Ah, to be a newbie again!

It's a great time of year when all the new JETs arrive to Japan in the summer. Their bright-eyed and bushy-tailed fascination with every minor detail and the quirkiness of this country has made me realize what a jaded 'sempai' JET I've become. It was good to go camping with the newbies (I use the term affectionately) at Lake Shikotsuko this past weekend as they bring new life and energy to the island and the JET community. It was sad to see old friends leave but it's equally exciting to see all the new personalities!

It was a normal two-day weekend but I decided to man up and do the five-hour drive across the island to the lake for the Central Welcome Party. I drove up with my Kiwi friend, Ben, and Chris (the same one I went to Wakkanai with) on Friday night after work and made a stop in Asahikawa to pick up a new Canadian JET - Nicole - who's from Calgary! Minutes after picking her up, we were caught up in a small incident involving my car's bumper hitting another car's bumper, leading to my 2nd run-in with the police in a month (which I hope isn't becoming a trend..). Luckily, the damage was so minimal that they couldn't find anything wrong with either of our cars. After an hour of experiencing Japanese bureaucracy first-hand with a flustered wife, a slightly drunk husband, and two bored police officers, we were finally off to Sapporo to spend the night.

The next two days were spent at beautiful Lake Shikotsuko, camping with JETs from across the island. We chilled in my car with the roof open, swam in the frigid lake waters, shoved marshmellows in our mouths, attempted to fold origami cranes, ran with eggs, chugged orange juice, wrestled the socks off each other, played Japanese drinking games, sang songs, lit up sparklers, waited in line to hike nearby Mt. Tarumae, and discovered that Bear found a mate. It was a fun weekend and definitely worth the roadtrip across the island. As we were heading home from the lake on Sunday, we were caught up in another incident involving my car when my brakes decided to squeal and heat up on me. We spent an extra two hours (and $140) in Sapporo at a car garage, waiting for my new brakes to be installed. We all eventually made it home safe and sound (with many combini stops later) to shower, relax, and sleep in our own beds... only to rest up and do it all again this weekend for the Eastern Welcome Party!