Fall in Fukuoka

Fall is here, and I've been busy busy busy but not that exciting lately. It's that time of year when I realize that it's been two months and I'm still in Unit 1 and I wonder why I haven't done some of the things I meant to do. I have been missing Portland quite a bit lately, as my social life here just can't compete with what I left behind. However, I'm still loving my job and getting to know my new city. I'm trying to decide where to go for a five day break a month from now. Tokyo? Kyoto? Shanghai? I might have to go to Osaka to get my visa for Vietnam. I hear they have good okonomiyaki there, and this guy I went to high school with is a big dj on the Osaka scene, or so he claims on facebook. Hmm.

Last weekend I went on the high school overnight trip to a camp in the hills. I didn't get much sleep and can't say I enjoyed the night part much, but the day was beautiful and the kids were having a great time! I did enjoy tossing a frisbee around in the field and eating hotdogs with my high school colleagues.

On Sunday I joined a group of total strangers (who I met through an ad with the local international magazine) and biked out of town into the hills for a hike. It was pretty cool to get to a view like the one above and know that I had walked and biked there from my apartment (in the distance). I am now a member of the "Fukuoka International Hiking Club" and hope to go on more hikes in the future. The hills of Fukuoka are covered in cedar trees and ferns so I almost felt like I was in Oregon. I avoided running into any wild boar which, unlike at home, is a possibility here.

If I make it through this week (quarter progress report grades are due tomorrow and I feel terribly behind in everything!) I hope to get out next weekend to the Saga Balloon Festival and the nighttime Lantern Festival in Yanagawa, the canal town I visited with Jinny. I also have to make sure my students are ready for the Model United Nations conference, which is in Seoul next week! And good news: Karinna will be there, too! I'm definitely looking forward to eating some bibimbap with Karinna in Korea!