Well... there's that.

Sorry for the long delay. We have begun working our full schedule and during the adjustment period I guess we just never got around to updating our blog for our friends and family at home.

So here is the news:

My bike was stolen! This bike! (The black one... I wish there wasn't a purse in it at the time of this picture)


It turns out that the warnings we were given about drunk people occasionally stealing bikes for an easier trip home were legitimate. We didn't report anything to the police because we never got around to writing down the serial number of the bike... and also we had our doubts about anything coming of a report.

As far as transportation goes we are still currently using the train system, going back and forth between Nishi and Higashi almost everyday. It won't be that way for long though, because we have decided to buy Erica's car! It is a sleek and smooth red station wagon! Seriously though, it's pretty exciting as we were starting to feel as though we might want to have the option to see the world outside of Maizuru from time to time. We'll post some pictures once the insurance is all worked out and we can actually drive it.

Finally, we had a rotten experience in our apartment. It turns out that we have a slight cockroach infestation (maybe we hadn't noticed due to our former rodent infestation). Eagerly anticipating her dinner, Georgia opened the utensil drawer to grab a knife and fork when she saw two large cockroaches scurry under the towel upon which our eating tools were placed. I managed to squish our unwanted guests, then I threw all of the silverware in the sink to be washed and re-washed. After that we decided that it was time for the cockroach towel to retire and I pulled it out of the drawer only to find a hardened gray and brown sphere attached to the fibres. Now apparently cockroaches do not build nests, so we don't know what was going on there, but once we realized that we had been using those utensils to eat for over a week, we lost our appetites for several days (seriously).

Currently, our battle is ongoing. We invested in some cockroach hotels and they seem to be doing the trick. From time to time we hear the scurrying of our terrified enemies seeking out their last refuge, but we know that eventually they will lose their will to resist the intoxicating.... toxin that waits for them in that alluring black box. The bastards...

Other than that we are doing well, but we are very tired. So please drop us a line when you have some time and let us know how much you miss us, because we miss you.

Movin' on up

Hey Everyone,

So our one week vacation is coming to a close, but we have had a lot of fun so we're not too bad off.

Wednesday: Asamoto picked us up at the Higashi Train Station at 8 a.m. (poor guy must have been on the road at 6:30), with his surf board tied to the roof of his yellow VW Beetle. The waves were not very big at any of the beaches near Maizuru, so we drove for over 4 hours (!) to Ise. First, Asamoto put on a couple of Instructional Surfing DVD's, which would have probably been a little bit more helpful if we understood Japanese, although most of the information was demonstrated on screen. On the way we stopped by a DVD rental shop and picked up the Gundam Trilogy because he really wanted us to watch it. We also stopped to eat some lunch on the way... which was a nice break because both Georgia and I were feeling a bit of motion sickness.




We finally arrived at the beach and Asamoto first demonstrated his surfing skills (he's very good, he stands up and rides all the way to the beach pretty much every time) then he set about trying to teach us to ride. I went first and, much to my surprise, I was able to stand up... even more surprising was how swiftly I was able to fall back into the ocean. I tried a few times (we have some videos of those attempts), eventually I was able to make it all the way to the beach (a short lived success) and then Georgia gave it a shot. Like me, she had a few rough falls, but she was able to stand up and even managed to ride a couple waves all the way to the beach.

CHECK THE END OF THIS POST FOR A SURFING VIDEO




(Get a tan!!! ... and a haircut!!!)





Asamoto was a great teacher. He was incredibly patient and it was very generous of him to let us learn on his surf board. We had so much fun and agree that it is one of our top experiences in Japan so far.





After that we had a very long ride home. So long, in fact, that we had to convince Asamoto to stay at our place and get some rest before driving back to Takarazuka. The next morning wasn't great because, due to the Obon festival currently going on, the garbage trucks were not in service and our kitchen was full of disgusting garbage in 35 degree weather.

We also were faced with our last night in Higashi Maizuru and decided to go on a little bike adventure. Mark had suggested that we follow a certain road that would lead us to some interesting sights around Higashi and we finally got around to taking a look. It's fortunate that we did because we ended up finding a beautiful shrine located on the top of a big hill. It looks very late in the pictures but we left our apartment at about 7:45 pm... so they are a bit misleading. It was a creepy place with many spider webs and the sounds of a jungle, not to mention that Obon festival is a respectful celebration in honour of ancestors.







On our way back we went adventuring a little bit more and ran into a group of alley cats. At first they were a little bit rude, but they chilled out and gave us a few smiles.





It is now Saturday and we have moved to our new apartment in Nishi-Maizuru! The moving part wasn't a lot of fun... I got stuck sitting with all of our belongings in the back of Keiko's van, but it is over now and we are thrilled to be in a much larger space.


Here are the ferrets that we will be taking care of for a little while. They are pretty stinky, but at least they are friendly! (to us... they were just engaged in a fight to the death before we intervened).




Here is our kitchen area



Here are the sliding doors to our 3rd room... 3 ROOMS!!!!



Aforementioned 3rd room.



We just downloaded the Strongbad game for Wii.



Here is the computer that I am currently updating the blog on. Very excited about the wireless internet here.




I hope everyone is doing great and still checking the blog from time to time :)

Japan Sea

On Sunday we went for a trip to the sea with Mark, Keiko and the family. Mark brought some inflatable kayaks which were a lot of fun to paddle around in. The beach was PACKED, which makes sense as this is the beginning of a week long vacation for a lot of people.

We played frisbee for a while and then lounged in the kayak until most of the folks had taken off. Before leaving Georgia chased some crabs around the beach, attempting to catch one long enough to get a picture. Unfortunately, it was not to be on this trip.

After we got home we took it very easy, then yesterday, with Keiko's help, we managed to set up some Japanese bank accounts.

Right now we are just trying to enjoy having some time off and looking forward to tomorrow, when we will meet up with our friend Asamoto-san and try surfing!

Georgia's Birthday and our first vacation

Hey,

Earlier today we both finished our last class before our week long paid vacation! We were BURNED OUT so this is a very big deal for us!!! Yesterday was also Georgia's birthday and boy was it ever not a very good one. We woke up to an email from our bosses stating that our schedules would be switched around, much to our dismay after finally getting into a bit of a routine. Next we had the final day of our summer school, and then Georgia had a fully packed schedule of classes to teach, ending around 9:00 p.m.. We ended up taking the night pretty easy and watching some episodes of Lost. Keiko and the girls gave Georgia some cheesecake and sang her happy birthday which was a very nice gesture.

Today we have been trying to make up for yesterday with a trip to the mall. Georgia found some new things that she really likes including a dress for our planned trip to the beach tomorrow. We've been riding our bikes a little bit, which is okay other than the heat... it's 31 degrees right now (not too bad actually, we had to deal with 38 degrees not too long ago). Next up we will head to the post office so I can cash some more traveller's cheques in the hope that I will be able to buy a birthday dinner.

We will update later this week with some pictures from our Wednesday meeting with ASAMOTO-SAN! We are going to try surfing!!!!!

Keep well!

In the groove

Hey Everyone,

I know we haven't updated for a while so I figured I'd let you all know what we've been up to. We have started our second week of an 'English Summer School' which is a two-hour a day camp filled with various activities. Yesterday we took the children to grocery store two buy fruits for Fruit punch and fruit filled jell-o. This week is a little bit different because the kids are younger and very quiet, so it's a bit tough to get them enthused about any of the games we have planned.

Last weekend we decided to have a big, lazy weekend where we basically just ate and watched television. It was nice after a long week of work but that is probably the last time we'll be doing one of those for a while.

Georgia has starting teaching on her own and she's very excited. She loves all (most?) of the kids and is looking forward to giving them great English lessons.

Next week is our vacation and in all likelihood we will be meeting up with Asamoto once again. We may even give surfing a try, so if there are no more wit-filled posts you'll know that I was probably eaten by sharks.

Anyways, all the best to everyone and I want to send a big congratulations out to Melissa and Daniel in anticipation of their wedding!



A beautiful Maizuru sunset.



Fireworks at a local festival.