Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Today saw the first heavy fall of snow for the winter in Shimane. It was so beautiful when I woke up this morning. Like my students say, "Shimane has many natures" and indeed they couldn't be more correct. The weather may be crappy most of the time, the roads narrow, the people crazy, and the heating of buildings inefficient, but they do have a beautiful landscape. I love all the jagged mountains and the beautiful scenes that you can witness from any high point in the valley I inhabit. I will probably miss this the most of Japan because it doesn't matter how much you photograph it you won't be able to really capture the effect of seeing it in real life. I know, cause I have been trying to capture it for two years!

Well here are some pictures of what I woke up to this morning!

This is the view from the second story of the school. It appears the baseball team won't be able to practice on the field today. I did tell you that they practice their sports year round and if it gets too cold for the players, that is when you break out the barrel of fire for the kids to stand around like hobos under a bridge. Somewhere in that direction is my house as well.

This is a picture of the road on the way to school. I had to keep getting out of the way of the parents who drive incredibly fast after they drop off their students at school. Apparently they have no concept of the fact that you drive slowly around a school or in the snow!

Notice something strange about this picture? I guess even when it snows you don't have to close the doors. Would it make the school a more tolerable place to spend you whole day if they tried to keep the whole building warm just by closing the doors? Maybe. But no, it makes you stronger to be constantly cold and it gives you idle conversation topics to comment about how cold it is every 15 seconds! Plus, you are rest assured that you are not going to become asphyxiated by the kerosene fumes if you don't heat the whole building. With things like leaving doors open in winter and kerosene heating, I think it is good they are not subjecting another foreigner to this torture next year!

And this last photo is a crooked shot of my school. It is a corridor between the buildings. It may have open doors and windows but at least it has a roof to keep the snow from falling directly in. And snow blowing in through a doorway is quite pretty actually. Maybe that is why they do it?!