Eventually, our path became less and less of a path, until we were picking our way thru marshes and high cattails. But we were determined to climb up and over this ridge of trees we could see. Eventually we made it, and fortunately the other side brought us back down into civilization. Wahoo.

We happened upon some be-puddled (?...just go with it...) rice paddies. Very pretty.

More walking-tour photos...

Excuse my nonverbal French, but at some point cross-cultural education has to talk about things like public lavatorization....This, my dear friends, is what many a public women's "restroom" (as it were) looks like all across Japan. That's right ladies...you be squattin, my sistahs. I avoid using these at all costs. In the event it is absolutely unavoidable, I must undertake a lengthy process of denuding myself completely from the waist down and carefully positioning myself according to precise scientific calculations. But, I can complete the whole process in less than two hours now, so that's something...

Sunday afternoon Jonathan and I took a long walk in the country around Kisarazu. But wait...is that James Dean I see? Rrrawr!

And...my own attempt to imitate them. Also, I just like this picture of me....

Further demonstration of a more feminine method...

Scott is demonstrating for me one of the traditional ways of tying a towel on your head. He has a great face.

Scott (right), Umeyo-san and ??? (I can't remember his name, but he had a very gentle smile and he always got shoved out of the conversation because he was so polite and there were a lot of women there who kept branching off from any given topic. So no sooner would he raise a question or state a comment, than someone was interrupting him to say what that question or comment reminded them of. Poor guy...)

Umeyo-san gave me three old hand-made fans that she used to dance with when she was a girl. They're very delicate and really special. I was so surprised when she gave them to me! It really moved me. Such a gesture is truly characteristic of many Japanese people: a spirit of almost selfless generosity, wanting to offer a gift or hospitality as well as wanting to aid you in better understanding or feeling more comfortable as part of Japanese culture and traditions. It's part of the basic fiber of the Japanese people and it is making my experiences in this culture very precious to me.

Umeyo-san hosted a few people from the party at her house after the party ended. She served us salmon slices and roe served on crackers as well as in little, hollowed-out lemon rinds. We ate yakiniku (bbq'd meat slices) and other kinds of fish. And of course much wine and/or beer and/or sake. Here she is in the processing of preparing pickles. Vegetables are buried in a pot filled with a bacterial mixture called nuka and left to soak. Every day the mixture is stirred and after so many days, the vegetables are 'dug up' and are ready to serve as pickles. They are very delicious.

The token "bunny hop" line dance that no party would be complete without.

Umeyo-san (left) and Yukiko. Umeyo is sporting the "Supaysharu Gaysuto" sash. You guessed it...that means "special guest".

This is "Scott". His real name is Yamamoto-san, but he likes to be called Scott. He's a crazy dork, but really sweet and totally goofy. This party was great because basically everyone there was either really old or a goofy dork. So we all had a great time just hanging out.

We played a game where we stood in a circle and passed a rubber band from stick to stick that we held our mouths. It was pretty funny.

Eventually, the party got really crazy...!

Jonathan and I decided to attend the party separately with our own dates...

Last Saturday, we went to a Christmas/end-of-the-year party for the members and particpants of a local community center. Jonathan teaches a class there, so we attended. We decided to dress up a bit and were worried we might be overdressed, but it turned out to be a fairly formal affair and we were dressed exactly right. We ate good food and played silly games. Oddly, tho, it was held in an out-of-style church-basement-kinda room with tacky light fixtures and drab walls. It gave the gathering a slightly comical touch. Anyway, at the beginning of the event, we listened to a few solo numbers performed by various instrumentalists and then stood through prepared speeches of three or four different members of some committee or board. This opening was especially notable to me because I hadn't had a thing to eat that whole day, and we had to stand there listening and waiting while the food sat on the tables under our noses. And this was multilingual food. No translation necessary. It was clearly saying to me, "Saarraaaah. Eeeaaat meee. Eat me noooowww..." It was all I could do to drown out its terrifingly beautiful Siren song. Not to put too fine a point on it.... heh heh.... Okay, then. Moving on...

Post-parade candy giveaway. Ordered chaos.

My fellow staff, David (the afro guy), Justin (the priest), Brian (Captain Morgan) and Jonathan (goofy face).

The mustache and eyebrows on the glasses Jonathan was wearing would wiggle up and down when you twisted a little knob in his plastic nose. Yui got a big kick out of making this happen.

This little babe is Yui. She fell in love with Jonathan and insisted on holding his hand for most of the time we were parading around the town. She's one of my 4-year-old Saturday morning kids.

More posing for parents... Left is David and I with my student, Mio. Right: Chiaki (in the orange hat) and Daisuke (as the cowboy). I don't know who the other little girl is. Some kid, prob'ly, who wanted her photo with me. I tell ya...what I have to put up with from ALL these FANS...!

My student, Nanami, and me. She's seven years old and I teach her Thursday afternoons. She likes to give me hugs.

Our halloween staff photo. hur-rah!

Chip and Dale. Also known to me as Riko and Kaito, two of my students on Thursday morning. Already a romance is budding...

All righty! This next batch are from the halloween party my school held on Oct31. I was decked out in a cheesy nun costume that i felt honestly felt slighty sacrilegious and uncomfortable wearing, but I didn't have any other options....and I liked being called 'sister' for a while. (Remember the White-Haired Girls, Emily? Gosh, it made me nostalgic for those days of running around with turtlenecks suctioned to our heads...)

A group of boys and girls performed a routine with swords. No idea what its called or what its significance was. But it was fun to watch them move. (What d'ya think, Jeremy??)

Here taiko drummers are playing for the crowd. This art is one of the coolest things in Japan, I think. It's really loud and really powerful and the drummers are always very animated and excited. It's exhilarating to watch even people with mediocre skill. This group included some kids who were learning. They were totally into it.

The parade finally marched it's way around town and ended here among the main hubbub of the festival. Many people were dressed in the costumes of different styles and professions of "ancient days". The bottom of these four photos is of a samurai (I think) but I don't know who or from what time period the others represent.

In this tent, they were holding a tea ceremony. I was nervous to do it because there is a very strict set of rules to go by when drinking the tea. Their is a certain way of accepting it from the tea hostess, a certain way of folding and holding your napkin, a certain way of twisting the bowl in your hand and then a certain way of drinking from the bowl and a certain number of times you sip from it to drain it clean, a certain way of wiping the part of the bowl your lips touched when you are finished and a certain way of returning the bowl to your hostess. It's quite beautiful, actually. We sat next to three older women in kimonos who gently explained what to do at each step. The tea is made with macha, which is a very bitter kind of green tea powder, and it makes the appearance and texture of the tea creamy and foamy. I think it tastes pretty good, though.

This instrument is called the koto. It's a traditional Japanese instrument that is usually (always?) played by women. I couldn't see it clearly, but the music on their stands had really unique notation. Notes are played by plucking strings on either side of the bridges, and the bridges slide up and down to create different pitches as well.