The cherry blossoms have long since bloomed and disappeared, but in their place they left the gorgeous, new-growth green that I love about this area. Finally, green is returning to Nagano!

Here are the highlights:

• In a desperate need to have green in my house, I went to Cainz (a home-improvement store) and bought tons of flowers and herbs. While I was standing outside replanting everything, one of my neighbors called me over. An hour later, I walked away with 8 giant leeks, 10 small potatoes, and 3 medium carrots. Yay for living in the inaka!
• I’ve been going over to a friends house on Monday nights recently to watch Game of Thrones. It was at one of these hangouts, after eating a sake/sakura flavored Kit-Kat, that we decided we want to make a video of us trying terrible Japanese snacks. Will keep you updated.
• A few weeks ago, I made a restaurant reservation in Japanese for the first time! Yes, it is as easy as it is in America… But it was in Japanese! Gotta appreciate the little things!
• Also a few weeks ago, during a staff meeting, a teacher informed everyone that a fight had broken out in his class. He said that during the fight, a girl called a boy a blockhead, then proceeded to karate chop his head. She broke a knuckle. All the teachers busted out laughing at the irony.
• I got new tatami! For those of you who don’t know, tatami are the straw mats that are used as flooring in traditional Japanese homes. They are thick and heavy, and should be replaced about every five years. Mine hadn’t been replaced in at least eight. When the workers were done changing them out, I was surprised to find that they were a beautiful green color! Apparently all new tatami is green, and it will gradually fade to yellow over the next few months.

That’s that! In other news, I went with friends to Shikoku over the 10-day, mega Golden Week! I did lots of fun stuff, like visiting the Naruto Whirlpools, a village full of scarecrows, and one of the original 12 castles of Japan; keep an eye out for posts!

The bridge over the Naruto Strait — you can see whirlpools if you walk under it! 

Last but not least, my mom and step-dad are in town. They’re a bit overwhelmed to be in a place with no English, but they’re pretty adventurous. I had a lot of fun telling my elementary students that their favorite part of Japan so far has been the toilets; their reactions were priceless!

Until next time!