Monkey Madness

So this past weekend was fun. I went to an Outlet mall in a place called Rinku Town. The outlets there are quite good. I was able to pick up some nice clothes for about $100 US. On Monday I went to Kyoto. We went to a Monkey Park called Arashiyama Monkey Park. There are about 150 small Japanese monkeys at that park. They walk around wild there. So it's possible they could attack you, however that is unlikely. The monkeys were very cool. Many of them were cleaning eachother off and combing eachothers hair. They use their hands just like we do, and their hands look just like ours! It was weird to see that. We had a few days off this week because of the Japanese holiday "Golden Week". It's basically a reason just to have a few days off. I don't think anybody really knows the reason for the holiday, but they all take the days! So did I! haha Well enjoy a few photos of the little buggers that I saw.

peace

vince

I wonder what happens in the Auto Toilet.

Arashiyama

Man pulling cart!

Let's Boating!

Hanging by the tree, not a worry at all.





Bamboo Forest

Race fun videos!!

Hey everybody, sorry this is so late, but it took quite a while. I uploaded some videos of the race. Check them out!

peace

vince


MotoGP race Video



More MotoGP race



SuperGT race Start!!



SuperGT race



Walking around at the SuperGT race



Yellow Flag Caution



Race Finish

Race fun

I went see a race yesterday with my friends. The name of this race series is called Super GT. It is quite popular in Japan. We had to travel north to Mie prefecture. It was about a 2.5 hour journey. I was nice to see the country side in Japan. Living in the city gets a bit dull sometimes and it's great to see some green. We had a really great time out there. We were there from about 10am to 5pm. So we had a full day of car action. I got a bit of a sunburn, but it's all good. I took loads of pictures but here a few for you to see. The rest are on Myspace.

peace

vince

Views of Japan

Over the past 3 weeks I have taken a bunch of photos. I think photos can be much stronger than words. So just enjoy some of these...

Hanami Time!

Hello everybody! I have been away for a few weeks sorry about that! Nothing good to write about actually.

Well the Sakuras (Cherry Blossom trees) are just beginning to come out now in Japan. They really are pretty. In Japan, there is a tradition called Hanami 花見, or Cherry Blossom viewing. Basically you go out to the park and sit under the tree with friends, food and drinks and just enjoy the afternoon in the park. It is really nice! I was planning a Hanami party for April 11th, but I don't think that is going to happen anymore. :( I will try to get it going for another day. If not I will go out there by myself and take some photos for the blog. Anyway, look forward to that in the next few weeks.

As for school, well I am actually excited. The new teachers came in today, and there are about 5 new teachers. I was surprised to hear that I will be working with 3 of the new teachers. I'm really looking forward to working with them. I met one of my new teaching partners today and she was so shy. She just graduated from Uni, and has never taught before. So she was asking me to help her out a lot. I would consider myself a decently experienced teacher. Now I think the classes will under my control, which is great because I can some of the crazy ideas I have in my head for lessons!

I will go to a really small BBQ on Saturday for my PTA class. I'm looking forward to that, because I can eat and drink all I want! :)

Anyway, thanks for reading the blog. I'll talk to you soon!

peace

vince

Is that sweat I feel?

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been about a week or so since my last post. Life has been a bit slow the past week. No school last week, except for 2 days, gives me far too much time to myself. I spent my time studying a bit of Japanese, cooking and playing some games. I This week has went by quite fast so far. Tomorrow (Friday) is a national holiday. Of course I don't know which holiday it is, but I'll take it anytime! It so happens that tomorrow is my co-worker/friend's wedding party. I am looking forward to the wedding party. This will be the second wedding party I have been invited to since I have been in Japan. I think that I am considered a pretty good friend of my co-worker. Actually, I don't even consider him my co-worker anymore, just my friend.

If you have been following my blog over the last year and a half, then you remember when I blogged about the last wedding party. If you are new to Japanese style wedding parties then let me give you a short description. First of all, you are given an invitation to the wedding party, on this wedding party invitation is, as you might expect, a map, directions, description of who is getting married and the price. Yes that's right, the price. You basically have to pay to go to the wedding party. Now to an American or a Westerner, this would somewhat seem quite strange. And in a way, it is. However, if you think about it, most of the time at an American wedding, the guest will bring a gift for the couple, or leave money on the money tree. So I guess it comes out to be the same. The wedding I am invited to has a hefty price tag of about $90 US. I'm looking forward to going to the wedding party tomorrow, I'm guaranteed to be the only foreigner there!


Well I will be back　soon with an update! Thanks for reading.

peace


vince

p.s.- Today I was riding my bike and it wasn't so cold, and I felt a small bit of moisture on my body! Hence the strange title! haha Just so you know!

Osaka Jo Castle Park

I took a stroll around Osaka Jo Castle today. If you want to know about the Osaka jo castle check it out here. Meanwhile, enjoy some photos!

peace

vince