The Weekend that Was

It started at the speech contest. It was a tickle in my throat, and slight gurgle when I coughed. An achey body and tiredness. I got worried. OH NO! This is the weekend I have been looking forward to most! This is the weekend that I am supposed to go to Shikoku. All that planning and now, for the first time since coming to Japan, I AM SICK.

But I hopped in the car and headed to Yanai on Thursday night with Christine and Victoria. They went for yakiniku, I went to bed (at 8:30). We woke up at 4:30 in order to get the ferry from Yanai to Matsuyama (we added another passenger too, Kat). Christine was dubbed the DD (designated driver) of the trip due to my bodily imparement. So once we got to Matsuyama we drove to Iya Valley in Tokushima-ken. It was gorgeous. The valley was steep, the sky clear and the valley crystal blue. Very picturesque! We parked the car along the side of the road to take pictures of the valley and the peeing boy statue (among other things). Then we headed to the Kazurabashi or vine bridge that hangs above the gorge. We gathered our might, ignored our fears and crossed that swinging bridge. We pushed ojisans to get by, Kat threw an obaasan over the side because she was taking too long. It was harsh. After that we enjoyed some swimming in the river, Kat in her panties and us in our swim suits. That night we stayed in a quaint minshuku where the owner treated us like her own daughter.

Every morning I would wake up hoping to feel better, but I never lucked out. Every morning it seemed to get worse, but I kept trucking. We went for an onsen next to the river which was gorgeous, very much like kurokawa onsen. Then we drove along the coast of Tokushima-ken, through some quaint little surfer villages. If I weren't a JET, I would move there to get me a surfer dude! They are HOT. We then made it to Muroto-misaki (the cape) in Kochi-ken. The waves were fierce, nothing like our calm sea of Japan that we have here in Yamaguchi. We sat there and watched nature before our eyes. Although poor Kat and I didn't get to see the beautiful sunset, that we would have only been able to see once in our lives (thanks a lot Chris and Vic!!!). That night we had dinner with my buddy Nate, who I met in Chicago. It was great seeing him and I always forget about what a nice guy he is until I see him again. Then we spent the night in Kochi City.

The next morning, although I had a wonderful time and saw some beautiful sights, I was dying to get home. So we spent the day in the car and crashed once I got home. The next day I actually took a sick day and went to the DR, but I shall save that story for ZENZEN.