penny whistle

She played the penny whistle on the mountain with drunk guitarists and sloppy drummers. We all feigned jigs and "sipped" spirits...shadowy figures scuttled into the shade of the woods, cameras flashed and plans hatched.
(Marie, the penny whistle player is one of two Maries from Ireland ALTing it in Matsue (they flank the masked man with the guitar above). These women are fantastic, and make me want to have hundreds of Irish women friends. Marie can play a mean penny whistle, even after a few too many.)

The Mt. Sanbe Welcome Party was this weekend. What a beautiful area of Shimane! I am so angry with myself for not having photos of the landscapes. I will return and take some.
Everything is still pretty green, cool mists hanging on jungle cliffs, cattle,
pockets of agriculture, hot springs and good music on Luke's iPod.

I drove a lot this weekend, and felt pretty comfortable on that side of the road. Occasionally I need to remind myself where I am headed when I make a right turn, but I haven't killed a passenger yet (though I have only had one).

Good man, Luke Moorhead from Texas visited Gotsu and braved La Mer's maiden voyage. We had a fun night, complete with a few hijacked fishing boats under Gotsu's bridges. My house saw its first real meat and potatoes meal. Planned a back packing/hiking/camping trip in October. Wait, it is already October...HAPPY OCTOBER!!

We headed to Mt. Sanbe together on Saturday for the Welcome Party. Lots of friends I have not seen since the language program were there. Crowds of ALTs. Happy people.
There was touch rugby (I watched). We had a great BBQ outside until 8pm, then hiked to the upper cabins for fevered frivolity.
Music was made, there was an obstacle course in the woods with a fort, cookies, whiskey and limited ALT drama. It was fun.

We woke Sunday to Marie saying, "If you were one's penny whistle, where would you be?" and headed to Sanbe's onsen. MY FIRST ONSEN (an onsen is like a really cheap spa, natural hot springs and public baths). Pay 500 yen for admittance, 100 yen for a tiny towel that covers nothing, walk into a room, get buckass naked with strangers, walk into the next room (line of showers, sauna and jacuzzi), bath yourself on a little stool (a stool which had some else's naked butt resting on it moments before yours (I can feel Mom shuddering), use crazy coal shampoo, walk outside to hot pools, cool pools, sit in steaming hot water while cold drops of rain hit your head. Leave feeling relaxed, and refreshed. I want to go again.

Today and tomorrow Gotsu high school finds itself drowning in mid-term exams. I have nothing to do today. Many teachers congratulated me on my first day driving to school by myself. That will be the most exciting/productive moment of the day. I will read some news online and try to become updated with the world...

I do not watch much television, and when I do I try to guess what the news is about. That is really terrifying, let me tell you. If all we had was footage and no commentary, one would think the world was a complete mess.

Not that it isn't.

Dad has a long lay over in Tokyo, so he is flying to Hiroshima and I pick him up and bring him to Gotsu on Wednesday. We will hang out in Gotsu on Thursday, visit the school, maybe do some precula (!!), sight-see and beach-see, have dinner with some Japanese guy that wants to meet the honorable Floyd Nease, then head to Hiroshima on Friday and spend the night there. He flies out of Hiroshima on Saturday.
I am so excited to see him!!