How have I not made more puns like this?
My brain must have melted in the heat of summer.
It’s hot here. A heat I’ve never experienced before. The temperature itself isn’t so bad, averaging about 35, but the HUMIDITY wraps you in in its arms and hugs you until you feel like you’ll never breathe fresh air again. I’m being dramatic, but I’ve never seen so many sweated-through shirts than here. And yet, I still see men in full suits. Women with pants and long sleeves.
I went to a baseball game and and spent three hours in the open sun and subsequently spent the following week with a burn and potentially a minor case of heat stroke. Now I have a farmer’s tan that I’m weirdly proud of.
Troopers, these Brass Band members and Baseball players. I don’t know how no one fainted.
The staff room at work is not so bad. The air conditioning is usually on and there’s always several fans going. It’s a good thing classes have now ended, because the full wall of windows and close proximity of forty students turn the classrooms into incubators. Students arms stick to their worksheets and they roll up the legs of their uniforms. I can’t imagine how hard it would be for them to concentrate all day.
But still, all of these heat and humidity brings out so much life around us. The rice fields are so green and lush looking!
I went to an English camp and spent two days with some of the most enthusiastic students I’ve ever met! They were so eager to participate and I had a lot of fun. My little workshop was about Art, so we talked about different types periods of Art History. Students could pick their favourite painting from a set of images and write a story or their opinion.
Interestingly enough, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (the one in the middle) was the most popular one chosen!
The summer means it’s almost time for the new teachers to arrive! It’s been a few weeks of goodbye events and dinners. It’s sad to say goodbye, particularly because many of the friends I’ve made here are from many different countries making the chances of reunions a little less likely. We’ve spent some time in arcades, taking classic Purikura photos.
My new little friend.
One of the best parts of summer is all the festivals! It seems like every weekend there are one or more festivals around the prefecture. They’re always fun, tons of food, entertainment, and families! Last weekend I went to the festival in Namerikawa that had a great fireworks show at the end!
Festival ice!
Fire dancers!
Some creative firework shapes: upside down heart!
Maki Mountain 