On October 17, the Nara JETNet held an “orienteering” (aka sightseeing) event in the historic Asuka region of central Nara. The event, as with all other JETNet event, was centered on grassroots internationalization, with groups made up of 2/3 Japanese residents of Nara Prefecture, and 1/3 JET ALTs (English teachers from Elementary ~ High School).

The plan was to walk from landmark to landmark, answering questions whose answers are found at the actual historical sites (for example, “How many stone lanterns are at this emperor’s gravesite?”). The first half of the day was made up of sites that were mandatory to visit, but the later sites were set as optional, so groups who were getting tired could pace themselves, and even stop if necessary.

When we started for the day, we noticed that the weather was looking gray, but we went on ahead, despite a small sprinkling of rain. It continued to lightly rain off and on all throughout the morning, but never really got bad enough to need an umbrella. After reaching the area where we were told to eat our lunch, we joined the other groups under the trees and happily chatted while enjoying our packed lunches. Near the end of our lunchtime, the skies suddenly opened up and the rain began pouring, so everyone grabbed their bags and tarps, and headed for the one covered picnic area.

The team and I pose for a photo at the end of the day.

After some deliberation, due to the unstable weather (the rain continued to alternately start and stop, harder and harder each time) it was unfortunately decided that we would have to cancel the rest of the event. As soon as we said this, as if to mock us, the sun came out and shined brightly over the park, but we stuck with our decision. That turned out to be for the best, however, since in another 20 minutes, the rain was back again, harder than ever, with thunder to boot!

Even though the day ended earlier than expected, everyone I saw and spoke with was definitely having a great time, Japanese and JETs alike. More time would have been better, but I believe that things like this are sometimes beyond your control, and you just have to make the most of the time that we have during these events. I wish we could do them more often, but it’s just as well to learn to appreciate every hour of these 4 days per year when we have real opportunities to have fun and meaningful exchanges with the Japanese citizens of Nara.

１０月１７日に奈良県JET青年連絡協議会による第２８回のイベント、「JET青年と明日香アドベンチャー」を開催しました。JET青年と参加者をチームに分けて、明日香村を１０時頃に出発しました。いろいろ歴史的な場所を目指して、話しながら、楽しいハイキングをしました。また、参加者は遺跡を訪れる度に、あらかじめ用意されたクイズの質問をJET青年と協力して答えなければいけませんでした。残念だったのは、その日は朝から雨が降りそうな天気で、お昼ご飯の時にはひどく降ってきて、中止となってしまいました。短い間だけでしたけど、楽しくて、とってもいい交流になったと思いました。次のイベントを楽しみに待っています！