BBQ in the Kagoshima hills

After frisbee last weekend one of the frisbee players invited me and a bunch of others to his house in the Kagoshima hills for a BBQ. I had no reason to say no so of course I went. The view from his house was amazing. The pictures are of the Sakurajima volcano in the distance and a small piece of Kagoshima city, cropped by the hills.

The culture shock is fading, but still present

I finally feel somewhat settled in with my apartment and my job. Maybe having a cell phone has helped, but I'm still without internet in my apartment. Actually, once I get internet I'll feel like a real boy again. Right now I'm still somewhat like Pinocchio.

I'm still getting used to all of the people staring at me almost everywhere I go. People like to just yell "hello" at me randomly. Usually when I reply with "hello" they just laugh.

A lot of young Japanese guys think it's cool to drive big American cars. Apparently they're really expensive and rare here. Yesterday I saw this young guy blasting some American rap song and driving around with 4 tv screens in his car. He was rapping along with the song but didn't seem to have any idea what he was saying. When he noticed me he stopped. It was awesome!

Akune camping trip

I went camping on an island called Akune this weekend. It was absolutely beautiful! The other teacher at my school and a few students organized the trip. We all slept in this tiny, Japanese style room, in this big hotel-like cottage thing. It was very hot and I was shocked that we all could fit in it, but it was an adventure and the barbecue we ate was amazing. We also got to light off fireworks the night we were there, so it made up for missing the 4th of July celebration back home.

Ultimate Frisbee.... Yess!

I found out about an Ultimate Frisbee game in a city a couple hours away. I played today and realized it was what I was missing. I need exercise and a little taste of home. I had to take a 1 hour bus, 1 hour ferry, and another short bus ride to get there, but it was worth it. Round trip takes about 5 hours and costs about $30. I'm thinking of going every weekend since it'll allow me to play Ultimate and also explore other parts of Japan and the big city of Kagoshima.

Work....ouch....huh?

I love teaching, but my first week has kicked my butt. There is so much to learn. Names, company policies, lesson planning, computer programs, student information, answering the phone in Japanese, speaking slowly.

I'm still getting over my jet lag and the culture shock. I think I have a love/hate relationship with Japan at the moment. I can't wait to get comfortable and settled in, and make some friends! It'll happen soon, but I'm just being impatient.

Kagoshima to Kanoya

Yes, the heat is real in Japan. When people say it's hot and humid here they're not joking! Luckily I had this beautiful volcano to look at as I was riding the ferry boat from Kagoshima to Tarumizu. After I arrived in Tarumizu my coworker drove me to my apartment in Kanoya. It feels good to actually have my own apartment after being somewhat homeless for the past month or so.

Japan is insane and I'm a jetlagged madman!

So I arrived in Japan after a 11 hour flight, a stressful, hot, sweaty 2 hour layover in Osaka, and a 1 hour flight to Fukuoka. I'm finally here. It feels like a dream because my vision is all screwed up from exhaustion and everything look blurry. I just got back from having dinner with a bunch of teachers and I only remember 2 of their names. Not a good start! Tomorrow I'm riding the bullet train down to Kagoshima, and soon I'll be in Kanoya, which is where I'll be living.

Training in Vancouver

I just finished the most stressful week of my life. Training was rough! I think I put most of the pressure on myself because I expect to do well even though all of this is new to me. Vancouver is absolutely beautiful and definitely a place I could see myself living one day. The city, the parks, the beach, the people... awesome combination!

Olympia, Washington

Today I went hiking with my brother, Ryan, up in the mountains near Olympia. We ran across this awesome log bridge, so I had to take a picture. The weather was quite beautiful and is making me dread the hot, humid weather waiting to greet me when I arrive in Japan.

Maybe it's good I'm not going to live in Tokyo

Until next time Tony Bennett

Last week I had to leave this behind. It was much harder than I thought it would be. I'm getting quite a bit better at giving stuff away now, or at least walking away from things I didn't think I had the courage to walk away from. It's been an odd last few weeks because some people have treated me like I'm dying and it's their last goodbye. I guess I'll have to come back from the dead and surprise them one day.

I miss my friends like crazy.

Well I've gotten rid of almost all of my possessions, quit my job, and bought some non-refundable plane tickets and luggage, so I guess there's no turning back now!