With Spring Comes Birthdays

So again I find myself in an empty house for my 3rd spring in a row in Japan. Amber is gone for the 2nd spring in a row and she hadn't moved here yet for the first spring I was here. Last year was because of her visa and this year is again because of her visa and to finish preparations for the wedding.
This time of year there seems to always be a ton of Birthdays; my host father, host nephew, Cool Japanese Mike, Inamori sensei who I have now dubbed Mark, his daughter Ayako, his mom Mrs. Inamori, and two of my coworkers. I think it is connected to the fact that the school year starts in April in Japan and I believe some Japanese families plan to have their children in the Spring.
Like last year I had a birthday weekend celebration with Inamori, and his family because his birthday is on the 8th and his moms is on the 12th. They do a joint birthday thing on the following weekend. This year for his birthday I took him to the opening day Hanshin Tigers baseball game. Which ended up being awesome. There were surprises for both of us. His surprise was he had no idea how great the seats were and my surprise was that it was the opening day game not just for the Tigers but for the country of Japan. They had cheerleaders and a famous Japanese singer sing the Japanese National Anthem and throw out the first pitch.
Tigers won 5 to 2.

Inamori on his way to the game.


Our seats



Third Base.



Cheerleaders


National Anthem



First Pitch



Too much fun with Balloons.



Yesterday for the joint birthday celebration I baked a banana cake for Inamori, his mom, and company. We went out for a sushi dinner and then came back to his place for cake, to relax and watch a little bit of crazy Japanese variety TV. As a joint gift on top of the cake I gave them 2 kilorams of grapes and some American chocolate. If you are wondering why grapes and if Amber and I haven't told you about the cost of fruits and berries here then you would be a little confused. Grapes are one of the most expensive fruits in Japan. A little bundle which equates to about two handfuls can run you a bill of about 10 dollars US. However, I did not spend that much because I went to Costco. It was a blast just like it was last year. His parents are two of the nicest and funniest Japanese people I have ever met and I really enjoy spending time with them. Tomoko, Inamori's wife managed to escape and get out of every picture I took unfortunately.

Inamori's nickname: His first name is actually Masasugu, and his mom calls him Ma-Kun, which when slurred sounds like Mark. Thus the name Mark has now stuck with Inamori.

Well here are the pictures from the party.

From left to right. Ayako, Mom(Grandmother), Ken, Dad(Grandfather).



Inamori(Mark), Ken, Dad.



Ayako, Mom, Ken, Mark



The Cake.

Setsubun

Setsubun is a holiday in Japan that is celebrated every Feburary 3rd. It traditionally was part of the New Year celebration until the introduction of the western calendar. It is a tradition of sacrificing(or blessing) beans(to family altar in the house) then tossing them outside of your house. This is a sign of removing all of the bad things and allowing good things to come in. That is how this holiday started. I am not sure when the introduction of the ogres came but that is how the Japanese symbolize evil.
In the video you will see the ogres and then someone dressed in white. The person in white is to symbolize purity and good things coming in and helping to chase all the bad things out. The children all scream Oni wa Soto. Which means Ogre get out.

I will say right now that one of the kids is picked on by one of the teachers dressed up as an ogre. They did this because he is one of the trouble making students and because he claimed to be strong and not scared of anything. That is why he was singled out. Also, another note the kid was absent the next day from school because he said he was sick. But the reality of it was he was afraid to come back to school.

I hope the video works and you are all able to see it.

Lack of Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates. We have been pretty busy with work and planning, that we haven't had much time to sit down and write a blog. I am hoping tomorrow(computer permitting) that I will finally be able to get the video from setsubun up. I had a lot of fun recording this festival at one of my schools. It is good for some laughs.

Thailand

Andrew and I spent our holidays in Thailand. We had a wonderful trip - eight days on the island of Koh Samui and one day in Bangkok (for New Year's Eve). This is Thailand's "cool season" and it was quite humid, but not nearly as hot as we had anticipated. Despite me being sick with bronchitis and having to make a trip to the hospital there, everything else went well. Unfortunately, due to my illness, we weren't able to do the snorkeling adventure we wanted to, but we were still able to explore almost the entire island, eat lots of delicious, inexpensive food, and meet some really cool people.

Our first bungalow at "Shambala" - not our favorite, but kind of a cool hippie-ish place on Big Buddha Beach.


Big Buddha Temple

On top of the temple


We rented a car for four days. It was a great way to explore the island while keeping cool and avoiding being soaked whenever it started pouring rain. I had fun driving once I got used to being on the left side of the road, the right side of the car, shifting with my left hand, having the turn signal on the right, and dealing with insane drivers.

When we first got the car

Andrew pretending to be scared. Okay, maybe he wasn't pretending.

Our second beach bungalow, "Jinta" - a really great place away from any crowds

Joy, the Thai owner of Jinta, with her husband. She is the sweetest person ever, so helpful with everything. She even went with us all the way to the international hospital since we didn't know how to get there. A big part of the beauty of Thailand comes from its people. Nearly every Thai person we met was incredibly friendly, warm and inviting. It felt a little different once we got to Bangkok, but especially on Koh Samui, the people have a happiness about them that you don't often find in Japan or America.

A view from "Big Rock" restaurant

The food in Thailand is amazing and cheap! You can enjoy a full meal for two people (including dessert) for less than $5. Certain places can be a little more pricey, depending on where you go, but you're still never paying anything close to what we pay in Japan. For whatever reason, the best food we had in Thailand tended to be the cheapest, and it was always fresh and homemade.

You see quite a few fishing boats around.

The viewpoint at the top of Wang Sao Thong Waterfall


Our other sweet ride!

The temples in Thailand are full of color and elaborate decoration, and each is unique.

Inside a temple - the "path" of Buddha is painted across the ceiling and walls telling the story with pictures.

Our final hotel on Samui, "The White House" - not at all what I was picturing, but very cool. We both got body scrubs and 1-hour Thai massages here. I'd never had a Thai massage before and wow! It works your entire body in ways you'd never imagined!

Choeng Beach

Our hotel in Bangkok - this is what $30 will get you. Not bad.





A very steep temple



Taking a ferry across the river

The giant Reclining Buddha


This thing is huge!



Gotta watch out for those tuk-tuk drivers

Khao San Road during the day


Khao San at night

The countdown clock

Such a majestic creature. I sure hope he's not abused...

Happy New Year Everybody!