11/26/06

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Words from the Vikichan!!

Hi Again!! 

Well, fall is finally here in Japan, at least where I am in the Kanto Area. The weather is crisp and cool in the daytime and downright cold at night. Not having central heat is a bummer at this time of year especially because we use kerosene heaters which have concentrated heat. This time of year you only need to take the chill off the room and those heaters make it so stuffy hot that you just fall asleep before you can turn them off. But everyone is using them as you can smell the kerosene in the air especially early in the morning. Even the kerosene vendors are out now selling it from small trucks. They come around the neighborhoods and play their music and advertise their price to entice you to run out and have them fill your Kerosene tanks. As it gets colder more of these vendors will come through on more days and times during the week. My neighborhood is semi-secluded though and I don't get nearly as many vendors as my friend used to get in her neighborhood. Much more competition around there to lower their prices.

The leaves are turning and things are starting to look so pretty. In a few weeks it will just be a mess to rake up though! Before I know it I'll have the landscaping crew out to cut my trees back for the winter and then we'll have our first snow. It will all go pretty quick from here!

This month through November are some of the busiest in Japanese schools. In October we have a Sports Day and schools have a Sports Festival called Undokai. They have them in the kindergartens through high school. Next month is the Culture Day holiday (Bunka no Hi) and so the schools also have Cultural Festivals (Bunka sai). Not all schools can have their events the same days as then parents and friends couldn't come. In some families kids are going to different schools even if they are in high school as the kids might be in two different high schools. Also your friends from your neighborhood might go to different schools so they start the two festivals the end of September and run them through November that way hopefully they won't overlap too much. There is a lot to be done for both festivals! Festivals and contests are an important part of Japanese school life. School is so busy with academics in Japan that the break from the daily routine is a welcome event. Even though it means more work for the students (and us teachers!!) There are singing contests too where each class competes against each other. The kids really take it seriously at one of my high schools and practice nearly every free minute they get.  However the thing to look forward to is that the first of October means we are at the 1/2 way point for the school year here, only 6 more months to go! At this point I'm just hoping I can make it for the next 1/2 of the last 6 months!!