#shingenparade goldenweek guam jason mothersday bars schoolstories

[hillariekoenig15]

Golden Week

Man, has this past month flown by! I left off last with the weekend before the Shingen-ko Parade.

So, on April 12th every year, Yamanashi celebrates the death of their great warlord, Takeda Shingen. There were many festival activities and parades leading up to this day. Every year, thanks to Roberta and Takao, an FET or two have a spot to be a samurai in the parade honoring Takeda. This is a great opportunity as many people from all over Japan enter their names to be a samurai and only a total of 24 can participate.

So Roberta and Takao picked us up and took us to the gym where we were to get dressed and start the parade. The Parade committee had hired staff to assist in putting on the samurai costumes. As I watched them put on the gear for others I soon realized this was going to be a tight fit. Lol The strap dug into my neck and there was a lot of pressure on my hips but there was nothing I could do about it now. The costume was on and was staying on until this shindig was over! Lol

So then we were called to take pictures and to get on our horses. It took about 2 ½ hours to finally get to the destination; which was a park by the post office. Kazumi and Ken surprised me and assisted in taking candid pictures for us as we didn’t have our phones. We barely had time for lunch before it was time to get back on the horses.

It took another 2 ½ hours to get back all the while on a horse. We were finally able to take off the samurai gear. I was so sore between my legs, my hips, and my neck where the strap dug into it and then to top it off I managed to get sunburnt. Lol Overall, I very much enjoyed this experience. Although, the bike ride home was extremely painful. Lol

That Friday, April 14th, the three of us decided to head to The Vault (our favorite bar) after our BOE meeting to meet up with our good friend, Giseli, and celebrate her birthday that was earlier in the week.

On Saturday, April 15th, we headed to Takeda Shingen Shrine as I realized on Wednesday that I had not been there yet and it’s right here in Kofu! So we started there and then made our way back to the station. We had dinner and then decided to head back home.

On Sunday, April 16th, it was Easter Sunday. Since Japan doesn’t celebrate that, Madi had heard of a battle reenactment in Fuefuki so we all decided to attend that together. It was a beeaauuttiffulll day! 80 degrees! I got burnt…. which was expected. Lol

While watching the battle it was a little hard to follow as we can’t speak Japanese but we got the point. Lol

On Saturday, April 22nd, Takao had invited all three of us to his high school’s 100th anniversary reunion. It was a really nice event. Your typical Japanese gathering; cheers, toasts, eat, prizes, go home. Lol I’m very happy that Takao and Roberta invited us. It was funny during dinner, Takao got questioned 2x for being Japanese or not simply because he was at a table full of Americans. Lol Crazy.

Then after dinner we decided to all go to Ashley’s and keep the party going because it was only 7pm and we had gotten all dressed up. So while Madi got ready to bike down to Ashley’s, Ashley and I went to BIG to buy some drinks and snacks. We ran into Tatsuzawa. It was funny. He totally was judging our basket of junk food and alcohol. Lol

Then we just sat around and talked until Madi and I decided we should probably go home and get some rest before our big day of hiking in the morning.

On Sunday, April 23rd, Madi and I woke up and were at Natsuko’s by 8:45am. Then we went to Panorama Dai which is near Shoji Lake near Mt. Fuji. The hike was nice but difficult. Still worth the hike up. I got some pretty serious blisters on my ankles :( It literally was a straight up incline for about an hour. We were excited when we finally reached the top. The view at the top was incredible. I would make that trip over and over again. It was cool. It was pretty cloudy but Fuji finally peaked out for a little while.

We got back down by 1pm. Then we went to an onsen. Always an interesting experience. The worse part is the initial undressing; getting naked. Once we were in the spa/hot springs it wasn’t so bad and was actually quite relaxing. I’d say we were all ready for a nap afterwards.

On Friday, April 28th, we were finally on our way to Guam to start our vacation! We arrived in Guam at 1:30am. We then found our shuttle to ACE to receive our rental car. First time driving in 9 months! It was exciting. :) Then we made it to our Airbnb and fell asleep.

We woke up around 9-9:30am. We pretty much just did primping stuff and shopping all day. Lol We first went to the shopping mall near our Airbnb. I bought new shoes! Then we had Applebee’s. <3 Then we went to get pedicures at Luxury nails. They were so nice there. And the owner, Eliza, was so helpful. She suggested to us a place where we can get our hair cut. Then we went the Harley Davidson store for Madi and the Hard Rock Cafe for myself. Then we went to K-Mart, where we did a little clothes shopping and grocery shopping. It was definitely overwhelming as I wanted to buy so much. Lol

Then we went home and got ready to go out. We decided to go to “Drop” which was a GREAT decision. We met this guy named Jason who ended up literally making our vacation 10x better!

On Saturday, April 29th, we headed to the beach! Madi was smart to not let us stay out too long, because even the short amount of time we were out in the heat I managed to work up quite a burn on my legs. :/ It was very painful. It’s sad that I love the sun so much but the sun does not love me. Lol Jason had informed us of a Burlesque show at Drop so after the beach we relaxed and got ready to head back out. We got to Drop and found seats to watch the show. After her first number she all of a sudden just left. I thought it might be a wardrobe malfunction. Oh well, we met some pretty interesting people regardless of the show! I got a lap dance from this guy whose friends were teasing him to continue the show without her. It was hilarious. We decided to just go home. We later found out that she went on with the show.

The next morning, Jason invited us to brunch with him and his friends Anthony. Afterwards Jason had to leave but Anthony had offered to take us to “Turtle’s Cove”. It was cool! We jumped off the “Turtle’s nose” which probably wasn’t all that high but still was pretty exhilarating. The rocks were so sharp! We had cuts everywhere. After much struggle of getting over two huge boulders, we finally made it to the top and I just wanted to be down so I just jumped. I was shaking so bad from the adrenaline rush.. Lol

We decided that was good enough so we went back to the car where we ran into this family that is from around Guam and invited us for a picnic. It was nice. We eventually decided to leave though.

We ended our night at Jimmy Dee’s watching the gorgeous sunset.

On Monday, May 1st, we decided to get our hair cut!

Afterwards we had planned on going jet skiing but since our hair stylists did such great jobs on our hair we didn’t want to ruin it so we decided to just tour southern Guam instead! We went to Latte of Freedom, a war historical site, a bell, Talafofo Falls and a cave. It was really cool. Once we got to the cave I was very disappointed as it was just a hole in the ground. Good thing history nerd, Madi, actually read the sign because we then learned that a Japanese man had deserted the WWII War and lived in this cave for 28 years because he didn’t know that the war had ended….Now that was worth it.

Then we headed back to the Airbnb to get ready to go to Jason’s LGBTQ+ Mixer. It was actually pretty fun. We met some pretty cool people!

Afterwards, we headed to a magic show that Jason invited us to. We got in for free! He is seriously the coolest guy! The show was cool. My favorite act was with the acrobats.

On Tuesday, May 2nd, we got up and headed to ABC where one of Jason’s cousins worked and we got a 30% discount. Seriously! Love. Jason.

So we went parasailing, banana boating, and jet skiing. So cool. Parasailing was probably my favorite. We also went kayaking and just enjoyed the water.

Then we left and got ready to go see Two Lovers Point @ sunset. It was really pretty.  A little cloudy but still nice.

Then we went to Jimmy Dee’s because it was still pretty early and just had a couple drinks and enjoyed the beach.

On Wednesday, May 3rd, we woke up and got ready to head to Marbo Cave with Jason. I didn’t feel like wearing my swimsuit so we didn’t get in the water but the cave was still pretty cool.

Then we walked a little farther to go to this opening. It was so pretty. Could see the water all the way to the horizon. It was amazing and so calming.

So, every Wednesday there is a Chamorro village in Hagatna that sells souvenirs and local food. We also just so happened to come during the right year and week. The Micronesian Island Culture Fair was going on where all the island come together to showcase part of their culture. It was really neat. We ate a little and then watched a tribal dance.

Thursday, May 4th, was our last day in Guam. :( We didn't want to leave.

We woke up early and got ready to hike Mt. Lam Lam. It was so cool. I’m glad we didn’t miss doing this. It only took us 30 minutes to get to the top. It was so beautiful at the top. Every Easter the locals carry a cross up this Mt. and plant it in the ground once at the top. It’s in memory of the original Islanders. It was a beautiful site.

We then climbed back down. We ordered Dominos pizza. Then headed back to our Airbnb.

We then went to Uncle Pete’s for just a quick swim. It was nice to just relax. Although my shoulders had gotten burnt from the hike so I was in a little pain. Lol #whatsnew #sunburnislife

Then we got dressed and decided to watch the sun set at the Beach Bar. It was a perfect way to end our night and our time in Guam. Jason joined us as well. We ate, had some drinks, talked, and watched the sun set. It was so nice. I didn’t want to leave but we needed to pack and get ready for our early morning. 

We got up at 4am to get ready to return the car and head to the airport. Thank goodness we were ahead of schedule because the lines for check-in were terrible! We left at 7:30am and landed at 9:30am It didn’t take us too long to go through immigration or customs. We took our time at lunch and afterwards were able to start heading for the Airbnb.We got there and the directions weren’t that good and the elevator was freaking broken… 6 Floors. It was awful. Whatever, at least the location was perfect.

We then took a nap and then got ready for Ashley to arrive. We went to TGI Friday’s and then went to Junk Cafe! I love this bar. We played darts, Madi got sleepy so she left, Ashley and I had a blast though! We made friends, and broke out the Karaoke machine, and ended up staying until almost 2:30am I think. They invited us to a party later this month and I’m so excited to go!

I got to meet Kazumi’s newest grand baby, Ryo!

Akiho and her friend visited me at Minami! I got to see Akiho twice in one week! So happy. :)

On Saturday, May 13th, I had Ayaka over! I introduced her to Kraft Mac N Cheese and then we had hamburgers, fruit, and veggies. As American a meal as I can make in the land of seafood! Lol We then just talked, listened to music, and played card games! It was a lot of fun!

On Sunday, May 14th, we all went out for Mother’s Day.

On Tuesday, May 16th, I got the pleasure to hang out with Ayaka again and got to meet a new friend, Sota! We went to dinner, which was nice. Sota is very funny. After dinner we went back to my place for card games. It was fun. I hope to be able to hang out with them again!

So, now that you are all caught up enjoy reading some of my stories from school! And, let the countdown begin! I only have 71 days until I am on a plane home! But, in the meantime, I still have weekends packed full of fun and quite the crew of visitors coming to visit!

Stories:

-In Japanese class we always learn a lot. One thing in particular that stuck out to me recently was when we learned “I’m Hungry” and in Japanese it's “Onaka ga suita.” And our teacher then explains that it literally means “My situation is hungry.” We all found that to be quite hilarious!

-I got invited to help judge which students get to go to America in August for both my schools. I attended Nansei’s so far. It was interesting. I’m so thrilled with the boy that is going and there were two girls we had to choose from and it was very difficult but I think the decision we all decided on was best. I’m excited to see what candidates we have for Minami!

School Stories:

-So the new school year has started and I got to meet my 1st graders (7th grade). I like teaching at this stage because they are more willing to act and be silly. For example, for 10 minutes we just sat in class and practiced “th” sounds. (It’s very difficult for them to make this sound when saying words like “Thank you” “This” “That” etc.)

-Also, my with my 1st graders, we learn greetings such as after being asked “How are you?” you reply with “I’m okay.” “I’m fine.” “I’m so-so” etc. Well they found the gesture that goes with “I’m so-so” hilarious and wouldn’t stop saying it to each other. Lol They things they find funny is interesting. Lol

-Back at Minami, in my last class I was talking to my new teacher, Inagaki Sensei about Madi and I and as a result she kept accidentally calling me Madi in class. Lol Also, something had dropped from off the wall and it was pretty high up but since I am so tall all I had to do was get on my tiptoes to put it back and once I did that the whole class applauded me..Lol I get so much praise here for just being me. I’m going to go back to America and just be some plain jane no one notices. LOL

-In my 2nd grade class one of my students asked for my phone number and I didn’t think it to be such a big deal so I just gave my real one. All the kids then freaked out and frantically started writing it down. That’s when I started to second guess my response and that maybe I should’ve given a fake number… Oh well, the damage is already done. I also doubt that they will actually do anything with it since I hardly know enough Japanese to converse over the phone so they would need to speak in English. It might actually be a good learning experience for them if they do! Lol

-Well my classes went well. I had my 1st graders again and we continued to work on numbers. As I was having them repeat #s after me I had said, “zero” and one of the students yells out in confusion, “Zebra?!” We all got a good laugh out of that one. I find English to be a difficult language sometimes.