Best Farewell Gift So Far

Don is very excited about this!

Notes From Don's Students

I have to agree with Wakana, but I'm wondering how much English she learned if that's what she was paying attention to.

Matsuri Outfits!

Here are some of my students in their festival outfits!

Bonus Pics!!!

Enjoy!!

Shiretoko #2

Some more pictures of our adventure!

Second Anniversary!! Shiretoko, July 2-5 Album #1

This is the trip we took for our second anniversary.  We were so excited to go because Shiretoko is a place we have wanted to see since we first arrived.  With time winding down it was looking like we weren't going to get the chance to go but we made it!  Yay!  It was an amazing experience.  We saw so much nature!  Bears, deer, foxes, dolphins, waterfalls, mountains, sunsets, birds.... it was great.  Shiretoko is a World Heritage Site preserved because of its untouched nature.  Most of the park is closed to only advanced hikers with special government permits.  For us novices there are tour boats that take you up and down the coast which is where we saw the bears and some of the most amazing cliffs and rock formations that we have ever seen.  Amazing waterfalls too.  I don't think we did much talking during the trip, mostly oohhed and  aahhed and told each other to "look at this," and "holy crap, look over there!."  We took a million pics and are finally getting more skilled at getting better colors out of our shots with the new camera.  We took too many pics for one album so a second post is coming soon.

Rebun & Mt. Rishiri

We have been staring at Mt. Rishiri obsessively since we got here.  It is about 80 miles away but it is so big you can see it on a clear day from our town.  I always look for it when I take the bus up the coast.  It is usually too hazy to see it but it is stunning when the weather cooperates.  It has a smaller sister island called Rebun which we headed to first.  We took a quick hike and saw some beautiful cliffs.  We then took the ferry to Rishiri, met up with Jim and Dave at the campground and stayed in an awesome little cabin.  It was perfect, two sets of bunk beds complete with clean sets of sheets and down comforters.

The manager of the campground was excited to meet gai-jin and offered to take us to the convenience store to buy food and water for the hike.  He saved us a bunch of time and money in cab fare.  He also told us the best time to head out for the hike would be at first light.  3:00AM!!!!!!   So we bought a lot of instant coffee!  We got up at 3 but made it out around 4.

Chrissy was convinced that she was only going to do a little of the hike and then turn back.  But once she got started my awesome wife couldn't give it up and went all the way to the top!!!  6 hours later I was super impressed and very happy to be sharing the view with her at the top with her.  We ate a quick lunch, took some pics and then headed back down.  It got really crowded up there.  We were so excited to be heading back down but... it still took like 4 more hours to get to the bottom. We took a well deserved soak in the hot spring at the base of the mountain, had some ramen and then took the ferry back to Hokkaido.  Then we struggled to keep our eyes open on the 2.5 hour drive back home.

Shout-Outs

So, the end of our Japan adventure is getting closer and closer and we are experiencing a whirlwind of emotions. I am excited to see my family and friends, nervous about getting back in the classroom, and heartbroken about leaving the friends I've made here. Like we did on our last radio show, I would like to give some shout-outs to the people that have made my time here special:

Ikuko, I will miss our hilarious and sometimes serious talks, and the fact that when Don teased you, you actually thought it was funny. I will miss your super-fast driving in your silent hybrid car and our Wednesday lessons. Thank you for teaching us so much about Japan and for spending hours with us cooking that turkey! I promise I will get that taco recipe to you soon! I love you!

Atsuko, you always had wonderful and wise things to say at our chat club. I will never forget your braveness, whether it was doing charades at the Halloween party, or getting lifted up into a tree! I will miss your subtle sense of humor, your sweet voice, and of course, the delicious treats you make.

Kayoko, you will be my crafting inspiration for as long as I live. I will miss your advice and your recipes and all the times you made me laugh. Thank you for inviting me to many many activities, for helping me get my classes started, and for researching anything I asked you about. You have taught me so much! I will miss the knitting club and nature club and our conversations. Good luck with your new job!

Murasan, I wish we would have met sooner! Our "japanese lessons" were always a treat every week. I really feel like I learned a lot about Japanese culture from you. Thank you for all of the delicious food and tea, and for helping me with my terrible Japanese. I hope you are able to travel to Spain this year, and to New York in the near future! I will miss your laugh and your independent spirit!

Alaina, how I loved our long conversations and your lattes! Thank you for all of the reading material, the recipes, and inspiring me to grow my own food! I hope to invite you someday to my own little farm. Good luck with your all of your hard work in Rumoi. You are doing great things here - the city is lucky to have you, and your family is lucky to have you!

Miki, you have been like a sister to me. I don't even know where to start...our movie nights, our karaoke nights, volleyball, kinball, studying for your exam, booking hotels, translating emails, yoga, snowboarding...I don't know what I would have done without you. I will think of you every time I hear or sing "a whole new world." It's our song! Or maybe "girls just wanna have fun" is more appropriate! I will never ever forget you, your smile, your honesty, and your friendship!

I really really hope to see all of you in New York some time soon...Ok, I'm going to start crying, so I'll end with this. To all of my friends here in Japan:

どうもありがとうございました！