One Tired Puppy

Well, that was quite the tiring day. We went back to Zenkoji temple, seeing as it was closed on us the last time we tried to visit. It really is a lovely temple, with beautiful grounds. One of the must-dos in Nagano, is to touch the key to paradise. But to do this you must go underneath the temple, through this winding tunnel, in the pitch black. Not something you could do in America - someone would get sued. It was so weird. We are talking this tunnel is long and absolutely pitch black. When I went down there it was quite busy, so there people in front of me, and behind me. And we are all bumping into one another as people stop and go. The people in front of me were a tour of older folks. I always knew when I was going to bump into the lady in front of me because the top of her hair would tickle my chin. And most of the ladies were laughing so hard, bumping into one another and tripping over each other. So when I touched the key to paradise, all I could here was laughter. I definately agree that laughter is the key to paradise. After that I looked at my watch and saw I had only 30 minutes before my train left, so we trotted back to the car and headed straight for the station. I jumped out of the car, pulled my suitcases out of the back, said a quick goodbye and skidattled off as quick as I could. I missed the train by 10 seconds. I'm not kidding! I cried for about 3 minutes and then sighed heavily and sat down and ate a pumpkin muffin. Missing the train meant I missed the connection. But when I got to Nagano, I walked right up to another train bound for Hamamatsu and we were off in no time. Unfortunately I picked the Japan's slowest train. This train stopped every 100 feet for another station, and frequently the stops were for 10 or 15 minutes. The Shinkansen takes an hour to get to Hamamatsu. The connection I planned to take would have taken 80 minutes. This train took 2 and half hours. I watched a train pull up across the platform from us bound for Hamamatsu and it left again before we pulled out. We sat there for another 10 minutes. Boy, did I pick the wrong train. But it eventually pulled into familiar territory. I hopped off that train, pulled me and all my stuff over to the local train and 12 minutes later I was at Hikuma station. I then wheeled my suitcase, my tote bag and a shopping bag filled with souveniers through the back streets of Sode-Cho to the aparto. It was a nice cool, beautiful autumn night. Things instantly seemed much better. But I am one tired puppy.

Monkeys and Feet in Hot Water

Yeah! I got to visit the hot springs at Jigokudani, where the monkeys have become smart enough to take advantage of the hot water and warm themselves. I have always wanted to do this, but I didn't think that even though I was going to be so close by, that I would be able to visit them. First of all it needs to be cold enough for them to enjoy getting in hot water. In the middle of August they don't find it so enjoyable. Also you have to hike in a bit to get to this onsen, and I didn't think little Kei-chan would be up for the hike. Well, I didn't have to worry. It was plenty chilly enough for the monkeys to enjoy the water, and as Kei is a little monkey herself she totally enjoys the hike and visit. Since Tomone had to carry Kei, that meant I got to carry his camera. And that means I got to take pictures with his camera. So between being at the Monkey Park and using and awesome camera I was one giggling, happy little camper. After I exhausted myself at the park we drove to the nearby town. Kei had fallen asleep, so Tomone stayed in the car with her while Yuwen and I walked around the old onsen town. Then we stopped at the foot only hot springs and toasted are tired, cold tootsies. Then we headed back to Nagano, downloaded the bazillion pictures I took and then headed off to an Italian Restaurant and gorged ourselves on pasta and pizza and dessert. Happy Happy Day.

Harvest Time

Another day of sightseeing in the Nagano area was today's agenda. We went to the nearby small town of Obuse. It's a town famous for artwork, produce and pottery. The area is known for it's apples, and as now is apple harvest time the town was hopping. We started out with a visit to a temple famous for it's painted ceiling. Then we headed for the central downtown and had lunch. This area is also famous for chesnuts, so lunch was at a well known chesnut rice restaurant. Then much shopping ensued. Then we met up with Haruo, another friend I was introduced to last summer. He was supposed to be coming to visit me, but that was just a pretext for visiting Kei. We then visited the local art museum and although it was quite nice we spent most of our time in the lounge letting Kei let off some steam. She is ten months old and just starting to stand and walk with assistance. She is really a doll (I can see why Haruo comes to visit her) and smiles at the drop of a hat. But she still needs a little time to bang things, squeal loudly and play lots of peak-a-boo. After a little more shopping we headed back to Nagano and killed a little time at the apartment before heading for their favorite lite chinese cuisine restaurant. It is a delightful little airy house located on a windy little street. They serve 7 courses and there is only one sitting and 12 tables yet very reasonable. We arrived at 6:30 and the last course was served just before 9:00. Quite an experience. As we started to drive away, an old lady came trotting out of the restaurant and down the steep steps waving to us. Apparently Haruo had put on her husband's shoes, instead of his own. I thought that was just about the funniest thing ever. Not something we worry about in the US. Haruo had no time to spare before the last train back to Tokyo. At least we assume so he made it, as we dropped him off at the station and haven't heard from him. We hope he's not sleeping on some bench covered with newspapers. An amazing note to add: I have eaten all my meals since arriving with chopsticks, and I have actually gotten enough food from the bowls to my mouth to keep me from starving to death!

My Mother Will be Soooo Jealous

Tomone took me to visit Mori-Shogunzuka, an old burial mound today. And all I could think was "My Mom will be sooo jealous." It was a beautiful fall morning, and Tomone had never visited this site before (Yuwen had to work) and Kei was babbling contentedly. Actually Tomone was really delighted with the place and was happy as could be checking it all out. It was a keyhole shaped tomb on the top of a hill that overlooks the Nagano city valley. The tomb (c. 400 AD) was then covered with a burial mound, and then bricked over with native stone. They have completely excavated the site and returned it to what they suspect it looked like back then, including placing terracotta fire pots every few feet along the edges. At the bottom of the mountain they have a really cool museum with an excellent recreation of the inside of the tomb and a recreation of the primitive village that was originally built on the site. Afterwards we went and picked up Yuwen and one of Tomone's grad students and went to their favorite Italian restaurant for lunch. Then it was Tomone's turn to go to work and we 4 girls went shopping. After the imperative trip to the Hyaku Yen shop, we went to the Must-See temple in town, but just as we were about to walk in an announcement played that they were closing. I hadn't taken my camera along due to a mix-up, but I got a chance to use Tomone's. They better check my luggage on the way out, cuz that camera is awsome. We still had a little time to kill before going back to the school to pick up Tomone, so we went to Yuwen's favorite tea shop and had coco and cookies. Then we came back to the apartment and watched Tomone cook dinner. This is a rare site - Japanese Men Don't Cook! A good day was had by all.

Visiting Friends

I am in Nagano, visiting friends I made in Japan on my first trip here. Tomone and Yuwen. Tomone is Japanese, and Yuwen is Chinese and they met in Athens, Georgia. They have a 10 month old cherub of a daughter named Kei (pronounced Kay). They are unbelievably nice folks. And their English is good enough they get my jokes. And on occasion I slip back into my more natural speech pattern around them, which may be the most wonderful part of my whole visit here. I was really tired when I arrived, so Yuwen, Kei and I sat around the apartment and took it easy. As I may have mentioned before, Japanese kids think I am funnier than all get-out, and Kei is no exception. Tomone says he has never heard her laugh so long or so loud. It`s a gift. They have an electric rug - like an electric blanket, but a room sized rug. I love it! I wonder if they would notice if I stuck it in my suitcase on the way out the door?

Same the World Over

Some things are the same the world over. Todays photoshoot just goes to prove it.


Cats will find the softest, warmest spot to lie in, even if that spot is a towel that blew down on a neighbors tin roof.

Old people feed the ducks. And discuss things loudly, like the nice folks.


Males puff themselves up to attract females. Even crows.

A bit of artwork in a park is always welcome.

Leaves turn colors.

The sun sets.

Back to the Simple Life

Today was back to the simple life. No crazy costumes, no Trick-or-Treating, no parades, no pictures. I was able to ride my bike to the early classes again. Just simple, normal everyday stuff. Except for the fact I'm living in friggin Japan, that is! It still blows my mind. The streets are still too narrow for two cars. They tear down buildings at the drop of a hat. I can't read the language. God only knows what all those warning signs along the street say. God and everybody who can read Japanese. It's a bit chilly in my apartment and I don't know what the instructions on the various heating appliances say. Or the DVD or VCR or oven or any of the food in the supermarket. And yet, I just sail along and eat and drink and buy things and work and drive. Kind of amazing when you think about it.

Oh Goody, Goody, Goody

This is O'Goodie. Or maybe it is Ogudi. I don't know how he spells his name, I just know he is just about the most helpful person in my life in Japan. He works at the Community Center and he speaks English really well. Whenever there is a big snafu, or I need something clarified or I need something too complicated for charades I ask for O'Goodie. And he makes it happen. Well, most of the time. I asked for a discount on the Salsa class I'm taking, cuz well, I'm not just a teacher there, I practically live there. But no amount of begging, pouting or giving dirty looks got me my discount. But otherwise he is a real angel. Well, actually he is a Power Ranger. On Weekends he works at the local amusement park in their action show as a Power Ranger. When he's not saving my butt at the community center, he's off to save the world. Cool.

Hamamatsu Tour

The Suzukis were in good form today. They decided to show me some different parts of Hamamatsu. I finally visited the castle! I was warned in advance, by just about everybody I ever met in Hamamatsu, that Hamamatsu was not spectacular. Some people even laugh when I mentioned I wanted to visit it. It is pretty small, only a replica built in the 50's, and the worst crime of all, it is made of cement. But it has some museum pieces inside and the park in which it is situated is really quite lovely. The leaves are just starting to turn, in a few weeks it should be wonderful. And Mikio had two near disasterous falls in the span of 20 minutes. Yoko and I were ready to make him go back and sit in the car after the second fall. He scared us to death. It was pretty windy when we got to the park, but sunny. By the time we left the tempeture had dropped to an uncomfortable place, so we decided not to eat lunch there. Instead they drove me to another park. It wasn't exactly much warmer there, but we were starving. It was a nice, if small and hilly park. And when the sun decided to reappear it was quite nice. Yuuma and I played some catch. Real live catch, with baseball mitts and everything. I can't remember the last time I did that...High School, maybe? Then we headed to Hamamatsu Self-Defence Air Base. It's their Military, but they won't admit it. They believe in peace, it is not a military. Or at least that's what most Japanese people have told me. The Suzukis call it the Military, though, they don't sugarcoat things. It's one of the reasons I really like hanging out with them. It was quite a humorous experience. They have this big Air Park Museum there that explains all things aeronautical, it's a really cool setup, I was quite impressed. At the start of the museum the Yoko grabbed me an electronic tour guide setup. It's sort of like one of those English Tape Guided Tour things you can get all over Europe, but not quite. You hang this digital contraption around your neck, clip on the ear piece and then when you walk into a certain zone it tells you about the stuff in that area. Except it didn't always work. And there I was trying to figure out with aid of a map where to go for the next announcement. But I couldn't always find the right location, so I was walking around like a human antennae trying to find the next hotspot. I looked like a robot who was lost...walking up to one thing and then backing away and trying another. The Suzukis thought I was a riot. It only worked about half the time. Sure hope their military works better than this electronic guide. And then we walked into the hanger with lots of different planes. And I'm playing around with the gadget and I look up and hanging right infront of me is a WWII Zero.
It's like being in the grocery store and running smak-dab into the Big, Bad Wolf. All our lives this little plane has been an emblem of evil. I was shocked that I could even identify it, but I could. It was very surreal. The hanger is so cheerful and we were all having such a good time and there was a Zero hanging overhead. And the most ironic part was when Yuuma climbed into one of the big F-1's on display and I got him to pose and he automatically gave the peace sign. It was hysterical. And sweet.

The World's Worst Geisha

I made the world's worst Geisha. I think I looked more like a ghost of a failed geisha. But the Japanese thought I was wonderful (at least to my face). But it is all over now. I'm finished with Halloween Parties. Yeah. I'll drink to that. I am so exhausted. The apartment is a minor disaster, with costumes and Halloween items, craft supplies, papers and books and dishes everywhere. It looks like a circus threw up in here. Between the parties and the lingering cold I am one exhausted old lady. I also had a meeting with a potential new student. It went well, we'll start classes in two weeks. And I had Salsa class. On top of the last 4 parties. I have to say I pretty much came to the end of my patience today. Lots of kids turned down the face painting. My Let's Go one class eventually saw the light, and they all went for it. But the Let's Go 3 classes just did me in. I eventually said "Forget it" and told them Goodbye. We still had 15 minutes to go in the class, but I was just sick of threatening, cajoling and begging. But it's all over and I have a trip to Nagano planned next week, I have the heating pad turned on, NPR is playing over the internet and I have a Bitchy Turtle (my current favorite alcoholic drink) in my hand. Aaaahhhhhhhhh.

Not Exactly a Playboy Bunny

Today I was a bunny. You certainly couldn't call me a playboy bunny, but I did get lots of ogling. Friday's classes are the most fun, and I'm pretty sure the pictures speak for themselves.

Princess for a Day

Just more Halloween Parties. Here's a few of the best of the photos.

Clowning Around

Today I only had one party to do. And well, it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. These are my immature 4 year olds (isn't that redundant?). And apparently the mothers didn't understand to bring them in costume. And one little boy who was absent last week screamed bloody murder when he saw me, and never was able to come into the room. But a couple of the older kids went for the dressing up in hats ideas. And when I told them "no hat, no candy" some of the others relented. Of course by the end I couldn't get them to give the hats back. Then I had to hurry and clean up the party and myself to get to Pulstec and pretend to be professional.

Natalie is a Witch

Well, we all knew that! So I held 3 Halloween Parties in my 3 kids classes. The first class went great. All the moms brought some sort of costume, even if it was just some cat ears. But some got a lot more involved. One mom sewed a princess dress for her little girl. I went over some Halloween vocabulary and had them color a Jack-O-Lantern picture. Then I taught them the most important part of Halloween, which is Trick-or-Treating. I gave them hand printed trick-or-treat bags and went outside the door. Then each one knocked at the door, I opened it up and they said "Trick-or- Treat" (or Trick-or-Eat, or Bick a beet, or whatever they could manage) and I put 5 pieces of candy in their little bags. When that was finished we did a little costume parade through the lobby singing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider". This party was a big hit with everyone - kids, moms, me, the office staff and strangers walking through. The next party was a flop. I hadn't told this class that we would be doing a Halloween party last week, so there was no costumes, nobody wanted to wear the hats I brought or face painting. It just sucked, but it was my own fault by forgetting to warn them. Then my Let's Go 2 class was awesome. I walked in in my costume and they
roared with delight. We did the Halloween vocab and then I gave them blank brown bags and they drew their own Treat Bags, while I handed out costumes. They were hesitant. But all I had to do was say, "Then no candy" and they started fighting over the costumes. We did the whole Trick-or-Treat thing. We got done a little late, but most of them stayed around to help me pack up everything. A few girls even asked begged for a second face painting. A very exhausting day, but a good sort of exhausting

Drugs, Naps and Other Scary Things

Uhhhh, remember my last post which mentioned I was going to bed early...well that didn't really happen. When I went to lie down, that started the a waterfall from my nose. It was horrible, and the pain in my head was nearly unbearable. So I got up after awhile and watched Monsters, Inc. Seemed appropriate with my life revolving around the old Orange and Black at the moment. So I tried the sleeping event again. Nope, no good. So I got up and walked to the convenience store in search of decongestant. Well, you can buy alot of things at Family Mart, such as sushi, ice cream, liquor, boxer shorts, neck ties, socks, porn movies, but you can't buy decongestant. So I came home and tried watching another movie...this time it was Robin Williams Live on Broadway. I added some futons to my sleeping pads and a whole bunch of pillows to keep my head elevated. I did fall asleep at about 1 am. I awoke at 4. I had slept in such a way as to keep my mouth open, so I could breath, but it pushed my jaw out of wack. When I awoke my jaw joint was throbbing and obviously swollen. So I ate an egg sandwich, took my very last Aleve and finished off Robin Williams. I spent my day, napping, going in search of drugs, shopping and doing more Halloween Party preparations. I did find some decongestant which has just kicked in in the last hour so I am not nearly so drippy. I'm sure I'm still a drip, but my nose has stopped running at least. Wish me luck with the parties. I'm gonna need it.

I hab a code in by nose

Well, I guess walking 10 blocks in the rain last night gave me a cold. I know you aren't suppose to catch a cold from getting a bit wet in the rain. But I'm starting to believe it. I have a runny nose, a sore throat and a slight fever. So I spent most of the day overdosing on Vitamin C in a multitude of forms. I would switch from juice with added packets of Vitamin C that were left in the apartment to lemon herbal tea with honey. I did go to the hyaku yen stores today because I had to. I am to give 16 Halloween parties next week. And I haven't even been able to find any orange construction paper. I found orange paint and glue sticks. I didn't find the candy I want to give out either. The stores are already starting to fill up with Christmas items here, but very little Halloween stuff. Yes, I said Christmas.

The Hello Kitty Christmas display at the hyaku yen

So it looks like I'll have to go searching tomorrow as well. But I could only handle shopping for about an hour today. So I came home, took a nap and spent the remainder of the day coloring Halloween bulletin board items and listening to nearly everything available on NPR. I think I'm going to make an early night of it and go to bed now. Goodnight y'all.

Riding in Cars with Strangers

So, I picked a really bad day to ride my bike to work. The weather report said a chance of showers. Well, it has said that for the last 4 days and nada. And it was lovely at 10:00 am on my way to the community center. But it started to rain at 3:08 in the afternoon. And rained steadily for the next 6 hours. So after a long day at work, topped off by a strenuous Salsa Dancing class, riding home in the dark and the rain didn't exactly sound appealing. I'm not really all that concerned about getting a little wet, especially on my way home. But I also have to cart around all my lesson materials everyday. And today I had 3 different aged class. So my totebag was full of lots of paper products. So when I was offered a ride I agreed. Now, Nori isn't truly a stranger. I didn't know his name until tonight, but he is in the intermediate Salsa class, right before the beginer class that I am officially signed up for. However, if my private lesson is canceled, like it was tonight, then I attend the intermediate class as well. Maybe I should have been more wary of such an offer as the ride home, but it is really hard to be afraid of someone as dorky as Nori. He is pretty tall for a Japanese guy. And it is so funny to watch him dance. He has NO rhythm. But he is so earnest, and tries sooo hard. But he really is hopeless. He is rather sweet. Hard to be afraid of a sweet Japanese uncoordinated dork. I made him let me off several blocks from my apartment, though. As much so that he wouldn't get lost, and ...well, I just don't want strange men knowing where I live. Even if they are rather sweet Japanese uncoordinated dorks.

Happily Idiotic

I was gonna name this entry Maiming a Bush. Then I thought Don't Know My ABCs and Maiming a Bush. Then I thought Don't Know My ABCs, Senility and Maiming a Bush. Boy if I were smarter this would have been a bad day, but I'm happily stupid. I was late getting out of the apartment so I had to haul ass to the community center. It turns out that riding your bike can be faster than driving...you just need a good reason to peddal like crazy. Earlier this week, when I was teaching the 4 year olds, I was handing out the Y is for Yarn pages and realized I'm a bloomin' idiot. Last week we did V is for Vest. Excuse me Sensei Smartypants, what happened to W and X. Uuuuuuh, I forgot. So today was the other 4 year old class. As I sat started to get my lesson materials out of my Hot-Pink tote bag, I realized I didn't even bring the Y is for Yarn pages, or the Yarn Art project I had prepared. So there I am, scrambling around, trying to figure out what to do for an hour. I go to the front desk and ask if they have any coloring books I can copy pages out of? The lovely staff looks around everywhere for me but didn't find anything. I'm pretty sure they had no clue what I was asking for, so it was a pretty fruitless search. I remember I happen to have a cool Halloween writing sheet in my bag and get them to copy that for me. I'm not sure these kids have ever tried writing ABC's but today seems like a good day to try. I was also working on some other Halloween materials and get them to copy that, so the kids can color. I also had a beach ball that I was using in the babykids class earlier still blown up. So I pulled enough things out of my ass to fill an hour. Also in one of my favorite classes the babys were unusually cranky. They are usually dolls. And my very favorite student was yasumi (absent). Then on my way home on my bike I crashed. I had the basket so loaded down with lesson materials and Halloween Party supplies that the bike was pulling heavily to one side. I crashed right into a row of bushes. I did major damage to the bushes, but I only have a few scratches and bruises and a humiliated ego. But the day was such a beautiful autumn day, and I soooooo love riding my bike that my mood never really took a hit. I guess I'm just too dumb to be upset. Of couse the screwdriver I made myself when I got home helped a little, too.

Thursday Demon Babies Class

Thursday afternoon babybrat classes was particulary awful today. Luckily one of the evil trinity was absent today. Hana the Horrid Hellion was absent. And therefore Yuri the Yucky was not nearly so out of control. But Sogo the Spoiled was in particularly spectacular form today. He cried for half an hour straight. Not just cried but screamed and bawled for half an hour. I normally just talk right over crying babies. They usually give up the ghost after no more than 5 minutes. If nothing else they get bored of crying. But not Sogo the Spoiled. This was an all-out tantrum. His mother has been excusing his bratty behavior at previous classes because she is pregnant. And according to her the new baby is making Sogo the Spoiled "heartsick". Heartsick, Schmartblick! He hasn't any idea what having a new baby in the house will do. I'm sure he is upset because some big change is coming, and of course that is scary. But he's 3 years old. He is just using tantrums to get what he wants. And it's working, so why shouldn't he throw tantrum? But I did have to tell her I couldn't continue to yell over him...implying she needed to take the demon seed elsewhere. She got the hint and took him home. But by then most of the decent kids had checked out mentally. Although my headache went away, I was never able to get the class back on track. On the other hand, my Let's Go 1 class went wonderfully! Thank heavens! I also got to ride my bike to work, because the weather was lovely. Yippee!

I was stood up!!!

Boy am I pissed. I was stood up tonight. Not one of my students showed up for my 7:00 class at Pulstec. Now there are only 5 guys signed up for the class. Two have never showed up since I started teaching it. Therefore their absences couldn't be blamed on me, as they have never had my teaching inflicted on them. But I'm really hurt by the other 3 guys. I thought we were getting along really well, and that they enjoyed the conversation class. It could be just a coincidence. But I'm pouting anyway. Harumph!

Work Therapy

Aaaah, work therapy. Feeling a bit better today. Going to work is a great distraction from Down-in-the-Dumps-itis. It also helps to be surrounded by giggling 3 year olds. During one part of every class we pretend to eat something, drink something and go to sleep. While we are all lying on the floor pretending to sleep I frequently make piggy like snoring sounds. Today's class goes crazy during the snoring! I am apparently the Robin Williams of the Hamamatsu preschool set. Does tend to lift one's spirits. Later in the class I had some more good chuckles. I go around to each child while they are coloring a page from the alphabet book and point to today's letter and ask "what's this?" This week is X. Then I point to a picture of the coordinating object (in this case it's an X-ray) and ask "what's this?" I got some interesting answers today including "My name is Yuui" (wrong question sweetie!) and "banana". Keeps you smiling. But on the other hand I realized I deleted all the photos I took last week in my classes. I am just sick to my stomach. Uuuughhh!

Rainy Days and Mondays

If "Rainy Days and Mondays always gets me down" than today was a double whammy. I went walking first thing this morning to try and walk out the cramps in my legs. I am still cursing a particular Brazilian Salsa teacher at the moment. My calves are killing me, and have made it almost impossible to sleep. So I walked this morning. And since I was still out of yoghurt I thought I would stop by the coffee shop and few blocks away and see what they offered. And as the light was good I took my camera along to document the neighborhood. When I got to the "Coffee Parlour" I found that they don't open until 8:00 so I had some time to kill. So I snapped away with my poor little, already out of date digital camera. After I returned to the aparto it began to drizzle. And I just sunk into a melancholy mood. I watched "While You Were Sleeping". Walked to the grocery store in the rain. Read some. Played some computer games. And generally stayed in a downer mood. When I went to the convinience store (known as conbini here) and I got the damn photo copier to work once, but not twice I left in tears. Just more than I could take.

Zoo Notes

Today the Suzukis took me to the Toyohashi Zoo. Toyohashi is a neighboring town, just down the coast. I'm really torn by zoos. Many do good things for preserving animal species. But the compassionate side of me is easily dissuaded into seeing what they do wrong, more than what the do right. Some of the exhibits at this zoo seemed more than adequate. And my favorite wild animals, the rhinos, seemed okay. And most of the hooved animals seemed to have plenty of the things they needed. But then again, I don't know a great deal about these guys. The zoo was in good repair, and all the cages were quite clean and sanitary. But it was obvious to me that the elephant was miserable, the lioness was going stark raving mad (while the male lion seemed to think life was not bad), the monkeys were bored (one actually painted his window with his own feces, and I do mean painted) and even the maccaws had nothing to play with. I didn't try and preach to the super-generous Suzukis about the problems with the zoo, but I did point out a couple of the worst and best habitats at the zoo. But in general I had a good time. Attached to the zoo was an amusement park. I convinced Yuuma to go on the roller coaster - he's quite the chicken, so I was really impressed when he agreed. It was a pretty tame roller coaster, but we both enjoyed it.
Spending time with Mikio, Yoko and Yuuma was great. Really nice people, without being too sugary sweet. At one point today Yoko was teasing me pretty bad, and I asked her if she knew what a particular hand gesture meant - she did, and she loved it!

Quick Links

Two good links I wanted to share with the world are:

1) The Daily Show with John Stewart interview with George Clooney on the Daily Show. Damn that man is funny and brilliant as well as being oh-so-beautiful. I refer to Mr. Clooney in this case. John may be brilliant and funny, too, but he doesn't make me giddy like George does.

2) NPR's radio show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me". This week's show had me laughing so hard I was snorting my gin drink out my nose. And that is pretty painful, but I never quit laughing.

Off My Game

Man, today was I off. Teaching my classes is alot like performing in a play, especially my babykid classes. This is the first day of teaching a new letter - X is for X-Ray. And I didn't really have anything good to do for that. And the last project of the class had to be cancelled. I had planned to have them do leaf rubbings, but I didn't collect any leaves (don't really think many have fallen). So I pulled out an emergency plan and did shapes again, only this time I focused on the circle. But it just didn't really go well. The students weren't great, but they also weren't demon seeds either. It was me. I was just off. I was alot like doing a dress rehearsal for a play...awkward, ugly and gives you a sick, creepy feeling afterwards. Even my older classes were yucky today. I didn't have my usual breakfast of yoghurt and granola. That must have been it! It certainly couldn't be my fault. I'm awsome. Right?

Beware of Brazilians

So Magda, the Portugese/Italian/Black African salsa dancer, and I had lunch again today at the Indian restaraunt (could we make this anymore international?). I think Magda is great, she speaks a billion languages and is a kick in the pants. But her English is pretty horrendous. And she makes the majority of her money teaching English. Of course I only speak English, can understand some Spanish (but please don't ask me to speak it) and have a smattering of Japanese. So I really have no room to talk. But Magda makes me laugh. She starts every other sentance with "For example"...even when it is totally not an example! But today she told me to "Beware of Brazilians"! Wow! Okay? I'm pretty sure she has Brazilian citizenship, so I guess she should know. I think she was warning me against one particular Brazilian girl who had contacted me about private lessons. I gather this Brazilian girl is flaky, and not reliable about paying. I was told to "Front your money soon". I think that means to get the money up front. Or maybe I need to turn all my bills facing the same direction. Who know with Magda?

Long Time, No See

The Japanese LOVE this phrase. I hear it everyday! If I haven't seen someone in over a week they are guaranteed to use this phrase. This is an odd little phrase that we all know so well, but can't remember the last time we actually used it. I start laughing every time somebody uses it now. It is like a running joke I have with myself. The people around me just cock their heads and look strangley at me. Then they just shake their heads and say something I can't understand - probably something about how foreigners are all wacko.

My First Catch

Let me introduce Shosei and Yukia. I reeled them in tonight. I posted a "Will Chat for Money" sign at the Foreigners Welcome Wagon office (HICE - Hamamatsu International Communications and Exchange). My email has been pretty busy since then. I normally get one or two nibbles a day. Some are hoping I will be their friend, and others can't afford me and others just aren't available when I have free time. But this couple are the first people to sign up. I have a couple of meetings with possible students in the next couple of days, so there may be more soon. Shosei and Yukia were really adorable. They are taking an "English Class", but were looking for a conversation class to add to it. They want to improve their English skills because they really like to travel. They have a trip planned to Pheonix over the New Year's holiday. I haven't the heart to tell them I don't like Pheonix, but I can expound on the virtues of Arizona in general. They will be coming to visit (and leave money) every other week. I can't believe I'm getting paid to ramble on and on...but I am!

W is for Water

I'm sure you have all been waiting and wondering what this weeks lesson would be. Wait no further as I unveil the wonderous "W is for Water" lesson plan. We have already had R is for Rain, where I sprayed them with water. So teaching "Water" seemed pretty tough. After much tweaking of plans I have ended with the following lesson...I say "Do I have any water in my bag?", and I look in my bag...No water. Then I say "Oh, I know where there is some water!" upon which time I walk to the two buckets of water I have filled up and set in place and covered with an upside down plastic drawer from my closet. I place the drawer in the middle of the room and fill it up with the two buckets of water. Then, I have a couple of options depending on the size of the class, the time I have and the personality of the class. One option is to put a bunch of items I have collected into the water, such as sea shells, a rubber duck and a bath turtle, a floating lilly, some plastic fish and a wind-up penguin with a broken leg. I then give the kids little fish nets and they scoop the items out of the water. Really, they think this is great fun. The other option is two place a big towel at one end of the drawer, roll up my pant legs and wade through the water. I then invite the kids to do the same, and they have to say the word "Water" before I let them out and dry their feet for them. Once again they think this is sooooo neat. And the 3rd option is to do both activities. Also later on in the class I get out water colors, hand them a photo copy of an outline of a butterfly and show them how to watercolor. This is the first time for many of them to do water colors so they also think this is quite amazing. The picture above is of Ryou. He has a "D" marked next to his name in my attendance book. D stands for Dream Student...as in he is a teacher's dream of a perfect student. He is always well behaved and absolutely loves to learn. He is very willing to try new things and not shy. He also gives me a kiss goodbye when he leaves. Not to mention he is absolutely to cute for words.

Base Basics

Warning: The following is about bodily functions. This material is not suitable for all audiences, although all audiences are subject to the bodily functions so you should get over yourselves.


One of the bigger hurdles I have had to learn to jump while living in Japan is using Japanese toilets. They are different from Western toilets. They are basically porcelain pits. And getting over your fear of peeing differently is not easy. But it is another badge of honor for me. I got over it. Of course it was coming down to getting over it or just not peeing ever again. Or at least holding it until I returned home. Of course my aparto has a western toilet...all houses do. It's the public toilets that are exotic/unusual/weird. Most public bathrooms have at least one Western style commode. But not all! And then there is the Community Center. It has a Western toilet on the 1st and 3rd floor, but not the 2nd or 4th. I have some classes on the 4th floor. One day I needed to use the facilities while I was working on the 4th floor and the question was, "Is it worth it to walk downstairs to the 3rd floor?" Well, I decided I was too lazy to walk downstairs and I would just have to "try something new". There have been plenty of times since when Western potties were just not an option. Like when I was hiking the other day. Hell, I was just thrilled the WC had toilet paper! That is another issue in Japan. Many bathrooms do not provide you with TP. So you learn to accept the travel packets of tissues that they hand out as advertising in front of the train station. I never have any clue as to what these packets advertise, but I always accept such gifts. Now if I could remember to ALWAYS keep a pack with me! Kyoto, that hip-happening-foreigner-friendly-everybodyspeaksEnglish place was the worst place I have been to yet about providing TP. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do, regardless of toilet facilities or ammenities. Just thought you should know the low-down about toilets in case you ever decide to leave whatever civilized world you are living in.

Doing the Shizuoka Shimmy

Today I went on a little daytrip with Junko and Mika. We were chauffeured by Mika's generous husband, Yuki. Yuki has a really nice sports car with all the trimmings, including a really cool navigation screen. He likes to have an excuse to drive his baby anywhere. And with 3 of us paying for gas and tolls he didn't seem to mind at all.


First we went to Shimizu. We were headed for a nice bit of beach that juts out into the ocean and from which you can see Mt. Fuji. The really cool navigation program had us ending up in a pretty seedy neighborhood in the middle of the street. We were probably only a hundred yards from where we needed to be, but we sure as hell couldn't tell. It had us all laughing pretty hard. We winded our way to the proper location without satellite technology and headed for the viewing area. We had already decided it would probably be too hazy to see much of Fuji-san, so we weren't to disappointed when our prediction came true. Here are Junko and Mika pretending to be The Mountain, in case the real one wasn't visable in the picture.


It was a wonderfully tacky little beach park with food stalls and souvenir shops. After getting my feet wet in the ocean and perusing each and every shop we headed into the prefectural capital of Shizuoka. Yuki dropped us off and headed for something more manly, but I think he ended up at a mall. While us girly girls headed straight for someplace we could buy beer. Really. The first restaurant we came across was an organic cafe. That was just too much of a coincidence, but we went ahead and gave it a try. I had the pasta. And it very well may be the best meal I have had here in Japan. The staff was perfect and they had a full bar and a lovely dessert menu. Worked out great. Then it was time for some serious shopping. But the truth is we did more wandering the streets than actual shopping. The weather was lovely. As we were walking around these guys dressed in spacesuits with tvs above their heads came marching towards us. Gotta love Japan. Just as I was ready to take their photos they made a U-turn and headed away. Too bad! Junko and Mika really wanted to go to a certain department store because they were having a temporary Italian market on the top floor. They went to Italy a few years ago and fell in love with all things Italian. No arguments from me! So we wandered around the incredibly packed market and tried all the freebies they were handing out. But what Junko was really looking for Boallo wine. We came across the wine section just as they were opening a bottle to give out free tastes. Cool!


They tried it, but it wasn't their beloved Boallo. But the guys in charge led us to this table they had set up and filled 3 glasses with a very pretty wine. Most of you know I really don't like wine or beer. I prefer the hard stuff - vodka, tequilla, etc. But he was so cute and was explaining this wine to us so earnestly I couldn't really refuse. He showed us the proper way to sniff and coddle it. It was so entertaining, especially since I thought it tasted alot like Boone's Farm. So we sat and laughed and talked about Italy while drinking our wine for awhile. So cutie-patootie brings us a white wine to try next. So I ended up drinking two glasses of free wine. Mark will be so proud. Next stop was a bookstore. Not good news for my pocketbook. This shop had the largest selection of English books I have seen in Japan, outside Tokyo. They even had the latest Joanna Trollope book. That just blew my mind. I restrained myself to only TWO books. More window shopping ensued. It was then time to find some coffee and cake. As we were looking for someplace that was NOT Starbucks (I didn't come to Japan to spend time at Starbucks) we came across the freaky spaceboys again. I think they were advertising satellite or internet or something high tech. But they seemed to be having a great time and really hammed it up for me when I took their pictures.


After the photo-op we found a cafe where we could sit outside and get windblown while we ate our cheesecake. By then it was time to recall our chauffeur and head back to the burg of Hamamatsu. Ain't life grand?

Photo Journal of a Piss-Ant Festival

This is the ad for the Hamamatsu Flower Festival held today:

Hamamatsu Flower Festival 2005 : 36th
Autumn City Greenification Festival

This event celebrates the birth of the new City of Hamamatsu with flowers and greenery
When Oct. 1st & 2nd (Sat.-Sun.) 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (regardless of weather)
Where Act Dori (Including the East Fureai Park)
What Exhibits and sales of flowers and plants, vendor and concession stands, garden and flowerbed product stands, musical concerts among the flowers, free gifts of flower and plant seedlings, and more!
* Just come! No advance notice required.
Greenification Promotion Division (053) 457-2565

First of all, no advance notice required? Gee, thanks, I'm glad I didn't have to RSVP a street festival! And second what a let down. There were about 10 stalls in all. One even had flowers. One sold Raggedy Ann dolls, one sold cell phone charms. And this guy was just a huckster.




He was selling a variety of odd gadgets. One sliced the peel of of gratefruits, and opened the segments so you could eat just the pulp. And he sold hollowed out acorns that would whistle when you blew over thier tops. But he was obviously giving a hilarious spiel about how his items sliced and diced and even caught fish. Doesn't matter the language, you can spot a snake oil salesman when you see one. And the rest of the stalls sold dried fish, or fresh fish, or fish on a stick, or fish deep fried and decorated with ribbons, or ....oh, you get the idea.



The festival was started off with some cool drum playing to attract your attention. Then a bunch of old respectable dignatary geezer types in matching outfits threw motchi (a Japanese sweet) out to the crowd. They had lousy arms and only the people in the first 3 rows got anything.



And the folks from the Kakegawa bird park were there showing off a few owls and one pissy penguin.



There was also this table of high school nerds working these little robots. What that has to do with flowers I'm not sure, but it was amusing.



As I started to walk back to class this dance troupe began, and they were pretty good, I wish I could have stayed.



But that was it. For a town of 800,000 it was pretty lame. I've been to school carnivals that had more going on. Well, on the bright side the weather was lovely and it was a good way to kill some time between classes.