Today was a pretty laid-back kind of day.  My sunflowers are doing amazingly, and now the leaves are getting so close together that I think the bloom will come out soon!  So excited!  I can’t wait.

I was invited to go swimming at Nishigawa beach again, but after our last fiasco there (remember the showers), I chose to skip out and have lunch at Quixote instead.  The invitation was from Hitomi, a woman who pastors a church in Osaka.  She’s super-sweet and will be staying in Shimonoseki as Nakayama-san’s guest through Tuesday.  She and I will probably make a visit to Shimo City University, her alma-mater, before she leaves, so I’m hoping I can see some of my new friends from there.

I went to Quixote, and I usually try to take something with me to have translated…not really translated, but to have the kanji written out into hirigana or even romaji (English letters for the syllables), just in case there aren’t a lot of people there to have a conversation with.  I don’t usually have a problem, especially when Satsuki-san is there, she loves to shaberu (chatter).  But today, only Mitsui-san and Tanabe-san (I finally learned the name of the Too-Tired-Teacher-Who-Used-To-Be-In-Yakuza) were there, so things were pretty low-key…especially as well all sat and ate and watched a Japanese mystery tv-show.  It’s so comfortable there…I really feel like it is my hang-out now.  They have no pretense of show or formality…I am one of the gang now…an unusual member who can’t understand everything and has blonde hair…but a member no less.  After Tanabe-san left, I asked Mitsui-san if he really had been in yakuza…to my disappointment, he said no!  it was a joke.  🙂  Oh well…I guess he really wanted me to think he was exciting.  Instead, he teaches jyu-ku (a type of martial arts).  Alas.

I came home and cross-stitched for a while and then decided to get my yukata on.  I was kind of embarrassed to take the train in my yukata and be seen, walking all the way to the station and on the train and whatnot…I’m already a spectacle.  So, I took a taxi, from the taxi company right next door, to Shin-Shimonoseki Station.  It was pretty expensive, but I felt much more comfortable.  It was funny…I don’t know if Japanese taxi drivers are as talkative with their riders as American cabbies are, but my driver was stand-offish at first and then began asking me all sorts of questions.  I did my best to keep up.  I listen for key words like, “Japan….come…when?”  and “Japan…like?”  and “…eat…?”  I think I did pretty well as there was little awkward silence and whenever I just didn’t have enough clues to give any kind of relative answer, I resorted to my “wakarimasen. Nihongo-wa mutsukashi-desu”. (I don’t understand. Japanese is difficult. (to which the driver, and anyone else, would retort, “Mutsukashi-ne!” trans. Yeah it is!))  The “eat” question was a shot in the dark, but when I started listing things I like to eat and don’t like to eat, the conversation kept going, so I think I was alright.

When I arrived to Shin-Shimo-eki, I called Mika-chan and we walked around the station until we found each other.  Then Ruthie and Amy (teachers from Baiko) arrived via train and then we hopped into Mika’s car and drove out to Toyoura district of Shimonoseki.  We bought this really great carbonated drink where you have to pop the top and release this carbonated ball into the bottle, so it gets super-fizzy.  We also got Yakitori and then found a good spot for the fireworks.  Little did we know that the firework shows usually last about an hour.  We watched them through the second “finale” and then discussed the varying images of different countries and cultures we have based on multi-media, and how it is such a skewed vision of what the culture really is.  We decided that people are the same wherever you go in the world, but because of the media, people develop a kind of  exotic view of other cultures.  The fireworks had by this time gone through their 4th “finale” and we decided we were hot so we bought snowcones.  Mine was peach flavored.  We taught Mika-chan how Americans view fireworks with the standard “OOoooooOOOo”‘s and “AaaaaaAAAAAahhh”‘s.  We did that a couple times for fun and Mika got a kick out of it.  By the time we finished our snowcones, the fireworks were in their 10th’s session, about to go into the finale when suddenly, from behind us, we heard a great commotion.  We turned to see a large number of black-suited men surrounding a person.  People were commenting all around us and the black-suited men were shouting out orders and pushing people away.  Ruthie thought it was a celebrity of some sort.  I thought it was the yakuza.  We finally distinguished that it was Shinzo Abe!  The former Prime Minister of Japan!

  Someone must have told him that there were gaijin standing nearby because without looking he bee-lined to us and shook our hands asking how we are doing and where we are from.  He even stopped long enough for a photo-op!  I didn’t notice, but Amy said that other people were taking our picture too!  Hah.  After just a few minutes, he moved on, but then we saw his wife and talked with another younger man who spoke great English.  I think he was one of the entourage.  By the time the initial shock of what had happened wore off, we realized that we missed the final finale of the fireworks show.  Oh well…we had a much greater show!

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=133255&l=c287d&id=500635206

FYI.  I was not involved in the earthquake which struck northern Japan.  All’s well in my neck of the woods.  We’ve had a few tremors since I’ve been here, but I have yet to feel a one of them.  Northern Japan seems to be the more volatile of locations…therefore, I am glad to be living in the south.

Things I have learned in the last several days:

The Japanese enjoy quick-witted phrases as much as the general American…ie. after sharing the “awkward turtle” with my new friends, they informed us that socially awkward people are called “KY”.  It comes from two words meaning, “can’t read the air”.  When they are wanting to express someone as “jumping the gun” they say that he (usually it is the men who are impatient…hahahaha….juuuuust joking!) is “flying”.  Also, we told them about XYZ, which they throroughly enjoyed, especially after learning it is from “eXamine Your Zipper.”  They shared with us their expression for such an event which literally translated means, “your window of society is open.”

The Japanese think that cheese with rice is gross…no matter that eggs and veggies and other such goodness are included in the concoction…so long as cheese and rice are in the mix…it’s a no-go.

My friendly neighborhood restaurant might just decide what the lunch special is based on the days that I usually eat there.  It’s a big might…but the evidence is weighing heavily in my favor.

Japanese music arcade games are sooooo muuuuuuch fun!  Kind of like DDR, but with big Japanese drums and flashing colored buttons and guitars…yeah, pretty cool. It’s even more fun when you don’t know the songs at all….hah!

I don’t like to cross-stitch when a pattern requires you to use three strands per stitch (for the whole piece) instead of a general one strand or two strands.  It makes for a long stitching time…good thing I’m free for most of the summer.

That’s all.  Have a great day!

  Here is a great anecdote for you today.  My friends, Ruthie (teacher from Iowa, working at Baiko HS) and Jen (teacher from Canada…used to work here at the Center but now teaches in Kumamoto) and I went to Hikoshima beach this afternoon.  We were going to take the bus, but when Ruthie asked if the bus stopped by the beach, the driver shook his head vigorously and said loudly, “NO!” and shut the doors, driving off.  Ruthie was angry.  So we took a cab and split the fare.  When we got into the taxi, Ruthie (whose Japanese is incredible for only living here for 2 yrs) told the driver what had happened and he said that it was ridiculous…that bus stops almost directly in front of the beach.  Even more angry now, we sat on our way to the beach, when we passed the very bus that would not take us, stopping just one block short of the beach.  It was pretty funny for Jen and me as we didn’t really care what mode of transportation we took, just so long as it was fast and air conditioned.

  As soon as we stepped onto the parking lot, a man picking up garbage stopped us and asked where we were from.  Ruthie and I answered we were from America.  Jen said she was from Canada.  He then told us that he was glad we came to this beach and that if we wanted to use the showers, they were 100 yen per person, and they were only open until 6pm, like the beach (mind you, it was about 3pm at this moment).  We nodded and thanked him and went to stake out a spot on the sand.  It’s a man-made beach, so the sand is still pretty rough and there’s not a lot of wildlife.  In fact, the most wildlife we saw was amongst 6 teenage boys who had decided to cover one of their fellows to his neck in sand and leave him there…occasionally pouring water on his head to cool him off as he yelled out.  We were powerless.  I brought no swimsuit to Japan, but was content to wade along the edge with my jeans rolled up past my knees.  After a while, the other two got tired of the water and we went to our towels to dry off and eat potato chips (pizza flavored, and then salt and lime flavored…the second kind is a new favorite for me…they are called Sicilian chips, hah).

  They were playing some great mood music, some of which added to the Sicilian feel, on the intercom across the beach (again…it’s a man-made beach, with all the luxuries).  Out of nowhere, the music cuts off and a man’s voice comes on the speaker.  It says, “This is contact to the Canadian (awkward pausing).  The beach will be close at 6 o’clock. (awkward pausing)  If you want use shower please be careful of time. (more awkward pausing, with the general noises one makes when searching for the next words to say)  It’s ok? (really awkward pausing)  Thank you.”  Needless to say, it was obvious we were being watched.  Badly holding our laughter in, we look to the office building and see someone standing at the window, probably holding binoculars to their eyes.  We were in histerics at this point.  We had our own personal intercom announcement.  What made it more awkward was that we were the only non-Japanese on the beach, and there was no Japanese translation given, so it was obviously meant for us. 

  Not only that, but maybe 30 minutes later, the same man, with a friend came to our towels to tell us that the shower would close at 6pm, just like the beach, and that it was now 4:30.  We sat for a little while longer, then went back to the water to wash the sand off and cool down…then we decided to go.  We went up to the building to use the free faucets to wash our feet off, and suddenly the man poked his head out of the window to ask if we would use the showers now.  We politely declined and took off for the bus stop.  It was one of the most awkward moments I’ve had here in Japan, but one that I hope to treasure for the rest of my life.

Ok, so Promise_Sing tagged everyone she knows to list 6 random things about themselves…and since she knows me…I thought I better do it too.  So, here we go:

1.  I love strawberry rhubarb pies…but more than that, I love to munch on a raw rhubarb shoot…yummy.

2.  I wear flip flops as long as I can all year round.

3.  I just made a list of some of the cities I want to see from around the world…most of them are obscure:  ie. Muktinath, Nepal; Sepik Iwam (river valley), Papua New Guinea; Irkutsk, Russia; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Djibouti, Djibouti; Dohnavur, India; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; and Yangshuo, China.

4.  Like Pam, but not really…I sang a duet with my mom in church when I was 2, and have been singing ever since.

5.  I can’t stand the texture of certain foods, but I love the taste of them…like shrimp and mushrooms.

6.  I can say “hello”, “thank you”, and “goodbye” in about 10 different languages (the ones below plus German, Italian, Korean, and Tagalog)…and I can hold a short conversation in 6 languages (English, French, Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, and Japanese) 🙂  Proficient in only one: English heh. Oh, and I can read New Testament Greek

There you go…hope that was random enough for you 🙂

I really don’t like rain.  I don’t like being in it.  I don’t like it when it’s going on around me…but I love thunderstorms and lightning…and the smell of rain.

  Today, it rained for the first time in a week or so, and it’s been so hot, that I welcomed it.  Walking in the somewhat cooler morning, watching dragonflies dart and flit all around me, it started to sprinkle.  And then, it was a steady shower of rain.  I have begun carrying my umbrella with me at all times, not just because of the rain, but for sun protection as well.  I quickly pulled it out and was sheltered for the rest of my walk.  After a few moments, when the newness of the rain had just worn off, it hit me.  A sweet fragrance snuck into my nose and it was new all over again.  It’s like the ground itself sighs, and the sweetness from the roots of all the flowers and plants comes bursting out and dances with the drops of rain.  Before too long, the rain lost its intensity and then became but a memory.  But the smell was still fresh and aromatic…compounded by the melody of some pigeons surrounding a haphazardly-formed puddle…it was a special morning; as gentle and precious as God reaching down and holding my hand while we took a stroll.  Soon afterwards, the clouds split apart and were followed by the deep blue sky.

  Sometimes I’m blown away by the facets of living in a foreign country where the people look so different from you.  Sometimes it’s annoying, others endearing…and others just, interesting.  Recently, I’ve been interested in how friendly people become, simply because I’m a foreignor…a blonde gaijin.  I had dinner at a Korean restaurant last night with Mika-chan, and as we were waiting to be seated, people would walk in the door, or out the door…but they would always stop and bow a little, or smile, or say hello to me, before going on their way.  A few times, Mika said, “Do you know them?”  I just say nope…they are a new friend.  She’d laugh and we’d go on with our conversation, only to be interrupted by another nod and “konbanwa”.  She’s starting to ignore it almost as much as I do.  Even as we sat down, we were laughing about something…and our table was Japanese-style, where you sit on the ground, and the table is low.  We had our own little room, separated from other parties by a sliding paper wall divider.  I leaned back in my exhaustion from laughing, glanced to my right and saw the party next to us staring at me…grinning ear to ear.  Next thing we know, a child pokes her head from the other side, just to get a glimpse of the gaijin.  Apparently she didn’t get a good enough look because she disappeared and ended up on my side.  As soon as I smile wave her, she ducks away and hides from me.  Such is life…we finished our dinner.  It was oishii!!!

  I’m getting in with my Quixote restaurant people.  Yesterday I had lunch there and they were in really good spirits.  There were three other customers in there already…one being Shirayama-san and the Too-Tired-Teacher-Who-Used-To-Be-In-Yakuza, and the last being a gentleman who I have seen before but have never really been introduced to, so I can never remember his name…his English is better than the owners though.  Mr. Too-Tired-Teacher was sitting in my usual seat, and he knew it, so he invited me to sit opposite of him.  As soon as I accepted, he began quizzing me on my Japanese and telling me new words.  I couldn’t write, order, and catch-up with my friends fast enough.  But he finally calmed down.  At last, Mitsui-san was free to talk with me, and he has begun to treat me a lot like a dad.  He put my food down and said, “Please eat all of it.”  🙂  But it was with an authoritative voice and he stepped back into he kitchen area, and leaned on the swinging gate, looking straight at me.  After some time, Mr. Too-Tired-Teacher said some things that I didn’t understand…but he expected me to…and Mitsui-san called him “hene ojiisan” (crazy grandpa)…and everyone burst into laughter…even Mr. TTT.  They have tended to be somewhat straight-laced with me, and this was refreshing as they let go of some reservations.  Mr. T3 left, and they all suggested that I take my usual seat…Mitsui-san even moving my notebook and pen for me as I spun my tray around to my proper place.  Another man pulled up in his car, and they began chattering about who it was.  They motioned to me and then to the window and said, “hene ojiisan”.  I thought it was the same man returning, but it was a new man.  When he had sat down and was waiting for his coffee, he asked me if I knew about Dixieland…and I regretfully replied in the affirmative.  Then, Mitsui-san said that this was hene ojiisan 2!  heh.  Everyone laughed again, and we went on with our food and chatter and then I left for the post office.

  To note, the post office workers were also in their own good humor.  “Itsukurisama” means something like…”ok, I’m leaving now”…or something along those lines…I’ve been told the meaning several times but still haven’t captured it.  Taka and Samantha had been there before I had gone, and when the manager has seen her name, he said, with a big grin, “Itsukurisamansa“.  He chuckled, as did Taka…but when he looked at the ladies working there as well…they had a look of “Oh, not that joke again?!”  Heh.  I guess it’s kind of an older style of joke…the name Samantha is popular from Samantha on Bewitched!.  Just goes to show you…there are groaners in every language.  And I leave you for the day.  Have a great one!

I really want this one:

http://www.snorgtees.com/goaheadmakemyday-p-532.html

This one’s really funny too:

http://www.snorgtees.com/itsokaypluto-p-461.html

And this one is the epitome of perfection:

http://www.snorgtees.com/itsbetterthanbad-p-489.html

Check them out, please.  Hopefully, you will laugh as well.  Tonoshyou! (Enjoy!)

This week is my last week of classes…so I’ve been trying to just play some games and enjoy the time with my students before the summer break.  We’ll be off for about a month and a couple weeks.  I have a few plans for the break.  One, I’m offering private lessons at $20 a pop!  Two, I’m going camping with the youth group at the church.  We’re meeting up with some other churches’ youth groups and it will be for 2 nights, three days. I’m also going to a baseball game!  Softbank Hawks vs. …ok, so the ticket it all in Japanese and I can’t read the kanji for the opposing team…but it’s something like Cebu or whatever.  Finally, I’m going to take a day trip to Hiroshima.  I’m really excited about that.  It was going to be all by myself, but I think that Taka and Aki will go with me and then I’ll come home by myself.  That will be a lot of fun.  I will post my findings and reflections on here when I return…but that will be sometime in August.

  We played Taboo last night in my ladies’ class.  At first, it was too hard, but then they really got into it, so we’ll have to play it again when the other ladies are there (I was missing two of the four students).  Then, in my first ladies’ class on Tuesday, we played a game where everyone writes down two true things and one false thing about themselves.  Everyone else then has to guess which statement is the false one.  My choices were:

1.  I like cats.
2.  I have flown an airplane.
3.  I can wiggle my nose.

Which do you think??  eh?? ehhh???

Another lady, Yumi, had for her statements.

1.  I collect kilts.
2.  I collect picture books.
3.  I collect postcards.

Surprisingly, the false statement is picture books.  After working on some pronunciation, we discussed the profound difference between collecting “kilts” and collecting “quilts.”  Easy mistake, but very funny after we got it all settled.  No worries…she has no strange affection for Scottish plaid articles of clothing.

So, all in all…it’s been a pretty fun week so far.  But, I have my SuperDemons on Friday…so we’ll see how that goes.  I will probably be begging for the week to end and for summer to never end.  Only downside…I don’t get paid during the summer.  🙂

Living in a foreign country is always interesting.  Yesterday, my private lesson at 8pm was cancelled and I had to walk to the train station when I am usually driven by said student.  I welcomed the change though.  I love being out at night, the waxing quarter moon was in the sky and being slightly out of the city, I could enjoy the stars for almost the first time.  The beautiful, friendly Canis Major was there, as was Draco and a few planets, I believe…possibly Mars & Jupiter.  It was nice, although I was a little late to see the bats.

  Which brings me to another thought, there is a mass death happening to bats in the northeast of USA.  They are developing a sickness known as “White Nose Syndrome,” so named because the bats acquire white noses.  This saddens me greatly…especially as they predict it will spread to other regions, like Pennsylvania.  How sad!  Not just because of the loss of bats, which animal I love, but also the increase of nighttime bugs, which creatures I loathe.

  Also, it is a strange experience to walk through the streets of Japan and greet citizens (wow, I sound almost Communist right there) in Japanese only to have them respond in English.  Kind of saddens, yet tickles, me at the same time.  Although, the joy still remains of the one elderly woman with makeup pencil marks all over her face who insists on speaking to me in Japanese even though I obviously do not know Japanese and have told her multiple times.  Oh wonder… 🙂

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-07-07-bats-main_N.htm