Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Tomorrow I am leaving for Cambodia and Thailand for 18 days for a much needed break from cold Japan. I am traveling with 3 JETs who live near Tokyo (I studied in Australia with one of them) and then meeting Kerry (from home) in Cambodia and hopefully Scott (from UPS) in Thailand! Have a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year! :)

I'm currently half-way through teaching an English class for adults that will continue into mid-February. It is really fun and just so happened to end up as all women, there are 26 of them of all different ages. Here are some pictures from last week's lesson on food followed by a little potluck with some special guests.




The snowy view from my apartment

Quick updates...

After traveling around the world for three months, Annie Walsh (a Boulder friend that I have known forever) ventured "off-the-beaten-track" to my little city for 3 nights. She went from the Middle East, South East Asia, Greece, and India to cold and insanely expensive Japan. She braved elementary school (two HUGE classes) and taught part of a Jr. High class about where she has been traveling. She also sampled some of my favorite Japanese foods and saw a hint of what my social life is like here. I had a great time but it was sad to have such a fun housemate leave.




Last Sunday, I ran in a city relay race for my Junior High School’s PTA team; the team was comprised of five very fit little mothers and me. Although we only had to run 2 kilometers each, it was all much more intense than I had anticipated. From the uniforms to the personal substitutes and support crews and the succession of eating/drinking parties that started at 3pm, the whole day was taken very seriously. Our team actually ended up finishing second (however, there weren’t very many female teams!)

My running team

All of my school's teams
A day of watching rugby and playing frisbee up in the mountains



Last night I had another "only in Japan incident." I took the train home after a night out in the big city on Friday and since I didn't have my bike with me, I stood around in the freezing cold, contemplating the hour walk or trying to track down a taxi. A nice fellow inquired about what I was doing and he kindly offered a ride, even though I live in the complete opposite direction. Not only did he drive an extra 40 minutes to get me home, he also had his brother drive all the way back home to switch their pick-up truck for a car that would fit three people. What a fanstasic country.

And for a city that isn't supposed to get any snow, it sure has been snowing a lot! Actually dumping...it is really pretty but is making for some cold bike rides!