Denali National Park

Before I post pictures, I have to stress how lucky we were when we went to the park. I don't have the statistics in my head anymore, but people who visit Denali Park are more often times disappointed than fulfilled. Why would that be? Well, people want to see the mountain. The mountain is the biggest in North America and creates its own weather conditions. Conditions that often do not allow it to be seen. This is life. A disappointed part of life, but life nonetheless. Then there's animals. Sadly, there is no way to guarantee seeing any. Many people leave the park only having seen a few distant specks of white that are dall sheep. Again, life. WELL... having said all that. We were incredibly lucky! We saw the mountain AND a ton of animals. When I mean a ton... I mean 7 bears, a heard of dall sheep on the road, etc... a lot of animals. So, without further adieu... enjoy the pics. 

That's right folks, that's the Mountain. Incredible isn't it!? 

Here are the specks of sheep. Don't worry, it gets much much better!

The wind was really strong that day as you can see by the flag!

And by the fact that I had to wear a hat!! Go Liverpool... thanks brother for the hat. Would have frozen if I didn't have it.

Cute ground squirrel!

Bears!! Momma and two babies. We spooked them a bit at first, but once they realized we weren't a real threat they didn't try to run away.

Next up? Sheep. They were right on the road enjoying some lunch... and we were right there to enjoy them!

Lest I forget the beautiful scenery.... here you go!

Golden eagle...

Wolf! This was my first time seeing a wolf... and this one was just walking down the road. Kind of like saying, "Screw running through the bushes, I'm taking the easy route!"

Caribou crossing the road in front of the bus. The driver actually had to break quite hard as we came around a corner. 

A slightly more picturesque view of the caribou!

And to round out the wildlife portion... here's some moose! We saw a momma and babies just off the road. They stayed in the bushes a bit, but you can see them peaking through a bit now. :-)

We saw so much wildlife that when we saw another bull moose up the hill... we didn't even stop. It would have made a good picture, but we were really late returning from the trip as it was. 

Hope you enjoyed the pics... there's a few more to post... just not of animals. Anyone ready for a trip to Alaska now?

Pictures!!

So, since my link was not really the right one (if you speak or read Japanese you would have been fine...:-), I'm putting up some Alaska pictures. Shimon and I went to visit my hometown, Fairbanks, Alaska, from August 7th through the 15th. It was a quick visit, but it was just about right for a first visit. This visit contained many firsts for Shimon: first visit to an English speaking country, first visit to America, first time meeting my family, first American-style barbecue... you get the point. :-) It was really fun and my family and Shimon seemed to like each other. We got to have a bit of quality time with everybody!! 

Now, without further adieu... pictures!!

On the way to my parents' cabin on Stampede Road in Healy, Alaska we managed to have our first Denali (Mt. McKinley) sighting. Wow!! Very few people get to see such a wonderful view of the Mountain like this. This sighting would bode well for us as the next day in the Park we had very good luck... with pretty much everything. 

When we had finally made it to the area where we could get to the cabin... my mom insisted that we help her pick for blueberries. And so we did... 

Of course when you pick, you have to sample too! See that bucket?? We filled 4 of them, then mom dumped them into a bigger bucket and made us start again! :-) 

To get to the cabin we had to use four-wheelers. This was exciting on so many levels for Shimon. He loved driving it, so of course commemorative pictures were required!

Another picture, following my dad so that we don't hit a patch of really bad ground or anything. 

That evening we got to see a wonderful sunset and spectacular colors painted across the clouds. Aaaah... Alaska!

The mountains are wearing hats!! haha... Had to provide a shot with mountains... the pictures wouldn't be complete without a few shots of mountains. ;-)

Next... Denali National Park and Preserve... get ready for some wildlife!!

Alaska pics...

Still not up. Sorry the album link didn't quite work like I wanted it to. Booo! Will work on uploading some onto this blog later today. :-) There are some really good pics, so I definitely want to share!

Pictures!!

So, I promised pictures from Alaska. For now, I'm going to give a link to a HUGE album online. This is just part of the pictures we took. When I say we, I really mean 99% were taken by Shimon. :-) Soon to come will be the Denali photos and all the animals we saw.

I may choose some highlights for narration, but for now... enjoy! :-)

Just back!

I just got back from Alaska last night. And I want to go back already... Not because I don't love being home. But being home means ridiculously hot weather and miserable humidity. When we went to the store last night, I asked Shimon if I could turn around and go home. Japan can be TOO hot sometimes!

Our trip to Alaska was fantastic. We got to see and do so much in our short week there. We hit Denali Park, the Fair, the Museum, the Musk Ox Farm (which is actually the Large Animal Research Station), and much more. Didn't make it out to the hot springs (next time!!). 

The best thing was that Shimon was able to meet my family and we're all like together. I think he had fun! I hope. :-) One of the highlights was getting to shoot a shotgun with my dad and brothers!! Not sure that will make it up on the internet, but there are certainly some pics to come. :-)

Quiet

This week has been anything but quiet!! On Saturday, Shimon and I head to Alaska for the first time together. We've been buying presents and getting ready for the big trip.

This is my horribly beaten up suitcase, getting ready to make yet another trip to Alaska. :-) It's not full yet. I've only managed to load all the presents into it. Not sure how all of the rest of the stuff will fit (we're taking two small suitcases!!), but I'm sure we'll find a way.

Wish us luck! This is a biggie!!!

Kitty sitter

From August 7th to the 16th, my boyfriend and I will be heading to Alaska. This leaves us with the dilemma of what to do with Suzu the kitty. In Japan, it's very rare to ask friends or even neighbors to look in on your animals or plants. It would constitute meiwaku (causing trouble) for them and people don't do it.

Plus, I don't have anyone to ask. In comes the cat sitter!! Cat's in particular don't like to leave their environment. So we searched online and found some pet sitters... and then we even came upon some cat sitters. Who specialize in taking care of ONLY cats! (This was exciting because a lot of the other pet sitting services were really full up with reservations.) So she is coming to meet Suzu and see where things are on Monday! Yay!!!

I mean, who wouldn't want to come watch my Suzu?

 She's just SO cute! :-)

Looking less impressive...

Now my basil that was going like gangbusters looks a bit less impressive today.

At some point you have to thin it out to get it to grow into really yummy basil that you can eat. I had to do that today. Now it looks a bit sad, but I'm sure I'll get over it when the remaining plants get big and large enough to EAT!!! Yummmm... I wonder what I should make first. :-)

Beating the heat... !?!?!?!?!?

I'm still new to this "hot" climate business. Though it gets hot in Alaska, especially in Fairbanks. It's not the oppressive, tiring, sweat-soaked heat of hot PLUS humid climates.

My first experience with REAL heat (the hot and humid kind) was when I moved to Missouri to attend university. They are not messin' around there! There is a need for the heat index when you live in a place with heat and humidity.

I now find myself in a place that is at least equally as hot and humid as Missouri. There are bigger problems now. There is no central air in Japan. Correction, no central air in homes in Japan. Also, there is so much asphalt and so little greenery that it feels like you are baking from above and below when you are outside. (Thus, I really try to limit my outside time.)

I am such an amateur at beating the heat that I need some serious help! Does anyone have any idea how you can still enjoy sunny days, without being miserable and baked from the heat? Any ideas would be VERY helpful! :-)

Farmer Alisha!!

In Japan, if you live in a city there is no room for a real garden. But I REALLY wanted to have a bit of garden. So... I am growing basil! I've never started basil from seeds before... this is what is looks like. :-)

 It's growing like gangbusters!! I have to weed out a lot of them (I might try transplanting some too.) on Friday - my first OFFICIAL day of summer vacation!

Here's another pic, I'm really rather pleased with the results.

I should also mention that it's been under 2 weeks since I started it!! It already smells all basil-y as well. Yum! Can't wait to eat some pasta with fresh basil!

The Reception.

The reception was a blast! My youngest brother made an epic best man speech!! (He can't remember all that he said... but that's beside the point.) The food was fantastic. The cake gorgeous. The groom's cake was delicious! (My wedding cake got stolen!!) All in all it was a great end to a lovely celebration.

This is the one picture with me in it. And my brother's too for that matter. We had a great time. We were just so busy having fun that we didn't have time for pictures.

The brothers. Overly serious faces just don't really suit them. :-)

Yummmmm... appetizers! Everyone was SO hungry by the time we got to eat.

New family!! Brothers and sisters. Lots of smiles all around!

Bride and the girls! Getting ready to dig in.

The food!! Yummmmmm.... it was SO delicious.

Boys "dancing" and screaming the words with the songs! Hilarious... :-D There's a funny picture somewhere of Garret (youngest brother) doing the faux splits. VERY funny!

Wedding!

Being in a wedding means that you don't get to take very may pictures. So, I have some pre-wedding and post-wedding pictures, but I don't have any during wedding pictures. Which means there's a lot missing... but that couldn't be helped as I didn't have a mini-sized camera a la James Bond to hide in my bouquet.

This is Kate, the bride pre-dress. Note her lovely hair, veil and basketball shorts! :-)

This is my mom in her lovely mother-of-the-groom dress. I did her hair! :-) Since the day was a bit tense it required a bit more patience in order to complete that task. Plus, I'd only arrived two days before and had an 18 hour time change!

Now this is Kate with the white dress! Awww... isn't she lovely. It was the perfect dress for her as well. Nice and princess-like. :-)

Other bridesmaids!! The dresses were great and looked nice on everyone. The color was also great. Well done Kate for choose nice colors!

Flower girl!! She was so cute. She had cheese hidden in her basket to help bribe the much younger (just over a year) flower girl to walk down the aisle. Luckily, the cheese wasn't necessary.

Christine!! Maid of Honor and unofficial photographer... taking a picture of me, taking a picture of her. :-)

There are no pictures of me in the pre-wedding set. I am not very good at getting other people to take my picture. There's at least ONE in the reception set! :-)

Rehearsal!

So, in Alaska the rehearsal dinner is always a bit relaxed. My brother's rehearsal dinner was at a microbrewery. The food and company were great...
Brendan and Ethan (groomsman) mid-sentence. Not sure what they were talking about. :-)

S 

 

Then there was the bride and her sister. Christine (sister of bride, closest to the camera) is a riot! We had a very silly time at the dinner and probably ate far too much!! But that's what weddings are all about, right?

 

Now, three of the men in the wedding are HUGE Liverpool FC fans. My brothers and John, brother of the bride, decided to be all matchy, matchy and wear their shirts on the day of the rehearsal. I believe the hi-five was required after having a shot... :-)

 

Mommy and me. We were both dressed a bit nicer because we had some really nice beads we wanted to wear. I actually ended up wearing mine with my dressed. It was spur of the moment accessorizing, but I definitely wanted to have one with both of us wearing the beads. Shimon's mom had made them especially for us!

Hello, you may have forgotten...

but my name's Alisha. And once upon a time, I really did try to keep up with my blog. Alas, it seems that life has been happening an awful lot lately. BUT it is now officially summer vacation and I'm going to do a bit of catching up.

What has happened in the last few months? Let's see....

I started a new job in April. I teach at two junior high schools. The make up of the schools are extremely different. One is a relaxed and fun place to work. The other is less fun (administration-wise), more uptight and less welcoming, but the kids are great and if I focus on them I really like the job. Sometimes that is a bit hard.

In June, I had an extremely short trip to Alaska (was on the ground 3 days!) for my brother's wedding. It was fantastic! I had a great time (though short) visiting and celebrating the happy occasion. It was also the first time I was a bridesmaid. :-) Being in Japan has eliminated many opportunities for that honor, but I couldn't pass up on it this time.

After returning from the wedding, it's been absolutely crazy busy with school. Had finals to give almost as soon as I arrived back in Japan and have barely had time to breathe since.

The wedding photos will be posted next!

Here's to Sprimmer?

Now that the rains have seem to subsided (very wet spring here in Yokohama and Tokyo), we are having what seems to be spring - but with summer-like temperatures. Thus, sprimmer! The only difference seems to be the humidity. Generally a Japanese summer is ridiculously humid and I just want to stay inside all the time.

We haven't gotten the humidity yet... but it will come. Today we are off for a bike ride. Should be nice. We're gradually working up to a 60km round trip ride that we'd like to do. So far we've only done about 5km... so we have to build up to the 60km round trip ride.

Sunshine - here we come!!

A toast to klutziness!

Over the years, I've had some klutzy moments. Even now, I routinely bang my head on the cupboards in my kitchen (to be fair I moved in February and they are kind of low hanging!). Then there was tripping over wire hurdles at 6am in college (and then there was the morning that I lost it and yelled at coach for giving me a hard time!)

I think that over the years I've gotten a bit better and a bit more balanced (can't quite say that I'm graceful). This weekend I had a visit from the klutz fairy, just to remind me of my roots.

On Sunday night, Shimon, a friend of his and I went to cross a road. Granted we were jaywalking, but it was night and the road was not busy. Shimon was a bit in front of me, looked back to grab my hand and BOOM! Suddenly I was on the ground having tripped over a low barrier in the middle of the street. My hand came out pretty unscathed, but my knee... OUCH! To explain myself, the barriers in Japan are usually made of concrete and are not difficult to make out since the roads are asphalt. This one, however, was a black asphalt barrier with a white line painted on it! I just totally missed that there was a barrier because it was camouflaged.

While my injuries are not in any way life-threatening... I'm still a bit chagrined over the incident. Also, it provides Shimon with plenty of fodder for future jokes. Here here to the klutz!

Mom's visit to Japan: Yokohama and Tokyo

My mom arrived in Japan on March 6th. Of course we were all hoping for nice weather, but Murphy's Law gave us some of the worst weather of the spring! On the first day we were out and about we took this picture huddled under and umbrella. My umbrella had already been broken (took all of 30 seconds for the wind to destroy it!) and I was sharing with Mom.


In fact, just after this picture we headed to the shopping area not far away (it's actually fairly similar to an American style mall, really). We had coffee, warmed up and then went in search of new umbrellas! I inherited Mom's clear plastic one and she was given a nice, Japanese-style one by Shimon's mom.

Luckily the next day (Monday) the weather was a bit better. At least the rain stopped. As Yokohama was the port where Admiral Perry arrived to "open" Japan so that trade with Western nations could begin, there are a lot of really beautiful Western style buildings in an area called Yamate. These buildings are called yokan (yo - meaning Western and kan - meaning building). We went to a particularly nice building that was based on Spanish influences.

We also got a picture of Shimon's mom, Shimon and myself on the lawn outside. Shimon had recently got his hair cut so it was spikey, his mom kept calling him a hedgehog because of it!


After visiting the Yamate area, we saw Shimon's mom off at the train station. Then we headed to the ramen museum. Sounds kind of funny, but really it was a lot of fun! Mom ate two different types of ramen and was continually amazed by the speed at which Shimon can eat a bowl of ramen. :-)

Star pose there!!! Gotta love the ramen. What's interesting about this is that the whole museum is fixed up with shops and things (besides ramen shops) to mimic post-WWII Japan. It's really very fun! Even though mom and I stopped at 2 half-bowls of ramen (really one full bowl is enough at any given time for me), we could still wander around while Shimon got his fill. Really fun time!

After that Mom and I headed for a few days to Yamagata, but I'm going to post those pictures separately.

When we returned to Tokyo, the weather had miraculously gotten better. And we were able to go to the Palace area around Tokyo Station and the Diet to see some of the early blooming cherry blossoms. There's so many types of cherry blossoms that even though Mom missed the "main" show, she still got a pretty good view. Here's just one sample!

Very pretty little flowers!

We also walked to the Palace and saw the famous gate. The gate behind Mom and I is famous because you've got a mixing of Western and Eastern architecture in this picture. The bridges in the foreground are of Western design, while you have one of the keeps (white building behind) from the original Edo castle behind it. Edo castle incidentally was built by the Tokugawa shogun and was the center of power in Japan for over 200 years.


The last 5 days that my mom stayed in Yokohama, she was able to have a seaside room. Which afforded her a lovely night view. Thankfully the camera she brought was really good, so I could capture the view from her room. Really fun to watch the ferris wheel change colors!!


This is the most famous view from Yokohama. There is a pier that has an observation area where you can see all of the major landmarks of Yokohama. The reddish buildings in the foreground are the red-brick warehouses that are now filled with boutique-y shops and restaurants. Then there's the bright white ferris wheel. Also, the tall building to the left with a white line in the center is Landmark Tower. A really beautiful view at night. Sadly it was so cold that we could only stand and look for a short time before we took a taxi back to Mom's hotel.


That picture was taken on the last night Mom was here. We had a really nice visit and were REALLY busy all the time she was here. But the weather pretty much finished like it started, cold at the beginning and the end!

Visiting Japan :-)

My mom recently came to visit during her spring break from school. Since this was her 3rd visit to Japan I found it much more difficult to plan things because she's already seen quite a lot.

It all kind of fell together in the end. My boyfriend's mother came from the most southern tip of the main island of Honshu just to meet her. The meeting of the mother's really was a bit epic. I have some wonderful pictures to share of the two days that we were able to do things with "the moms."

The first day the weather really was horrific. We spent most of the time in and out of cafes and restaurants just to keep warm!

This was a lunch stop where we could warm up and enjoy some Chinese food. (Minus one camera man!)

We also went to a funky art exhibition in a place that used to be an old warehouse. It was so cool! And since it was a student exhibition, it was entirely free! Here's some of the art:

There's more to be told, but the pictures say a lot... and I'll post more later!

My mom's here!

So, my mom is here from the States. We have had a really busy schedule so far. The day mom arrived, my boyfriend's mom also arrived. She had really wanted to meet my mom and so she came up all the way from her home in Shimonoseki (a 6 hour train ride - on a fast train!).

Last Sunday, we all met around 11:30 am at my mom's hotel room in a place called Sakuragicho in Yokohama. The weather was horrible. We spent the day walking a short distance and then going inside for a warm-up and then going out again. It was pretty intense and cold!

That evening we had a lovely formal dinner at a restaurant called Scandia. It was amazing! All of the food was delicious, but what was also important was that the setting was nice and also quiet. I was doing all of the translating that day... and in order to facilitate things I needed to be able to hear. The restaurant was perfect for that.

Pictures will follow... I have to get them off my mom's camera! :-)

A mistake.

I think I made a mistake.

I chose a job based on certain information and expectations and then I let myself (I was sitting there and just let it happen!) be hoodwinked. Here's what happened.

I decided that I would look for a teaching job around December and interviewed for two positions. In one instance, the company lost the contract with the school and consequently I didn't get the job. In the second instance, the company is led by someone who prepared me for an interview with a school, really seemed to understand what I wanted out of teaching (a M-F position being one of those things), and the company has a curriculum development division which would be an exciting new direction that I could take.

I was offered a job with the second company for a three day position (I should have smelled a rat when the days weren't specified up front). I was also led to believe that I might have a choice of teaching for the other two days of the contract or doing curriculum development.

I went in for a contract meeting. The three day position is Tues-Thurs-SATURDAY!! (Don't want to work Saturdays!!!!) I let the guy at the company justify it to me and end up signing the contract while specifying that if possible I would like to work the other two days doing curriculum development. (I've been handed a shit deal from them, so that was the least I could expect, right?)

Well, I received an email from the man at the company today asking me to teach at a completely different school on those other days and if I'm able to interview on Friday or Saturday. (I think that people must not value their free time or OTHER people's free time after a long enough stay in Japan!)

I feel like an idiot. I feel like I've made a mistake in taking a contract from this company. Though they have a development side that interests me and they have a unique and supportive approach to teaching, I think I let myself be hoodwinked into a contract that I really am beginning to regret.

Good things about this situation? I'm only under contract for one year. If I stick out a year, I get a small bonus at the end. At the end of year, I can say - I hate working Saturdays and will not do it another year, thanks.

But I still have a sinking feeling that I've made a mistake and still don't know how much I will regret it since the school year hasn't yet begun. Eek!

More information...

So my good friend Em asked me to tell a bit more about my boyfriend, Shimon. And to post pictures of us together. The former will be easier than the latter.

One thing about Shimon is that he is the cameraman whenever we go places. There are always LOTS of pictures of me, but hardly any pictures of the two of us together. I'm trying to scavenge a few pictures from recently, but we haven't done a lot of travel recently where he's had his camera out. So here are a few pictures.

This was taken just after we started dating. It was the first time we went away for the weekend. It was late March or early April, but we didn't have to wear jackets anymore.

Fastforward to graduation! I know there are more pictures, but I think they are on Shimon's computer and not mine. Graduation was this past September and Shimon was a great sport. He came and took lots of pictures and even joined in with the party afterwards with all of my friends from my seminar. In Japan, you are assigned a seminar group to belong to during your 2 years as an MA. It was great to have him come and meet everyone he's already heard a lot about.

In March, my mom is coming for a visit. There will be A LOT of pictures then and I promise to update how that goes. My mom is nice, but she also talks a lot and I hope that Shimon isn't too intimidated by her. We'll see.

Interesting and frustrating things about living with Shimon... he is a total neat freak and I am a pack rat! Eeek! If only there were second hand stores in Japan, but there aren't so anything that you don't want goes straight in the trash. It makes me sick to throw perfectly good things away. Alas, it had to be done.
He is a night owl. I like to go to bed before midnight. I need more sleep!! It's ok, unless he starts talking and wakes me up all the way.

We both like doing things outdoors and like going to a park that is fairly close to the new apartment. I hope that we can do a lot of that kind of stuff when we visit Alaska in August. It should be a good time to get to know everyone and not have to talk the whole time. Climbing Angel Rocks (a spot in Fairbanks) doesn't need a full narration.

Hope this helps. If you're curious about something in particular, let me know. :-)

So, I've moved.

The big news is that Shimon and I moved in together at the beginning of February.

In Japan, undertaking a move is in many ways much more painful than moving in the United States. There is no craigslist or rooms for rent in a newspaper. You MUST go to a realtor. So we spent the better parts (weekend) of November and December looking for an apartment. This search was complicated because I have a cat. Pet friendly apartments are difficult to find. CAT friendly apartments are even more difficult.

Sometime in the beginning to middle of December we found a cat friendly apartment that we liked AND was the right price. By price I am not just talking your first months rent, last months rent and deposit. Of course there are those fees, but the list is longer. Since we have a cat it's two months rent deposit, plus 3,000 yen a month more in rent (roughly $35). The realtor fee (one months rent). Insurance and other fees. In all, it was a scary sum that we paid when we signed our lease agreement. (600,000 Japanese yen)

Fastforward... WE'VE MOVED!!!

And here are some pictures. We still don't have all the furnishings that we plan to have, but saving for things you want is part of the fun, right? :-)

The kitchen, notice... counter space. A real stove top! A big sink. I love it!! I've used it a lot already and can't wait to start experimenting!!



This is one half of the dining-ish area. The only half with anything resembling furnishings. And the shelf only arrived yesterday. :-) We're looking for a table, but have not found one to our (my) liking yet.


The bedroom. We have some more decorating to do (obviously!!). But we have a place to sleep, so the decorating can wait a little while.


The couch in the living room... it faces and empty wall where the TV will live when we get one. The couch is actually covered in blankets to keep Suzu (cat) from ruining it. Bah, cats and their claws!

There's the big update (well, for now... I'm sure there's more to tell)!

Neglect...

That is the word that best describes the last few months of blogging for me. After Christmas things just got MUCH more hectic and... I have neglected my blog. It's pretty bad when you get an email from your dad saying, "I was bored at work and checked your blog. You haven't posted since December 29th!"

First, bad that Dad is bored.
Second, worse that I haven't posted since December 29th. Eeek!

So, the next post (in a few minutes) will help explain a bit as to the busy-ness!!