My Desk

Can you spot the globe?


(It's peeking out from behind a blue paper bag in the top right corner.)

It's a cat...it's a bus...

...it's a cat bus!


Apologies for the poor picture quality - I only had my cell phone with me when this bus went by. I've seen it from the school window several times over the past two years, and I've always wanted to get a picture. I finally got the chance :)

The End of the Excursion

At the end of our climb down the mountain, we ended up going out through a shrine. It was rather surprising...one minute we were on an (admittedly well-paved) mountain trail, the next we were descending into a shrine.


Actually, thinking back on it now, the trail markers with the little Buddha/Kami figures on them should have been a hint.

One of the students I was walking with was actually not happy about the shrine. She said something about it being bad for progress to enter a shrine..."and once you go through the gate, you're in the shrine until you leave." So technically, since we only went through the gates on the way out, we might still be in the shrine? (She was not happy with that thought.)
It was odd...I didn't realize some people viewed shrines so negatively.

Anyway - this is my last update for a few days. I'm off to Tokyo for Golden Week! Yay!

Oh yeah...

...maybe we climbed it 'cause of the nice views like this.


Looking out from Mt Rokko at Kobe...you can see the harbor and sea, too, out past the city. And you can see a bunch of kids in PE class. We actually walked past the field where they were practicing later :)

Cable Cars

Look! There are cable cars!


...so why did we walk up the mountain, again?

Mountain Climbing?

Yesterday was our school excursion...we went "mountain climbing," though I would probably have classified it as more "light hiking," or maybe even "nature walk." We climbed Mt. Rokko, near Kobe. When we got to the top there was a park next to a highway where we got to have lunch. Somehow the highway was disappointing.

We did get to see some very nice views on the way, though, including a couple waterfalls. Here's the first one:


Isn't it purty? I like the spikes and keep out sign, too.

Graduation

Teachers get graduation presents too!

Last week was graduation at my school. I didn't get to take pictures of the actual ceremony, so here's the next best thing...


After the ceremony, all the teachers had a present on their desks! The PTA showed their appreciation with a fancy Japanese dessert - steamed sweet bread filled with sweet bean paste. Pretty tasty, actually :)

Bikes!

Another older picture today...this is the student parking lot behind my school. Bikes!

2.3

Last one!


This is an older picture, taken in August at my school's sports festival. (I can't post anything to identify my school or students, of course, but I think showing the trophies for the winning classes should be okay)