I'm a Celebrity!

Yay, I finally got a post in for the month of May! OK, here are some updates.


Showa-style wedding ceremony members

I went to Miyazaki for 9 days during the Golden Week, and I became a celebrity. Ikuko and I participated in a Showa-style wedding ceremony as models, and we were interviewed by newspaper companies and TV stations. NHK and a local TV station covered the event in their news shows, and newspapers also carried articles about the event. Ikuko and I ended up participating in the event because the person who prepared the event is an acquaintance of Ikuko. Since all preparations were done by an NPO, we didn't have to pay for anything, which was the best part. Pictures can be found at the usual Yahoo site. On 5/3, we drove to Takachiho, a touristy place famous for its gorge, for a day trip but just missed a chance to ride a boat.


The famous Takachiho Gorge

On 5/14, I went to Mt. Kurikoma with some other JETs to enjoy sledding, flying kites, fishing, etc. It was my first time fishing.


Sledding in May on top of Mt. Kurikoma

The last Miyagi JET meeting was held on 5/19. I got some important information on things to do before and after leaving Japan. It was the last chance to meet many of the fellow JETs, so it was bittersweet.


Spicy Thai curry at a cozy restaurant in Sendai

After the meeting was over, Kazunori, a friend I've known from my study abroad at Kanazawa Institute of Technology during the summer of 2002, came to Sendai to pick me up for my weekend trip to his hometown, Obanazawa in Yamagata prefecture. The last time I met Kazu was in Tokyo in 2003, so needless to say, I was looking forward to our reunion. We had a delightful dinner at a Southeast Asian restaurant before we headed for Yamagata. Although it was a short stay, we enjoyed going to a local onsen resort, watching The Da Vinci Code, and playing arcade games. On Sunday, Kazu was generous enough to drive me back home. We took turns driving, but it took about 5 hours to get back home because we didn't know which roads to take. Kazu left for home around 7 p.m., but he ended up getting a bit lost and finally got back to his house at 2 a.m. Hopefully, I will see him again before I leave.


Kazu letting some morning air in for watermelon plants


Huge Kannon statue in Sendai

Today, I took Kanken Level 5. As usual, I didn't get much studying in and ended up cramming until the last minute. I think I did well enough to pass, but I made some embarrassing mistakes. I couldn't remember some kanji for the life of me, and even got the kanji for "salt" wrong. Salt is a Level 7 kanji, so it's kind of frustrating to forget something I've studied already. I hope I can retain most of the 1006 kanji I've studied since December last year. I guess the only way is to write them out by hand from time to time.

By the way, I still haven't heard anything about my successor yet. Supposedly, I will find out in early June. Two months left in Japan.