It’s been a while since my last post! I’ve been keeping busy and enjoying my last weeks in Japan.
last weekend, Dana planned a good ol’ southern Hoe-down! This is something I neve rthought I’d experience, espeically not in Japan. But we line-danced and we wore our bandanas and cowboy hats, we drank and staged a bar-room brawl, then later on there was a bonfire on the beach and scary stories.

A few of the crew around the table, before things kicked off.

apart from partying, I’ve been working at three different nurseries in Kunohe. Little people are not shy about speaking english, so they learn fast, and we always make it a game so they have fun learning stuff. But some days we go on outings instead! Here’s a photo of the windmill in Karumai forest park, which we visited a few weeks ago.

I ate a persimmon(?) for the first time. There is no denying it, this fruit is square isn’t it?

And some more Franta flavours, Fanta World New Zealand. Because New Zealand is Cassis flavoured!

delicious.

Kunohe Pumpkin Festival!
For the last week, the streets of Toda (the south district of Kunohe, where I live) have been lined with various displays of pumpkins in anticipation of the Pumpkin Festival.
Here are some of my favourites;

















See them lining the road? amazing.
yesterday, lots of people got together to help prepare for the festival that was to be held this morning. But there weren’t enough pumpkins for the festival! So, Fumiko-san, hareyama-san and I set off on a walk up the road to knock on doors and ask people for pumpkins we could take for the festival.
Soon, grahame, sakanoue and okadaira-san all came by and joined us. We had a team of Pumpkin Snatchers assembled, and the kindly villagers donated us enough pumpkins:

Then, or task was to hollow them out to be turned into Jack O Lanterns at the festival.

This morning, the festival started at 9.30, so our group from the english club got together at 8.30am to set up our stall at the festival!


…”When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?”
“and would you like some pumpkin soup?”

It’s not a festival without tradtional dances! see the line of pumpkins in the background? They were being measured for the heavyest pumpkin competition.
Within an hour, we were sold out of trifle and sandwiches.
Within two hours, we were sold out of soup too!
What a successful morning