Firstly thank you everyone for all your kind words about my art work/blog, I really appreciate it. I had over 500 views on my first post in one week!

A few weeks have past since my last post! Teaching has been going great, I feel like I am really getting into the swing of it all now. Every Thursday morning I have a conversation class with two Japanese students, I always feel that we have so much to talk about that an hour just isn't enough, which is always a good sign. One student had been to Tokyo last weekend to visit her daughter, so today she very kindly bought me a Monet book cover from an art gallery she visited on her break. It is a lovely and I will certainly treasure it.

Every day I bike back from work and think, I cannot believe I am in Japan. Not many people these days can say they love their job, but up to now I love it. There is no stress and every new day seems to bring a new surprise or adventure.

Last weekend I gave my first art lesson to Sumie-san, in return for a Japanese lesson.  Sumie-san wants me to teach her how to draw people, so we are focussing on her granddaughter (Hannah-san) in our first few lessons. The image we are using is from Hannah-san's Shichi-Go-San. Shichi-Go-Sen is when girls of age three and seven and boys of age three and five celebrate Shichi-Go-San, and it is prayed for their good heath and growth. Girls dress up in beautifully detailed and elaborate kimonos, with pristine make-up and delicate hair pieces to visit the shrine. My first drawing is from that day, it is the same image that I am teaching Sumie-san to draw.

My sketch of Hannah

Original photo of Hannah

In return for my art lesson, Sumie-san gave me a Japanese lesson. But this was a Japanese lesson with a twist. She taught me Japanese through the means of origami. So I learnt numbers, colours and a few words through making an origami spinning top! I also made a chart with the 51 Japanese sounds to learn. Saturday nights are now our cultural exchange nights. The image below is of the origami spinning top I made.

My origami spinning top I made in my Japanese class. 

On Sunday I was kindly treated to a day in Hakone (箱根)  which is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It is famous for its hot springs, natural beauty and the views of nearby Mt Fuji. Although it was a rather misty day it was such a beautiful and peaceful area. I went to the Onsen (volcanic hot springs) and oh my goodness it was hot!!! I came out the bath and I looked like I had been slightly boiled. It was very relaxing though and the views were spectacular.

Onsen (hot volcanic spring) in Hakone. 

One thing I will remember though is to take off my jewellery!!!  It did indeed turn my silver locket James (my boyfriend) gave me black. But it is no surprise that a lovely Japanese lady restored my necklace back to its original state for free.

I sense that the kindness of the Japanese people, particularly in Numazu is going to be a running theme throughout this blog.  Today Michael (another teacher) and I went to observe a bamboo carving class in the local arts hall. Sensai (teacher) lives in the mountains and provide a fortnightly bamboo carving class, free of charge.  This week everyone was working towards making a small wooden cart. The detail and precision was incredible, and so delicate. 

Throughout the session, sensai was making a bamboo sculpture  Over two hours he transformed several pieces of bamboo he had carved over the weeks into a bamboo monk playing a recorder. He gave this sculpture along with the cart as a gift to me. I generally cannot get over how talented and kind this man is. Even though we could barley communicate due to my lack of Japanese and his lack of English, I felt so welcomed.

Sensai and the bamboo carving of a monk he gave me. Take a look at how detailed the hands are.

My first month in Japan is coming to an end. Time is going quickly, almost too quickly! This weekend we will celebrate are arrival in Japan and passing our first month with Karaoke, so ear plugs at the ready!

Good night!

Marion

I have joined the world of blogging! 

Several people have been asking me to write a blog so here it is. I hope mine is slightly different to others, and makes you keep reading it. I want to blog about my time in Japan through my art work. 

I have arrived in Japan!!! I have been here for two weeks now and what an experience it has been. 

I am in a country that is the polar opposite of England, everything from food to language, day-to-day etiquette to weather, everything is so different. However, since I arrived in Numazu City, I have felt so welcomed by everyone. The Hosaka family (the owners of the school I am working at) have taken me in as one of there own, and all the locals from shop keepers to business men try to help you in one way or another. 

Pretty certain I bought the great British weather on my arrival, so exploring was delayed a day-or-two. But when the rains cleared, the sun shone revealing the most spectacular view, right on my door step. It truly is a view I doubt I will get sick of, I have spent several hours sitting on the sea front looking out to Mt Fuji, just thinking how lucky I am to have this experience. My first piece of art, of course has to be of Mt Fuji. 

What a view! An acrylic painting of Mt Fuji at sunset. 

Luckily, for the first few days, Mrs Hosaka cooked me some lovely traditional Japanese meals. Now, however it has been a case of food roulette in the shops. I have no idea what most of the packaging says, many a time I have hoped that I had just bought chicken, more often than not it is in fact fish. 

But I have checked out several restaurants, all incredible  Amazing sushi and traditional dishes,  ordering the food however has been extremely amusing. Yesterday our inability to speak Japanese and therefore order food resulted in us being the evening entertainment for the whole restaurant. But its all part of the fun. 

I am almost a natural at chop sticks now! 

The 4th April was one of my favourite days yet. I was totally emerged in culture and tradition. I spent the morning at the Ose Festival and Uchiura Port Festival. It is an annual event where locals pray for their safety during fishing and for good catches all year round. It was a great atmosphere. All men dressed in kimonos and painted there faces, there was lots of singing and dancing, and local foods. I collected a few flyers to incorporate into the next pages of my scrap book.

Ose Festival and Uchiura Festival

Teaching has been going really well! I love it! I am so glad that I took the leap to come out here and teach. It really is a truly rewarding job, and makes you realise that a stressful money making job in London is just not worth it one bit!!!! I teach students ranging from juniors right through to pensioners. I have already received a few gifts, two massive apples (literally the size of my head) and I was taken out for dinner by a student last week. He is a very intelligent man, now enjoying retired life with his wife. He loves to learn English, and has a half an hour free conversation class with me each week. My students generosity and friendliness is mirrored in many Japanese people.

Anyway that is a short blog entry about my first couple of weeks. I aim to use my blog to illustrate my time here through my own art work.  I hope to blog at least once every two weeks (hopefully more), your comments are welcomed! 

Have a good evening! 

Marion xox