Week 19: Over there! Over there! Here I go, here I go, over there!

So, We're going to pretend I actually wrote this the week after week 18... Yup.

Let's get in our time machine and it is now the week of Christmas!  Specifically, it is December 27!

You remember last week I said I was going to go see the lights later that night, well I did!  And they were BEAUTIFUL!  The last lights I saw were in Kobe, and these were in Kyoto.  So, I was invited to go with a group at our share house!  (look at me, being social!) 

still not very good at these selfie things

They had all sorts of lovely lights! 

warp speed ahead!

While it seemed to be mostly Christmas themed, it also said it would be around until April, so I don't know.  I think it would be fun to go back when it's slightly warmer as well.

These are supposed to be wild boar, if you look, you can kinda tell they're pigs...

My favorite was the carpet of lights

the lights would dim and brighten in waves. :)

And, being Japan, there was even a picture op!

we couldn't all fit in. SO many people took pictures of us! :)

We got to act silly

I lost count of how many "Peter Rabbits" they had!

And here's an overview.

And then we went back.  Well, *I* went back, they went out to eat and drink, and I had work, so I guess that's the limit of my social. :)

Monday was school as normal.  Tuesday was a half day for the kids, so I wasn't asked to teach.  The co-teacher, recognizing that I get bored when that happens, invited me to help out her class, the Special Ed, in their Home Ec! :)

I wore a hair thingy too. :)

We made yam...things. It was like yam casserole, but they baked and fried it in cakes instead.

and no marshmallows

After, they all gathered and ate them with tea. :)  Very nice!

When the kids went home, the teachers did an in-depth cleaning of sections of the school.  They were surprised when I offered to help. "beats sitting around doing nothing!" And so I swept, and it beat sitting around, doing nothing. :)

That evening, I heard they were making mochi (soft rice cakes) at the church, so I hoofed it on over.  Sadly, they were not making mochi the traditional way (involving a large mallet) but were instead using a mochi mushing machine.

that WAS cooked rice, now it is a ball of...rice paste?

I helped make some

And in the end, probably ate more than I made.

(I didn't make all of those)

Wednesday was a day off, the Emperor's birthday!  So I heard about some sort of culture/craft thing, and decided to give it a shot.  It was cute!

but a lot smaller than I expected.

It was further away than I would have gone, had I known how small it was.  Still, I was there, and they had musicians

And there was food

finally had a Japanese crepe. how do they EAT them in these holders?

Local high-school classes compete to see who can sell more.  I had one from each.

and TRADITIONAL mochi making.

Get a good rhythm or get your hand smashed.

Thursday was training in Osaka, thankfully it didn't even last as long as the half day they said.  We exchanged stories and teaching techniques, and they told us that several of us (me included!) got PERFECT scores on our evaluations!  Then they said "how did you do that? Japanese HATE giving perfect scores!" I looked around and was like "most of us who did...are actual teachers. That's how." :P  Too bad I can't use it to negotiate a raise...

After, a group of us wandered Osaka for a bit, some because they didn't get into the city often, some because they were waiting until a decent time to get to the airport.  Me because..why not?  Besides, it sounded like they were going some fun places.

We went to the Kit-kat store

for SPECIAL KitKats

I got a passion fruit with chili.  Expensive, but tasty

And the Pokemon center

gotta catch 'em all!

And we found an interesting shopping area dedicated to a "new" god.

rub his feet for luck!

Billiken is a Japanese version of saying "William" Because he looks like president Taft.  No, really.

We kept adding people to our group, and when it was time for lunch, I was afraid we had hit critical decision making mass (as in, no one would ever make a decision and we'd never get to eat) but we finally did!  yay!

After lunch, we split up, I hoofed it back to my place to finish packing and then lugged all my stuff the half mile to the station and then through all the changes to get to the airport.

I was leaving from a smaller airport, so security wasn't long, so I sat at the gate for...oh about 2 1/2 hours.  :P

The flight in was LONG and BORING and I had to go through security in Tokyo and San Francisco as well!  Security!  3 times!  Argh!

But then I made it to Utah, and I was so far past tired, Mom and Dad had to shove me at the bed before I gave in.  I then spent the next few days recovering from Jetlag

you said it Dani

And enjoying being able to talk to everyone. :)

Hope you enjoyed the trip to a few weeks in the past for this! :D