Wednesday 26th April 2017
The snow has finally stopped falling; the
temperature is reaching double digits most days (without a negative sign in
front) and the new school year is well underway.
The Spring break was still tinged with
winter as we (the mob of about 13 ALT’s) headed south to Sendai for Liam’s
birthday. Though the multitude of Smirnoff ices consumed one the way to, in,
and on the return journey from Sendai kept both our booze blanket (and sugar
levels) coasting.
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| Little finds in Konoura |
The evening festivities began at a British
bar in along the arcades, and concluded at bar ‘isn’t it’. The birthday boy was
rather delicate on the drive back north.
The week that followed saw the entrance
ceremonies for both the Junior High and Elementary schools. Seeing the new JHS
1st graders in their uniforms was trumped only by the ES 6 year olds
who had been wrapped into little suits, skirts and blazers. And though they
looked the part, the tails in the air as they played with their shoelaces
during the ceremony would suggest they had a wee way to go.
The weather has allowed for a few t-shirt
days in the past month, a weekend stroll around Konoura showed me that there
are still streets in this tiny wee town that I have yet to explore.
Saturday was the Honjoyuri sports day, so
we were expected to turn up to support our teams. I ventured into Honjo to
watch the softball before scuttling back to Nikaho to sort out some phone
issues. Please note – nothing to do with phones in Japan is easy. In short I am
unable to contact anyone as soon as I leave my house, it has been both a
liberating and inconvenient experience.
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| Mt Chokai from Seishi Park |
Following swearing under my breath as I
left the AU store (who are apparently unable to unlock phones that are older
than an Iphone six – I am borrowing Dave’s old model which is a five) I
attempted to pay my car insurance at the bank, only to find that the Nikaho
branch is also only open from 9-4 weekdays, which is incredibly helpful when
your hours are 8.30-4.15. By this stage I was holding on to the fact that I
would be ditching the country in less than a week to go to Hong Kong…
The evening started looking up when
Priscilla and I drove into Akita City to see ‘Beauty and the Beast’, for a
girls night with Cari, Isabel, Bex and Steph, while the boys had a poker night.
This past weekend the much anticipated
Hanami (flower viewing) was finally upon us. The sakura had been late this year
due to the harsh winter, but starting in my little corner, the cherry blossoms
slowly began to bloom forth, travelling up Akita.
Sunday saw Priscilla and I trekking back
into the city to save Cari from the boys (who had crashed at her’s and Josh’s)
for a coffee before setting up camp in Senshu park for Hanami (flower viewing).
Due to the sports tournament on Saturday,
Liam, Dave and I had Monday off, and with temperatures promised to hit 18
degrees, we were keen to make the most of it.
The drive back to Honjo was absolutely
stunning, and it is still such a novelty to be able to drive with the windows
down. We graced Honjo park to see the sakura petals falling gently in the
breeze and spent the afternoon cruising through back roads for an array of
stunning views of Mt. Chokai (which could be seen all the way from Akita City
it was so clear).
We sat on a hill, looking over Honjo city
and to the still snow-capped mount Chokai. I hadn’t realizsed that summer had a smell. The snow had blanketed
everything and only now did I really appreciate the smell of the warm breeze,
fresh grass and trees. Just to top it off the butterflies are starting to
return. The 20 minutes we spent up there really felt like a turning point.
The return of warmer weather brought with
it a touch of sadness as August draws nearer and many of our group prepare to
return home, at the end of their time here.
