Yikes ... what the heck happened to November? Everything is happening just a little too fast and it's the most bittersweet thing I've ever experienced. I am SO happy to be coming home in two and a half weeks and yet I get these twinges of sadness when I think about leaving Japan, even if it's just for three weeks. I really don't know how to describe it. The entire last month has been a blur. The weekdays just fly by and it seems like there's a plan every weekend so they tend to fly by too. The first Weekend in November I went on a trip to Kinosaki with a group of people that I work with. Kinosaki is known as Japan's "Onsen Town" and, for those of you who remember what an onsen is, I'm sure you're just a little curious about how it was. The trip was awesome and we had SO much fun (emphasis on the so). Who would have thought that bathing with your friends would be so much fun? Of course I'll blog about it (hopefully), but I have limited actual onsen pictures. :)
The following weekend was spent celebrating the election results and the weekend after that consisted of a Trivia Night party (Thursday), a dinner/drinking party for work (Friday), a night of karaoke & a few too many drinks with some amazing friends (Saturday) and an entire day of recovery (Sunday).
The fourth weekend in November Daniel and I went to Tokyo. I am absolutely in love with Tokyo (I've said it a hundred times, I'll say it a hundred more) and the weekend was perfect. Absolutely perfect. I am on a mission to blog about it before I leave to go home. Keep your fingers crossed.
Last weekend was Thanksgiving and Thursday was pretty uneventful. I was lucky enough to get a phone call or two that made me smile, but there wasn't any traditional Thanksgiving anything. Amanda's mom didn't send a microwaveable meal like last year, but I survived. I spent the workday talking about the purpose of Thanksgiving and what it means to different people. We made lists of things we were thankful for and that was that. Back to work. :)
Saturday and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend I worked like crazy. Dr. Maryann Manning was in Japan (like she is every year at this time) and everyone was working overtime. There was an open house at one of our nursery schools and I had to observe children lessons and then give feedback and answer questions in front of a large group of teachers, professors, principals, and Dr. Manning. I took a few deep breaths. Sunday was spent at the University participating in a seminar and assisting with two workshops. Being a part of professional development is something that I really, really enjoy so even though it was work, it was a lot of fun.
Sunday night, after everything was said and done, a group of ten of us (including Daniel, Dr. Manning, principals and professors) went to one of the most amazing (and most expensive) dinners I've ever had in my entire life. I can't even describe it because it just won't do it justice. We drank wine, ate Kobe beef, fine fillets, some strange green plants from Africa, and amazing imported fruit and sorbet for dessert. Mr. Kato had mentioned my birthday and allowed me to select a bottle of wine for the occasion which was extremely nice of him, especially since all of the bottles were in the hundreds of dollars. Apparently the staff overheard (which wasn't too difficult considering that the maximum occupancy of this restaurant was 13. No lie.) because after dinner the lights went down and they brought out a cake and sang and gave me roses and it was perfect. I finally smiled at the thought of my approaching birthday. Flowers have that affect on me.
There's my November in a nutshell. This season, late fall right before winter, is my most favorite time in Japan. Everything is beautiful. The trees in the mountains are changing colors, it's cold but not too cold, the sunsets are gorgeous. It's times like this when I wish everyone could come to Japan because I know they would fall in love with it, just like I have.
much love
much love-tara-
xx
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