One of those, "Yep, I'm definitely living in Japan" moments...

Me (pointing at a small cooler on the floor in front of a student): "What's that?"
Student: "It's a pig's tongue. For dinner tonight."

Yep. He works as a meat inspector and apparently, the tongue was a "gift" from his co-workers.
Maybe his co-workers don't like him very much. Or maybe I'm just a foreigner living in Japan.

Birthday Party!

On Sunday I celebrated my 24th year on earth with a party. I decided to have it at the Ale House, an English pub-like bar that one of our students owns. Lots of friends, co-workers, and student came and it was a good time.

me and my co-workers in from of the Ale House

Not only was the party great, but I got some wonderful presents, too, like some beautiful chopsticks, Mameshiba memorabilia, gloves and some homemade scones (from the Ale House - I always order a scone when I go there).

It was great celebrating my birthday in Japan with the incredible people I've met and befriended over the past year!

Halloween Party!

After work on Saturday we had a Halloween party for school - and of course, it was a costume party. The teachers all dressed up (I was a black cat) and we brought different little costumes for the students to wear if they didn't have their own. It was such a good time and there were plenty of photo opportunities!

me and Yu, one of my co-teachers (dressed as a girl and wearing all my clothes)

Noriko (representing Michigan as Grant Hill), me and Aya (a famous character from Japanese comics)

Random Festival in Fujieda - Sunday.

The festival continued today - I heard it as I rode my bike home from church. Apparently it made its way throughout Fujieda, because I ran into it again when I went grocery shopping this evening.

Random Festival in Fujieda - Saturday.

When I walked to work yesterday, I passed some kind of festival happening down the street from my apartment. Lots of people were dressed in yukata and the shrine was decorated with the Japanese flag and such. I wished I didn't have to go to work so I could check out what was happening. But, duty called.
After work, I discovered that the festival was still going on, so I rushed home, grabbed my camera, and went back to get some shots.

Harvesting the Rice

There are many beautiful rice fields here in Shizuoka prefecture. They remind me of the farms back home. The rice has been growing all summer, and in the last few weeks, the farmers have begun to harvest it.