Japanese, if you please.

On Valentine's Day, Kelly and I started our Chinese New Year holiday traveling to Osaka, Japan. We struck a great deal buying our tickets early and through Peach Airlines, which serves flights directly to and from Japan.

The temperature was around 40 and after exchanging our currency to Japanese Yen, we hustled to catch the last subway into the city. An hour journey later we arrived in Asakusabashi area where our hostel, Hotel Toyo, was located. We were pretty wired with excitement so after settling into our separate dorm style rooms and deciding we needed to sleep together to avoid freezing overnight, we spent a couple hours in the common room with the other travelers. The double sized room had signatures, drawings, and quotes written on the walls from the ceiling to the floor. It also had a small kitchen, flat screen TV, and video games along with the usually bean bags and pillows covering the floor. We were offered some sake and made plans for the next few days. It was the first hostel we'd been in where they separate all guests, offer a bag-o-beans as a pillow, and supply Crocs for indoor shoes. We were pleased with the clean, hot showers and the convenient Family Marts near by.

Sunday, (my 26th birthday!!) was our first full day in Japan and we walked up and down the famous food street. We had out first taste of Japanese sushi and busted out the selfie stick which proved to be a hit.

They were having quite the time and loved our selfie stick.

Billiken; The God of Things As They Ought to Be.

Almost as many onlookers as players. 

Happy 26 Years Young to ME!

Isshinji Temple entrance.

Isshinji doors, I read were made of human bones. 

Praying to the Gods. 

Countless shops and props along the way, we also walked to the Isshinji Temple which has doors made of human bones. An elderly man in the street gave us a short lesson on useful phrases in Japanese. I don't remember much, but the important one, aligato means thank you.

In front of the Osaka Castle.

Our 'couple' style shot in front of the Osaka Castle moat.

We took the subway to the Osaka Castle that was surrounded by a gorgeous moat. Spent quite awhile in the gift shops and left as the sun was setting to go to Namba.

Famous Glico Slogan Man.

Namba is a huge district with famous shops, endless restaurants, and loads of bars. Being as it was my birthday night, Kelly and I bar hopped from place to place trying a few different drinks and finally settled on an Irish pub. Made great friends with the bartender who we named Luke after failing to pronounce his name correctly. As the night went on, he let us play DJ and paid for a couple of our drinks.

On Monday we activated our week long Japan Rail Pass, which was the smartest purchase we made. This pass allowed us unlimited travel on the rail lines from city to city as well as in and around each city.  I would highly recommend this for anyone going to Japan for at least a week.

It mentions that this building still stood after the first atomic bomb dropping,
however it now looks like it's getting some reconstruction work. 

Our first destination outside of Osaka was Hiroshima. This infamous city is known for its history and the site of the first ever atomic bomb in 1945. Now it advocates for world peace with its dedicated parks and museums. We had a traditional meal near the station and visited the atomic bomb dome and remembrance monuments. Before heading back to Hotel Toyo, we stopped back in Namba for some shopping and a late veggie dinner.

Tasty traditional Japanese food.

They know how to do avocado. 

Tuesday we took the JR to Universal Studios in Osaka. Harry Potter was the huge theme as well as Sesame Street. We had a delicious Indian dish for lunch and stayed until it closed. 

Frightening Japan sitcom area we ran into. 

Kisses for Spider-man, he seemed to like it. 

Snoop D-O-G

I'm not even close to the biggest HP fan, but WOW. The details of every room were exquisite. 

The Spider-Man and Harry Potter rides were impressive and made the trek worthwhile. I was impressed by the amount of girls wearing high heels at the park. 

Back in the city we had a fancy dinner with wine, then walked to Hankyu Higashi Dori shopping area. It also had tons of small alleys with places to eat sushi, have drinks, bright lights, and signs everywhere. We went back to the hostel to wait for Brittany to arrive, unfortunately she didn't get in till 2:00 a.m. so we were sound asleep.

Gift shop in Nara.

Wednesday I woke up early to do a solo trip to Nara and planned to meet the girls in Kyoto. I spent two hours in Japan's first capitol Nara. There were magnificent temples around every turn, a few of which are world heritage sites. I really enjoyed walking through the deer park, the roaming tame deer, the trees, trails, and temples all gave it such a peaceful, unique, and serene feel.

I believe this refers to Nara being Japans first Capitol. 

Roaming deer in front of the Historical World Heritage site Kasuga Taisha. 

Love.

Historical Monument of Ancient Nara.

Another country, another animal sniffing my hair. 

Roots. 

One of my favorite photos. Seems unreal that I took this shot waiting for a bus in the rain. 

Afterwards I headed up to Kyoto, also the old capitol of Japan. You could easily spend more than one day in Kyoto with its cultural wonders that are well preserved and proudly displayed. After lunch and waiting for the girls I decided to head to Saga-Arashiyana for the Bamboo Forest. As I was walking I ran into a group of Geisha girls who I asked to photograph. They turned extremely giggly and offered me to join in. A light mist started as I got to the bamboo and it seemed to be the perfect fit weather. I also came across a shrine for lovers to make wishes together. 

Not REAL Geisha girls of course, but they were acting the part & put a smile wide across my face.

Bamboo Forest of Kyoto. 

Nonomiya Shrine.

I will never forget the beauty of this place. 

I took the city bus to the Kinkakuji Golden Temple. A peaceful walk around the famous temple and as I was leaving I spotted a rainbow! 

Made it to the Kinkakuji-hi Golden Temple!

Serene. 

Once I got back to the JR I headed to Tokyo switched to Asakusabashi and walked to Anne Hostel. This is probably the best hostel I have stayed it yet. A big ten-woman, WARM room. Cozy beds with a curtain and shelf for personal space and privacy. They were extremely helpful, had tons of suggestions for places to go, and even offered a free breakfast every morning! I hung out in the lounge and met some fellow travelers from England and Canada as I waited for the girls to arrive. 

Thursday morning at breakfast we met quite a few people who were also traveling teachers living in Taiwan. We spent most of the day in Harajuku shopping, being tourist, and checking out the famous Harajuku girls. Before the sun set, we visited the Meiji Jingu Shrine.



"Harajuku girls, you got the wicked style
I like the way that you are, I am your biggest fan."
-- Gwen Stefani

Barrels of Sake offered every year to show deep respect
for the souls of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

Entrance to the Meiji Jingu Shrine. 

Valar Morghulis

We had to see the busiest, craziest station of Shibuya which is nicknamed the Time Square of Tokyo. It has one of the busiest intersection in the world, huge buildings, flashing lights, and thousands of scrambling people. We zig-zagged in and out of alley ways stopping in a few shops, trying our best not to make too many purchases. 

After stopping back at the hostel, we headed to Shinjuko for dinner at an Alice and Wonderland themed restaurant. A bit pricey, but a fun experience. 

Friday we woke up early and took the JR to Nagano for probably the most beautiful, fascinating day we had. We arrived in the snow covered city and took a bus out to the mountains of Jigokudani Yaen-Koen wild snow monkey park. In some places the snow stood deeper than my height. The snow in Nagano is so exceptional it was the host city for the 1998 Winter Olympics. We had a great lunch at the cafe on the mountain and took a 30ish minute walk through the exquisitely beautiful snow covered trees. It was lightly snowing which also added to the experience. 

 
As we neared towards the hot springs, we saw a mama holding and rocking her baby back and forth. They let us get pretty close for a picture before taking off. About 200 monkeys live in this area, some were digging in the snow, climbing up and down the trees, balancing on rocks, picking at each other, or the best part, relaxing in the hot spring. 

My greatest shot of the snow monkeys. ^-^

Just like humans, relaxing in the hot springs.

I adored watching this little guy fight
for some attention against this snowman. 

Namaste.

PURE WHITE BEAUTY. 

Best day in Japan :-)

Exhausted from so much walking and traveling we went to our hostel earlier that night after some Japanese  BBQ. We had planned on getting to sleep early, but while enjoying some tea in the lounge a hilarious conversation with some other travelers led to a night of games and laughs. 

A picture will never do these mountains justice. 

Hostel friends on Friday nith

Saturday we were pretty slow moving, a week of sightseeing and endless hiking around each city was catching up with us. We went to the well known Tsukiji Fish Market, famous for its 5 a.m. fish auctions and the best sushi you'll ever have in your life. We arrived much too late for the auction and after waiting in line for almost an hour without moving we decided to give up and take the JR to Mt. Fuji since cloudy days were soon to come. And come they did. The biggest disappointment of my trip to Japan was missing Mt. Fuji and all her glory. We arrived around 3 P.M. and she hid behind the clouds around noon. I was pretty devastated as we headed back to Tokyo.
 

Luckily we turned the evening around by taking an elite subway line out to the Rainbow Bridge. It was a wonderful sunset view of the city and some of its endless skyscrapers. There was a mock Statue of Liberty and a huge mall with an aquarium, puppies, and kittens to adore. We had an excellent sushi dinner and went back to get ready for our last night in Tokyo. 

Best sushi I had in Japan! Nom nom nom!

Of course we had to experience the night life of one of the world's largest cities. There was a rambunctious group of Australians going out for karaoke which we almost joined, but then decided we wanted to make it to Roppongi known for its crazy nightlife scene. 

The girls and I on one of our last subway rides Saturday night. 

You won't get far off the subway line before men are recruiting you with bribes of free entry and free drinks to enter their workplace. We made it to three different clubs trying to get a taste of as much as we could. Each place had great music, one had shirtless male dancers, another had hookas all around. We danced the night away enjoying every late night minute.

After checking out of our hostel the next morning we enjoyed some coffee in the lounge, said goodbye to newly made friends, and had a quick curry lunch down the road. We went to see the recently built SkyTree Tower of Tokyo which currently is the second tallest building in the world. Unfortunately it was too cloudy to see the top or pay to go up.

Getting from Tokyo back to the Osaka airport took us nearly six hours. We arrived around 10 O'clock, had a meal, charged the phones, and camped out on some benches to wait for our 7 am flight back to Taipei.

Japan was a huge success, staying over a week definitely wore us out and put a good dent in the pocketbook, but I have no regrets (other than missing Mt. Fuji) and I don't think we could have done it better. Japan does many things top notch, they are efficient with recycling, offer public, clean, and heated toilets, many people are already driving Eco-friendly cars even though the subways can get you just about anywhere. They are very clean when serving meals, always giving wet towels for customers, and many people wore masks especially when traveling.  Multiple times we were disappointed with the serving size of our meals, however the quality was always high. 

I was surprised by the limited access to wifi in such a major city. The language was not what I had imagined and finding someone who spoke English was more rare than I'd have guessed. The people were helpful like most Asian countries, but the men were much more shy to speak to us. I also noticed the men had more facial hair than I've seen in other Asian countries. 

The subways and railways were easy to navigate, but I also think I have become a much better traveler as far as directions and planning. It was an amazing Chinese New Year and I am so happy to have spent my 26th birthday in Japan with two girls I've come to love and care about so much.

Thanks for reading. Lots of love. -K

"Sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination."

Thanks to Michelle Huffman for catching this shot of me in Kenting just before my dive.

Oh where to begin. Let's start where I left off in Taiwan. Thanksgiving. Cornel staff and parents gathered around a half a dozen tables filled with food. A blessing was given, then every one ate and mingled. This year I made homemade peanut butter cookies with the Hersey kiss on top!

Teacher Brittany, Teacher Angel, Sarah, and I pose with some kindy
students and siblings after playing in the ball pit after our Thanksgiving meal.

It was a bit over crowded so a group of us gathered in a circle on the floor. Uncle Michael played on the guitar and I helped him lead the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads." It was a comforting evening.

Uncle Michael with the guitar, to the right is Teacher Lulu, Teacher Diana, Teacher Sabrina, Teacher Kerry,
Principal Bih Hua, Teacher Kyle, the dance instructor from Serbia, myself, Teacher Josilin, and Teacher Taylor.

Teacher Tonya, John, Michelle, and me at Shang An Thanksgiving.

Fireflies around the Thanksgiving turkey!
Later they got to "try the turkey," they were really eating chicken.

Happy Avengers :-)

That weekend a majority of the English teachers joined in with Uncle Michael and his wife on a day trip to Chiaya, Taiwan. Beautiful landscapes, flowers, and mountains. It was a warm, sunny day and we got to see the dance for burning paper money outside a larger temple in the Alishan district.

I live here. Almost two years and it's still unbelievable.

The most exciting thing I've done since my last update, was my second set of dives (November 15 + 16; Dive #5-8). Michelle, Karl, and I headed on an overnight bus, then taxi, to Kenting to meet up with Nigel, Paul, and their whole gang of divers. Little did we know the bus/taxi rides would be so quick. We arrived at 5 o'clock in the morning, as it's pouring rain. We wandered around for a dry place in the middle of nowhere Taiwan. Luckily, Michelle had internet and Karl has a good sense of direction. We found the dive shop, a dry place with a few benches and miserably but gratefully slept for the remaining hours without sunlight.

Loaded up with the tanks and gear. Off to the first dive spot!

Once morning really arrived, we greeted everyone, laughed at our night, got some breakfast, and suited up. The first dives of the day have proven to be the lesser of the two each and every time I have dived. Not having your own equipment, means you never know how it will work or feel once your in it and in the water. The second dive was much clearer, less people, we were under for 36 minutes and went down about 35 meters (114 feet. I will have to re-learn some diving equipment switching metric systems back in the states.)

Boat diving!

Day two was the real adventure. My first boat dives! I hadn't thought much of the difference in a boat to shore dive, just had hoped I'd see some more marine life. It was heart-stopping for me on my first entrance into the water. Before, I could always see the bottom or some rocks, something to tell me where I was. Now all I could see was blue. Deep, endless blue. And while everyone continued on to deflate their BCDs and adjust themselves, I had to mentally tell myself to calm the (you know what) down! (Truly the best thing advice I'd give for diving is to stay calm and keep your breathing steady and slow.) Michelle had her GoPro and we had fun taking underwater photos.

Playing. :-P

We saw a school of fish, puffers, dozens of colorful coral fish, and along the bottom I enjoyed the coral that looked like something Dr. Seuss drew up. I even softly touched a sea cucumber too! We swam single file through a tunnel of rocks (heart-pounding) on the second boat dive. Great visibility and so many colors!

The Kenting weekend dive crew!

The last weekend in November, Kelly, Brittany, and I went to the 2014 Flower Festival in Dakeng for the second time. We weren't as clear on what the theme was for this year, but it was a wonderful day, including the scoot ride through the mountains to get there and the amazing pizza we had afterwards!

Display to honor  the white dolphin's in the Taiwan seas.
Click here to see what Taiwan is doing to help save these creatures from extinction.

All you need.

I feel pretty.

Early December I went to Cambodia. See previous blog.
When I returned, it was about time for Christmas and contracts.
We chose Secret Santas at work, I got our boss Rhonda and Brittany had me, she bought me a selfie stick! Birthday's have been flying by. We had dinner at one of our favorite Greek restaurants Uzo for Kerry's. Then ice skating for Krista's, with Mike, Kerry, Michelle, Kelly, and Britt. There were multiple young Taiwanese men and children literally spinning circles around us. Womp womp.

Kelly and I

The Kindy Christmas party was a huge success. Games, crafts, a special appearance from "Santa" whom provides presents to all the Daban, Jungban, Shoban, and Yoyoban (kindergarten levels in Taiwan). I felt it went much smoother than last year. I helped with a craft that didn't involve glue so that could be the entire reasoning for it running smoother for me. I love being surrounded by the kindergarteners. They would listen intently to follow directions carefully or be a little timid of an English teacher they weren't familiar with, or like most, beam an excitement that was contagious.

Can you spot me?

The following Monday "Santa Visits Cornel" and all the Yves Elementary students, my Grade 1 and Grade 3, receive a present given to the school by the parents of each child.
Legos were a hit this year, was this the same in America?

Being silly with the Avengers.

Funny faces with the Fireflies!

Kelly, Brittany, and I went up and down Taichung Port Road taking pictures
with the exquisite Christmas displays set up in parks and malls across the city.
I meant to turn the photos into a Christmas card for our families like last year,
but left for Cambodia and the photos were never used. Oops!

Goofy, goofier, goofiest.

Just a girl and her best friends.

On Christmas Day we, the English staff, are given the day off. It was a Thursday this year, and similar to last year we had a "Pot Luck" at Red Door House. I use quotations this time because the food ended up being a major disappointment to last years. Last year it was all girls and we each assigned ourselves a food item to bring. As for myself, I brought a mixed salad with all sorts of veggies and dressings. This year, the hot item was desserts, and by 5:00 you are all sweetened up and sipped up on wine that you want the real food. Luckily, Kelly, Brittany, Michelle, and I saved Christmas by having a Taiwanese dinner at a local pub we call Mike's Bar. It's real name is the Fisherman's Warf.

The whole gang at Red Door  on Christmas Day!

My little Taiwan Family at Mike's Bar.

I've gotten to substitute for a class taught by Teacher Christiana called the Wizards. Ten adorable new-to- English students who melt my heart. Surprisingly, only three boys are in this class.

The Wizards

For New Year's Eve, Brittany and I both worked past 7:00 P.M. While most people were leaving Taiwan for the four day weekend, we took the High Speed Rail to Taipei 101 to wait for the display of fireworks. Amazing to see, (AND something to cross off my Taiwan Bucket List!) but there was no countdown, no music even. The people cheered for maybe 30 seconds, the entire thing lasting what I'd guess to be one minute.

Taipei 101 just before blast off.

We had an epic New Year's after successfully finding a bathroom which come sparingly in public locations here. We decided that New Year's was an okay time to spend a little more for a fancier club. After checking bags, we went straight to the roof top. (Another TBL) Live music outside and a DJ on the inside. Quiet the night!

No words needed. :-)

Conferences for both grades have come and gone. I had most of my parents show up. Which I consider a good thing.

Kitty and Ariel

Yoyo and Alvin playing dinosaur verses robot.

Eeny-meeny-minny-moe

Edward and Ango. Best friends for the week.

Jeremy and Linus.

The "Cornel Crew" and I have been slowly accepting that we're no longer the newbies in Taichung, and blend in with the crowd (sorta). We've played a weekly pub quiz at one of the foreign hotspots, Early Bird, three times now. We even managed to get second place the last time!

Went to my first movie in months after a failed attempt to go strawberry picking. Kerry, Taylor, Britt, Kel, and I went to American Sniper. I'd give it an 8.8.
Currently I'm on my seventh book out of my goal of ten for the year!
Doing yoga 3 times a week. Love my yoga girl Jessie for pushing me!
Been working on going to a new restaurant or out with someone new at least once a week. Discovered an adorable, french-style pastry parlor with a Japanese chef, called Moon Lovers.
And many, many new pizza places.
Pizza always leads to a good evening. Whether it's going to Salut to meet up with any or all the wbs, scooting to Slice -n- Dice to watch him prepare the best hand-made crust, traveling down south to the only place that offers deep-dish style, enjoying an 'I've-never-heard-of-this-beer' beer and mmmmm goat cheese at Exchange. Pizza has become an ode to Joy .

Night out with Taiwanese friend Gina and her girls, and me with mine!

Annual Class Performances, ACP's, are just around the corner. My Grade 1 Fireflies' theme is "Garden Sweet Garden." I have realized one of my favorite things to teach about is anything to do with nature or our planet. (Last year the theme was "Everyday is Earth Day!") My Grade 3 Avengers is still a work in progress, but it is based on sports since my first idea of rainforest animals was taken.

One of the sweetest, and definitely the smartest students I've ever met in grade 1 left at the end of January. I cried on his second to last day, but the last day I was filled with joy at how much love the other students gave him. Chanting his name, giving him hugs, and asking for photos together. Sweethearts.

Everyone loving on Yoyo!

Good-bye from the Fireflies!

This Chinese New Year almost swallows up February. I have ten days where I will go to Japan with Kelly. Brittany will meet up a few days later for Tokyo. I get to be in Osaka, Japan for my 26th birthday!
Also because of Chinese New Year we are on winter schedule which means I get my Avengers from 10 A.M.-12 P.M. instead of 5-7 P.M. which is WONDERFUL! I wish it could remain this way.

T. Kelly and T. Kalee :-)

So the BIG NEWS: I started applying to other overseas schools. Even had an interview that went exceptional.  I knew I needed another year overseas, but deciding to stay, or go somewhere new, was the debate.

A new place with new travel options would be more than I could ask for, but I would I save money? Would it be as safe as Taiwan? Did I really want to start over again after gaining a mini-family in Taiwan? I knew what Taiwan could offer me, and by the time contract negotiations came around, and after losing my heart in Cambodia, I resigned for the 2015-2016 school year as a Daban Teacher for Cornel.

Matthew's Birthday!

Now for that personal junk, my family. I miss my family dearly. Getting emails from my Grandma Lamp has continued to be the highlight of checking my email. This year I've also had more emails with my mom and Skype dates with my Cousin Ashley. It's unbearable to face the reality that I am missing watching my nephew Dominic be a toddler and I haven't even held baby Kameron. I look forward to seeing everyone this August when I come home for a month before my return to Taichung.

Photo of my mom with Kameron and Dominic trying to help out.

Thanks for the support and remembering me. :-) Lots of love, K