Camp Pictures

The Peter Pan Park

Kenji World

The view of Mt. Iwatesan from the Camp

Mt. Iwatesan is a Volcano that erupted a couple hundred years ago. All this Lava Rock Streches for  nearly a mile.

Just beautiful

The view from the ski lift.

Hike to the Top

View from the Top

The ride back down

Camp Season!

I know all my passionate blog followers have been saying,"Greg why haven't you quenched my thirst for posts about your every waking moment lately?" Well crazed fans (whom I am now going to block on Facebook), to put it simply, I have been busy. On July 13th, I flew home to America. Though it was a quick weekend trip, it was worth it. I got to see two great friends get married and also got a chance to meet up with other friends outside of the wedding too. Also, there is nothing quite like summer in Muskegon. Its something I always took for granted. I can travel all over the world but I still have a hard time rivaling any place with the Muskegon State Park in the summer. I truly wish I had more time. I feel bad that I spent that extra day due to a cancelled flight saying whoa is me instead of truly enjoying it.

After a 14 hour flight, I worked my way through Japan. I got into Sendai at 9PM Wednesday exhausted. I had to work at 8am the next day to prepare for summer school. Still Jet lagged, I pretty much slept the rest of the day. The next day we had to be at work at 7 to head to Camp for 3rd and 4th Graders. We took the 4 hour bus ride with the kids to Iwate and had lunch at this pretty sweet park. It had a random Peter Pan theme. Japan always tries to throw in little surprises like that. From there we went to Kenji World (an indoor water park).

I kept telling my kids we were going to Kanji World which is the name for Japanese symbols. I thought it was the funniest thing. I  became that guy that says a joke a million times even though no one thinks its funny but me. My kids have learned how to roll their eyes at my horrible jokes pretty well. Anyway, Kenji World was pretty awesome looking, it has a huge wave pool, and several slides for kids to go down. However, as a teacher/adult in charge of small children it was the scariest place I have ever been. The kids were basically let loose with a partner to roam the place. The first thing everyone did was jump in the wave pool. All of a sudden I'm in the deaper water rescuing 3rd graders that don't know how to swim but were pulled out there. I literally was carrying 4 kids that had a shear panic look on their face back to the shallow end of the pool. I had to say, we needed to make sure students had a boundary for how deep they can go. Once they got got used to their boundaries I actually got to enjoy myself and had a great time. This place knocked me out. I was exhausted and still a little jet lagged. Sadly, we had another 30 minute bus ride to the camp.

Camp had the welcoming facade of a prison which is pretty common for Japanese schools actually. When we got there we set up the kids beds and went outside to play. Then we went straight to dinner, to campfire, to bed. It was like clock work with no rest in between.

5am I get woken up by giggling students who were bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for the day. I was supposed to wake everyone up at 6:30. I still had not gotten a full nights sleep since being back from America. Of course, I spend the next 90 minutes getting the kids to stay quiet until the others are supposed to wake up. Then, I had to prod 12 boys to get up, get changed, and pack to leave. All but one were pretty good. By the time they were heading to breakfast, he was still sitting mesmerized by his own shadow.

From breakfast, it was time to head out and climb a mountain. Iwate is a beautiful Mountainous area. This prefecture was also pretty severely damaged by the earthquakes. Luckily, we were quite a bit more inland. We got to the mountain and went on a mile hike to get to this mountain that was essentially a ski resort.  We get to the mountain and ride ski lifts for about 30 minutes and hike to the top.

It was just beautiful. It was one of those moments where it all felt so unreal that I was teaching here in Japan and enjoying this beautiful view with all these kids. It was a moment, I would have never expected going into college or even up until last summer when I applied...one of those moments that everything just felt so bizarre but so right at the same time.

From the mountain, we heading back to Sendai. By the time I got home, I laid down for a nap at 6PM and woke up the next morning. I was probably about as exhausted as someone that is actually reading through this whole post, jk.  Luckily for me, I volunteered to work at 8AM sunday morning to make up for a day I missed. We spent the day setting up for 1st and 2nd grade camp.

Their camp was at Takamori's campus. I spent the next two days helping out with them, shooting squirt guns, playing in the pool, making tie dye, lighting fireworks, etc. That all leads me to today and my thoughtful bosses that gave us a half day so we could get some rest.

We have one full work day and then tomorrow starts a week of summer school. Then, I finally get to relax on the beaches of Thailand and the Philippines. I'll let you know how they compare to the State Park at Muskegon, Michigan.

Never start an International flight through a small airport like Muskegon

Just got to the Muskegon Airport needing to connect to Chicago ready to head back to Japan. As soon as I get there, I look at the wall and their flight to Chicago has been cancelled. Of course, my mom brings a two year old with so I can't even shout the expletives I wanted to when I found out. With only two flights that day, they really just crapped out their business for the day. There was no warning a head of time or anything. Because I lose a day in travel, I really cant afford to miss another day. On top of that, all of my tickets from the airport in Japan to Sendai are contingent on me getting there tomorrow afternoon Japanese time.

Since Muskegon Airport is the size of my Japanese apartment, there is no way to try to reroute anywhere else to get to Japan on time. There are two flights that leave period. If you can't make it you're just screwed. On top of that, the travel agents there can't even figure out the 13 hour difference between here and Japan. I tried to explain to him how I needed to make it there tomorrow Japanese time and he looks at the ticket thinking I'm just fine. It says I leave at 12:30 and get there at 3:30. I'd love to have a 3 hour flight to Japan. In looking, he found a flight that would get me there two hours earlier. Trying to explain to this Doc Brown about how its impossible was like explaining to my 3rd grade students the intricacies of transcendentalism... or how to spell inconvenienced. 

By missing my flight, I miss my bullet train (Shinkansen) tickets back to Sendai which were about $130. Now I have to try to find someone who speaks enough English in Japan to get me there/exchange them hopefully without paying too much. I already had no clue how to figure out the Shinkansen in the first place, now I have to figure it out and figure out how to say "reschedule for free" in Japanese. If it doesn't work out I'm out the money and have to pay more to find a new mode of transportation to Sendai.Also, this means I need to take another day off from work which I was already missing for this trip. That's a couple hundred dollars I wont make and since it is a work day, it means I have even less time to get things I need to get done.

One of these days I would like a perfect flight to and from my destination and zero headaches maybe even a complimentary first class upgrade. For now, I will just add it to the growing list of  travel pains.

The Journey Home

Tonight, Im heading out of town for the two days of travel that send me back to America. I thought Id share the route I'm taking on the journey and some great things I've learned about international travel.

Tuesday: 11PM I get on the bus at Izumi Chuoo about 10 minutes from where I live.
7:10 AM Wedensday I get into Tokyo
I then need to get to Narita airport from here. I plan on trying to find the Tokyo Station and navigating my way there. I really have no clue what I'm doing and I hear the place is really confusing. I'm just praying God will guide me through it.
11:15AM I fly out of Narita Airport
This is where I talk with Doc Brown about the 1.21 Gigawatts that we will need to have to go back in time. After a 13 hour flight. I arrive in Washington DC at 10:40 AM. 35 minutes before I left Tokyo. Crazy huh?
I get a nice 4 hour layover in DC. Also, don't ask why I have to fly to DC to get back to Michigan.
2:17 I fly out of DC to Chicago.
I get there at 3:18 and have a 3 hour layover.
I then fly out of Chicago at 6.
I reach Muskegon at 7:54 PM. 33 hours later.

After Setting up this route, I've learned a few things. I spent several hours at the beginning of June trying to find a good cheap fly. I came across some weird things.Heres a few things Ive learned:

• When flying international. If you want the cheapest route, you should look for something that just gets you into the country then find a flight to your destination. I kept finding really cheap flights from Tokyo to LA and then LA to Chicago. It was about $500 cheaper than any other flight that would get me into Chicago. 
• The best international travel sites are Cheapoair.com and expedia.com. Trust me here, it will save you a bunch. I looked everywhere for my flight home and even my flights for Thailand and Philippines I will be making in August. These sites which are only a few dollars apart, beat out other sites. It can even be rediculously cheaper than booking directly through the airline. I always double checked. I think Delta is the only Airline site that was comparable that I saw.
• Even if you are going one way, it is actually cheaper to fly round trip. I looked at booking opposite way tickets and the price of each way was more expensive than the round trip which doesn't really make a lot of sense.
• Have a few different airports that you can fly out of. This can make a huge money difference. It gives you more choices on flight times and if you heed my first piece of advice it gives you other options for connecting flights. In Tokyo, for example, there is Henaida and Narita. Ive spent 13 hours in Henaida (see im safe at home). and flown in and out of Narita. Both are pretty much the same to me. 
• Flights make no sense. Don't try to figure them out just deal with it. I spent mindless hours looking at random flights. I stumbled across the cheapest flight I could find home. It was a round trip to Vegas from Tokyo. It had a layover innnn DETROIT. This was much cheaper than either a flight to Detroit, or a round trip anywhere close to Michigan. My flight I chose has a layover in DC. Dont know why. I've also seen flights that would have layovers in TX, NY, LA etc. but if you tried to get a flight directly through those airports it was more expensive. 
• Your time is worth money. When it all comes down to it, you may find a pretty cheap flight, save a $100 bucks but it takes a day out of your trip. If you're only going for a short time, you've gotta take the other flight. I almost took a flight home through LA that would have given me a 10 hour layover, overnight in LA. Once, I factored in breakfast, lunch, and a hotel. It just wasnt worth it. Believe it your not, if you are one of the few people in the world lucky enough to have a job, you will make more money. One thing you will never do, is make more time.

I could go on and on but I need to get ready for the day, so I will leave it here. Traveling is intimidating, nauseating, and headaching but the destination is almost always worth it. Why else would you spend that money? I've been through a lot of randomness in the past few months of traveling across the Pacific Ocean. I'm praying for a safe and headache free flight home and look forward to seeing my friends even if it is for weekend!

High School Camp at Fukushima

Its amazing how a catchy title will reel you in. Last weekend, we had our high school camp. Prior to the earthquakes and the Nuclear catastrophy, the camp would have been relatively close to Fukushima. However, based on parental fears of children growing extra appendage,s we had camp at Hanayama Park about 2 hours away from here.  Quick side note...its crazy to think about timing. Had the earthquakes waited we might have been in some trouble, especially where our 3rd grade camp was supposed to be held. That campground was completely immersed in water from the tsunami and there was nowhere to go. Someone the other day bluntly put it... "if the tsunami was a few months later we would have all...  (I cant really bring my self to be that blunt on here so fill in the blank). Tragedies seem so distant until you stop to think about it.

  Anyway, on to the point of my story and the more fun part. Last weekend we went to Hanayama for high school camp. For those of you that dont know, I teach a high school course 2 days a week for an hour to graduates of the original program. Generally, their English abilities are no where near those of my 3rd graders whom I see 6 days a week, which makes for an awkward conversation with them. They are also allowed to talk in Japanese outside of class time.

Outside of some the language issue camp was awesome. We pulled up and had set up our bunks and played some ultimate frisbee on the side of a hill which was interesting. Sadly, this place didn't really have a field. it was surrounded by mountains. We were also there with a 5th grade school group. They were so excited to say "Hello" in English. We even taught them how to fist bump. I wish I could get my students as excited as those kids. Also there were people relocated from the Tsunami which is a common occurrence at parks around Japan. There are thousands that are still displaced so they have been relocated to camps because they have nowhere to go.

That night, we roasted hot dogs and s'mores by the campfire. It was many of the Japanese students first experience with S'mores which was pretty interesting. After that, I got the chance to catch up with my boys and learn about Japanese music. They love the beatles here by the way.

The next day, we were getting ready for the morning with some awesome Japanese stretches before breakfast. Apparently all Japanese kids are taught them, here's an example: Japanese Office. Its about 2:47 into the video. I was cracking up that everyone was doing this in unison like its normal but maybe that's also why I can't touch my toes. After breakfast, we found out if we were going to go on the river hike or to a water park. I was totally for the water park. A river hike sounded more like exercise than fun. Fortunately, we went on the river hike. We had to dress in long sleeves, a helmet, pants, shoes, and a life jacket. The weather was about as hot as the surface of the sun at the time so I was feeling pretty great. As we commenced the mile hike up and down mountains, I kept looking for excuses to just run back to the camp. Finally, we got to the river and it was just plain awesome.

Its one of those things that you'd never get to do with high schoolers in the US because of law suits. We basically were walking some places that only had a flimsy rope to keep us from sliding to a painful fall. On top of that there were signs to watch out for poisonous snakes. As we hiked through the river I felt like kid again, jumping from stone to stone. Some places we would be in water deeper than I couldn't stand in and others were really shallow filled with rocks. The coolest part was climbing a waterfall. I had never been mountain climbing but it was just like climbing one of those rock walls at the local county fair if they had a fire hose shooting you in the face the whole time. After that, there was a 15 ft cliff that I got to jump off into the water. You had to be careful to jump out because straight down from the cliff was a bunch of rocks. One teacher nearly broke her neck both times she jumped because she didnt actually jump. I think all the danger of everything is what made it so awesome. When I finished I felt like I accomplished something. It was one of those moments that I could look at and go wow, I'm in Japan walking through a river, climbing waterfalls and jumping off cliffs. Its crazy where life's adventure takes you when you allow it to.