A Lazy Weekend

This weekend was one of my rare weekends sticking around here in Tamba. Saturday was my friend's 'Wedding Congratulations Party', cos she's moving to Nagoya to get married next week. Was sad to say bye as I get on really well with her, she's helped me with my Japanese loads and, er, there aren't many people in Tamba so somebody as nice as that is even more rare.

I was a little bit worried earlier in the week as I ordered a little present online from the many-times-mentioned here plusminuszero and was worried thought that might not arrive in time, so I wrote a note on my door with a stickman in my best Japanese saying "Hi delivery man guy, really sorry but I work at a school near here, is there any chance you could deliver it there instead?" and this being Japan where things just work it turned up! Wooo.



Meg's friend Eri's husband had, for the party, climbed up the mountain they live next too and chopped and then scraped out the ridges of a Bamboo tree, to make a long thin half pipe. We played this game where you make a mini water run from it and two ladders, let water flow from a hose down the bamboo half pipe, then let noodles 'surf' down the water as people try and pick them up with chopsticks and eat them (after dipping it in the bowl of light sauce in your other hand.) This was actually really fun, and made ridiculously difficult when segments of mandarin were sent down at stupidly high speeds. Eri's too cute baby Shuma helped too with his dad (see below).



Went for a wander to Miwakare Park, which is a beautiful little park in Tanba. (For some reason there's a panorama of it here.) Apparently the lowest point of water in Japan, from here water flows to both the Seto Inland Sea in the south and the Japan sea in the north. I know you wanted to know that!



Playing dodgeball with some friends, a baby, and a dog (full size dog!!) in a beautiful little park surrounded by mountains. Tamba's not all bad.



Sunday just started chucking my stuff in boxes. Oh saaaaad - oh wait I said all that last week.

And work - work! I am really busy in my last 2 weeks with the kids. Between final elementary school visits, setting and marking exams, doing special maths lessons in English with the maths teacher, summer essay classes with the writing class and loads of goodbye lessons I'm trying to fit in figuring out how to leave here with the minimum hassle. I think it's basically busy busy from here on out.