Author Archives: Jess Damerst

Travel

Sendai: Down But Not Out

3D map of Sendai City

On (mostly) a whim, I decided to spend more money than I probably should’ve to grab a shinkansen up to Sendai this weekend with Kris, Joey and her siblings. Thanks to a lucky turn of events, I didn’t have school on Friday. So, bright and early, I was off.

Once Kris and I arrived in Sendai, we essentially grabbed some maps of the area and began walking. This is my favorite style of travel. I call it “that-way-looks-good” style. Our feet carried us all over Sendai, most notably down the two famous tree-lined roads, to the castle ruins, and the mausoleum. Continue reading →

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Around Koga

The Fourth Day in July

Yesterday, as you may know, was the Fourth of July! Of course, it took me by surprise, as I’d nearly forgotten about this American holiday. I was reminded on Sunday by a fellow American. At which time, we also made plans to get together that night for dinner, drinks, and fun with other friends in Koga.

I arrived late, as it was a long day at school, but we enjoyed a delicious homemade dinner of spaghetti (compliments of Carolyn), and followed that up with wine and ice cream bars. It wasn’t long before the idea of buying fireworks came up. Naturally, nearly everyone was interested. Continue reading →

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Around the Tokyo area

Ping Pang Pong

Last weekend was probably one of the best weekends I’ve had here in Japan, and I didn’t even have to go very far! Kris’ birthday was earlier in June, but his party was last Saturday. He invited many of his ALT friends and Japanese friends. It was a really great mix of cultures with plenty of food and open space to run around in. I have the injuries to prove it.  Continue reading →

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Travel

The Journey

20120629-144021.jpgIn reference to my post about summer from last week, I’ve done even more soul searching. More growing, more changing. It’s amazing how quickly things change, how much I learn every day.

Up until very recently, I was quite paranoid. You see, I have this problem where I try to please everyone. So, naturally, I was worrying a lot about what people were saying about me and it was causing a lot of heartache. In a culture where it is more polite to avoid telling someone directly what you think of them, this was causing a lot of concern. I felt like everyone was talking about me all the time.

And then, like lightening, my paradigm shifted.

Continue reading →

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Travel

Sky Towns and Ice Cream Cake

Yes, ice cream cake.

Friday was Kris’ birthday, so I kidnapped Becky in the middle of the night to help him celebrate this weekend. We brought an ice cream cake. It was a Baskin Robbins mocha ice cream cake. Need I say more. I mean, I’m pretty sure he liked it, but I loved it! It’s the little things in life, right? Ice cream cake love aside, it was a fun-filled weekend. Continue reading →

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Around Koga

The First Day of Summer

Today is the official first day of summer, according to science and who knows what else. It feels like it, too. The sun stays up longer, the bugs screech louder, and sweat beads on my brow  faster than I care to talk about. Tuesday night, we had quite a lovely typhoon blow through. The laughable part? My company sent me a document about how to prepare for a typhoon. This is actually amazing of them to do for everyone else. That said, I am from Florida, so typhoons are nothing new. I quite enjoyed the storm.

As the rain falls and the temperatures rises, I can’t escape the feeling that life continues on, through days, through weeks, through seasons. Continue reading →

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Around Koga

Interactive Forum

The whole of Ibaraki has begun practicing for what is known as the Interactive Forum competition. It’s basically 3 minutes of English conversation between 2 or 3 Japanese students. Every day at lunch, and for one hour after school, we practice. I’ve been promised compensatory time-off, but I’ll let you know when that actually happens. So far, no luck. Continue reading →

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Travel

Conquering Tsukuba-san

Another weekend has come and gone, with more adventures to report.

It was very, very rainy on Saturday. Right now, the weather is known as 梅雨 (tsuyu): the rainy season. Our original plan was to climb Mt. Tsukuba that day, but the weather had other plans. So, instead, I hoped in my car and drove to Moriya to meet up with Becky. I would call Moriya the rich suburbs of Tokyo. It’s a city with tons of new and beautiful homes, with quick access to nearly anything you could want. Their Aeon is a full-fledged mall. Complete with a Subway sandwich shop. Lovely!

What do you do on a rainy day? You go shopping, of course. Continue reading →

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Around Koga

Shopping Spree in Tokyo

We finally got paid. What was the first thing we did? Karaoke, then shopping in Harajuku and Shibuya. Obviously.

I bought some much needed work clothes… and some play clothes too. Our friend Kris (remember him?) showed us the back alleys of Harajuku. It’s off the beaten path, with plenty of affordable, often more fashionable shops. Some of them carry second-hand items, but you would never know it. The Japanese are known for a) shopping a lot and b) taking really good care of their clothes. Most of the second-hand stores had items I would still consider new. Continue reading →

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Around Koga

Barbecue!

Saturday, many of the local ALTs got together for a good, old fashioned BBQ. The Japanese love to barbecue, but they do it slightly different. So, since it was Memorial day weekend and all that, we decided to skirt the social-norm for once, and have a nice, western-style BBQ. On the menu: Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, Hamburgers in hotdog buns (when we ran out of burger buns), shish-kebobs, and, of course, yakisoba. Yea, we got as close to Western as we could with it. Continue reading →

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