numazu Cultural Center, where each group of homeroom students performed a song. What impressed me was that the students organized their performances themselves, meaning students played the piano, conducted, worked out all the harmonies, and led practices. And they only had two weeks of 45 minute sessions after lunch time to do it all! Granted, not all the songs were great, but after learning this, the good ones seemed all that much better. Homeroom 3-4 won, which I knew the moment their song started. They actually sent chills through my spine, they were so good. At the end, the teachers got on stage and sang their as well, and received a roar of applause and cries of "SENSEI! SEEENSEEEI!!" from the audience. It was silly and touching at the same time.

This week has gone pretty smoothly for me. Not only has the weather let up gorgeously, class has been easy. I had my first years smell several covered bowls and guess what the contents were, in English of course. Lots of fun for the students, and I didn't have to do much at all.

This past weekend was another long holiday. Bless the Japanese for having a public holiday at least once every month! My friend Sonja came to visit me from way down near Kakegawa. On Saturday we had a lovely lunch at Blue Water. Not only does it have great food, but the fantastic view alone makes it one of my favorite restaurants here. It is actually in the back of a rather bourgie retail store, but the entire back wall is a window/balcony that faces the river. The decor is sort of boathouse-meets-hip-loft-apartment with a clientele of hip, well dressed 20-somethings. It's a very "take-a-friend-for-lunch" or "bring-a-date-for-dinner" kind of place. Come visit me, and I'll take you there. :)

After lunch we tried out an onsen in Numazu called Manyu no Yu. It is run by the same establishment that owns Hyaku Warai (100 Smiles) in Ohito. Not as big as the latter, but still very relaxing and enjoyable, especially the outdoor wooden bath that made me feel as if I was floating in a giant rice bowl.


The next day, after the disappointment of finding out Kamakura is a lot farther away than we thought, we decided to explore Shuzenji. Shuzenji is a town in the middle of the Izu Penninsula, well known for hot springs and lovely scenery, but not without some historical clout. In the central tourist village, you can conveniently walk to two impressive shrines, the Grave of the Thirteen Loyal Vassals, the graves of a shogun family with a tumultuous history, and a little bamboo forest. We didn't stay long, and were kind of uninformed about the area, but I might return. The river is lined with Japanese maple, which will no doubt be very beautiful in the next month or so.

And while we're on the subject of trips, I am officially going to Seoul over Thanksgiving weekend! Booked my ticket last week. Let's hope all this nuclear weapons business doesn't interfere...

And before you go thinking my life is all fun and trips... I spent three hours tonight reading synopses of "Lost" because I didn't have anything better to do. Actually, scratch that, I did have something better--actually watching the episodes-- but blasted abc.com only lets you view them if you are within the United States! How ridiculous is that? Everybody knows that the people who most desperately need to watch their shows are all located outside the US where the shows don't air.