Back to school...

Now, I realize that most teachers in America have already been back to school for a week or more. I realize that those same teachers might object to my whining about being tired and not ready to go back... sympathy may be non-existent. Well, what I have to say to those teachers is... you get nearly a 3 month break to recover... I got roughly 6 weeks! I think I have earned my right to a few whiny moments.

I was SO not ready for my alarm to go off this morning. In fact, I woke up with a start and rushed around so much (afraid I was going to be late) that I was earlier than I normally am... even when I'm early.

In the time I was off of school I had managed to forget my lovely commute and the walk to school. A commute with three train changes, standing room only and a nice 15 minute walk in scorching heat is not my idea of a good way to start my day. However, in the weeks off I'd forgotten all about those parts of work. I remember them all to clearly again, now.

I have to say that actually teaching and being back in the groove wasn't bad. It was the post-teaching lull that was bad. By the time I left school at the end of the day I was ready to roll into bed. Luckily I get a nicer day tomorrow. Better commuting time (around 11:30am) and a better train (I'll definitely get a seat) and most of all a more cheerful school! :-) Whew! Back to school time makes me tired!!


Hope everyone else is having a lovely day!

Surprises

I like surprises. Sometimes I moan a bit at Shimon that we don't have many surprises between the two of us. Well, he proved he has the ability to surprise today.

He went into work on Saturday to get ready for a very busy week. He called and asked if I wanted to go with him somewhere after work. I said sure and we met up (he actually had to take something to a client... so we met afterwards).

We ended up going to Enoshima (about an hour and a bit outside of Tokyo). It was right before sunset and I had just told Shimon that I had seen Mt. Fuji on my way to meet him... we walk toward the sea and low and behold... a lovely silhouetted Mt. Fuji with nice sunset colors. Nice!!

For dinner we ended up in a nice Italian restaurant on the terrace with cool evening breezes blowing. After that we walked around the Enoshima area. Saw the fattest stray cat I've ever seen!! And enjoyed a lantern display that led around some of the famous areas of the island.

There were even fireworks going from a distance when we started our walk on the island. Wow! For a spontaneous, surprise date everything fell into its lovely, romantic place. Surprises are wonderful... :-)

Hope you have some surprises today!

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!