First off let me say that I am tired as all get out. This was a long but fun weekend, and I have a feeling that this following week will be just as full and scattered with auditions, Thanksgiving, and mid-year seminars all falling in line. I also need to finally get that progress report of things I’m doing outside of work posted. I’ve been making slow progress as of late, but that’s a mixture of laziness, fatigue and plain no time.
Friday November 20th
After work (Koshino Jr. High) and nearly dieing from carbon dioxide poisoning and fumes, I went to Kelli’s birthday dinner at Satoshi’s in Toyama city. I had heard a lot about this Indian restaurant from my other friends so I was excited this was the place she decided to hold her party. Funny enough I was the first to arrive at the restaurant followed soon after by Debbie and Rupa. Being that it was rather cold waiting outside for the rest of the party AND the birthday girl we decided to wait inside for others to come. It wasn’t too long after that more people came and finally the birthday girl and her boy Matt. The group was around twenty people, and it took a seeming long time to get the food. Perhaps it was simply because I was hungry and wanted to eat, or that we were indeed a large party and were not the only customers the staff had to wait on. I had Tandori chicken and two plates of Nan. Nan is soo flippin tasty.. *has small flashback memory of that soft butter goodness* ahem! >.> ;;; There were a lot of people there I don’t get to see on a normal basis so it was good to catch up with them. It’s also during these times where I talk to some of my beautiful and retardedly talented peers that even though measured by some I have done a lot with my life; I have so much room for more. I need to put in the working effort for the ~awesome~ I want to be. So far I’ve managed to obtain most that I have with relative ease, but not all. Needless to say I don’t like to NOT be capable of something, and I’m already a C+ / B- student at many things, but I’m not an A student in much if anything at all. Need to change that. I’d like to be a master at a few things by the time I hit thirty however cocky that may seem. AND I DIGRESS since when has this been a blog about my = feelings = ? XD
It wasn’t to long that everyone was finished eating and floating around the table mingling with each other. Several of us it seems will try out for the talent show. I believe I have found the song I will sing, but the monologue is a different story. Any suggestions? I need one by this coming Saturday (28th). Around 10 something everyone gathered their things and began the slow walk to the cashier to pay their tabs and leave. It was funny because we were the last group to leave the restaurant, and had the owners not looked like they wanted to kill us for still being there I’m sure we all would have stayed there until we had to take our respective trains/cars/bikes home.
Saturday November 21st
Soooo After staying up too late the night before doing a little bit of nothing I woke up and gathered my things to head to the train station to catch the Shinkansen to Tokyo. I met Yasmin on the train and we headed off to Tokyo. We were both fairly tired, and after a short time of talking and a transfer we slept the trip over and arrived in Tokyo around 2pm. After that we hopped on the train to the Tokyo Disney Resort area where the new Cirque theater was built. ( Also a big shout to Yasmin for being the navigator of trip. I would have made it somehow on my own but she made things go rather smooth. I suppose that’s what studying Japanese as a major in college will do for you.) We still had a few hours before the show so we walked around the area and found a restaurant called Kua’aina. A Hawaiian burger joint in the food court area around the resort. Now… all I have to say is I nearly cried at this meal. It was large and tasty and defiantly a slice of what a hardy American burger meal would be like. That and I had real bacon! The Japanese aren’t up on the bacon thing…to them bacon is barley cooked Canadian ham. If there is no crispy crunch when you bite into it, it ain’t bacon damnit!
Once this meal was over we took a look at the Tokyo Disney store. Needless to say all the Christmas decorations were up (much like the entire area) and there were quite a large number of people in there. I spotted a display of Disney Princess mannequins and they were scary as all hell. It was at this moment I figure then was as good a time as any to exit the Disney Store and head towards the theater. A couple dozen pictures later tickets were retrieved and we were seated in the theater. The theater is truly a piece of art. It was so wonderfully and intricately made. Everything between the lighting, the floor design, the yards and yards of glowing royal blue fabric that draped over the stage EVERYTHING! The show was breath taking and I truly didn’t want it to end. The basic story was about “Zed, the central larger-than-life character represents all of humanity in all its guises, from wisdom to folly, from discovery to adventure. Zed grows as he discovers the world on his journey of initiation. Through this undertaking, the people of the sky and the people of the earth are trying to connect with each other; through Zed, they come together.
It was truly a wonderful show and I urge those who have never seen a Cirque Du Soleil show to go see one in the future. I have even decided that I would make an effort to see one of their touring shows they are holding here in Japan early next year. Once the show was over we headed to our hostel, checked in, put away some of our luggage/belongings then went back out to the Shinjuku area for a quick dinner. There we went to this pasta/ramen place. It was basically a restaurant that served Ramen but in Italian tomato based sauces. I even had gyoza filled with cheese instead of vegetables or pork. Once dinner was over we returned to our hostel and rested till the next day.
Sunday November 22nd
Waking up with a considerable amount of sleep we dressed and headed for Ikebukuro and the sunshine city mall. We were to meet Yasmine’s friend there. Today was the look at anime merch and manga/doujinchi day. After grabbing lunch at this Chinese restaurant inside the mall the three of us hit the street directly across from the mall. It was a block full of stores that carried anime related items though from what I saw the majority of the things sold in each store were manga of some kind. The one/two downfalls of this reality is no matter how much I might want to read something I am not proficient in Japanese to read any of the manga there. This aspect kinda sucks considering that the other two girls with me are college grads in Japanese and can read almost everything. Along with that they hold a slight unhealthy doujinchi obsession. XD I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to be so into something. I admit I do really like things but it stops there for the most part. Moving on through the stores I saw some anime merch that was pretty cool. Kuroshitsuji things and Fullmetal Alchemist things were appealing but throughout the entire time we were shopping I didn’t buy anything. Half of it was I just didn’t really want it or the increasing headache. Looking though shelves and shelves of manga that I can’t read though trying to on top of being part of conversations I could not participate in because of my lack of knowledge on all things doujinchi I formed a quite a headache. No worries though, this didn’t stop my fun. I just trucked along grabbed some Starbucks when it was all over and the three of us waited at the station to meet my friend. Mika whom I met in college moved back to Japan a few years ago and since I was near where she lives now we made plans for her to come out and see me. It was great seeing her and she truly is as beautiful as she has ever been. Three years is a long time not to see someone and I was very happy to see her. Once she joined our little group it was off to two hours of Karaoke. Both Yasmine’s friend and mine were both impressed with Yasmine and I’s singing ability. I especially liked our duet to 525,600 minutes from RENT. I played the guy part and that was fun! When our two hours were up Yasmine’s friend had to leave and now that it was three of us we went to dinner. It was a rather long wait for a mediocre place but we ate and talked amongst ourselves. Then Mika had to leave. I promised I’d see her again in the near future and we parted ways. With that the two of us lingered a bit and then went back to the hostel. After dropping off our stuff we relaxed in the common room. Then a group of gaijins came up and made a large group on the other side of the room, and eventually one of them invited us over to join the group. It was amusing watching them acting but it wasn’t long that Yasmine headed off for bed. I decided to stay up and hang with this large group. They even invited me along to go with a few of them to Ruppongi (which is known as the club district) to hang out and go dancing. When we got there we basically walked up the strip. The clubs were all owned by Africans which no offense to my own roots was kinda weird. However we went in and out of clubs staying long enough to dance a few songs in the first one, and me to snag one of the waiters (pretty cute) and dance with him. We left after an hour or so and had no luck with a good bar until around 3am in the morning. We settled here and danced. It was overall pretty fun though the group had a few members which under the influence of liquor were far less cool then when they were sober. The crew I went with were from all over the place; Paolo (NY), Drew(WI), two girls (Australia and Ohio), Cav (VA) and Chris( CN), and were on a pretty sweet program. 11 countries in 3 months is a good deal though it did pull 30k to do it. After all was said and done, I returned back to the hostel around 5:30 am and decided that some sleep was better than no sleep, and passed out for a 3 hour nap.
Monday November 23rd
So I woke up and took a shower. Today was the day to hit up Harajuku, and meet up with Valerie and her friend to try this café called Café Edelstein. Now apparently everyone had been here several times before and thought this was a good place to take me. The concept behind Café Edelstein is a prestigious all boy school off on a lush hilltop whose opened there halls for fellow sister school students, potential students, philanthropists and for those interested in entering their school for a delicious meal. In short they are all in school boy uniform (Specially made for their school) and a student meets you at the door. Welcomes you in (and some can even speak some English) and then set you at a table and wait on you. You can talk to them and they have whole back stories and lives under this guise of Café Edelstein. If I could speak good Japanese I would have asked many questions, especially to the 2nensei who met us at the door. He was ridiculously attractive. At the end of it they handed us two leather bound books. One was full with daily journal entries of all the members in the school. Some had specific doodles and such which made it easier to tell what entries belonged to which student. The other book was for us to record our time there in their records. It was an interesting experience and one I wouldn’t mind undertaking again. After this we left had a bite a Wendy’s (cause the portions are small at Café Edelstein and I only had cake anyway) and shopped around the area. We hit the famous street in Harajuku where all the shops are and looked around. I ended up not buying anything except for fancy fake lashes and food. I randomly ran into Bandou with the Georgia kids in tow. I talked with them for a few minutes longer and continued shopping until it was time to head to the station and head back home to Toyama.
P.S. Sorry this is soo backdated. Side note though; I did manage to eat Burger King in Tokyo! My first time in nearly four months and it was good!!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Bow and Arrow please!!
Sunday November 8th:
So after coming back from Toyama the night before I didn’t manage to get much sleep before I had to get up (earlier then I do for work! -___-) to the dentetsu station for our Kurobe Gorge trip that morning. Twelve of us in total gathered together at the station and then hopped on the train around 8:30 to Unazuki. Once we got there we ended up taking pictures together with little conductor hats, and grabbed a drink/snack before getting on the open window train car up the mountain. Thankfully the weather had been far warmer than it had been the last few days and the open window cars were fairly pleasant outside of the small gushes of wind when we passed through tunnels. The view was lovely. So many trees of red, gold, and orange surrounded by some of the most beautiful water I’d ever seen. When the sun broke the clouds the view was even more breath taking. By the time we reached the top (an hour and a half trip at least) I had snapped over one hundred pictures. After getting to the top we walked about a half mile further up the mountain (which was no small task. I need to start working out asap) to a small restaurant/onsen place. Here we ate (I had udon) and the others were preparing to get into the onsen. I protested on going, but somehow they convinced me that they didn’t care and that in the end if I didn’t get in I would regret it. With more hesitation I finally gave up the ghost and got in. They were happy I joined them, and it was a nice experience, hot!, but nice. Even Rebekah who stood up got a photo taken of her because she wasn’t behind the bamboo wall! XD It was quite funny. This onsen experience however was rather short lived (40 minutes) because our group needed to catch the train back down the mountain. Getting dry and walking back to the station (blissfully downhill XD) we caught the train in time. Unfortunately it was rather crowded and we ended up facing a group of Japanese people (older people who were very interested and nice to us) who talked to Jack about things. They were amusing but I passed out half way through the trip and didn’t wake until we got to the bottom. Un-boarding we gathered in a group and discovered that we had a little over an hour before we needed to catch the dentetsu back to Kurobe. Some of us decided that we wanted something sweet so the group went to a small café and had cake and coffee until it was time to leave. It was when we all arrived back in Kurobe we decided to meet up at Pizza Jam in an hour for dinner and the end of our day. Let’s say we were all very tired because we were all laying down on the table until we got our food. I was very hungry and I ate quite a bit, but I feel the days earlier events balanced out the food I ate XD . Once everyone was full to the gills we called it a night and I went home.
Monday Nov 9th:
Awesomeness at Chuo Elem. and then Eikawa class that night. It was particularly funny because towards the end we talked about Zodiac signs. Well I was trying to explain their western zodiac signs to them and the topic of sex came up. I tried my damndest to beat around about it, but eventually I just had to say it and they all mostly said they just plain stopped having it. O.o To the Japanese women I am so sorry and Japanese men need some help.
Thursday Nov 12th:
After work me and Toshi ( my Japanese teaching partner) had to go to Mikaiji Elem school for a regular meeting which I completely didn’t realize I had. Getting there we were separated into two groups and I ended up working with the table who taught 5th and 6th years. Kathy (another ALT) who is extremely strong willed basically lead the meeting over the Japanese superiors that were there. I offered up my ideas, and was praised by her for them. She said even though I’m a new ALT I am very good at my job, and that I have ideas she would have never thought of. I appreciated the compliments though I’s rather not have too many of these regular meetings XD They are slightly stressful, especially when my original intent was to stay quiet in the corner and listen! After the meeting broken Rosa and I went to Indira (and Indian restaurant as I’m sure you could guess from the name) and had dinner. It had been forever since I had Indian food and it was a welcomed treat. I ate a bunch here too!.I’m really going to have to do something about these eating binges I’ve been on lately. I wonder if they put something in the milk >.>
Friday Nov 13th:
Today was a Koshino Jr. High day and school open house. Basically parents come and watch their kids in class. In my first class one of my BOE (board of education) supervisors came in to observe the class. All the journals I had been grading were put on the walls and she praised me for being so active in the school. Then she observed one of my classes in which she told me afterwards that I did a wonderful job. She also said I shouldn’t put my arm around the kids (boys) shoulder. This boy was 15 and apparently according to her got “excited” by the notion. O.o since when is an arm on the shoulder sexual?? I just shrugged it off and when she left I laughed my ass off. I’m so not going to stop doing that. That’s why these boys turn into perverse old men because a girl touching them in anyway outside of violence is just toooo much for them to handle at 15 XD!
Afterschool around 6:40 Yuko (another BOE member) picked me up so we can go to archery practice together. A guy from the office taught us and another woman. It was really fun (though I pouted cause I wanted to be instantly great at it >.<’’’) I am definitely going to go back and practice as often as I can so I can shoot someone from far away whenever I want to!!!!!!! Ahem >.> so moving on. After the lesson I was dropped off at my apartment and then hopped in my car to drive to Uozu to meet with people for Karaoke. I made it in good time and I was there for about an hour. I sung one song and helped with a few others. Which reminds me, I need to start getting things ready if I am going to try out for the Charity show later this month. >.< I’m going to be so nervous!!!!!
So after coming back from Toyama the night before I didn’t manage to get much sleep before I had to get up (earlier then I do for work! -___-) to the dentetsu station for our Kurobe Gorge trip that morning. Twelve of us in total gathered together at the station and then hopped on the train around 8:30 to Unazuki. Once we got there we ended up taking pictures together with little conductor hats, and grabbed a drink/snack before getting on the open window train car up the mountain. Thankfully the weather had been far warmer than it had been the last few days and the open window cars were fairly pleasant outside of the small gushes of wind when we passed through tunnels. The view was lovely. So many trees of red, gold, and orange surrounded by some of the most beautiful water I’d ever seen. When the sun broke the clouds the view was even more breath taking. By the time we reached the top (an hour and a half trip at least) I had snapped over one hundred pictures. After getting to the top we walked about a half mile further up the mountain (which was no small task. I need to start working out asap) to a small restaurant/onsen place. Here we ate (I had udon) and the others were preparing to get into the onsen. I protested on going, but somehow they convinced me that they didn’t care and that in the end if I didn’t get in I would regret it. With more hesitation I finally gave up the ghost and got in. They were happy I joined them, and it was a nice experience, hot!, but nice. Even Rebekah who stood up got a photo taken of her because she wasn’t behind the bamboo wall! XD It was quite funny. This onsen experience however was rather short lived (40 minutes) because our group needed to catch the train back down the mountain. Getting dry and walking back to the station (blissfully downhill XD) we caught the train in time. Unfortunately it was rather crowded and we ended up facing a group of Japanese people (older people who were very interested and nice to us) who talked to Jack about things. They were amusing but I passed out half way through the trip and didn’t wake until we got to the bottom. Un-boarding we gathered in a group and discovered that we had a little over an hour before we needed to catch the dentetsu back to Kurobe. Some of us decided that we wanted something sweet so the group went to a small café and had cake and coffee until it was time to leave. It was when we all arrived back in Kurobe we decided to meet up at Pizza Jam in an hour for dinner and the end of our day. Let’s say we were all very tired because we were all laying down on the table until we got our food. I was very hungry and I ate quite a bit, but I feel the days earlier events balanced out the food I ate XD . Once everyone was full to the gills we called it a night and I went home.
Monday Nov 9th:
Awesomeness at Chuo Elem. and then Eikawa class that night. It was particularly funny because towards the end we talked about Zodiac signs. Well I was trying to explain their western zodiac signs to them and the topic of sex came up. I tried my damndest to beat around about it, but eventually I just had to say it and they all mostly said they just plain stopped having it. O.o To the Japanese women I am so sorry and Japanese men need some help.
Thursday Nov 12th:
After work me and Toshi ( my Japanese teaching partner) had to go to Mikaiji Elem school for a regular meeting which I completely didn’t realize I had. Getting there we were separated into two groups and I ended up working with the table who taught 5th and 6th years. Kathy (another ALT) who is extremely strong willed basically lead the meeting over the Japanese superiors that were there. I offered up my ideas, and was praised by her for them. She said even though I’m a new ALT I am very good at my job, and that I have ideas she would have never thought of. I appreciated the compliments though I’s rather not have too many of these regular meetings XD They are slightly stressful, especially when my original intent was to stay quiet in the corner and listen! After the meeting broken Rosa and I went to Indira (and Indian restaurant as I’m sure you could guess from the name) and had dinner. It had been forever since I had Indian food and it was a welcomed treat. I ate a bunch here too!.I’m really going to have to do something about these eating binges I’ve been on lately. I wonder if they put something in the milk >.>
Friday Nov 13th:
Today was a Koshino Jr. High day and school open house. Basically parents come and watch their kids in class. In my first class one of my BOE (board of education) supervisors came in to observe the class. All the journals I had been grading were put on the walls and she praised me for being so active in the school. Then she observed one of my classes in which she told me afterwards that I did a wonderful job. She also said I shouldn’t put my arm around the kids (boys) shoulder. This boy was 15 and apparently according to her got “excited” by the notion. O.o since when is an arm on the shoulder sexual?? I just shrugged it off and when she left I laughed my ass off. I’m so not going to stop doing that. That’s why these boys turn into perverse old men because a girl touching them in anyway outside of violence is just toooo much for them to handle at 15 XD!
Afterschool around 6:40 Yuko (another BOE member) picked me up so we can go to archery practice together. A guy from the office taught us and another woman. It was really fun (though I pouted cause I wanted to be instantly great at it >.<’’’) I am definitely going to go back and practice as often as I can so I can shoot someone from far away whenever I want to!!!!!!! Ahem >.> so moving on. After the lesson I was dropped off at my apartment and then hopped in my car to drive to Uozu to meet with people for Karaoke. I made it in good time and I was there for about an hour. I sung one song and helped with a few others. Which reminds me, I need to start getting things ready if I am going to try out for the Charity show later this month. >.< I’m going to be so nervous!!!!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Foie Gras >.> cause someone said so...
Saturday November 7th
So today I was SUPPOSED to be productive, but of course that failed miserably. I ended up sleeping most of the day away, and when I was awake my attempts to clean my apartment were thwarted by phone calls from various people from the states. In the end I ended up getting dress, fixing my hair a bit and slapping on a bit of make-up because I was to head out with Brain, Rie, and Zack for dinner and then later Hilda for clubbing. Everyone was nicely dressed and we hopped the train to Toyama where we were to eat. On the way we ended up picking up one of Rie’s students and laughed at Brain because he had a stiff neck and couldn’t turn his head to a certain side. XD At the restaurant I learned it was French cuisine, and to start things off the table had classes of wine and beer. We toasted to good food and readied ourselves for dinner. Tonight we were taking part in a special promotion where we get a six course meal (all small portions of course). First course was some kind of well steamed vegetables. 2nd was Foie Gras which is duck liver for those who don’t know. On a regular basis I wouldn’t touched Foie Gras if you paid me but I suppose my palette has become more acceptable to different foods since I’ve been in Japan. 3rd round was pasta. 4th round was some kind of white fish that was rather tasty. 5th round was duck and lamb meat with decorative potato garnishes. The final round of food happened to be dessert. A combination of some waffle, ice cream, and fruit. Out of all the courses I enjoyed round 3,4 and 6 the most. During all the eating we had fun conversation and I had more wine while the guys had more beer. Once diner was over we followed Rie’s student to some bar he heard about and sat down for drinks. It was at this time I learned ( after several back and forth text messages ) that Hilda couldn’t make it out to meet me till later ,and since trains returning to Kurobe don’t run late I told her we would hang out some other weekend so I remained with Rie and the others. We had several more drinks and hung there at the bar talking and relaxing for our remaining time in Toyama. After leaving the Bar around 10 something I headed home for the night.
So today I was SUPPOSED to be productive, but of course that failed miserably. I ended up sleeping most of the day away, and when I was awake my attempts to clean my apartment were thwarted by phone calls from various people from the states. In the end I ended up getting dress, fixing my hair a bit and slapping on a bit of make-up because I was to head out with Brain, Rie, and Zack for dinner and then later Hilda for clubbing. Everyone was nicely dressed and we hopped the train to Toyama where we were to eat. On the way we ended up picking up one of Rie’s students and laughed at Brain because he had a stiff neck and couldn’t turn his head to a certain side. XD At the restaurant I learned it was French cuisine, and to start things off the table had classes of wine and beer. We toasted to good food and readied ourselves for dinner. Tonight we were taking part in a special promotion where we get a six course meal (all small portions of course). First course was some kind of well steamed vegetables. 2nd was Foie Gras which is duck liver for those who don’t know. On a regular basis I wouldn’t touched Foie Gras if you paid me but I suppose my palette has become more acceptable to different foods since I’ve been in Japan. 3rd round was pasta. 4th round was some kind of white fish that was rather tasty. 5th round was duck and lamb meat with decorative potato garnishes. The final round of food happened to be dessert. A combination of some waffle, ice cream, and fruit. Out of all the courses I enjoyed round 3,4 and 6 the most. During all the eating we had fun conversation and I had more wine while the guys had more beer. Once diner was over we followed Rie’s student to some bar he heard about and sat down for drinks. It was at this time I learned ( after several back and forth text messages ) that Hilda couldn’t make it out to meet me till later ,and since trains returning to Kurobe don’t run late I told her we would hang out some other weekend so I remained with Rie and the others. We had several more drinks and hung there at the bar talking and relaxing for our remaining time in Toyama. After leaving the Bar around 10 something I headed home for the night.
On Tuesday(November) the 2nd and (a day off from school which I wasn’t aware I had until a few days before hand) I ended up sleeping in a bit and then went to Jack’s Shadow puppet show at 2:00. There was a huge turn out for it and it went very well. It was nice to see the puppets I cut out on the large projector. While watching it in the back of my head I was like “I cut that slide out!!!” XD. The main feature of the show was very funny. Though there was much I didn’t understand it had elements that were funny despite the language barrier. After the show ended I went home for a brief time just to head back out to Green Café where they were having a dinner for those who helped out with the show. It was a seven or eight course meal, which by the end I only felt full enough to say I wasn’t hungry. It was amusing since the table where I sat was full of gaijin ,and the food was nearly cleared from the plates once the waitress sat it on the table. I could have eaten more but I decided to just leave it as is. Conversation was nice, and all in all it was a nice time. Very relaxed and not too exciting, but nice. I felt a little out of place for a short time while I was there. A small dose of “you are obviously not Asian or Caucasian” flooded in but I was over it after a short while. Once I got home from the event I didn’t do much. Just relaxed and groaned about having to wake up early the next day for school
Wednesday 3rd
Today was a fairly awesome day at Chuo as per usual. Once school ended I met up with Mihoko at her job to head to Coco’s restaurant for our study session meetings. Now that Jack has finished his puppet show I have replaced that time slot with helping Mihoko brush up her English (though her English is really good) and in exchange she is going to help me with Japanese. Something I think I desperately need. I just haven’t been able to kick myself into gear when it comes to studying, but with a tutor I think it will be the spark that lights the fire. It was nice to hang out with her and through conversation alone Mihoko learned a few more English meanings, but mostly she helped me with my Japanese. After spending time with her I completely understand the meaning of several words I hear all the time but never could place, as well as the pronunciation of something I’ve been wishing to say for some time. For those who are curious the phrase is otsukarasama deshita 乙から様でしたwhich means thank you for your hard work. Mostly used from what I’ve seen when you leave your place of work for the day. After around two hours we parted ways and I went home for the evening.
Thursday 4th
Today I had a free day at Takase. My JTE had called me the day previous to tell me he was sick and that I would be teaching my English classes on my own. I prepared a semi retarded lesson for the kids to do to pass the time and headed to school with small confidence. I didn’t realize how mixed up I was until I arrived at school and realized I had went to the wrong school. Once I finished cursing I ran back to my car and headed to the correct school. I was late of course but it seems like no one really noticed. I asked the teachers what classes I had first and that’s when the principle informed me that he simply canceled English classes for the day and I had the day to myself. Needless to say this news was quite the relief and I spent my day at work watching the remaining episodes of Kuronoshitsuhi くろのしつじ（Black Butler）who’s ending was bleh at best. I’m not sure why anime’s have been ending shitty to me but I hope it stops soon. After finishing up Kuroshitsuji I watched “Angels and Demons” (the sequel to the “Davinci Code” starring Tom Hanks.) It was a pretty good movie, though I’ve heard that others weren’t so fond of it. I think my interest in those movies were the histories behind it. I’ve always liked mythology and lore of that nature so when I hear about it I’m always fascinated. By the time I had finished the movie (which ending I also didn’t like >.> ) it was time to head home.
Friday 5th
After a rather sporadic but fair day at work I headed over to Jacks for some poker later on that evening. Brought along some Pizza for myself from Pizza Jam and placed several hours of poker. I’m not horrible but I’m really just not good at these games. However quite a few of these games have nothing to do with skill, but more to do with dumb luck. The games we usual play during nights of poker are: Anaconda, Baseball, Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 7 card stud, Good and Bad, Fuck your neighbor, and fifty five. If I were to have games that I have the best chance to win in they would be Good and Bad as well as fifty five. After spending time in good company and loosing 15 hundred yen I went home. XD
Wednesday 3rd
Today was a fairly awesome day at Chuo as per usual. Once school ended I met up with Mihoko at her job to head to Coco’s restaurant for our study session meetings. Now that Jack has finished his puppet show I have replaced that time slot with helping Mihoko brush up her English (though her English is really good) and in exchange she is going to help me with Japanese. Something I think I desperately need. I just haven’t been able to kick myself into gear when it comes to studying, but with a tutor I think it will be the spark that lights the fire. It was nice to hang out with her and through conversation alone Mihoko learned a few more English meanings, but mostly she helped me with my Japanese. After spending time with her I completely understand the meaning of several words I hear all the time but never could place, as well as the pronunciation of something I’ve been wishing to say for some time. For those who are curious the phrase is otsukarasama deshita 乙から様でしたwhich means thank you for your hard work. Mostly used from what I’ve seen when you leave your place of work for the day. After around two hours we parted ways and I went home for the evening.
Thursday 4th
Today I had a free day at Takase. My JTE had called me the day previous to tell me he was sick and that I would be teaching my English classes on my own. I prepared a semi retarded lesson for the kids to do to pass the time and headed to school with small confidence. I didn’t realize how mixed up I was until I arrived at school and realized I had went to the wrong school. Once I finished cursing I ran back to my car and headed to the correct school. I was late of course but it seems like no one really noticed. I asked the teachers what classes I had first and that’s when the principle informed me that he simply canceled English classes for the day and I had the day to myself. Needless to say this news was quite the relief and I spent my day at work watching the remaining episodes of Kuronoshitsuhi くろのしつじ（Black Butler）who’s ending was bleh at best. I’m not sure why anime’s have been ending shitty to me but I hope it stops soon. After finishing up Kuroshitsuji I watched “Angels and Demons” (the sequel to the “Davinci Code” starring Tom Hanks.) It was a pretty good movie, though I’ve heard that others weren’t so fond of it. I think my interest in those movies were the histories behind it. I’ve always liked mythology and lore of that nature so when I hear about it I’m always fascinated. By the time I had finished the movie (which ending I also didn’t like >.> ) it was time to head home.
Friday 5th
After a rather sporadic but fair day at work I headed over to Jacks for some poker later on that evening. Brought along some Pizza for myself from Pizza Jam and placed several hours of poker. I’m not horrible but I’m really just not good at these games. However quite a few of these games have nothing to do with skill, but more to do with dumb luck. The games we usual play during nights of poker are: Anaconda, Baseball, Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 7 card stud, Good and Bad, Fuck your neighbor, and fifty five. If I were to have games that I have the best chance to win in they would be Good and Bad as well as fifty five. After spending time in good company and loosing 15 hundred yen I went home. XD
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Party 4 or maybe 5!! XD!! Halloween is a Beast!
Saturday 31st:
Today was the day in preparation for Tiffany’s birthday/Halloween party. I managed to get a bit of sleep and during the day I don’t recall doing much. I might have talked to a few people, but other then that I just got ready for Trick or Treating with the Kids in Uozu. So when the time came I got dressed in my witches costume and started putting on my makeup. Of course I couldn’t find the green eye-liner I needed to complete the look but I didn’t have time to worry about it. I grabbed my hat slid on some shoes and walked out the door. However I didn’t realize until I met Brett outside to ride with him that I had put on two completely different shoes. Luckily my socks were black and white stripped and one shoe I wore was white while the other was black. I asked Brett if it looked horrible and he said it looked like it was done on purpose XD So with that I left it as is and rode with them to the place we’d be leading the kids trick or treating. During the ride over I happened to see the prettiest sunset I have seen in my life. It was over the water and the sun was amazingly huge. It’s something about this part of the world that the moon and the sun are harvest size more often then not when rising or setting.
Once we arrived at the area there were far more kids then I had anticipated. They were all very cute. I received my group number and stood where all the other ALT’s who were volunteering so my group could line up in front of me. Once everything was squared away we led our groups one by one around a block where shops were handing out candy. I went around leading my kids and a few especially one kids talked off at the mouth at me. He must have found me intriguing, but he was a nice kid, and he didn’t give up even when I couldn’t answer most of his questions. He was a good kid, and I wouldn’t have minded him as a student. The path was short and took all of 40 minutes to complete. Once finished all the groups gathered back where we started and waiting while they announced a few prizes for costumes. The same talkative kid even game me some of his candy, and apparently I was the only one of us ALT’s whose kid offered them anything. Finally after the kids had to leave they wanted all the volunteers to take a group picture and gave us our gift for volunteering our time. We each got to choose a bottle of wine from a choice of several varieties. Now this to me was a pretty ritzy gift. I felt kinda G getting a bottle of wine XD. Since I had somewhere else to be, I said goodbye to the others and Brett drove me home. I ran in my house, patched up my make-up, grabbed my camera, put on a pair of the *same* shoes and hopped in my car for the train station.
When I arrived in Toyama I inevitably had no idea where I was going and spent the first 20 minutes there wandering aimlessly. However Tiffany came out and got me and we walked back to her party. There were a ton of people there and I had just made it for the tale end of the dinner. I was able to make last round though and snagged some chicken wings and a glass of water. Others kept feeding me things they either didn’t want or had too much of to eat themselves so in the end I spent less then five hundred yen on food. Once the dinner concluded, and we took a pit stop to get Puri Puri taken (picture booth photos which are all the rage here in Japan. Those pics are on facebook and I’m sure you’ll be able to tell which pictures are Puri Puri XD) most of us traveled to this bar about twenty feet across from the restaurant. Most of us mingled for an hour or so and I simply drank water while at the bar because I was both hot and not fond of all the smoke. After some serious prodding and push a group of us went to Karaoke. This was fun though this was my first karoke experience where people sung over you if they liked the song you picked. I’ve sang several songs and was told I should try out for the Charity show auditions. I was even pulled to the side and told what part I should audition for since a certain song writer wants to write a song specifically for me, and also wants me to possibly sing in his band O.o, Crazy right?!!? One girl just starred at me dreamily while I sung, and though it was flattering I’m not use to someone being like that around me while I sing. Either way I danced around and sang songs with others, had a few jin and tonics and stayed there until leaving at 2 something with Rosa and Lester. The drive home was rather funny as we made fun of Rosa in a joking way about driving, and we stopped off and grabbed a bite to eat at the 24 hour beef bowl place. After all was said and done, I went in my apartment and hit the sheets.
Today was the day in preparation for Tiffany’s birthday/Halloween party. I managed to get a bit of sleep and during the day I don’t recall doing much. I might have talked to a few people, but other then that I just got ready for Trick or Treating with the Kids in Uozu. So when the time came I got dressed in my witches costume and started putting on my makeup. Of course I couldn’t find the green eye-liner I needed to complete the look but I didn’t have time to worry about it. I grabbed my hat slid on some shoes and walked out the door. However I didn’t realize until I met Brett outside to ride with him that I had put on two completely different shoes. Luckily my socks were black and white stripped and one shoe I wore was white while the other was black. I asked Brett if it looked horrible and he said it looked like it was done on purpose XD So with that I left it as is and rode with them to the place we’d be leading the kids trick or treating. During the ride over I happened to see the prettiest sunset I have seen in my life. It was over the water and the sun was amazingly huge. It’s something about this part of the world that the moon and the sun are harvest size more often then not when rising or setting.
Once we arrived at the area there were far more kids then I had anticipated. They were all very cute. I received my group number and stood where all the other ALT’s who were volunteering so my group could line up in front of me. Once everything was squared away we led our groups one by one around a block where shops were handing out candy. I went around leading my kids and a few especially one kids talked off at the mouth at me. He must have found me intriguing, but he was a nice kid, and he didn’t give up even when I couldn’t answer most of his questions. He was a good kid, and I wouldn’t have minded him as a student. The path was short and took all of 40 minutes to complete. Once finished all the groups gathered back where we started and waiting while they announced a few prizes for costumes. The same talkative kid even game me some of his candy, and apparently I was the only one of us ALT’s whose kid offered them anything. Finally after the kids had to leave they wanted all the volunteers to take a group picture and gave us our gift for volunteering our time. We each got to choose a bottle of wine from a choice of several varieties. Now this to me was a pretty ritzy gift. I felt kinda G getting a bottle of wine XD. Since I had somewhere else to be, I said goodbye to the others and Brett drove me home. I ran in my house, patched up my make-up, grabbed my camera, put on a pair of the *same* shoes and hopped in my car for the train station.
When I arrived in Toyama I inevitably had no idea where I was going and spent the first 20 minutes there wandering aimlessly. However Tiffany came out and got me and we walked back to her party. There were a ton of people there and I had just made it for the tale end of the dinner. I was able to make last round though and snagged some chicken wings and a glass of water. Others kept feeding me things they either didn’t want or had too much of to eat themselves so in the end I spent less then five hundred yen on food. Once the dinner concluded, and we took a pit stop to get Puri Puri taken (picture booth photos which are all the rage here in Japan. Those pics are on facebook and I’m sure you’ll be able to tell which pictures are Puri Puri XD) most of us traveled to this bar about twenty feet across from the restaurant. Most of us mingled for an hour or so and I simply drank water while at the bar because I was both hot and not fond of all the smoke. After some serious prodding and push a group of us went to Karaoke. This was fun though this was my first karoke experience where people sung over you if they liked the song you picked. I’ve sang several songs and was told I should try out for the Charity show auditions. I was even pulled to the side and told what part I should audition for since a certain song writer wants to write a song specifically for me, and also wants me to possibly sing in his band O.o, Crazy right?!!? One girl just starred at me dreamily while I sung, and though it was flattering I’m not use to someone being like that around me while I sing. Either way I danced around and sang songs with others, had a few jin and tonics and stayed there until leaving at 2 something with Rosa and Lester. The drive home was rather funny as we made fun of Rosa in a joking way about driving, and we stopped off and grabbed a bite to eat at the 24 hour beef bowl place. After all was said and done, I went in my apartment and hit the sheets.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Party On!
Friday 30th
Today I went to school at Koshino but had no classes to teach. Today was my demo class which I left Koshino at 10:30am to get ready for. I arrived at Chuo and went over the lesson plan I was to teach and then from there it was a waiting game. Thankfully however Brett who works at Chuo on Fridays was there and we held conversation until it was time for my Demo. In truth I really wasn’t all that nervous, granted there were far more people then I was originally expecting, but in the end the only thing I didn’t do was act as goofy with the kids as I would normally. The first demo class was the fourth graders. That went pretty smoothly although by the end of the class I was sweating bullets. It was abnormally hot, but with an extra twenty plus adults in the room surveying the class I guess I should expect no less. After finishing that class we rushed back down to the office, grabbed materials for the second demo class, and five minutes later were heading into the 6th class for round two. This lesson went well too, but with a little more effort then it had taken with the fourth graders. Needless to say I had only managed to get hotter, and was all too happy when the class was over. A few adults stopped me to thank me for teaching the classes and tell me that they thought I did well. Once I got back to the office I was sure that I would have to remain at the school until normal work hours were over. Thankfully however we were allowed to leave an entire hour and a half earlier then normal and it was wonderful. Getting that hour back even though I’m not entirely sure what I did in that time it is a good feeling. Either way it wasn’t long after work when I had to meet Brett outside for our enaki at 6:30.
Once we were all situated in our seats at the table our principle gave a speech about the events of the day and thanked everyone involved for their work during the demo lessons earlier that day. Then we filled our glasses, gave a round of cheers and began eating. I ate food though not nearly as much as I have at previous enkai’s and then once everyone had really settled in and bellies were full more conversation started. I talked with those on my end, and we went over nicknames again, and I learned new ones. Ofcourse I remain Ah-chan and some of my favorite players were there to talk and joke around with me, Ma-chan, Su-cha, Tsu-chan, NoriB and others. If you were to ask me what their real names were I wouldn’t be able to tell you. However I would be able to tell you most of their ages, Chinese zodiac signs, cup size (yes, I do mean bras) and if they have children or not. After being on this end of the table I decided to get up and walk to the other end of the table with a bottle of beer to refill their cups (which is custom at an enkai to start conversation and so on). On this side of the table there were mostly women, and they asked me about the Halloween party the previous weekend and if I had a boyfriend/who I thought was cute and so on. Both me and a fellow teacher who are the same age both think our fellow 25year old fourth grade teacher is rather cute. It was fun to talk about that kinda fun ridiculous stuff with them. Then I showed them a picture of me in my Halloween costume and this started a huge frenzy. They all looked at my picture and told me how wonderful my facial makeup was, how they couldn’t believe that I made my own Halloween costume by hand or period, and that I had a good body XD!. I mean they were extremely focused on my boobs which is flattering and kinda omg! At the same time. Apparently having a chest like mine also comes along with an onomatopoeia and they said my boobs were “Bon Bon” while they did a hand motion over the chest area. I was so embarrassed and laughing nervously during this whole exchange, and if I could blush I’m sure I would have. Finally I moved back to the other side of the table and just like at the other end, I ended up showing my Halloween pictures. Well this side was full of guys and boy could you tell!. Some of them were like “EHHHHH!!!!!!!” or others were like “OHHHH!!” and some just lifted up their glasses and starred and others were like “DYNAMITE BODY!” even Ma-chan told me that he “WENT TO HEAVEN” and did the classic anime nosebleed motion. XD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was the talk of that side for a while, and the other women compared themselves to me. I told them it was ok! And they then asked me what my Bra size was. When I told them I have yet to find a bra in this country that could fit me they were most stunned. After some time it drifted away from me and to the other ALT Brett and what he did for Halloween and who his wife was and so on. Needless to say good drinking and conversation continued on until we did our farewell Bonzai!! and the “official” enaki ended.
After leaving the restaurant me and a few of my fellow co-workers when to a Bar, got
snacks, more drinks and sung Karaoke. They remembered my singing from last time
and insisted that I sing this time around. Of course I obliged and even Brett and I sang the Aladdin “I can show you the world” duet. That was fun, and they thought it was the sweetest thing. Brett actually requested that I sang a few Disney songs, and I did. How can you go wrong with lil Mermaid and Aladdin? In one Japanese song I sung the refrain because it was sooo simple, and they got a kick out of it, and so did I. We didn’t leave this bar until we were basically told it was our last song. It wasn’t horrible late so me and five or six other broke off and went to another place to eat while the others went home. At the third place it was simple eating and conversation. I had matcha ice-cream and talked about Naruto, Gundam, and Evangel ion with the cute 25 year old teacher. It was actually the first time I had really had some form of conversation with him outside of class. Its always nice to get to know my coworkers better. The Chuo group of people are truly wonderful and fun people. They also didn’t make me pay for anything other then the enaki price that everyone pays. So flippin awesome!! After a while here we called it a night. We took daiko home and I went in my house and went to sleep.
Today I went to school at Koshino but had no classes to teach. Today was my demo class which I left Koshino at 10:30am to get ready for. I arrived at Chuo and went over the lesson plan I was to teach and then from there it was a waiting game. Thankfully however Brett who works at Chuo on Fridays was there and we held conversation until it was time for my Demo. In truth I really wasn’t all that nervous, granted there were far more people then I was originally expecting, but in the end the only thing I didn’t do was act as goofy with the kids as I would normally. The first demo class was the fourth graders. That went pretty smoothly although by the end of the class I was sweating bullets. It was abnormally hot, but with an extra twenty plus adults in the room surveying the class I guess I should expect no less. After finishing that class we rushed back down to the office, grabbed materials for the second demo class, and five minutes later were heading into the 6th class for round two. This lesson went well too, but with a little more effort then it had taken with the fourth graders. Needless to say I had only managed to get hotter, and was all too happy when the class was over. A few adults stopped me to thank me for teaching the classes and tell me that they thought I did well. Once I got back to the office I was sure that I would have to remain at the school until normal work hours were over. Thankfully however we were allowed to leave an entire hour and a half earlier then normal and it was wonderful. Getting that hour back even though I’m not entirely sure what I did in that time it is a good feeling. Either way it wasn’t long after work when I had to meet Brett outside for our enaki at 6:30.
Once we were all situated in our seats at the table our principle gave a speech about the events of the day and thanked everyone involved for their work during the demo lessons earlier that day. Then we filled our glasses, gave a round of cheers and began eating. I ate food though not nearly as much as I have at previous enkai’s and then once everyone had really settled in and bellies were full more conversation started. I talked with those on my end, and we went over nicknames again, and I learned new ones. Ofcourse I remain Ah-chan and some of my favorite players were there to talk and joke around with me, Ma-chan, Su-cha, Tsu-chan, NoriB and others. If you were to ask me what their real names were I wouldn’t be able to tell you. However I would be able to tell you most of their ages, Chinese zodiac signs, cup size (yes, I do mean bras) and if they have children or not. After being on this end of the table I decided to get up and walk to the other end of the table with a bottle of beer to refill their cups (which is custom at an enkai to start conversation and so on). On this side of the table there were mostly women, and they asked me about the Halloween party the previous weekend and if I had a boyfriend/who I thought was cute and so on. Both me and a fellow teacher who are the same age both think our fellow 25year old fourth grade teacher is rather cute. It was fun to talk about that kinda fun ridiculous stuff with them. Then I showed them a picture of me in my Halloween costume and this started a huge frenzy. They all looked at my picture and told me how wonderful my facial makeup was, how they couldn’t believe that I made my own Halloween costume by hand or period, and that I had a good body XD!. I mean they were extremely focused on my boobs which is flattering and kinda omg! At the same time. Apparently having a chest like mine also comes along with an onomatopoeia and they said my boobs were “Bon Bon” while they did a hand motion over the chest area. I was so embarrassed and laughing nervously during this whole exchange, and if I could blush I’m sure I would have. Finally I moved back to the other side of the table and just like at the other end, I ended up showing my Halloween pictures. Well this side was full of guys and boy could you tell!. Some of them were like “EHHHHH!!!!!!!” or others were like “OHHHH!!” and some just lifted up their glasses and starred and others were like “DYNAMITE BODY!” even Ma-chan told me that he “WENT TO HEAVEN” and did the classic anime nosebleed motion. XD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was the talk of that side for a while, and the other women compared themselves to me. I told them it was ok! And they then asked me what my Bra size was. When I told them I have yet to find a bra in this country that could fit me they were most stunned. After some time it drifted away from me and to the other ALT Brett and what he did for Halloween and who his wife was and so on. Needless to say good drinking and conversation continued on until we did our farewell Bonzai!! and the “official” enaki ended.
After leaving the restaurant me and a few of my fellow co-workers when to a Bar, got
snacks, more drinks and sung Karaoke. They remembered my singing from last time
and insisted that I sing this time around. Of course I obliged and even Brett and I sang the Aladdin “I can show you the world” duet. That was fun, and they thought it was the sweetest thing. Brett actually requested that I sang a few Disney songs, and I did. How can you go wrong with lil Mermaid and Aladdin? In one Japanese song I sung the refrain because it was sooo simple, and they got a kick out of it, and so did I. We didn’t leave this bar until we were basically told it was our last song. It wasn’t horrible late so me and five or six other broke off and went to another place to eat while the others went home. At the third place it was simple eating and conversation. I had matcha ice-cream and talked about Naruto, Gundam, and Evangel ion with the cute 25 year old teacher. It was actually the first time I had really had some form of conversation with him outside of class. Its always nice to get to know my coworkers better. The Chuo group of people are truly wonderful and fun people. They also didn’t make me pay for anything other then the enaki price that everyone pays. So flippin awesome!! After a while here we called it a night. We took daiko home and I went in my house and went to sleep.
The lull before another PARTEE!
Monday 26th:
Worked at Chuo elementary, and taught my six graders. Great group of kids, and very excited when I show up which makes things better. They’re going to be something when they get into jr. high. After this I went home and sat around for a while. I withdrew money in hopes to pay on my car note, but when I drove to Nuyzen to make a payment the dealer was closed. Instead of driving all the way back to Kurobe (especially since I had my Eikawa class in Nuyzen in a couple of hours) I decided to go get something to eat at Mc Donald’s. While I was waiting in line, one of my students that I teach English too on Wednesdays was there. It was good to see her since she often can’t make it to class. She is the sweetest and cutest thing (and very hard to believe she is 29). I decided that she should come and eat with me. It was fun. We ate and talked about zodiac signs, the flu (because it might as well be the BLACK PLAUGE) and work. Half way threw our dinner Adam showed up and after grabbing some fries he came and joined us at the table. We talked mostly about the party the previous Saturday and Sachiyo (my student) seemed amused. After a while she ran off to work and Adam and I talked a bit more until it was time for him to meet up with him friends in Asahi and my time to head to my Eikawa class. After pointing me in the right direction ( cause I get turned around easily in Nuyzen) we parted ways and I stopped by a game store. SO MUCH TALES OF (fill in blank) at this store!!! I have a few friends that love it. Not able to drool for long I left the store and had my Eikawa class. Once the class was over I left for home but stopped off in another game store. I ended up buying a new emerald/hunter green PSP. Now I just need to get some games for it!
Tuesday 27th
No waking memory of this day outside of work, anime, and eventual sleep XD!!!!!
Wednesday 28th
Today I was back at Chuo Elementary, and since it was my last day with the kids before Halloween I decided to put some dramatic makeup on to show the kids. Once I got to school the staff room went NUTS. Everyone asked if I used professional face paint, and how long it took me to do it and so on. I simply told them it took ten minutes before work and I used cheap 100yen (dollar store) makeup XD. The students loved it, and it was raved about all day. Lots of random visits from students in the office to say hi to me (not that they don’t do that normally LOL) but still. Once I got home from work I ended up grabbing pizza and left the face paint on. When I get there the store owner was quite pleased with it. He also told me that he heard from some one that I had good make-up skills. I was rather shocked considering I didn’t know who this other person was and that apparently I’m a topic of discussion elsewhere! XD! In between the time of getting food, eating it, and listening to music I was baking a dessert for my last Eikawa class. (Jack’s show will be over by this point so he will get his students back). Once I was finished I made my way over there and we had our class upstairs while the guys rehearsed the show down stairs. Eikawa was the same as usual, talking and calling it English conversation learning which it was but not about of things of much importance!.
Finally Jack came and retrieved us to watch a run threw of one of the shows called Bango Sam. It was fun to watch and even though I couldn’t understand a lick of the Japanese the story boards were enough to explain everything that happened. They also had a run threw of another story which was far more confusing but I got the basis of it, and was completely filled in on the details once they were done. Afterwards they ate my desert that I three together and they loved it. I was more then surprised. I truly just made the recipe up before the class since I didn’t have the ingredients or the time to make a cake. After a while of eating and chatting I left for home.
Thursday 29th
Today I had school at Takase. It’s my least favorite school, but occasionally I have a decent time there. The kids there just seem so drained of life. There are a few that aren’t and there is on class that is down right pleasant, but otherwise they just seem like they really don’t want to be at school in the slightest. Which I can understand, but I don’t think I was quite so glum in middle school. After work I went and did one or two things before picking up Yasmine from the train station. She let me borrow her witch hat for my costume on Saturday, and since she came this way we went and got pizza and had good talks. Talks about things that pertain to us more specially then other people considering were are African Americans in Japan. It was nice to have someone to talk to about those kind of things. After we ate we kinda just chilled and had a big Harry Potter debate, about the characters, disappointments, what we loved, what we hated and why did J.K Rowling have to go crazy at the end of the series and go serial killing people. Soon after I dropped her off and I headed home.
Worked at Chuo elementary, and taught my six graders. Great group of kids, and very excited when I show up which makes things better. They’re going to be something when they get into jr. high. After this I went home and sat around for a while. I withdrew money in hopes to pay on my car note, but when I drove to Nuyzen to make a payment the dealer was closed. Instead of driving all the way back to Kurobe (especially since I had my Eikawa class in Nuyzen in a couple of hours) I decided to go get something to eat at Mc Donald’s. While I was waiting in line, one of my students that I teach English too on Wednesdays was there. It was good to see her since she often can’t make it to class. She is the sweetest and cutest thing (and very hard to believe she is 29). I decided that she should come and eat with me. It was fun. We ate and talked about zodiac signs, the flu (because it might as well be the BLACK PLAUGE) and work. Half way threw our dinner Adam showed up and after grabbing some fries he came and joined us at the table. We talked mostly about the party the previous Saturday and Sachiyo (my student) seemed amused. After a while she ran off to work and Adam and I talked a bit more until it was time for him to meet up with him friends in Asahi and my time to head to my Eikawa class. After pointing me in the right direction ( cause I get turned around easily in Nuyzen) we parted ways and I stopped by a game store. SO MUCH TALES OF (fill in blank) at this store!!! I have a few friends that love it. Not able to drool for long I left the store and had my Eikawa class. Once the class was over I left for home but stopped off in another game store. I ended up buying a new emerald/hunter green PSP. Now I just need to get some games for it!
Tuesday 27th
No waking memory of this day outside of work, anime, and eventual sleep XD!!!!!
Wednesday 28th
Today I was back at Chuo Elementary, and since it was my last day with the kids before Halloween I decided to put some dramatic makeup on to show the kids. Once I got to school the staff room went NUTS. Everyone asked if I used professional face paint, and how long it took me to do it and so on. I simply told them it took ten minutes before work and I used cheap 100yen (dollar store) makeup XD. The students loved it, and it was raved about all day. Lots of random visits from students in the office to say hi to me (not that they don’t do that normally LOL) but still. Once I got home from work I ended up grabbing pizza and left the face paint on. When I get there the store owner was quite pleased with it. He also told me that he heard from some one that I had good make-up skills. I was rather shocked considering I didn’t know who this other person was and that apparently I’m a topic of discussion elsewhere! XD! In between the time of getting food, eating it, and listening to music I was baking a dessert for my last Eikawa class. (Jack’s show will be over by this point so he will get his students back). Once I was finished I made my way over there and we had our class upstairs while the guys rehearsed the show down stairs. Eikawa was the same as usual, talking and calling it English conversation learning which it was but not about of things of much importance!.
Finally Jack came and retrieved us to watch a run threw of one of the shows called Bango Sam. It was fun to watch and even though I couldn’t understand a lick of the Japanese the story boards were enough to explain everything that happened. They also had a run threw of another story which was far more confusing but I got the basis of it, and was completely filled in on the details once they were done. Afterwards they ate my desert that I three together and they loved it. I was more then surprised. I truly just made the recipe up before the class since I didn’t have the ingredients or the time to make a cake. After a while of eating and chatting I left for home.
Thursday 29th
Today I had school at Takase. It’s my least favorite school, but occasionally I have a decent time there. The kids there just seem so drained of life. There are a few that aren’t and there is on class that is down right pleasant, but otherwise they just seem like they really don’t want to be at school in the slightest. Which I can understand, but I don’t think I was quite so glum in middle school. After work I went and did one or two things before picking up Yasmine from the train station. She let me borrow her witch hat for my costume on Saturday, and since she came this way we went and got pizza and had good talks. Talks about things that pertain to us more specially then other people considering were are African Americans in Japan. It was nice to have someone to talk to about those kind of things. After we ate we kinda just chilled and had a big Harry Potter debate, about the characters, disappointments, what we loved, what we hated and why did J.K Rowling have to go crazy at the end of the series and go serial killing people. Soon after I dropped her off and I headed home.
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