Disembarkation

We have dreaded writing this post because it means our time in Japan has come to an end. It is difficult to leave friends, family and a job that pays you to be awesome at English.          

Quick English Lesson:

Watashi wa eigo no kyoushi desu.

(I am an English teacher.)

or as I like to say...

Watashi wa eigo desu.

(I am English.)

 Japanese culture is something we will never fully understand, but it has earned our appreciation and respect. You would be hard-pressed to find people so kind and helpful.

On Saturday, we gave up our car before becoming incredibly lost after we boarded the wrong bus. And yet, this memory will fade away. We will remember the good times...

AET Welcome Party

School lunches

South Korea

Kyoto

Fuji

Halloween

Disney Sea!

Our time with the Kajiyamas

We will see you on the other side (of the Pacific)!

Mt. Fuji

Last Friday a few manly men and myself decided to make the journey to Mt. Fuji. 

We had worked all day and would be hiking all night. It began to rain just as we arrived and would continue for several hours. The hike started a little after 11 pm...

I am not a hiker. I just put together items I had at home and hoped they would be sufficient. Now the average Japanese hiker could be on the front of a magazine. They are completely decked out with any and every hiking item one might ever need like backpacks, rain suits, walking sticks, oxygen masks and so much more. They are prepared!

But occasionally you have hikers like this...seemingly oblivious to the fact they are climbing a mountain.

We started from the 5th station (along with most other people) and climbed about 5 hours to the summit. The climb becomes more crowded the higher you go...

Though we climbed at night so this would just look like a bright zigzag up the mountain. We reached the top a little before the sunrise.

Here comes the sun...

We spent a couple of hours at the summit exploring, taking pictures and relaxing...

The climb down was quite terrible, but we eventually finished. This was a humbling experience in many ways and although I will never do it again it was definitely worth the time.