The Naruko Gorge

The Naruko gorge is about a five minute drive from where I live. It is a popular tourist area around this time of year because the mountains showcase a nice view of the changing leaves.

This past weekend I went to take some pictures because I knew there was a typhoon coming by and I didn't want to miss the chance of seeing the leaves before they fell off. The bad weather kind of beat me there, but at least I got some good pictures of the area while the leaves were at their peak.

Furusato

The upcoming weekend is my Junior High School's cultural festival and I have been making posters about American culture for the past week.

The teachers at my school as well as the students are all singing different songs in the festival. I was asked by the head English teacher to sing an old Japanese song with the other teachers. They gave me a CD to listen to and practice, and I was at home trying to memorize it and translate the lyrics when I realized that this song reminds me of home. The song is called Furusato, which means "Hometown". Here are the lyrics:

I hunted rabbits on that mountain.
I fished for minnows in that river.
I still dream about those days I spent when I was a child.
How I miss and long for my old country home.
Mother and father--are they doing well?
Is everything all right with my old friends?
When the rain falls, when the wind blows, I recall
My happy childhood and my old country home.
Some day when I have done what I set out to do,
I will return to where I used to have my home.
Lush and green are the mountains of my homeland.
Pure and clear is the water of my old country home.

Wish me luck! I have to sing it on Saturday.
Here is a link to the song:
ふるさと

Halloween!

This week is Elementary school week and I just went to my favorite school, Mayama Elementary School. It is a tiny school but it is so much fun. The teachers are always so nice and it doesn't hurt that they are always giving me stuff to eat in between classes. I am never bored between classes because the children are dragging me out to play soccer, swing, or play hide and seek. Since it is October, we had a Halloween lesson and I brought along some paper plates and a bag full of candy so we could make scary masks and practice trick or treating.




This class that is in the pictures is the 1st grade class at Mayama. They are my favorite students!


They had way too much fun making masks and eating candy! The teacher for this class actually let them eat the candy, but the 3rd and 4th graders were not as lucky and were asked by the teacher to give the candy back at the end of the lesson, after practicing trick or treating. I wanted to sneak some to them after class, but I did not...or did I?