11:57pm
Was up around 9am today and moseyed around for a bit until the "core" group came over around 10am (Noriko, Ito-sensei, Aoki-san, Uta-san, Mieko-san, Toyoko-san) and we had our weekly meeting and also talked about all our experiences here. They all shared memories from the summer and we shared things that we've learned or want to do since we've been here. And - we got our pottery back from the nifty studio in Yamagata!
Afterwards we had Uta-san's delicious homemade onigiri (mmm tuna) and she showed us how to put on our yukatas. We walked to the post office with Noriko and went to her house for a little while to use the internet. I couldn't update the webpage as she doesn't have a card reader, but we were all able to check our email.
We went to the Aoki's and did our final elementary class (giving them all cross erasers), had pasta dinner, and then Laurel and I did our Jr High class with the 2 girls - gave them sqoosh balls at the end, which they thought was cool :) Then rode the bikes home, chilled chatting for a while until Moe and Jeri came and blindfolded/kidnapped us and took us... to the foot onsen across the street :P haha. The river was super swollen and Jeri, Laurel, and Moe made their way across the cement blocks through the rushing water (I was too chicken, especially carrying my camera).
We drove to YAmagata, walked around Jusco (though all the massage chairs were mysteriously gone!) and up to some lookout points. Stopped at Family Mart on the way back (where we found "Mike" chips) :) the whole way listening to Noriko's dance CD.. BAckstreet Boys, Spice Girls, etc (oy). The moon was really dark and orange, low in the sky, and it sparked a conversation about the end times and how that would go, and Noriko said "I am safe because I am Christian, right?" so we got to discuss that a little bit, which was nice to delve into. She also told us how she was baptized at the church (I guess the floor of the daycare comes up and there is a baptismal tub right under there!)
Came back and talked, and hit the sack...
5 days left in Kaminoyama... oy... :S
Dinner at Ito-sensei's on Thurs - should be cool!
Random quote of the day:
"you're like a celebrity or some other mythical creature... you don't really exist"
