Winter Update

Hello to everyone still keeping up with us!

I'll start by apologizing about how long it's been since we've written a post here.  I keep trying to update everyone on the recent events but I keep getting sidetracked or losing my motivation.  So here we go!

It's winter in Japan.  We got our first snow well before Christmas, and it's been raining and snowing on and off since then.  The snow here is very wet, perfect for making snowballs or snowmen or snowanything, really.  Instead of plowing the narrow, uneven streets of Kanazawa, we have sprinklers that turn on when the white stuff starts to accumulate, which wash it (along with any hope you had of walking to work and staying dry) down the drain.

Our kerosene heater and the ample amount of cold weather clothes we received for Christmas has kept us warm, despite the lack of insulation in our house.  We'll heat one room at a time in true Japanese fashion.  Over winter break, we'd wake up and choose the "safe room" for the day - did we want the tatami room, with its window and comfortable couch, or the living room with the TV?  Or, to save on electricity and kerosene, did we want to go camp out at a coffee shop for a while?

Christmas in Kanazawa was fun but also difficult.  The sights and sounds and company and foods of Christmas were sorely missed here.  Jorden and I took a full two weeks off of work, which came at a great time since we were both ready for a long break.  We had a spectacular haul of presents, so you can all return from the edge of your seats.  Among the highlights were a robotic hand, some generous Amazon gift cards, a metric ton of American candy, an Ansel Adams calendar, and some cats.  We spent the day playing with our new goodies, then went downtown for a cup of coffee and some Japanese studying.

Our first New Year's celebration in Japan fizzled, I'm afraid to say.  We were intimidated by the wind, cold, and rain on the evening of the 31st, so we stayed inside and instead watched the season finale of 24 season 6.  We toasted the New Year and then went to bed.  We figure we'll have many more New Year's Eves to come.

We returned to teaching on the second week in January.  The first week was a rush of administering and grading tests.  My students took a test the day they came back from break.  My teachers say this encourages them to do homework and study over break, while I tend to think it just ruins their vacation.  After tests, it was back to the normal routine.

Now, in late January, we've had our first visitor from America!  First Place Prize goes to Shaelynn, a friend of mine (Daniel's) from high school and a fellow adventurer.  She arrived on Saturday and she'll be staying until this coming Monday.  It has been a lot of fun seeing all the touristy stuff here in Kanazawa.  We did a bit of tourism in August when we were new here, but we've stuck to the "locals" activities since then.  Now, it's great to have an excuse to see all the museums, restored houses, and other cultural exhibitions that we'd usually forgo in lieu of school activities or hanging out with other JET friends.

Finally, we've saved the best for last.  With January coming to an end, the deadline for re-applying to the JET Program has arrived.  Jorden and I have given it much thought and agreed that another year with the program is indeed in our future.  We've signed the forms and we're locked in for another year's contract with our friends here in Japan.  We have also begun preparations for our "Summer Tour."  We're looking into plane tickets for a visit from late-July to mid-August.  If you want to have a Daniel and Jorden sighting, your best bet would be to hang out around Reno and Seattle during that time.

Well I hope this catches everyone up on the latest news from Japan!


Thanks for reading,

-The Adventurers