I love long weekends

My fish Simon (or Simone on some days...) is going apeshit in his tank.

I just cleaned the tank and I think I have made him very very happy. Hell, I would be a happy camper too if I wasn't swimming in and inhaling my own feces. Wouldn't you?

So.

Monday was a holiday and that made for a long weekend in Japan. Man, do I ever love long weekends. There's nothing like the feeling where you know that you have that one extra day to lounge around and do things at your own pace.

This weekend was busy. I went to my other school's sports festival on Saturday and that was quite the experience. This is the first school I taught in before moving onto the second one and as a result, I have more of an attachment to the kids there. I love those kids! They are so awesome. They did very well in all of the events. My favorite event of it all was the dance. I don't know the Japanese name for it, but the dance consists of simulating pulling a rope, or a tug of war. It was an elegant and beautiful dance to witness, heightened by the brightly colored costumes. I was mesmerized.

Saturday night was John's birthday bash, so everyone congregated for dinner and then for some nice karaoking after. My friend Heather came up to stay with me again, so it was wonderful just having her here for the weekend. It's always nice to catch up with her. Luv ya Heather!

I had a great opportunity to attend wagashi making on Sunday with some friends. Wagashi is essentially Japanese confectionaries, but mostly they are eaten as part of the tea ceremony (at least this is my understanding of it...sorry if I'm wrong!). As the matcha (green tea) is so concentrated and bitter, one must have sweet wagashi to offset and/or complement the tea. The place we went to was a house, where customers go to either watch "the master" ( I have dubbed him so...) make wagashi or just to buy some. We had a chance to watch him work and make our own wagashi, although I can't say that mine turned out well. It's really not as easy as you think it looks! But I had a great time. And the wagashi was so good...mmm.

After that we went to visit this man who has been a carpenter for 27 years. He showed us how to make a traditional Japanese ladle out of chestnut wood. He was amazing! I was so impressed at how quickly and deftly he created a ladle out of a block of wood. I have videos, but unfortunately I can't load them for you to see! Truly amazing, I tell you.

And as for Monday, we went over to one of our friend's house for lunch. On the menu? Roll your own maki. It was great. Needless to say, I was stuffed. It was just a nice, lazy kind of day. Felt more like a Sunday actually, instead of Monday, but you know how that is when it's a long weekend...

So, I'm gonna get myself to bed. Goodnight.

*Sorry for the rash of pics following this post...