For the final stop on our trip, we stopped by Kyoto/Otsu to stay with another friend from Nashville, Mikayla, and also to see the Rene Magritte exhibit at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art! While staying with Mikayla, we joined up with a few of her nearby friends and ate
Silver Week Day 2 & 3: Osaka!
For the next stop on our Silver Week adventure, we took a train to Osaka and met up with some “old” friends from the Nashville consulate! We had all gotten really close during US and Tokyo Orientation, so it was wonderful to see some of them that night. We had
Silver Week Day 1: We found Kume-Dera Temple!
I’ll be honest: for our first day of Silver Week we rested. Josh wasn’t feeling too well and I was pretty exhausted myself from the last two weeks. We slept in and I got to Skype some family back home for the first time since I got here- I also
First two weeks of Teaching & The Tennessee Waltz
Tomorrow will mark my first two weeks of teaching! It’s been a whirlwind of new experiences. I’ve been giving my self-introduction lesson to the first and second year students (sophomores and juniors) and it’s been a bit of a mixed bag with each class. The first years are definitely more
The School Culture Festival Episode
My school just finished their culture festival this past weekend. I was blown away by the performances. I don’t think I was nearly that talented in high school! I gave a speech in front of 1,000 students in English and Japanese, and was surprised with a bouquet of flowers
Basara Matsuri 2015
This weekend was the Nara Basara Matsuri festival. I was so fortunate to participate with a dance troupe and I had the time of my life (I’ve also feel like I’ve never sweated more in my life- glad I didn’t wear any makeup, haha)! We danced for the entire day
Nara Park Tour
Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to help out with a seminar for Japanese elementary teachers of English in Nara Park. A fellow JET and I acted as tourists while four teachers guided us through the park. I had a great time and even made a few friends in the
Miscellaneous Photos
A snapshot from the spa slumber party I had with my kid cousins before I left for Japan. Josh posted this picture to Facebook on the day I flew out of Nashville. Pre-departure Orientation at the Estate of the Consulate General! A snapshot from lunch at Tokyo Orietation.My lunch today
Nara Tokae Festival
Views from the bus to Osaka on my way to pick up JoJo-kun (Josh) from the airport. The view from the fourth floor of the KIX International Airport in Osaka. I waited here for 2 and a half hours since Josh had to go through a lengthy immigration process. I