I'm singing in the rain!

It's been raining for almost 20 hours! Well, actually, it might have stopped for a while during the night - I was sleeping, so I don't know.

I was craving a fruit smoothie and some oreo cookies, so I decided to brave the weather and walk to the supermarket. On the way, I saw a few lovely puddles, and thought what fun it would be to jump in them. But, I have a cold, and I'm a responsible almost-25 year old, so I didn't - I just enjoyed the rain splashing on my umbrella.

However, it was like God was saying - go on, have fun!! For when I came out of the supermarket, it was bucketing down!! I very shortly was drenched almost to my knees! So, since I was already wet, I made the most of it! I stomped and jumped in all the puddles I could find! I was drenched well above my knees by now! And then some helpful cars drove past, and the huge spray wet me even more! It was SO much fun!!

I looked up as I jumped in one puddle next to the traffic lights, and saw a woman in a car laughing - I'm probably not giving foreigners a very respectable reputation! Oh, well, it was fun!

Happenings

Long time no blog - gomenesai! (sorry!) Life continues as normal - more farewell / welcome parties (seriously, the staff turnover in this job...!), Japanese and yoga classes, and of course, work. Check out one of the amazing platters of raw seafood from Junko's farewell! Raw shrimp, octopus, and I'm not sure what else, and it's a little hard to see, but yes, that is a big fish head pointing up at the camera - lovely and appetizing, yeah?

I am working full-time this month, but so far so good. I am the kids co-ordinator at Sasebo, which means nothing except that I am a little more likely to get free periods than the other teachers, and I'm supposed to use them to organise/update the kids material. The new school year began this month, and I've had great fun, with quite a few frees, cleaning out drawers, making new files, etc, etc. :)
Of course, spring is in the air! The weather is gorgeous! Cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and I've been to 2 hanami picnics - with my Japanese class on a Fri morning, and with Nova staff (and friends) on a Sun evening.This Monday, I also finally made it to Huis Ten Bosch. It is a Dutch theme park just outside of Sasebo. (Sovereign Hill type thing.) The tulips were out - stunning! It was a pretty huge place (must have cost a fortune to build!), but there wasn't a heap to do. In the evening they did have fireworks / sound & light show, which was unreal to watch. It is on every night - don't know how that place makes any money!!