Tomioka Times

So for those of you who anxiously awaited our blog last Monday, sorry. That is all. Life in Japan as it turns out, is just life, not that all-fired different from life anywhere alse, so writing about it in a way that is interesting for you to read and me to write can be a challenge. So first the boring stuff, otherwise known as "what we did." We did a number of things. We went to Tokyo on Sunday on the Highway bus and saw Mt. Fuji along the way, which was spectacular, but we had left our camera at home, so you'll have to take our word for it. We were glad to be able to leave Tokyo in the evening and feel like we were going home, back up into the hills of Tomioka. Other things we did: attended a Tomioka International Association Supper, found a recycle shop, which is basically a junkyard that sells things, found a French bakery, made friends with a guy from the hills of Montana who married someone here a number of years ago, ate all kinds of fish, fish eggs, raw fish, seafood, raw seafood, fish with eggs inside, whole fish and some chicken. Now onto more interesting things. We have two apartments, each apartment being a self-contained fully functional suite. What this means is that we are obviously expecting company, many guests to occupy the suite that we are using as a day room right now. So please email and let us know when you will be arriving.

Work is good, we are getting into a routine, which means that both we and our students are having a beter time of it. A typical day for me starts at about 1:30pm with planning the days lesson, and then classes start at around 3:30 or 4:00. It's not that I really need 2 hours to plan my lessons, but I like being here early just to get into the groove, so to speak. Generally we get the younger kids, maybe 5, 6, or 7 year olds first for 50 min, and so it is a lot of games and fun and excitement to start the day. Then