In search of fireflies

So I definitely had the most amazing weekend! I got invited to an event on Saturday with one of my favourite schools to spend time with my sixth years and experience (1336-1573) Muromachi era culture. I was so lucky. I had the most wonderful time and could hardly express my gratitude with my limited vocabulary. We began the morning with flower arranging. I almost a pro! It`s going to be my back up career! And then went into a tatami room to learn how to play the Koto. The koto is Japan`s national instument and is sort of like a harp but it rests on the grround and makes the most beautiful noise. I even learned how to play a song thanks to my adorable teacher who practices the koto every week. It was so cool! Afterwards, we had a tea ceremony with these beautiful sweet candies. They tasted like powdered maple syrup! And the real matcha tea was delicious! The tea lady would twist the bowel and then place it before us and then we were expected to pick it up and twist it to show appreciation. Drink it all and then repeat that process backwards. It was very cool although we had to sit seiza (on our knees) the whole time and my knees went pretty numb. We finished the time with a lunch that all the mother`s had prepared of nigiri (rice balls), iced green tea, dango (rice dumplings), houtou noddles (delicious noodles in a thick squash broth) and these tiny little whole fish with eyeballs (which I did NOT eat...) It was such a wonderful time! Tanoshikatta desu!

So apparently I didn't think the day was awesome enough so I met up with Rhee in Yamanashi city and we went to a firefly festival. The clouds cleared and we actually had some blue sky! While we waited for night to fall we wandered about the festival and listened to music and ate melon waffles and yakitori (chicken on a stick) and went and saw this little zoo and walked along the river and found a little shrine up on a hill and when we night still hadn't fallen we flaked out in the grass and looked for four leaf clovers. I found one! Then when dusk came we went to this little secluded meadow in the park along a creek where the leafy trees overhang the banks and waited for the magic. In the pictures they don't look like much but the fireflies were amazing. There were so many and the did little dances and played tag and landed on leaves making the whole leaf glow green. They were so beautiful I could have watched them all night!

All and all it was a wonderful Saturday! Sunday we took the day off from being so busy and just went and checked out a local shrine and temple in the area, had some waffles and stayed in for dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread!

Japan is still wonderful. My students are wonderful! I love teaching so much! Last Thursday I had a break-through and explained how to count to 100 in a pattern and I actually saw light bulbs go off! It was so rewarding! I guess they thought the numbers just seemed to come a random. They are clever kids and eat up everything I say plus we have fun! Ja ne!