August Rush

Seriously--where the eff did August go? Have I seriously been in Japan for over a month? How the hell did that happen? Not that I'm complaining--I love my job, I love the people I work with (Japanese and JETs alike), and of course I love Japan--but still, September snuck up on me before I even got used to August.
Sorry for the long hiatus. I've been busy--not with work, of course, but with exploring and adventuring and pretty much just partying. The major things that have happened since last time is that I went to Fukushima with Ben, taught at Hagino, went to more matsuri, had prefectural orientation, went to Mount Zao, and taught at Meirin.

Let's see. Fukushima was nothing special. We met up with a few of Ben's friends from college who are working with another English-teacher-providing company called Amity, went to a cheap izakaya, wandered around a little bit, and then went to bed. The next day, Ben went with them to where they lived, and I went back to Shinjo. On the way back I stopped in Yamagata City to see Anna, and we got dinner at a ramen shop and walked around for a little bit, and then she went to meet up with some of her friends and I went home.
Since I came home earlier than I thought, I got to go with Nishida-mama to see a mini-Shinjo matsuri in Kameyama, which is a half hour or so drive north of here. It was really cool to see all the floats--we went in the morning since it would be too hot in the afternoon to go, had lunch, and then she drove me back home.
Of course going back to Hagino was awesome. Kusakiri-sensei moved to another school, but Yaguchi-sensei and Kakizaki-sensei are still there, and I was so happy to see them and the principal again! The new English teacher, Yakuwa-sensei, is really cool too, but I have less freedom in her classes than with Yaguchi-sensei or Kakizaki-sensei. That's fine by me though--it's nice to just be told what I'm expected to do every once in a while rather than have to come up with it all on my own.
Mainly I just helped out with the three students entering in the speech contest. Akane is speaking about how she wants to be a midwife because she thinks life is precious, Misato is talking about how she loves shodo (Japanese calligraphy), and Mizuho is doing a recitation from an old textbook. They're so cute and really good! I really enjoyed working with them, and I hope they do well at the contest this Thursday (the 8)!
Nishida-mama took Ben and I to see the Tokunai matsuri down in Murayama that Friday (the 19 I think?). They have a parade where they dance along the street kind of like Hanagasa, except their dance is WAY cooler (in my opinion). It looks kind of like stylized karate, and the costumes they wore reminded me of an anime character I used to be fond of in high school--so I got a little nostalgic, haha, and felt my old fangirl-self rise to the surface. I want to learn the dance, even though Murayama would be kind of far to go for practice every week!
We ran into a JET down there, Deven, who was dancing in it with his group, and said hi and introduced ourselves formally (since we had kind of met on Facebook earlier). We stayed till about 9 or so, and then we drove back.
Let's see. Oh, then prefectural orientation happened, and THAT was a freaking blast. Not the orientation itself, but just getting to see/meet all the new Yamagata JETs and a few of the current ones who were helping out with running the orientation. Thursday night was our enkai (drinking party), but before that we all went and relaxed in hot springs for a half hour or so, which was a little awkward, since I'm not used to being naked around so many people (even though it was just girls), but weirdly a good bonding experience. I guess once you're naked, there's not that much more about yourself you feel like hiding. =)
After the hot spring, we walked over to the hotel where our enkai was at, and partied. Hard. The dormitories we were staying at at the Yamagata Education Center had a curfew, though, strictly enforced since the doors would lock once the clock hit 10, so we all migrated back to the dormitories before that happened and continued socializing in a lobby-esque area outside the cafeteria on the second floor until lights out at 11, and then I think roughly half of us moved into one of the rooms and continued on until I don't know when. I left the festivities around 3 or so, because I wanted to get at least a few hours of sleep before our last day of orientation.
I met a really nice girl, Anie, at orientation. She's awesome! She's from Canada and is into anime, and we kind of bonded as anime fangirl bosom friends. Luckily she doesn't live too far away from me, so we've started planning for a girl anime night sometime in the future. I also got to be a little closer with Amber, one of the presidents for the Association of JET up here in Yamagata (the other is Susie), because she, Anie and I ended up staying at Dave's (another JET) apartment Friday night after orientation.
That weekend was the Dragon Rock Festival at Mount Zao, which is basically where you go and camp out for the weekend and listen to music and eat food and hang out and be hippie-like. I wasn't planning on going originally, but then last minute I decided to stay and I'm SO glad I did! It was a blast.
Anyway, starting from the Friday after orientation--I drove with Anie and Amber to meet some other JETs for dinner at an Indian restaurant in Yamagata City, then the three of us walked around and explored some smaller back streets that were full of mainly clubs and lounges and the like. Then we went back to Dave's apartment and threw bedding out on the floor and slept. Saturday morning we woke up, had breakfast/lunch at a bakery nearby called Cybele (which is yummy but probably the least healthy food you could possibly eat), and then stated calling up people to get them to go to Zao, since originally it was just the three of us that were talking about going.
We drove to a Hard Off, a used goods store, to buy camping supplies--I got a tent and a sleeping bag, and also randomly a Nightmare Before Christmas wall clock (it was only 500 yen--how could I pass that up!?)--and then we got snacks and booze and headed up the mountain to Zao! We met Finlay, a JET from Scotland,  at the small town by the Zao Onsen, and then the four of us hiked up to Okama, the volcanic crater. It was super foggy when we got up there though, so we couldn't really see the crater, but after maybe fifteen minutes or so the fog suddenly lifted and there the crater was! It was a really pretty teal color, but of course as soon as the fog lifted it came back in again. The four of us hiked back down and then went to meet Jessie and Darrell back at the town, and then we went up to where the festival was and parked and pitched our tents and proceeded to have a crazy, mostly sleepless night. Everyone who came and camped: me, Anie, Amber, Lynn, Mike D, Darrell, Peter, Susie, Jessie, and Sean. Finlay and some other JETs came, but didn't stay.
We met so many people! Darrell made friends with the people in the tents neighboring us, and I kind of did too since I wandered over to help translate for him since he doesn't speak Japanese. Then we wandered around the shops that were out, and I had some food and danced in a restaurant and then ended up at a table outside of a stall with a big Japanese guy in red overalls we fondly referred to as "Mario." He's such a sweet guy--he gave me and Susie some random plastic toys (a bag that laughs oddly when you squeeze it and a little whistle-lute thing), and tequila, and we all talked for what felt like hours. Then somehow everyone broke off around 2 or so, and I wandered back up to the tent since I thought that's where they had all gone, but only Jessie and Sean were there, so I went back down and kind of did that for a few times trying to find someone. Then Darrell called me around 3 or 4 and asked me to help him get back home--apparently when he drinks a lot, he wanders, and he had wandered off to where he couldn't find his way back. So I had him send me his location (iPhones are awesome like that), and I went and got him and brought him back and settled him in his tent, and then went and lied down and kind of faded in and out of consciousness until about 7.
I napped again till maybe 10 or so, then we all got together and took a chair lift up to this place where you could take like a slide down, on a blue cart with a break to control the speed, which was fun! After that we got ice cream, and then we wandered, and then we packed up, and I took Darrell to retrace his steps to go and try and find his camera since he had lost it the night before while the rest (minus Lynn and Mike) drove over to a hot spring. We couldn't find it then, but luckily the next day Mario messaged Darrell on Facebook saying he had found it!
Anyway, after Darrell and I failed to find his camera, we had Peter send us the location on his phone, and then we walked over and had a lovely hot spring bath. It was an outdoor hot spring (rotenburo), and I talked more with Anie and Amber, and then we all met up and drove back. Jessie and Darrell caught the bus back to Yamagata and Susie, Anie and Sean drove together while Peter, Amber and I drove back up to Shinjo/Kaneyama (where Amber lives).
We didn't get back in till about 5 on Sunday evening. I was exhausted, I hadn't showered in three days, I was sunburned even though Jessie had given me sunscreen, but it was an awesome weekend. I put my things away and met up with Ben, and he came with me while I had dinner at Kappazushi, and then I went with him while he had dinner at the ramen place across the street from our apartments.
I was kind of counting on Monday to be a slow day, like the rest of my days at school were, but of course I was busy the ENTIRE day until like, 6:30. Tuesday was my first day at Meirin, and I was super busy then and Wednesday as well. Yesterday, I only helped out with the special ed class since yesterday and today were test days. There were two kids in that class, a third-year girl and a first-year boy, Kenshin. The girl is sweet and has a drawing of Yusuke from the creator of Yu Yu Hakusho (an anime I love) on her writing board! I was so jealous--aparently he came to Meirin last year some time, since that's where HE went to middle school! He's originally from Shinjo, which I think is just fantastic. Maybe while I'm here, he'll come back again and I can get him to draw something for me!
I've also been helping the speech contest students at Meirin. Don't tell anyone, but the girls at Hagino are way better. Shhhh.
Oh, and I got my leased car on Wednesday night too. Koseki-san and Kakizaki-san came over after work to help Ben and I "practice" driving, and then the four of us got dinner at Kappazushi. I've been to Kappazushi at least once a week since I got here--probably not super healthy, but it's so delicious and cheap and fun!
Driving here isn't as bad as I thought it would be--I actually enjoy it if it's light out and I'm on the main roads! I've even started to slowly accessorize--there's an air freshener and I have my Totoro and Jiji keychains hanging on the shaft for the windshield wipers and I also bought an iPhone thing to play my music through the radio today!
I have a white Toyota Vitz, which is basically a Yaris, whom I've decided to name Nymphadora Tonks because I've got Harry Potter on the brain due to me finally getting my welcome letter to Pottermore over the weekend! That's something else to squee about--I've been officially sorted into Hufflepuff, and my wand is maple with unicorn hair core, 12 and a quarter inches, pliant! Not that means anything to you if you aren't a Harry Potter fan, but I just think it's brilliant because it's basically JK Rowling herself assigning me those things, since it's HER official Harry Potter site and not some random movie site from Warner Bros. It's awesome!
Yeah. So now it's the weekend--tomorrow I'm going with Nishida-mama to Aya's school festival, Sunday is Hagino's sports festival, and Monday I have off since the sports festival is Sunday. Monday, the box of stuff I shipped ahead to myself should come too--hello Justin's Butter and Larabars and cinnamon!
Oh, Monday is also my 22 birthday. WHAAAAAAT?!
Kakizaki-san (not the Hagino sensei, the city office worker) has invited me over for a little "family" party at his house Monday night at 7. Ben might come too. I'm really looking forward to it!
Kakizaki-san is slowly becoming my Japanese dad. Or maybe uncle? Somewhere between there. He's awesome anyway, and I don't know what I'd do without him or Nishida-mama. Probably go insane in my tiny apartment or starve to death. One of the two. Or both, at the same time.
So there's my rambling summary of the past three weeks or so... I'll try not to go so long without posting again!