Sukiyaki

Yesterday I brought Phil with me for lunch and show and tell to the Elementary school. Most people have never seen someone as tall as him before so they are all very surprised and make really great expressions, and say"Wahhhhh, TAKaaIIIIIII". Or OKIIIIII! It's really pretty funny. The kids wanted to know everything about him, especially the second graders who even asked us what was our favorite part about each other. He said my eyes, I said his hair. Phil even got to accompany me to teach first grade about greetings such as "good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good night, good bye, hello, see you". He looked a bit worn out when we got done with it all. Well, the kids were more wound up than normal with a new face in the room. It's kinda like when you were little and had a babysitter and ya had to show them every toy and trick you have to impress them. I felt a little bad about bringing him for lunch though cause he likes alot of Japanese food, but he doesn't really like salmon, and has picked on me constantly for liking a popular concotion in Japan of mixing fish and nuts together, and so what do we have for lunch, but almond covered salmon. Poor thing.
No worries though, cause it was all made up for that night cause Fukiyama-san invited us to her house to eat sukiyaki (pronounced Skee-ya-kee), which is vegetables and meat and some noodles all stewed and steamed together in a big pot and then dipped in raw beaten egg and slurped up with gusto. Good stuff. I had almost too much to eat, Phil almost too much to drink, but we did alright. I think Phil had a really good time. Yoshida-sensei and Yuki were there as well so there were some guys to hang out with, and Yuki gave Phil some presents of a fan, a lighter with Morning Musume ( a very popular tv show and music group made up of many many girls here in Japan), and a key chain of Oshima-mura. We only have 4 days left here in Niigata before we head to Tokyo, but it sounds like Yuki is going to throw together something of a karaoke party and dinner on the last night that we're here.
Tomorow we are going to Nagaoka and crashing on someones floor with other ALTs in the Peter pan show for our last rehersal, before our first performance next weekend. I'm glad there has been some happy stuff like last night, and some more fun to look forward to. Other things haven't been so happy like my grandad Mitchell passed away. He was buried yesterday so I couldn't fly home for the funeral. I feel worst cause I want to call and talk to my dad, but I don't know what to say. Sometimes it seems better if you are just there for someone and you don't have to try to make words for something, but its really hard to be there for someone (even if my heart is) when I'm across the world. Meanwhile the 1.75meters of snow is hardening and turning to slippery slush on the roads rather than rugged ice and I know I'm counting down the days I have left with Phil.
I really wish he had applied to the Jet program and was coming to Japan next year, Oshima is so great, and of course everyone is so friendly and I wish he could stay here longer to get to know everyone and have them get to know him. I'm not so much for the snow, but it has it's good points. And I've got the easiest job in the world once you get past the not being able to communicate with everyone part. But then I do miss alot of people back home, seeing my family, playing old time music with my friends, clothes dryers. And of course, my best friend here, Victoria, she's moving back after this year too, along with alot of other cool JETs. Even my friend Okada-sensei, the music teacher, he would only be around for half a year if I stayed.

People sure do move around alot in this life don't they?

Well, they say time marches on and you shouldn't get left behind, ne? Anyhow, there's still a whole half a year left here, and plenty of stuff to look forward to.

By the way I've gotten some emails from the lovely ALT 2 years before me and Oshima's first, Tara Madden in Ireland, and I just came across something really interesting that she wrote on Joetsu's JOIN page about her time in Oshima, and I hope she won't mind me sharing a link to it here: http://www.valley.ne.jp/~join/network/oshima/oshima.htm

Check it out!