"Wait a minute! That's not Korean!"
You're right! It's Japanese! Why is there Japanese in a blog about Korea? Well, from December 31st-January 5th I was in Japan in Tokyo and then Sano. It was less of a sightseeing visit and more of a friend visiting visit, but I did get to see some amazing things, eat some amazing food, and relax after a very stressful couple of months.
I arrived in Narita, Japan around 1pm on the 31st and immediately went to check into my hotel. I found a cheap hotel outside the airport for about 77USD a night. I expected it to be a disgusting cockroach den, but despite the fact that the room was about the size of the boat cabin I was in when I went to the Galapagos it was spotless and clean and comfortable to sleep in. I was unable to check in until 3 though, so there was some sitting in the lobby. After I checked in I called up my friend Brandi, who lives outside of Tokyo with her Japanese fiance. We met up in Tokyo and walked around a little, visited the famous Harajuku area, and then got some delicious Japanese food. Now, I love (certain kinds of) Korean food, but if I had to pick a favorite Asian cuisine, I would pick Japanese. Unfortunately New Years Eve in Tokyo was cut short due to sheer exhaustion. 2011 hit while I was riding the train back to Narita, absolutely exhausted after a very long two days.
On the first Meagan was in Narita dropping off her family, who had been visiting her for the holidays. We met up at my hotel and then grabbed a bus up to Sano, in the northern part of Japan, where she is teaching English. I stayed at her apartment, and we mostly relaxed. I got to see more of the day to day kind of life, ate some famous Sano Ramen, and enjoyed catching up with a close friend. We took one day trip down to the shrine at Asakusa, which was beautiful. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my trip, and it was a much needed, if too short, break from work! Pictures are up on facebook, and I made several guest appearances in Meagan's vlog.
Thursday and Friday we were back to class. Classes have all been changed around and we're on the intensive schedule. Yup, the kids have to come to academy during their winter break! The 5th-7th graders meet with both the English and Korean teachers for double blocks of learning, while 3rd and 4th grade are on the normal A week/B week schedule. I have new third grade classes. We played games today and yesterday because on Monday they are with their Korean teacher and it seemed silly to start lessons. We did animal sounds and baby animals on Thursday, they seemed to enjoy themselves, although they're still scared of me. It should be an interesting month, we'll see how it goes. It is certainly nice getting out of work at 7 instead of 9, but surprisingly hard to get around for 1 instead of 4.
I hope everyone had a happy new year, and welcome to 2011! It won't be much longer before I celebrate my 6th month mark here! Take care everyone!
Hannah
