Another Three Day Weekend?!?

So, Japan apparently being the land of random public holidays, I have another three day weekend coming up. Next Monday is Health and Sports Day, so I have the day off. I didn't manage to put together a trip to a big city (which is my usual plan for three day weekends), but I have a few plans nonetheless.

At the moment, the girls and I are working out some plans for tomorrow night. There's an event going on at one of the clubs we sometimes go to, so maybe we'll check that out. It costs a bit, but if they're playing decent music and there are actually other people in the club for once, it might be worth it. I'm guessing we'll get up to something, in any case.

The other day I started harassing (i.e., sending unsolicited text messages to) Fuuta again. I hadn't heard from him since our canceled date and was curious what he's up to. We've been messaging back and forth, and the current plan is to have a date in the city on Saturday night. We haven't set up the details yet, but I'm guessing we'll go out for a few drinks. I'll let you know how it all works out. Hopefully we'll manage to meet up this time.

The main plan for this weekend is to make a trip to Matsuyama. It's one of the largest cities on Shikoku, but I can't remember whether or not it is THE largest city. In any case, I've been told by friends that it's a fun place with good shopping. Julie found one store in particular with a style she thinks I would really like. At the moment the plan is to go on Monday with Julie, Sasha, Ingrid and Chelsea. The downside of going on Monday is that the mall will probably be horribly crowded since it's a public holiday. But I've got no other plans for the day, so I don't mind if things take longer than usual.

I've been less consistent about posting lately, but I'm pretty sure nothing major has happened recently. Things are going pretty well at the junior high schools, and I feel like I'm finally starting to relax and enjoy my elementary visits. It only took me a year...

Anyhow, now that I'm experiencing a number of things for the second time around, I'm thinking a bit more about my experience here. It was odd going to my second sports festival and knowing what to expect, but I think one of the things that hit me the hardest was seeing the higambana blooming again. Higambana are a red, lily-like flower that grow all over the place in the fall. They grow in sort of an outward exploding cluster. I think they're really beautiful. I saw them for the first time last fall, not all that long after I arrived. Tons of them grow along the road I take to get to my mountain school, and it's an amazing sight. They're a very clear mark of the transition into fall. Seeing them again was sort of a shock; it really made me realize how long I've been here, and also how long I've got left to go. Even if this is my last year, I've only just started my second contract. It'll be quite a while before I go home again. The months feel like they're zooming by, but the rest of my second year is still ahead of me. So I've been thinking a bit more lately, and experiencing some nostalgia. I feel like I've changed a fair amount from who I was when I arrived last year. I've experienced so much and learned so many things. I don't know that any of these changes will be all that apparent when I move back to the U.S., but my life in Japan has changed from what it was at the beginning.

Well, that's enough rambling for now. It's time for me to put together tomorrow's materials. Good night!