Golden Week

Why didn't we have nice things growing up??

Yukie, world's coolest telephone

Mandy, world's other coolest telephone

Nobu with "banana" mochi

Japanese cemetery

Kelly at the beach with mountains in the distance

[more photos]

Today was the first day back to work since "Golden Week," a long string of holidays (and "substitute holidays") in Japan. I spent the first few days behind my laptop trying to compile random HIV/AIDS facts into a coherent presentation suitable for both ESL students AND naive teenage girls. Tricky. I can't really mention homosexuality, condoms, or abstinence... so instead I eventually decided to focus on stigmas (and not the science...since it is the least of Japan's problems when it comes to HIV/AIDS). In other words...I am going to address the stigma without breaking it. Ironic.

On Sunday, I took the train to little old Himi, Japan. Never heard of it? Most people haven't (none of my students believe I went there...). But Kelly has heard of it!! And she is proud of it, for good reason. Her little, cozy town is nestled between the Sea of Japan and the snow-capped mountains of Toyama (or whoever they belong to...). I spent ~2 days exploring the many parks, gardens, and stores in Himi and the nearby cities. We ventured to Myoryuji Temple (or Ninja dera) where there in fact were never any ninjas. But it was amazing nonetheless. This temple, with the outward appearance of a typical two-story temple, has a secret suicide chamber, 7 layers, 23 rooms, and 29 stairways. There are secret passages and booby traps everywhere, making it an ideal place for samurai to protect important lords - and providing an underground passage to and from the castle. It was incredible...unfortunately the was no photography allowed.

The best part of the trip was meeting many of Kelly's Japanese friends. Not only were they our age, but she even knows boys!!! Crazy. My Japanese interaction is limited to teenage girls and old women. To say the least, when I returned (after standing 3 hours on the incredibly crowded train...a reminder of my destination), I was homesick for the country side and my own friends in New York.

The best part of Golden Week? Omiyage. Today at school, my students presented me with souvenirs. My shyest student of all took about 5 minutes to muster up the courage and the words to explain that she'd gone to Disney Land and brought me back a Minnie Mouse towel! In that moment, I didn't regret being in Osaka one bit. It's good to be home.