Matsuri and America

I’m happy to say I have my shiny, new computer and will be back to normal updates! I’ve also gone back and added pictures to my previous posts.

I’ve done a lot in the past few weeks. The weekend before I left Japan was 夏祭り (natsu matsuri, summer festivals. I went to the Gion festival in 黒崎 (Kurosaki) on Friday and 小倉 (Kokura) on Saturday and Sunday. It was so much fun!! Kurosaki Gion had many 山笠 (Yamagasa), giant floats carried around. The floats were incredibly intricate and had two or three tiers. A few people would dance on the top of the floats with lanterns and people inside the float would play the taiko drums. The floats were decorated with lights and lanterns and looks beautiful. Every area of Kurosaki had a float and they all competed to have the best looking and best moving float. The used to crash the Yamagasa into each other, but it was too dangerous so they no longer do that. It was incredible to see and a great way to start my weekend!

The next two days I dressed up in my yukata (a summer kimono made of cotton) for the festival in Kokura. I met Caol and Leah for lunch before heading over to the castle area for the festival. We saw a small parade that some of my students were in. We saw many different taiko groups and tried food and games at the stalls. We had a relaxing lunch across the river with a great view of the stalls and the castle. We met Dave and Patrick later on and stayed out until the festival ended at 10:00 PM.

Sunday I again wore my yukata and went to the Kokura festival with my friend Kikumi. I tried 金魚すくい (kingyo sukui, goldfish scooping). I used a paper net to try and catch goldfish, but my net broke before I caught any fish. The stall owner let me use a wire net to try and I caught two fish! I saw my students later on that day and gave them my goldfish. I had a great time out with Kikumi, but that night was full of packing. Monday I finished my packing and cleaned my apartment in preparation for leaving the next day. I finished in time to go out with Kikumi and Patrick for dinner that night. We went out to 焼肉 (yakiniku, Japanese BBQ) and had a great time! It was a nice little send off.

Tuesday, July 22nd I took a bus to the airport, a plane to Narita, and then the thirteen hour flight to JFK airport in New York. It was so nice to see Mike at the airport and I had a great time in America. I was up in Boston from Wednesday to Sunday visiting my parents and had a BBQ with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmother. Some friends came as well and it was great to see everyone! Mike and I went to two different Six Flags (New England and Great Adventure) and I got to spend time with my friends in New York (although I would have loved to spend more). I saw a movie in English without subtitles (How to Train Your Dragon 2) and enjoyed lots of food I can’t get in Japan. My last night Mike surprised me with tickets to The Book of Mormon on Broadway and we had a nice dinner in the city. It was a great trip and although I’m excited to spend another year in Japan, I’m also looking forward to coming home for good next year.

I’m back at work now making sure everything is set for tomorrow’s English camp. I will be in charge of a 7-person group of 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. My group is all girls and I’ve met them once before. I’m excited for the camp, but it will be a lot of work! It’s also nice to be back with all my friends and I’m excited to get back into the swing of things here!