the trip
so, this past weekend was the office trip. there were a total of 9 people. 6 men and 3 women. as i said before, i had NO IDEA where we were going cuz i just didn't care enough to ask. i just knew that i'd be tagging along. i figured the mystery would be exciting and keep me awake.
so, we met at school and took off on saturday morning at 9:30am. we headed up north. i think it's dumb how you have to pay highway tolls in japan. it makes traveling HELLA expensive. i just don't get it....
so, i was in Mori Tae-sensei's car. i just call her Tae-sensei. she's sweet. about 32, DIVORCED, and very hip with her prada bag. then, there's Yumi-sensei, who's turning 32. she's kinda tomboyish. not as girly as Tae-sensei. but, man...those two can TALK FOR DAYS. lord...well, at least someone is talking. it amazes me how those two don't get sick of each other and want to tear each other's eyes out. their banter is constant and light. very cheery. they never frown, never complain. this is their demeanor in our office as well. next, we have Kuwabara-sensei. He's 39, and head of the office. he's tiny. i bet i weigh like 10 lbs more than him. then, there's Ito-sensei. he's an english teacher that can't really speak english. go figure. he's such a sweet man though. he really has a twinkle in his eye. he's very kind and always looks out for the ladies, and especially me since i'm the foreigner. now now now.....he's NOT a pervert. he's a family man. he's actually one of the few gentlemen that i've come across in japan. THEY ACTUALLY DO EXIST.
so, we went to gifu and nagano. we went to this old town called magome. i think it was in nagano...i don't remember. well, i didn't really care to ask, once again. it's just this old street/town that goes down a hill. interesting....yay. took some pictures, had lunch. then, some of the older male senseis suggested to us younger ones that we should go with Mori-sensei (he's a healthy outdoorsman) on a hike to the other town, tsumago. or something like that. the walk would apparently be about 10km. on the map, it said it was a 2 hour, 50 minute walk. since i'm just the ALT and my opinion is basically considered a moot point, i really didn't care either way. i was wearing sneakers, i enjoy walking, what the hey. Yumi-sensei was wearing shoes that would be okay to hike in, but the problem was Tae-sensei. she was wearing pumps. she's hardcore, dude. she agreed to go on the hike.
so, three ladies and two men went on the hike, to the astonishment of the other men...who only suggested it as a joke. they didn't tell us the projected time that it would take us so that we wouldn't back out. they also didn't tell us that they really didn't mean for us to go until afterwards. now, this was the beginning of our adventure. the hike would lead us into the mountains of nagano. because we had such great weather that week, we didn't expect to come across snow. but, we did. then, the hike turned into a straight up indiana jones challenge.
because the snow was melting, there was a lot of ice. i was slipping in my skate shoes, but just imagine Tae-sensei hiking in snow, ice, leaves, branches, and dirt in PUMPS. she's a trooper. she didn't even complain once. in fact, we were screaming the whole time because we kept slipping on the ice. the scariest part of the hike was this one trail along the side of a mountain. a small area of the trail was connected with a wooden plank like thing. the plank was about 20ft above the ground, and maybe 10ft across, give or take. there were no rails to hold onto or anything. so, on one side is the mountain, the other side is a drop. the plank was covered in ice. wow......who knew that a friendly hike would turn into this all terrain adventure? shit was scary...but, we made it and finished the hike in 1 hour 55 minutes!
next stop...a ryokan (guess inn) that was tucked away in the mountains of nagano. good food. i didn't want to go into the onsen (hot springs), but i figured, what the hell. these two ladies earned my friendship over the year, so i figured they wouldn't judge me for my tattoos (well, to my face that is). wow...bathing naked with them MADE ME FEEL LIKE SUCH A LARD ASS. screw japan and their stick thin women. so, that did a number on my self-image.
so....i consoled myself with some candy. nothing like food for the soul. especially sugar! i never quite understood emotional eating until i got to japan. that's about it for now...at least all i care to remember. i shall post pics later.
i get a free obento today! i guess there are some good things about thsi school!
so, we met at school and took off on saturday morning at 9:30am. we headed up north. i think it's dumb how you have to pay highway tolls in japan. it makes traveling HELLA expensive. i just don't get it....
so, i was in Mori Tae-sensei's car. i just call her Tae-sensei. she's sweet. about 32, DIVORCED, and very hip with her prada bag. then, there's Yumi-sensei, who's turning 32. she's kinda tomboyish. not as girly as Tae-sensei. but, man...those two can TALK FOR DAYS. lord...well, at least someone is talking. it amazes me how those two don't get sick of each other and want to tear each other's eyes out. their banter is constant and light. very cheery. they never frown, never complain. this is their demeanor in our office as well. next, we have Kuwabara-sensei. He's 39, and head of the office. he's tiny. i bet i weigh like 10 lbs more than him. then, there's Ito-sensei. he's an english teacher that can't really speak english. go figure. he's such a sweet man though. he really has a twinkle in his eye. he's very kind and always looks out for the ladies, and especially me since i'm the foreigner. now now now.....he's NOT a pervert. he's a family man. he's actually one of the few gentlemen that i've come across in japan. THEY ACTUALLY DO EXIST.
so, we went to gifu and nagano. we went to this old town called magome. i think it was in nagano...i don't remember. well, i didn't really care to ask, once again. it's just this old street/town that goes down a hill. interesting....yay. took some pictures, had lunch. then, some of the older male senseis suggested to us younger ones that we should go with Mori-sensei (he's a healthy outdoorsman) on a hike to the other town, tsumago. or something like that. the walk would apparently be about 10km. on the map, it said it was a 2 hour, 50 minute walk. since i'm just the ALT and my opinion is basically considered a moot point, i really didn't care either way. i was wearing sneakers, i enjoy walking, what the hey. Yumi-sensei was wearing shoes that would be okay to hike in, but the problem was Tae-sensei. she was wearing pumps. she's hardcore, dude. she agreed to go on the hike.
so, three ladies and two men went on the hike, to the astonishment of the other men...who only suggested it as a joke. they didn't tell us the projected time that it would take us so that we wouldn't back out. they also didn't tell us that they really didn't mean for us to go until afterwards. now, this was the beginning of our adventure. the hike would lead us into the mountains of nagano. because we had such great weather that week, we didn't expect to come across snow. but, we did. then, the hike turned into a straight up indiana jones challenge.
because the snow was melting, there was a lot of ice. i was slipping in my skate shoes, but just imagine Tae-sensei hiking in snow, ice, leaves, branches, and dirt in PUMPS. she's a trooper. she didn't even complain once. in fact, we were screaming the whole time because we kept slipping on the ice. the scariest part of the hike was this one trail along the side of a mountain. a small area of the trail was connected with a wooden plank like thing. the plank was about 20ft above the ground, and maybe 10ft across, give or take. there were no rails to hold onto or anything. so, on one side is the mountain, the other side is a drop. the plank was covered in ice. wow......who knew that a friendly hike would turn into this all terrain adventure? shit was scary...but, we made it and finished the hike in 1 hour 55 minutes!
next stop...a ryokan (guess inn) that was tucked away in the mountains of nagano. good food. i didn't want to go into the onsen (hot springs), but i figured, what the hell. these two ladies earned my friendship over the year, so i figured they wouldn't judge me for my tattoos (well, to my face that is). wow...bathing naked with them MADE ME FEEL LIKE SUCH A LARD ASS. screw japan and their stick thin women. so, that did a number on my self-image.
so....i consoled myself with some candy. nothing like food for the soul. especially sugar! i never quite understood emotional eating until i got to japan. that's about it for now...at least all i care to remember. i shall post pics later.
i get a free obento today! i guess there are some good things about thsi school!
posted by shan at 6:17 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Rei, that sensei might be hardcore. But you forgot to mention that you were carrying a 60 lbs duffle bag filled with rocks, with nothing but a tanktop and shorts in the freezing cold and fighting off the wild boars in mountains...that's hardcore.
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