Hello again to my readers!

It excites me so much to be able to go back through my experiences from the past week to share with you. And what an exciting week it has been!

Firstly, let me just say that choosing to “adult” for the first time (ex. big girl job, living alone, etc. etc.) on the other side of the world was an interesting choice on my part. I have discovered that unfortunately you have to eat every day, and to eat, you have to cook, and to cook, you have to generate dirty dishes. It is a never-ending cycle of pain in which my sink is never empty (plus no dishwasher adds to the problem). That said, I’ve discovered I actually have quite the talent for cooking! Or, at least, a talent for following recipes. I’ve even started figuring out where everything is in the grocery store. Here are some of my creations from the past week.

I was also lucky to only have to work Monday-Wednesday this week, so I had some more time to explore my new city. One thing you may not know about Japan is that several of its holidays are based on nature. Last week, I mentioned that nature is a huge part of Japanese culture and this only adds to it. For example, Thursday was Mountain Day, so school was closed and I had the day off. Other examples would be Sea Day and Greenery Day throughout the year.

Anyways, I knew I wanted to try something outdoors for Mountain Day, so another person in my program and I set off for the Yuhidera Kenmin Nature Park on the outskirts of Kanazawa. Unfortunately, several of the nature walks were closed due to “unnaturally high bear activity”, and we surely didn’t push it. That said, we were able to walk to the dragonfly sanctuary that the park maintained. It was about 4 acres of natural land with 7 ponds with tons of dragonflies. It was a beautiful place, but somehow (don’t ask me how), the ponds have become overrun by invasive American crayfish. The park had built several makeshift fishing poles (stick + string + bait) so that visitors could “fish for the extermination of the invasive American crayfish” (their exact words), so for about two hours, Stephen and I did our civil duty as residents of Japan and fished for crayfish. We had a great time and caught a ton, and it was such a random experience that I know I’ll never find anywhere else.

Friday through this coming Monday are Obon, a Buddhist holiday for the venerating of one’s ancestors. School was closed for this as well. Friday was more of a relaxing day for me. I lazed about for most of the day, but did get to check out a great second hand store close to my apartment, where I got 10 items of clothing for only ~$30! A very successful shopping trip in my opinion.

Saturday, some friends came into town from around Ishikawa to sightsee in Kanazawa and check out the Kanazawa Yosakoi Festival that afternoon. It was a jam-packed day, but we got to do so much! In Kanazawa, we explored an open-air fish market called the Omicho Market (it was HUGE, several stories huge), got food at a delish Indian restaurant, and got dessert at a 2-d cafe, where the entire is cafe is decorated to look like it comes straight from a manga, or comic.

At the festival, we got to watch several performances from groups throughout Kanazawa. Yosakoi is a type of Japanese dance combining traditional dances with more modern music. Dancers were generally dressed in beautiful yukatas (many had several layers on to allow for costume changes during the dance) and utilized tools like naruko clappers, flags, and wagasa (Japanese umbrellas). I took several videos that I’ll share, but they don’t even begin to display the beauty and emotion of these dances.

We also had the opportunity to watch a group of flamenco dancers perform, which was not at all something I was expecting to see for the first time in Japan.

Finally, we had the opportunity to see ensembles of taiko drummers perform. It shocked me how strong the children performing must have been to create such deep sounds from these drums.

I should have more to say about school in the next couple of weeks. Since the students are gone for break right now, I haven’t had much to do. I read three books during the three days I was working this week. I’m so bored, I’m even studying my Japanese. It’s slow, but I do slowly feel myself picking up more and more of the language and improving in my ability to respond.

Thank you for reading! <3