this has been a busy month

Yeah, things have been busy around here. May has been a month full of visitors- three different sets, actually. Early in the month my parents flew in from Pittsburgh, Last week Jon, Nikki, and Hillary came by ferry from Korea, and right now Ant and Cris are now somewhere in Japan after taking off from Philadelphia last week. I think that time goes the quickest when visitors are around. Maybe this is because there are so many things that I want to show people when they come here, I'm not sure. Either way, May has been flying by.





My parents' visit was a bit short due my dad's four days of hospital time but, as I told them, they got to see the efficiency and determination of the Japanese people in a true but unlikely way. We had a few good days of sight seeing and after their visit I think my mom could now navigate the Kyoto station area with her eyes closed...

Next, Jon and some other Fulbrighters from Korea met up with Caitlin and I in Kyoto and we did a quick highlight tour of some fun things I like to do in the city. These included (but were not limited to) finding tiny, alleyway bars, famous temple viewing, LOTS of Japanese 'fast food' (udon and soba were favorites), multiple hours at the onsen (natural hot spring public bath), very late night/early morning karaoke, and gettin' down Pittsburgh-style at a dance club.





The next day, Caitlin and I took a bus ride to a small town about an hour north of the Kyoto called Ohara. This town has the kind of bucolic, picturesque feel that most people would think of when 'Japan' comes to mind. It was a good Sunday kind of thing to do.



The next weekend Ant and Cris arrived by taxi in Naruto. I showed them the wonders of Kizu (my neighborhood), we camped in Iya and hiked Mt. Tsurugisan, went on the vine bridges after they were 'closed', and then got lost in some really strange parts of Tokushima. It was the best...I could only wish that I always had two good friends waiting for me in my apartment after work so that we could cook dinner and listen to the Melvins.






This weekend I am going to catch up on my sleep and probably just hang out. And I promise that I'll update my blog more! Oh, my dates for visiting America will be July 16th through August 2nd...my tickets were purchased yesterday. I'm interested to see how I feel after a year of 'sumimasen's and 'hai hai hai's...