4th of July and a Monkey

It's always weird being in another country during the 4th of July.
Ben and I had our own little celebration which consisted of brats, melons, and flat bread. It felt like home. I got to do just games with the kids today, so overall it was a very good day.
Happy 4th of July do everyone at home.









I SAW A MONKEY!

It's really exciting to see a monkey in the wild. It was so cute. I knew there were monkeys in our area, there are lots of things named after them. In fact Saruhashi, the bridge where we saw all the hydrangea, means monkey bridge.

Japanese School Interior

Japanese schools are very different from American schools in many ways; Japanese schools don't use energy to heat or cool the schools, Japanese schools are cleaned by the students, and the teachers all share one big office where they get most of there work outside of the classroom done.
The asthetic of Japanese schools are much more subdued compared to american schools. Elementary schools in America had walls covered floor to ceiling in decorations, childrens projects, and what ever anyone could think of. Japanese schools are very organized, the classrooms are much less decorated. Before I am accused of calling Japanese classrooms drab, I must mention the windows, wall sized, stilmulating windows. 8 year old me is so jealous. I remember as a kid I use to bargain with myself. I would give up a week of summer vacation if I could see out the window everyday. In my entire American schooling, I never had a class with sufficient windows.

Beer Train …Chug(a), Chug(a), Chug(a)

Last Friday Ben and I did the Fujiyama beer train. It was very fun.

You buy a round trip ticket for a train ride, and get on a car. Once the train starts you have the duration of the train ride to drink as much beer as you want. People brought food onto the trains, their were bingo games, and there was all the fun drunken debauchery that goes with all-you-can-drink beer.

Now you might wonder why you should get drunk on a train, as opposed to a more stationary drinking hole.

1. The scenery is constantly changing
1. This means you always have new topics
2. You will not be judged for your drunken stagger
1. No one can tell if you can’t walk because you’ve had too many beers or because you’re on a train
3. No smoking
1. Japanese bars can be hard to breathe in, but on a train, no-one is allowed to smoke
4. Bathrooms
1. There are no bathrooms on a train, there are however bathrooms during the 15 minute stop you make, this means you get your business done, and get out, everyone has to go, and the train will leave you behind
1. This sounds like a drawback, but the time limit makes you get back to the fun part

The whole excursion sounds like a frat boys fantasy, and it was boisterous and fun. Most of the participants were in their forties, yet another reminder that people never actually grow up... they just get better at convincing kids that they're mature.