Last weekend, we took a tour of Orion Brewery. Orion is the most popular Japanese beer and is everywhere! The Orion brewery is up north, in Nago, and since we were going to Pineapple Park in Nago, we made a stop at the brewery!
We had an appointment for an English tour, but after waiting 20 minutes they told me that they didn't have anyone who spoke English to give us a tour. The gave me a guidebook and told me to read it as we walked around. It was a short 10 minute tour. We got a free pint of freshly brewed Orion beer at the end of the tour which made it worth it =)
Where all the magic takes place!
Very cool cans.
The quality hops used in Orion beer are imported from Germany!
Perfect endings to the tour.
After the beer tour, we made it to Pineapple Park, after a short detour of getting lost. Pineapple Park is also in Nago and is very close to the Orion Brewery. Pineapple Park is a pineapple winery and pineapple farm.
Rachel, Jessica and I
We paid 500 yen ($5.00) to ride a automated pineapple cart through a pineapple farm.
Hungry for pineapples!
Then, the real fun began! We were led through a gift shop of pineapple wine, champagne, juice, cookies, chocolate, bread, jelly, pie, etc. The best part was, we got samples of everything! The wine was good and the champagne was delicious! I bought a few bottles to share with everyone over Christmas dinner =) The pineapple chocolate and cookies were my favorite, as far as food. Every two steps, there would be a new sample of food. It got kind of gross after a few minutes of stuffing our mouths with sample after sample. Everything started to taste the same. I made my purchases and left before eating more and feeling sick.
I ate so much pineapple I turned into one! haha, wow, I've been hanging around 2nd graders too much!!
I ate so much pineapple I turned into one! haha, wow, I've been hanging around 2nd graders too much!!
Our view when leaving the parking lot!
At this point, we were in need of some "real food" so, we ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant across the street from Pineapple Park. We ate teriyaki bowls while sitting on tatami mats!
After lunch, we were ready for pineapple dessert! We walked back to Pineapple Park and had pineapple ice cream. It was light and tangy, I loved it!
We bought pineapple popcorn to go, we tried it later that night and it was good, different, but good!
On the way home we stopped at the resort in Nago that we like so much (the expensive one, with a nice beach that we stopped at a few weeks ago). The sun was setting, so it was perfect picture time.
You can actually see my feet through the water, crazy! Definitely a reminder that I'm not in Southern California!
Beautiful sunset!
My favorite picture!
We attempted to write "Japan 09" in the sand.
It was a successful day and Rachel wants to go back to Pineapple Park before she leaves, so I'll be back within the next few weeks.
I can't believe the last week of October is approaching.
Things at school are going well. Parent conferences are coming up in a few weeks and I really only have a few students that are getting low "C's" in a few subjects, otherwise the grades aren't too bad. A lady who is studying to be a teacher has been coming in my classroom to observe Sarah and I. She is a military wife who is taking college classes and needs observation hours in an elementary school classroom. My principal thought our room would be good for her to observe. It was not long ago, AT ALL, that I was observing teachers in their classrooms, and now I'm the teacher being observed! Weird! She is a really nice lady and even signed Rachel and I on base tonight to eat at Chilli's. We were craving American food, so it was a nice Friday night treat!
Our school doesn't allow us to celebrate Halloween which is kind of sad but I'm determined to do something festive with my students. So, on 10/30 we are having a "fall celebration." Sarah and I had Lori buy us some pumpkin pie filling, graham crackers and whipped cream. With these ingredients, students will measure, make and eat their own pumpkin pie creation. We also bought a few pumpkins which we will use to predict the weight, diameter and number of seeds in each pumpkin. Then, at our celebration, we will weigh, measure and count the seeds inside our pumpkins. I'm looking forward to a day of fun with my students. Celebrating with students and showing them that learning can be fun makes all the stress in teaching worth it!
I went running this week, the first time since being here. It felt amazing! Rachel and I ran on the beach as the sun was setting, it was gorgeous! The weather was perfect and there were lots of military people running, so it was a great atmosphere. We did some ab exercises on the sand after running. I have not felt better since being here than I did after that run. It was only a few miles but now that I know where to run and that there are lots of people running, I will do it more often. After running, I spotted a baseball/softball field where high school aged kids were practicing. I stopped and watched them play for a few minutes, it really made me feel at home. A run and watching baseball and softball, might be as good as it gets here =)
I have more fun adventures planned this weekend. The rain has been off and on the past few weeks and it's pouring right now. Hopefully we get a little sunshine soon!
Love,
Kristen
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