Spring Break (Woo!)

Today is the first day of spring break. But seeing as I’m an employee of the town I still have to go to work, even though the teachers and students are both off right now. Well, mostly. The students are still coming to school for clubs and activities and such, so I don’t know what kind of break it is for them. I do know that I have to come into my office everyday for the next two weeks and look busy. I have plenty of Japanese textbooks to study, teaching materials to go through, and of course my laptop to keep me company. The only thing missing is an internet connection. I’m much better at wasting time with the assistance of the internet.

It’s extremely difficult to think about spring when every time I look outside it’s snowing. Today the snow has been on and off. Nothing heavy, just annoying. I’m tired of snow already! Down in the south, the cherries are in blossom, and it actually is spring. Here, I think the season would be better qualified as “horrible roads”. They don’t so much plow the roads as pack the snow down into a manageable layer. So when it starts to melt during the day, you get great piles of slush. Which subsequently freeze overnight, creating great piles of ice. Usually with two ruts on either side for driving. And when you drive a little car like I do… let’s just say that comparisons to Disneyland are appropriate. You know the race car ride with the big metal bar down the middle of the track to keep you going on the correct road? Yeah. That’s what it’s like driving here. It makes for exciting lane changes. At least in town. The highways are better.