9 months left...

Hard to believe a month has already passed since I turned in my decision to NOT re-contract. I know that I did a lot in October, but I still feel like there's so much to be done, and so little time!

Anyway, here's my updated (from my October 2nd post) to-do/to-see list:

- 十和田駒フェスタ (Towada Koma Festa) - Towada Horse Festa: It was awesome!! Check out my photo album from the day at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=328714&id=655150561&l=88128920ab

- 奥入瀬渓流紅葉 (Oirase Keiryuu Kouyou) - Oirase Gorge Autumn Foliage: There was still a lot of green when I went, but it was gorgeous nonetheless. Plus it was a totally relaxing/refreshing day for me when I needed it most.

- 十和田湖冬物語 (Towadako Fuyu Monogatari) - Lake Towada Winter Story: I'm going to have to wait until February for this one...

-十和田市郷土館 (Towada Kyoudokan) - Towada Culture Museum: I actually went a 2nd time on the same day that I went to the Koma Festa. This time I went with a friend who could explain things to me so it was much more interesting!

-十和田市立新渡戸記念館 (Towada Nitobe Kinenkan) - Towada Nitobe Memorial Museum: Also visited this museum on the same day as the Koma Festa and Kyoudokan!

-十和田市称徳館 (Towada Shoutokukan) - Towada Horse Culture Museum: Just gotta pick a day...

-七戸ＮｏｎｏＵｅ人形の館(Shichinohe NonoUe Ningyou no Kan) - Shichinohe NonoUe Doll Museum: Again, just gotta pick a day...



- Osaka: I recently decided that I'm going to go during the long weekend in January (9th-11th); it may end up being another 一人旅 ("hitori tabi" aka solo trip) but I want to try to get all my traveling done by early May at the latest so I can spend my final 3 months (May-July) preparing (mentally/emotionally as well as logistically) for moving back to Canada.

- Okinawa: Plans are still up in the air, but I'm hopeful that Tomabechi-sensei and I can a spring date set pretty soon...

- Kariya City (Aichi Prefecture): Unfortunately I don't think I'll have time for this one. Guess I'll save it for the March 2011 trip (back) to Japan...


- Hiroshima: Plans are still up in the air, but I'm hoping I'll be able to go with Jen & Syv, etc. in March. If not, I'm going to go during Golden Week (again)!

- Graduation monkeys for the sannensei: I currently have 1/2 a monkey completed. @_@ February is gonna be brutal!

- Graduation video: I've gotten most of the videos I need transferred from DV tapes to my external hard drive, and have pulled lots of photos of the students from the shared drive, but have yet to start putting it together @_@ I really hope I can pull this off!

- Farewell speeches/messages: Haven't started yet, although occasionally fragments (phrases or even sentences) of messages pop into my head (usually not at a time when it's convenient for me to write them down, however...)


- Write a year's worth of JHS English newsletters: No longer necessary. With the increasing shift of ALT visits from JHS to ES, we've decided to end the JHS newsletters with the next edition (December 2009) so we can focus more on the ES newsletter