Ni-Ju-Yon! 24!

So for those of you who don’t know yet, I’m another year older. The big 2-4 is upon me and my quarter-life crisis is now awaiting me around the corner. I foresee it getting really bad when I try to figure out what I will do after the Jet Program. In any case, my birthday was this past Monday, so we decided to celebrate by heading to the City for a CD release party for one of Kaz and Alex’s friends. Originally, we were going to take Laura to the airport; however, Jill gave her a ride so we just said bye to her from Osaki. She seemed excited to be going home and was carrying back 2 huge suitcases each with 70 lbs. worth of gifts. After saying goodbye, Cristina and I headed to Uniqlo where Cristina bought me this cool Japanese-style summer pajama that I wanted for my birthday. Then, we were off to Kagoshima to meet up with Kaz and Alex.

On the way there, we decided to visit the new Dolphin Port. It is a seaside, 2-story shopping plaza with a boardwalk that reminded all of us of Bayside in Miami, except there were no bars and it seemed that the second floor was devoted to fancy restaurants and wedding locales. They were actually setting up for a wedding when we went and we both thought what a crap place it was to get married – with other people walking along holding their shopping bags and stopping and staring. While there, we went to a Starbucks-wannabe green tea place where we had some green tea drinks with tapioca pearls. It was OK except for the fact that a very rude woman skipped us in the line and Cristina and I were both very upset. After Dolphin Port, we walked past Tenmonkan to Amu Plaza to buy some stuff to make fajitas. Since we had not gotten Alex anything for his birthday on June 2nd (or 3rd) we decided to make him fajitas and get him an ice cream cake. On the way to his house, we were greeted by Kaz and Alex leaning out of his 6th floor apartment window reciting some Romeo and Juliet.

Before going to the CD release party, we went to a pre-party party at Nick’s place, complete with treats and sangria. I do not know him particularly well, but I kept on hearing that people were pleasantly surprised. Then after spending some time there, we headed to Bang On’s CD release party. It was in a closet of a space, but Richard (a guy from the band who lives next door to Alex) said he wanted the space to be intimate. That it was. It was like two 10x10 rooms with about 80 people and a bar. I really don’t know what I would classify their music as other than a blend of electronic mixing, guitar and vocals. I forgot to mention that I learned a trick with a string from Kaz during the pre-party that I kept on performing during the party. It was quite the hit there and quite the hit with all of my students for the past week. Although to be quite honest, I have jazzed it up a bit just to make a bit more dramatic and exciting.

The next day I woke up before the others a bit hung over. I walked from Alex’s to Amu Plaza to enjoy a nice cool cup of Starbucks. It really hit the spot considering how hot it was the night before and that morning. Then, I walked around Amu Plaza to pass the time before getting Cristina’s call. She let me know that everyone was awake and were formulating a plan for lunch. I returned to Alex’s to wait for everyone to shower and get ready and then we headed back to Amu to eat at an all-you-can-eat buffet place. It was OK – all Japanese stuff. After we headed to the movie theater to see Batman Begins. What an experience! I did not enjoy the movie’s plot as much as the others, but I did enjoy the huge theater we saw it in and with the great sound effects. It was the first time that we saw a movie in one of the big theaters at that Cineplex. After the movie, we returned to Alex’s flat to enjoy some of the ice cream cake we had bought at Baskin Robbins.

At around 4:00, we left Alex’s and walked back to Amu. I know what you’re thinking, my day sounds really repetitive – IT WAS! We returned to Amu so Cristina could have some Starbucks. We also split a “dragon twister” from KFC which we have come to love so much (fried chicken in a flour tortilla with some sauce, tomato and lettuce). Then, it was time to go back home.

Monday, June 20th was my birthday. It started out with me going to Uchinoura Elementary School where I was going to spend the day with the 2nd graders. Actually, I lie. Before that, at the office they sang Happy Birthday to me after the Monday morning meetings. Then, I went to meet with the second graders and they sang Happy Birthday to me. They also handed me 22 laminated birthday cards. The ones with their sketches of me were my favorite. It was great to also see them really trying to write in the Roman alphabet. The class was a lot of fun, but not one of my best like today when I come up with brilliant games on the spot that seem to save the day (sorta).

After school, I headed to Cristina’s where she had tried to hide from me the fact that she was baking a cake. It was really funny to see her get upset at me for not being dumb as a doornail. I was really excited because she managed to make my favorite cake – pea-picking cake – without the usual materials she uses to make it. Then, she took me to Tomo-chan’s in Osaki where Jill and Osa (all the way from Nichinan) surprised me. We, of course, had a great meal and enjoyed our time with Tomo-chan. Kaz also arrived after her eikaiwa class later in the evening. Oh, and I forgot to mention, Cristina pre-ordered the new Harry Potter book to my house along with two other books that I wanted. I am really excited about the new Harry Potter book coming out. On another HP sidenote, we were able to see the preview for the new Harry Potter film coming out in Japan on November something.

Anyway, today I went to elementary school again. It has been pouring and storming all day (as it usually does every June day in Japan or so I am hearing). So, for recess we had to play inside. The kids were trying to show me a game that reminded of me of duck, duck goose. Therefore, I decided to show it to them and they decided to play it. Unfortunately, it was over 30 kids and a space of 10x15 which means that it was a bit dangerous. Well, one kid did end up hitting his head against the wall which meant that it was time to stop. We ended up playing the Down by the lake hand slapping game but with the ABC song instead. It was quite the hit as well.

Tonight, Yu-chan invited us out to Kabochate, the all-you-can-eat-and-drink Japanese pub. I think we’re all looking forward to it. It should be fun and a great way to unwind from our busy weeks.

Umbrellaphobia

We’ve been back from Nagoya since Sunday. The Aichi EXPO was great except for the fact that it was a bit crowded and rained for half of the day. Actually, it probably seemed more crowded than it was because EVERY living soul in the park was holding a huge umbrella (including Elena and Cristina) except me. It was killing me because I had no umbrella of my own to battle off the other umbrella-holding monsters. They just zipped by poking an eye out here and an eye out there. I never realized how tall I was compared to many Japanese people until they almost tore me into bits with their colorful weapons. Needless to say, I will buy an umbrella, it being the rainy season and all, but I will not like it. I have grown deathly afraid.

As for the EXPO itself, we were not able to go to any of the huge corporate pavilions with rides. We got there when the park opened and all of the same-day reservations sold out immediately. However, we decided to make the best of it and go around the different country pavilions. Some of them were quite good at informing you about the culture and what the country can do to be environmentally friendly. Other country pavilions were just simply too abstract or just simply plain. Elena, Cristina and I discussed it and we think that the winners are probably India and Mexico. We thought the loser by far was Singapore. Just to give you an idea of why Singapore was so bad, let me paint you a picture: You are standing outside for over 20 minutes in the rain waiting anxiously to enter this very interesting looking pavilion with rubber duckies and pink flamingos on the outside. Then, as soon as you get into the dry space, they hand you an UMBRELLA! Suddenly, you are crowded into this room where everyone has to have an umbrella and it begins to storm and pour. Naturally, many people looked up which meant that the water just splashed off their umbrella and hit everyone else. We ended up being soaked. Then, the water ceded to fall and we continued to a gift shop. Yeah, we didn’t get it either.

Sunday, we went to Nagoya’s main shopping district, Sakae, where we had a mission: Find one of the three Outback Steakhouses in Japan and eat Aussie cheese fries and have a dessert. Before we could do that, we walked what seemed like the entire city looking for a free locker. It was really frustrating for all of us since we hadn’t eaten yet and were lugging around Elena’s big bags. We finally gave up and just took it with us. We found Outback pretty quickly, but had to wait an hour till it opened. So we walked for a bit and stumbled into a foreign food store. It was nice and we got ourselves a few things. Then, it was time to go to Outback. IT WAS FANTASTIC – a real nice piece of home! After Outback, we headed back to the airport to say goodbye to Elena who would continue to the States while we returned to Kagoshima. Nagoya’s Central Japan Airport is new. It opened in February. It’s great, except it also doubles as a shopping mall. It has a sky terrace that overlooks the runways, so there were tons of people there that didn’t have any flights with the sole purpose of perusing and shopping. It was crazy to see all those people walking back and forth. It was literally a highway with no automobiles. From there, we said our tearful goodbyes and everyone went on their way. (By the way, Juanpi had left on Friday from Kagoshima airport to Osaka, where he would go on to Miami.)

This week has been rally busy. I have booked schools for everyday. I don’t mind though, because that just means I have elementary school twice a week. This week I also read Memoirs of a Geisha. I enjoyed it since I had just been in Kyoto and will be going back there with my mom.

Last night I went to dinner at the Katos. It was so much fun. There were two little boys aged 2 that were playing guns for like 3 hours straight NONSTOP. This was so tiring, but a lot of fun at the same time. There was also the cutest 10-month old, Ui-chan. They are all the kids of the Katos’ cousins.

Around the World (EXPO)

Just a quick update for everyone. Cristina, Elena and I will be leaving for Nagoya today and will be at the World Expo tomorrow. Elena will leave from there on Sunday to return to the States. Juanpi is leaving today also, but heading for Osaka. He will leave from Kansai tomorrow. I will write more on Monday or Tuesday. My schedule is pretty packed all of next week.

AAARRGGHH!

One of the joys of living in Japan are the day to day frustrations. Yesterday there were quite a few things that added up to make me explode. However, I would have to say that what put me over the edge was when my supervisor told me that I could not take the free Japanese mail course entitled to all JETs. His excuse was that there was no money in the budget for it. He just kept on talking rather than listening to what I had to say. If he would have taken the time to even read the information that was given to him, this could have all been avoided. I ended up just leaving yesterday and thanking him and his superior in an overly polite and sarcastic way (like people usually do here). This morning when I was a bit more calm, I took the time to explain to him that the course is no cost whatsoever to the board of education. I think they understood, but as usual it is hard to say. Let’s hope they did.

As for Juanpi and Elena, they went to Miyazaki yesterday to visit the city and Udo Jingu. They really enjoyed it, but were a bit taken aback by the driving. Luckily, they made it back in time and we took them to yakiniku (where you grill your own beef). We had a nice big group of us as Kaz, Laura and Jill joined us. After dinner, we returned home and looked at the pictures of the last two weeks along with the video that we have taken. I think some of it is just too funny. Let’s see what the other think. Juanpi is getting really into it and wants to edit it all together to make a short film.

Sleepless Nights

It has been non-stop since Juanpi and Elena have arrived. I feel like the days are very long, but the good thing is that I am enjoying them. I tend to feel it more in the mornings or when I am just sitting about. In the evenings though, I am so excited to have something to do and at having a piece of home here. Speaking of which, thank you so much Lourdes and company, for all the other things you sent with Juanpi. We both appreciate it very much. Cristina especially appreciates the bookmarks with the pictures of the family.

Monday evening, we went to Kanoya. We visited the travel agency to book a ferry to Yakushima, the island world heritage site off of Kagoshima. However, Juanpi and Elena decided against it for fear that it was going to be too complicated for the relatively short amount of time they were going to spend on the island. After leaving the travel agency, we did some quick 100-yen shopping before heading to Kabochate.

Kabochate is an izakaya that we go to on occasion. You pay about $30 for men and $25 for women and it’s all you can eat and drink! We drank, we ate, we drank some more, we ate some more. It was a lot of fun except for the group sitting behind us that kept on pointing at the girls and signing ‘oh my, what big breasts they have.’ It’s ok because Cristina handled it very maturely by looking back and signing to them that they had nasty teeth. Just kidding. She really wanted to though. Who could blame her?

After Kabochate, we walked over to karaoke. It was Juanpi and Elena’s first time doing karaoke Japan-style. It was the four of us in a booth plus Jill, Laura and Fumiko (who had also accompanied us to dinner). It was good fun also except I was denied the opportunity to perform my favorite song, Karma Chameleon. After two hours of singing at the top of our lungs (again all you can drink), we went to pay. We were surprised that it came to $42 total! Well, I found that incredibly cheap. I also heard some of our friends doing the same thing in Kobe from midnight till 5 a.m. for about the same price (about $5 a head). I had no idea karaoke could be so cheap. Most of us were ready to leave by 12:30, so we took some daiko cabs home.

The next morning was not a pleasant experience. Cristina was luckier than me. She only had one class. I, on the other had, had two classes and the junior high and English club at the elementary school. There is nothing worse than going to an elementary school one-hour before you punch out and knowing that you have to be as fun as Barney. Let me tell you, my rendition of the Bingo song could have been much better.

While we were at work, Elena and Juanpi took my car to Kagoshima City. They walked around and explored the City. I think that they both really liked it. I kept on mentioning how it was nothing like Osaka and had more of a Miami feel to it. After work, Cristina and I drove to the Sakurajima Volcano ferry port to meet up with them to take them to the famous Furusato Onsen. This hot spring is the one that is mixed bathing outdoors overlooking Kinko Bay. It was a very nice way to spend the evening. We arrived after dark. The other time Cristina and I went was during the day. This had a totally different feel to it because there were lit torches and lots of dramatic lighting around the ancient tree and shrine. We actually went at the perfect time because we had the whole thing to ourselves! After onsen, we ate dinner at Gusto, a Denny’s-like diner that’s open late.

Today, Elena and Juanpi are taking my car while we are at work and going to Miyazaki. They want to drive the Nichinan Coast and visit Udo Jingu, the seaside shrine.

Kyoto, Lady Bear and the Volcano

Kyoto will leave you in awe. I think I can speak for all of us and admit that Kyoto did live up to its expectations. For a while, I thought it wasn’t going to be able to, but it proved me wrong.

We arrived on Saturday, May 28. We began by checking into our hostel, J-Hoppers, which I highly recommend to anyone visiting Kyoto that is reading this entry. We bought some bus day passes there and went on our way. The bus system in Kyoto is extremely efficient and easy to use. Buses can take you just about anywhere. There also really frequent which means that you never really get impatient waiting for one. However, in case you are person like me that cannot stand not knowing if the bus will arrive on time, there is a type of flip-board at most stops that alert you when the bus is over 3 minutes away and then counts down from there. Anyway, the first thing we went to see was Northwest Kyoto where the famous Golden Temple is. This was probably one building that was nice but perhaps did not really exceed expectations like all the other sights. Then, we went to a Zen rock garden which I have yet to understand. I definitely must read more about Zen Buddhism to get a better viewpoint. And then we went to one of my favorites, Ninna-ji, which had a pagoda which I really wanted to see.

We met up with Osa late in the afternoon. We returned to the hostel for a quick nap and then left for the Gion District. Gion is where all the high-end tea houses are situated. Thus, if you want to catch a glimpse of one of the infamous geishas or maiko (geisha apprentices), you have to basically just hang out at this street and try to catch a glimpse of one walking by. Well, we were lucky because we got there at around 9:00 and that’s when all the geisha were arriving via cab. It was amazing to see them fully dressed and scurrying off to the different tea houses to entertain wealthy men. Unfortunately, while we were there, there was a big group of about 7 or 8 foreigners (who I like to call geisha hunters) that were taking pictures like they were paparazzi and shouting tasteless remarks like ‘GOTCHA’. We wanted to turn the table and begin taking pictures of them.

Sunday we visited more sights. Among them was Kiyomizudera. This temple is probably one of the more famous ones. It’s huge and on stilts. It definitely has a commanding view of Kyoto. The only drawback is that it is one of the more crowded ones. The highlight of my day, however, was calling Osa “Lady Bear” (Osa is Spanish for female bear.) and letting our a growl with both of my “paws” up. I was quite amused by it. I can definitely say that Cristina was too. Wish I could say the same about Osa. Later that evening, we took a train to Kobe where we our Recontractor’s conference was being held.

The conference was at the Portopia Hotel on an offshore man-made island. Cristina and I were placed together and were given a great room on the 20th floor that overlooked Kobe Bay and City. It was amazing. Definitely beats the time where we had a view of the top of the Eiffel Tower looking sideways out of the fire escape in our Paris hotel.

The Monday after we checked in, we were free until 2:00, so we went to Himeji Castle which is the biggest most intact castle in Japan. I think it was built in the 13th or 14th Century. It is nicknamed the “White Egret” because of its wing-like roof and white walls. We were also really excited to go to Himeji because we heard that there was a Subway Sandwich Shop nearby. It was OISHII!

In any case, our seminar was somewhat informative, but really more of a chance to gather with other foreigners and have fun. I think that the JET Program knows this too and uses it as an incentive to get people to re-contract. The highlight of this trip was eating at an all you can eat and drink Brazilian beef restaurant and going out every night. My time ended on Wednesday though, when I returned to Osaka to return back home with Laura and Osa. Cristina and Elena went back to Kyoto to meet up with their uncle Juanpi who was arriving that evening.

The next 3 days, Cristina, Elena and Juanpi would run rampant around the streets of Kyoto. They apparently had a lot of fun, but that’s something that you will have to ask them. They stayed at a real traditional ryokan which looked really neat from the pictures.

On Saturday, I got a phone call from Cristina saying that they had boarded the ferry and were on their way to Shibushi (a town close to us) where I was supposed to pick them up the following day. Ten minutes pass and I get another call from Cristina. They had boarded the wrong ferry and were on their way to Beppu, a city in Northeast Kyushu. Cristina was freaking out about it, but I guess that Juanpi and Elena managed to keep her calm since they really didn’t mind. From Beppu, they just took the train down to Miyakonojo where Jill, Laura and I picked them up to take them hiking in Kirishima.

We arrived at Kirishima at 2:15 and were hiking by 2:30. We went up the tallest volcano. As we passed all the people on their way down saying their Konnichiwas, they also mentioned it was a little late to begin the hike. They also stared at us a bit from our lack of preparedness (and the fact that we were foreign too probably). I think that we were all a bit surprised by all the loose gravel (or volcanic rock). Juanpi was a but shaky for a time there after slipping, but managed to make it up another 15 steps to see the inside of the crater. From there, Juanpi and I returned to the bottom while the girls pushed on.

After eating lunch at the foot of the volcano, Juanpi went to get some things from the car to wash up his cuts. I noticed that some people were speaking to him, so I went to go see if he needed any help with Japanese. It turns out that the woman spoke perfect English. She wanted to know if we could give two people from their group a ride to their cars so they could return and pick the rest of them up. We decided to do our good deed for the day and took them. Thirty-five minutes later!!! We get to the parking lot in the middle of nowhere. Lucky for us, we still had to wait for the girls to come back down. So we followed the 2 cars back to the foot of the volcano to wait for the girls. While speaking to the large group of people who were thanking us for taking them, we discovered that one of the guys knew Spanish. Both Juanpi and I were surprised by his accent. I was also surprised by the amount he knew. Ten minutes later, the girls made it with daylight to spare. (We were a bit worried that night was going to catch them on the way down.)

After hiking, we went to eat at a conveyor belt sushi place in Miyakonojo before introducing Juanpi to Cristina’s humble town. Today, we will take them to play in Kanoya. Hopefully, they will enjoy 100-yen shopping and the rose ice cream. We will also take them to an izakaya (a Japanese pub) and to do some karaoke afterward! Let’s see how good their vocal talents are.