McTeryaki Burgers and Brown-Sugar Beaches

Well, I just read Estela’s comment on not having pictures up and I am very aware of that. I am actually kind of upset because I have all the pictures downloaded in my laptop that has no internet hookup although I am paying for it since my predecessor did not turn it off. However, every time I ask them about the adapter they tell me next week. Once I get that, I’ll be able to post more pictures including that of my ultra beautiful fiancée (she gets her looks from her mother!).

SPEEDY the Mouse UPDATE: I did not see him Friday night or Sunday night. (Saturday night I did not sleep over my house.) It's not looking good for all those fans out there. Apparently, there are quite a few of you that have rallied behind letting this mouse have free reign of my abode. As a side note, I also have crabs. I found one inside in my genkan, but it was dead. :(

As for this past weekend, it was again quite eventful. On Friday, the office car got fixed and they still want me to drive it, so that’s good. Later that evening, was my welcome party. It was at a restaurant (Japanese, most of them are around these parts) on the coast overlooking the docks. They had rented out a large tatami room with a long low table set up for about 20. We sat on the floor and everything, very traditional. The food was great, but I really cannot remember what they name of it all was. There was a lot of grilled meat and some warm salad (ALL GOOD). They also got chicken fingers and fries, which they found it odd that I was not eating. They asked me to have some and I said that I was getting full on the traditional Japanese food. Apparently they ordered it because on the first day I said my favorite food was chicken so I ended up eating some anyway. Apparently alcohol also tends to be the social lubricant in Japan. Everyone in my office opened up after a few glasses of beer or Shochu (sweet potato liquor this prefecture is famous for, tastes like vodka). Throughout the evening, everyone had told me that they wanted to join my eikawa (volunteer English classes one evening a week that I am forced to teach) because I am so funny and interesting and have a beautiful smile (I CANT BLAME THEM). They spent a major portion of the evening deciding what to call it. They also thought I looked a lot like Clark Kent (I had just shaved, combed my hair to the side and wearing my glasses). They found it hysterical when I proceeded to take off my glasses and they started calling me Superman. This one guy also started to touch my fat (or jelly roll, recall that we are sitting on the floor) and telling me I had to “train” (exercise). All the while, Cristina is having fun at Kaz’s house drinking with a bunch of foreigners.

Saturday, Cristina picks me up and we meet up with Laura and Jill to head to Kanoya (nearby city) to do some home store and 100 yen shopping. But first, we take a pit stop at a McDonalds where we gorge ourselves in comfort food. I ate a McTeryaki burger (quite tasty) and for some reason the meal comes with a giant ultra stuffed set of fries. Cristina went with a classic double cheeseburger. (Price are the same as the states.) We proceed to buy things for our homes. Cristina purchased a DVD player, the cheapest one we could find to rent movies and so she can blast Longwood (and some other music) all day. My big purchase was a can of paint to paint the shitty wood paneling that has dirt for paint on it and falling apart. We go home to Cris’s house to spend the night.

The next morning, I wake up and call my family. I really needed those 3 hours to speak to everyone. It really hit the spot and comforted me to know that everyone was just a phone call away. Then, we were off to my town to go hunting for this mystery beach that everyone talks about (eerily similar to the DiCaprio movie “The Beach” if you substitute the Thai drug lords for about 100 Japanese villagers). On the way there, after the 3 km tunnel I always saw these waterfalls and something that looked like a river. OH MY GOD, THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING YOU’D EVER SEEN. There is this river with rocks and waterfalls and the whole nine yards that goes into this gorge or valley that emerges from this forest. It is amazing and crystal clear. Think of a Nature Conservancy or Sierra calendar and multiply it by 10 because you can go inside of it. Nothing like Itchutucknee River or Springs (Mom you would freak). And, it’s just on the side of the road. There is one with a waterfall you can slide down from my town to Kaz’s town that we are going to on Tuesday. The rest of the day we spend looking for the mystery beach, Hetsuka. We took 2 wrong turns which only leaves one way that we did not go. However, we just went to this other beach, Kishira. It was also beautiful but the waves seemed a little too strong (perhaps because of the 2 nearby typhoons). So we soaked our feet and sun bathed on the brown sugar beach. The sand was not powdery white, but rather a bit coarser. It felt and looked like brown sugar. I told Cristina I felt like making a Bananas Fosters.

This brings us to Monday, when we have our office meetings. They make me sit through all of them with a paper full of kanji even though I cannot understand a word of it. To top it all off, everyone has been staring at my waist because I forgot to wear a belt today (at least I hope that’s why). Well, see you tomorrow. Don’t be late and keep the comments coming. Oh, and Kacy, thanks for the props on the door cleaning, even if it was ONE YEAR ago. LOL. I saw pictures of your house and it looks so neat. Wish we could come over for dinner. I think there’s a DIRECT flight at 6 from Uchinoura to Gainesville. What a coincidence! I think it’s on this plane they call the Concord.