Hello hello my dear GUS (Grace's Unwavering Supporters)! Week 2 has finished in Japan 😁
My first weekend here was very fun! On Aug 10th, Saturday, I went to the Yosakoi festival held in the biggest city in my prefecture, Kochi City! It was an incredible festival and I'm grateful I was able to go.
I was driven by an older ALT to Kochi with a couple other people in the morning and arrived around noon. We parked at the mall because it has good parking but lo and behold, dancers were performing outside it! I had heard that this festival is held all over the city but it was spectacular to see some performances immediately after arriving. We stayed and watched a little bit but then walked to the station to meet up with more people. It was a long walk and it was so hot 😰 I had my sun umbrella, put my sunscreen on, and prepared my Pocari Sweat (an amazing drink for the summer, I wish it was in America) so I did not die immediately. However, my endurance did not last very long 😂
We met up with our friend at the station and saw more dancers there 😍. We headed to another key location to see dances and get good food which was another long walk in the heat 😩 By the time we arrived I was hungry and hot and tired, not a good combination. I do regret to inform that I was a bit irritable haha, especially when we couldn't find a place to eat. But, I saved the day by finding a nice small ramen shop that served a variety of food, had AC, and could seat all of us💃💁
I was feeling a bit queasy from the heat so I was happy to get some food in me. After we ate, some in the group wanted to walk back to the station to meet up with more friends. I was feeling quite exhausted and still a bit heat sick so I decided to stay back in the covered walkway we were at and watch the performers. I'm glad I did because I was able to see the most amazing dancers and performances! Every group was different each with unique costumes, music, and dance styles. Some were community groups that performed with families and easier choreographies, and others were professional-like groups that were very in sync with high-quality costumes and movements. I found a good place to stand in front of a shop whose AC was spilling out and behind a man sitting in a chair so I had an unobstructed view. I watched all the dancers parade down the street for a couple hours. I was at the spot where they started and got in formation so I could hear all of their introductions and such. It was a great time!
I then met back up with my group and we walked back to the mall 😵 Once we got to the mall I found a seat and collapsed for a few minutes to rest. I was quite tired and my feet needed a rest from standing. But, after I recuperated for a little, I walked around the mall seeing all the different shops they have. I plan to go back frequently as I enjoy walking around malls. We all got dinner at the food court before we left and then drove back in the evening. It was an eventful day and I was quite exhausted.
On Sunday morning, I attended a small tea ceremony put on by a local middle school. I went with my new partner and the nice retired English teacher and we went to the new cultural building recently built in town. It is a lovely building with many rooms the community can use for events such as a kitchen, meeting rooms, Japanese-style rooms, music rooms, and a dance studio (👀, yes I have looked into it but unfortunately you have to book 6 months in advance 💀). The tea ceremony was lovely and the tea and snacks were delicious! The tea was, of course, much better than what you could get in America 😂
We then went to the supermarket to get trash bags and I picked up a bento lunch and grapes as well.
In the evening, I went stargazing with a new group of friends in the neighboring town because there was an amazing meteor shower that was supposed to happen. Even though I was tired, I could never resist looking at the stars. So we drove there, had a great dinner, and headed up the mountain to watch the meteor shower. Luckily we drove to the observation spot and didn't have to hike😅. It was actually not hot out but warm so it was great weather for star gazing. We set up our spot and got to watch. It was so beautiful and I was 21 shooting stars! And we were only attacked by 2 bugs 😂 Around midnight we decided to head back and I immediately went to bed.
On Monday I had no plans and I was grateful for the rest. I had to finish unpacking and setting up my apartment so that was my plan for the day. I had a nice slow day and made a nice spaghetti dinner. I then prepared a much-needed hot bath that helped soothe my aching body.
I also made myself a nice soup that I was proud of later in the week. I'm still building up my kitchen so I have only few items and ingredients. But, I made a "something soup" with what I had. I started by making a soup stock with a pack I have, then I added some miso, and then some soy sauce and that was my soup. I then added kimchi, soft tofu, and enoki mushrooms as my filler. The kimchi was a little overbearing even though I only added a little bit of it and I added the entire pack of soft tofu and enoki mushrooms because I don't have any storage containers 😂 It all turned out alright though and it was yummy and filling.
The work week went by pretty uneventfully. School is still in the summer vacation during August so I am just working at the BOE. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), there is nothing to do at the jobs so I have had to find things to do. Sometimes I am unsuccessful though and get quite bored haha. I have learned that the term is called "desk-warming." But, my workplace is nice, my workers are nice, I am enjoying the peaceful life.
This weekend I have a couple of plans so we shall see how those go 😀 Until next time GUS!
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