Adventures Galore

Konnichiwa!

Wow! So much has happened since my last post so this might be a long one :)

I traveled to Kyoto with Dr. Matsuo on Monday and had a grand time! We toured the big temple there and went to a huge castle of a 17th century shogun. The floor of the castle was called a `mockingbird floor` because it made squeaks that sounded like birds when people stepped on it so that the people could know that someone was in their castle. It was so hot though!! I don`t know if I have ever perspired that much in my life! I know now why the Japanese carry fans! A nice man even gave me one in a train station because I was attempting to fan myself down with a small piece of paper. We stayed with Dr. Matsuo`s parents that night and they were so cute and nice! We had `shabu shabu` for dinner, which is where there is a big boiling pot on the table and you throw in lots of vegetables and then everyone cooks his or her own beef by throwing it in the pot. They told me to watch my meat because Dr. Matsuo`s dad sometimes snuck away other people`s meat ;) I even got to sleep Japanese-style on a futon mattress on a tatami mat. It was actually very comfortable!

Next I went to Koyasan, a mountain south of Osaka, famous for its many temples. I stayed in a temple lodging, which was extremely cool! I got to attend a meditation service in the evening and a chanting service at 6 am! The monks were so cute! Everyone slept in little rooms on tatami mats and futons. For dinner everyone ate in a big room on tatami mats and cushions. It was a strictly vegetarian meal and it was delicious! I even made some new friends from Spain, a brother and sister pair and a friend, who stayed in the room beside me in the temple. They were very fun people! The monks at our temple recommended to us to walk through the cemetery (the largest in Japan) after dark to see the hall of lanterns in the mausoleum at the top of the hill, which was a 2 km walk. Another couple from Spain joined us for the adventure. It was a little spooky with the nearly half a million tombs and huge cedar trees jutting out of the dark, but at the top it was very peaceful with monks still performing ceremonies at close to 11 pm.
The next day I made some more friends who were Americans that are teaching English in Japan. I toured with them a little bit and ran into them again at the Obon festival that evening, despite the fact that there were tons of people there. Obon is a festival that honors the dead so a lot of Japanese people visit the burial places of their family. The monks gathered together for some chanting and then lit a candle, which another monk ran up the hill, lighting various starter candles along the way. Then all of the people rushed to light their own candles which were on little sticks and stick them all along the pathway, especially in front of tombs of family members, up to the mausoleum. It was so neat watching night fall amidst the tomb stones and candles! Old people that could barely walk were making their way up to the mausoleum where tons of people gathered for the monks to perform ceremonies.
Yesterday I finally made my way to ARI, the place where I will be living for the next three months. I love it!!!! Everyone is so kind and friendly! There are people from all over the world all living together and working together in this community. Today I toured the campus and was totally astounded by its beauty! There are mountains in the distance and tons of green crops growing all around. There is even a cute baby cow that licked my hand with the longest tongue I have ever seen. After only one day here, I know that I am going to love being able to plant, harvest, and cook my own food. Almost everything that we eat comes from the farm here and is so fresh and delicious. It is wonderful!
I will post some photos when I am able to get the wireless to work on my computer. Until then, just picture a very peaceful, beautiful place and that is where I am ;)
Ciao ciao!