Closing Ceremony

Here are some pictures from my farewell speech at the closing ceremony at Kizaki Jr. High School. =)


The kouchou sensei (principal) introduces me before I give my speech.


I deliver my speech while trying to hold back tears. Believe me, it wasn't easy! I succeeded, but all the tears came out the moment I finished my speech. Hehe.


Two of my 3nensei boys read a farewell letter to me and give me flowers. Awww.


The 3nensei line up in the gym to "send me off" as I walk out of Kizaki chuu's gym for one last time. One of the 3nensei boys decides to be funny and shakes my hand.


The 2nensei also wanted to send me off so they crowded right outside the entrance right near the restrooms. Haha.


Another handshake, this time with a 2nensei boy.


One last picture with some of my 2nensei kids. Awwwww.

Last Classes at Kizaki

I don't want to leave my kids.....


Class 3-B


Class 2-B


Class 1-C

I really tried not to cry during my final lessons with my students. I cried in two of my 2nensei classes though because my teacher had my students write farewell messages to me, and she had them each stand up and read it out loud to me at the end of class! Also, my final final lesson was with my 3nensei class, and my teacher kept saying things like, "So, Cindy, you have been in Japan for two years and this is the last class you will ever teach at Kizaki Jr. High School. Do you have anything to say to the students?" Um, yeah.

Here are all of my final class pictures with my kids from shou (elementary) and chuu (jr. high). Enjoy!

This needs to stop.....

K, so recently I've been having sporadic crying sessions in my apartment. Every time I think of something "last" about Japan or my students, the tears just start flowing. Gah, I wish I were able to not cry as easily as I do! Tonight I had my final lesson with my eikaiwa (English conversation) students. When they dropped me off at the eki, all of us just started crying uncontrollably. Um, yeah, I'm sure the people on the train must've thought I was a freak when I got on! Haha. Anyway, now I'm really worried about my speech for the closing ceremony. I KNOW I will cry, but I don't want to during the speech! GAH. My nickname when I was a kid was "haam bau," which tranlates to "cry burger"?? But even so, this crying thing is getting pretty ridiculous! Gah, I need a remedy for this! =(

So cute

I've already started teaching final lessons at my shou (elementary school) since I only get to see the kids there once every Friday. Anyway, most of my kids know that I'm leaving and going back to the States soon. Today I had lunch with my 6nensei...

Me: What is your favorite movie?

Student: I like Shrek!

Me: Oh, I'm going to see Shrek 3 tomorrow!

Student: In America??

Me: Um, no, at AEON.

Haha

Reason #6001

Me: What do you want to be in the future?

Miki: I want to be a kindergarten student!

Sad to leave my students....

Reason # 5662

My 2nensei, Mari, came up to me after school today and said:

"Cindy, no go to America. Cindy live in Mari's house, OK! Cindy in Kizaki...forever!"

OK, yes, Mari isn't quite fluent in English, but she's so cute! =)

Reason # 5663

I chatted with my 3nensei girls today after school. They asked if I had a boyfriend, and I said I have seven, one for every day of the week. Then, some of the girls were like, "Really?? Do they know that you have other boyfriends besides them?" Haha. Um, Japanese kids are so gullible and cute. My 3nensei are 14 years old! Haha. The fact that they would even believe me for a second, amuses me. They are so cute.

There's more!

Reason # 4998

I interviewed my 3nensei student, Chisato, today for my English Board:

Me: Where do you want to visit in the future?

Chisato: I want to go to France because I like bread.

Why I love my students!!

Reason # 4683

This is an e-mail I got from one of my 2nensei girls:

Hi Cindy（・ω・）　　My favorite subject is music and Englishu！？（´∀｀）…I think. *MaoKo*

Aichi

Last weekend I went to Aichi-ken (prefecture) with Takagi-sensei to visit Keiko. Keiko was the assistant Japanese teacher for Portuguese-speaking students at Kizaki until this past April. I met her at school when I first moved here, and we clicked right away. Keiko is obviously Japanese, but she can also understand and relate to how gaijin (foreigners) think, and that's why it's so easy and nice to talk to her. She now works in Aichi-ken as an actual teacher of Japanese. Her hours are daunting. She gets to school around 7am every morning, and doesn't get back home until 11pm at night. Her weekends are also gone because she has been assigned as the coach of the track and field team, which practices on Saturdays and they sometimes have matches on Sundays. Anyway, Takagi-sensei (the assistant math teacher at Kizaki Jr. High) and I decided to go to Aichi by shinkansen (bullet train) to visit her for the weekend. Here are some pictures from our trip!


Here is Keiko and me at a flower park in Toyohashi, the city where Keiko lives. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs during most of the weekend! Sad!


We had dinner at this one family-run restaurant. Aichi is famous for their miso-katsu, but instead of katsu, we had miso-tofu whatchamacallit. Anyway, it's famous and very yummy!


On Sunday, the three of us took the train to Nagoya City (the third largest city in Japan) to eat some good food and do some sightseeing. Our first stop was a famous tart cafe that Takagi-sensei had found in her magazine guide. We had a mango white chocolate tart, a strawberry and fig tart, and a peach tart. Although this place was pretty pricey, with the average slice costing about 1000 yen (just under $10), the mango white chocolate tart was SO SO amazing. Seriously one of the BEST mango experiences I've ever had!


Here's a picture of us at Nagoya-jo (Nagoya Castle). Nagoya-jo was burnt down during a US air raid in 1945, then rebuilt in 1959.


Here's a closer shot of Keiko and Takagi-sensei in front of Nagoya-jo. It seriously looks exactly like Osaka-jo, but I'm still glad I visited it...yet another check off my list. =)


This is the famous kinshachi that is atop Nagoya-jo. Actually there are a pair of them up top. In the English pamphlet I received, it described this fish as a "dolphin". I dunno about you, but it looks NOTHING like a dolphin to me! Haha.


Our last meal in Nagoya City was "hitsumabushi," which is a variety of unadon (barbecued eel on rice with sweet soy sauce in a bowl) and there are three steps to eating this. The last step involves eating the unagi and rice with all the seasonings, plus hot soup poured into the bowl! It was mm mmm good!

So yeah, another trip in which the main focus was food. Not too surprising, right? Actually, I don't think you'd expect any less of me. ;) Although we were confined by the heavy downpour throughout our trip, I had a wonderful weekend just spending some quality time with Keiko and Takagi-sensei. I am leaving Japan in six weeks, so I'm very glad that I got this chance to hang out with them before I left. They are both such great people, I will miss them for sure! Awwww. =(

Singapore

I can't believe it. I went to Singapore?? Anyway, the whole trip brought back many fond memories, yet it also made me realize how much I have really forgotten. I seriously couldn't remember so many things, as if I have never studied abroad there before! Haha. Sad. Anyway, mine and Jeff's trip to Singapore completed our visit to the Four Asian Tigers: South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and now Singapore. Woot!


Here's a picture of me, Jeff and Agnes in front of the Merlion in Sentosa, the only attraction in Singapore, so it seems. Haha. Agnes said tourists usually spend a whole day there. Jeff and I were done in ten minutes...the time it took to take our obligatory picture in front of the Merlion. =)


Here's a picture of Singapore's skyline from our cable-car ride to Sentosa.


Here's me and Agnes in Chinatown. Aren't we cute?? =P


Jeff and I were amazed at how BIG this cousin of a jackfruit was! OK, I obviously can't speak English. But anyway, isn't this thing ginormous?!


This picture sums up how we spent our time in Singapore: it was all about the food. By the way, this was mine and Jeff's lunch. Seriously. We both agreed that we have never eaten as much as we had while we were in Singapore. I'm sure Agnes is still in shock over how much we consumed. I'm scared just thinking about it now! Haha.

Anyway, click here for more pictures!

Again, I seriously can't believe six years has passed since I studied there. It's like a dream. Singapore has changed so much since then. It was so nice to be able to spend time with Agnes. I think I was the most grateful for that. So much time has passed, yet it only seems like yesterday we were sleeping in our non-air-conditioned room, melting away together. Haha. That's one thing that didn't change...the weather. It was just as humid as I remembered it. Bleh.

Oh, and Singapore is no longer as "casual" as I remember it to be. The clubs at Clarke Quay are super-cool looking...way more intriguing than clubs in Tokyo, and the girls are dressed like models...they are gorgeous! Sadly, the guys didn't have a "hot" transformation like the girls did. I don't remember seeing one hot Singaporean guy the whole time I was there! SAD.

It was nice to visit NUS (National University of Singapore) with Agnes and Jeff. Even though mine and Agnes' old dorm, Sheares Hall, has been torn down, seeing everything else around campus was very surreal. Um, especially two feet away from campus, where we ate the best roti prata EVER. Haha.

Although Singapore is lacking in terms of attractions, it has excellent food. I mean, excellent. The variety and quality offered at the hawker stalls are amazing. We seriously ate all of our meals at the hawker centers! There's so much to choose from! Jeff and I stuffed ourselves SO much during our trip that we didn't even have time for fruit breaks! We only managed to drink our fruit! Haha.

Singapore is tiny, but for some reason it seemed a lot bigger when I studied abroad there. I think that's because Daisy was the best advisor and took us to every imaginable place....for free! Hehe. I still maintain that studying abroad in Singapore is one of the best experiences of my life. I know, that's cheesy, but it's true. Thanks to the wonderful people I met there whom I'm still friends with till this day, Singapore will always hold a special place in my mind. OK, seriously, I should start charging for this kind of talk. I wonder if Hallmark is hiring... =P

Aiyah

A couple of my 3nensei boys were chosen to do a one-minute English conversation in front of the class. This was impromptu, but they could talk about anything, as long as it was in English.

Boy #1: What did you do last night?
Boy #2: Ten o'clock!!

Um, yeah. Let me point out that these kids are in their third year of studying English!! SAAD. Haha.

Costco in Japan!

This was my third time going to Costco in Japan, and I must say, I am never disappointed by it! I LOVE Costco! Hehe. This time, I took some of my private students there, since they had never heard of it before! SAD!


Here's me and my private students. Um, they LOVED the bakery section. They bought enough bread and pastries to open a bakery themselves! Hehe.


Look at them donuts!! Mmm mmm!


Japanese people LOVE to oooo and aahhh at everything, so we walked by every single aisle at Costco! Haha.


We went on a Sunday, so of course it was packed and clazy! But yaaay for samples!! =)


My students couldn't believe just HOW big everything at Costco was. I loved watching their reaction to the sizes of things there. $800 later, we finally left! Then, we went to IKEA where they spent even more money!! Japanese people are hardcore, yo!!


After our long day, we went to a restaurant which specializes in crab. It was soo yummy!

RAIN in Concert at Tokyo Dome!!!!

So it finally happened, Jeff and I saw Rain in concert at Tokyo Dome!! It was so surreal, as we still can't believe we actually saw him LIVE!! Rain is soooo hot! =)


Stealing a picture from Jeff's blog again! Thanks, Jeff!


The uchiwa (fan sign) my students "helped" me make. "Pi" is Japanese for "Rain" in Korean. Hmm...that didn't make any sense at all. Haha. Anyway, the "Pi" part is pop-up, using stryofoam and neon paper! Hehe.


The back of the uchiwa. It says, "Make peace" in Japanese.


A picture of my students with the uchiwa!


Now here's one with me in it! =)

Rainy Day:

Um, of course it was appropriate that it rained on the day of Rain's concert! Haha. Anyway, our Rain day began when Jeff and I train-ed it out to Tokyo after classes on Friday. We got to Tokyo Dome a little after 6pm, and we wondered if we were at the right place, since everyone there seemed to be over 50 years old! We were expecting to find a bunch of teenage girls swarming the Dome, but instead, we found ourselves surrounded by women who have clearly passed menopause! Um, I guess Rain isn't that popular with Japanese teenage girls, after all! We think that the obaachans (elderly women) that went to the concert are the ones that obsess over Korean dramas, and they must've seen Rain in "Full House" or something! That could be the only explanation, right? I don't think they were drooling over the part where Rain was taking off his shirt, as Jeff and I was. Hahaha.

Anyway, as you can imagine, 98% of the audience consisted of female fans. I think Jeff was the only Caucasian, let along male Caucasian, there! Kawaisou! However, he had the benefit of being able to use the men's restroom, which was barely occupied, compared to the Disneyland-like line for the women's restroom! Oh yeah, I did experience a "first" at Tokyo Dome.....

After I saw how long the line for the women's restroom was at the beginning, I decided to wait. About 15 minutes before the show started, I went again to see if the line had shortened, but no such luck. Then I decided to walk over the the men's restroom, as Jeff had mentioned how there was practically no one in there, but that there was a security guard at the entrance to prevent the women from entering. Anyway, I decided to see if they were now letting women in, seeing as to how ridiculous the women's line was. As I approached the men's restroom entrance, I saw an obaachan talking to the young security guy. I could sense that something was brewing. I decided to stand nearby and see how things unfold. The lady kept reasoning with the security guy, saying how long the women's line was and that there was hardly anyone in the men's restroom, anyway. He repeated over and over again in a very apologetic way that he couldn't let her in, while she kept pushing him (not literally) to let her in. I guess some other obaachans noticed, and started gathering around the men's restroom entrance. One lady even exaggerated to the point of saying how she had waited in the women's line for over an hour. The obaachans even said that it was fine that there were still guys in the men's restroom, and that they don't mind. Haha. They kept talking and talking, and I swear I could see the young security guard start to break in a cold sweat from all the pressure he was under. Well, all the bullying worked, as the security guard finally caved in and let the women in. Poor guy! Then again, of course I jumped at the chance to go in as well! Hehe. Let's just say the guys that were already inside using the urinals were more than a bit surprised when a bunch of women charged in to use the stalls. Hahaha. This experience teaches us all a lesson....don't be messin' with the obaachans and their bladders, yo! =)

Back to the concert. So there was no opening act, and I was actually surprised at how early Rain appeared before our very eyes! Seriously surreal. He is SO HOT. He has the moves and I'm happy to report that he sounds just as good in person as he does on his CDs. Ah, Rain. He even spoke Japanese to the audience, and I don't mean just a few words! He spoke Japanese throughout the concert, which must've taken a lot of time to memorize, yo! Even though Jeff and I couldn't understand all that he was saying due to his cute Korean accent, it was still VERY impressive that he learned all that just for the concert! Awww, he's sexy AND cute!

Rain was fantastic, as expected. However, Japanese audiences suck, as they have no real reaction to anything! I mean, they waved their glow-sticks in the air, but they weren't dancing along or acting really really excited, as FOBs at a Vegas concert would be! Hehe. Jeff and I kept ourselves contained for most of it, but we had to stand up and dance along by the end, as everyone else was soo boring! Um, and I think that other than one other person that Jeff had spotted, I was the only person with a self-made "uchiwa"(fan sign)!! SAD! It also didn't help that before the concert began, there was an announcement that said that no screaming was allowed, or you might get kicked out of the concert, or worse yet, it could temporarily stop the concert?? UMM, OK. Japan is weird.

I've listened to Rain's CDs a million times, so all his songs were very familiar and I was entertained throughout. He is a TRUE entertainer, if you know what I mean. Anyway, the concert was awesome, but Japanese people sure know how to kill a concert buzz. After the concert ended, there was an announcement for us to stay in our seats until our row number was called, at which time we could exit Tokyo Dome. Um, sure. Jeff and I wanted to ignore this, but there were security guards blocking the exit in our section! OK, it's not as if Japanese people would trample over one another to get out of a concert even w/o the stupid "wait-until-your-turn-to-leave" announcement. Bah, very retarded.

Anyway, in all, Rain in concert was awesome. It would've been even better if the crowd was better, but shoganai. I even got a Rain keychain, not from Tokyo Dome, but from one of the vendors outside of the train station! Haha.

Oh yeah, and Jeff and I MAY have hung around Omotesando (a very posh area in Tokyo) the next day to see if we could "accidentally" bump into Rain! Hehehe. No such luck. Sad!

Why I love my students!

Reason #2568:

Awhile back, I created an E-mail address specifically so that my students could E-mail me if they wanted to. Anyway, I have only gotten E-mails from a handful of girls, who are really genki(cheery?) about English. The other day, my 2nensei, Ruka, sent her first E-mail to me. The E-mail was short, but very good, I thought. Anyway, I spoke to her at lunch today and she was very excited and asked if I had gotten her E-mail, and I said yes. Then she went on to tell me that she wasn't the one who wrote the E-mail, and it was her older sister who wrote it. I asked Ruka why she didn't write the E-mail herself, and she responded, "mendoukusai" (too much trouble/annoying). I then asked why her older sister agreed to write the English E-mail for her, and Ruka told me that it's because she gave her sister a massage in exchange for writing the E-mail. Hahahahaha. OMG, my kids crack me up.

Last International Trip

Well, at least for the time I'm in Japan. ;) So yeah, Jeff and I booked a trip to Singapore for the beginning of June! Clazy, as the last time I was in Singapore was when I studied abroad there, which was 6 years ago! Omg, I can't believe it's been that long! Time really does fly!!

I am very excited to visit Singapore again, and eat great food. I am especially happy that I'll get to see Agnes, my old roommate while I was there. I was an idiot and didn't think to check the dates with my old advisor, Daisy, who will be traveling in Eastern Europe during that weekend, so I'm not gonna get to see her when I'm there! SAAAAAAAAAD. I'm so retarded. For the past few days, I've been obsessed with trying to find a way to extend my trip for one more day, just so that I could see Daisy. I realize now how really stupid I was for not checking with her first. Anyway, Jeff probably wants to strangle me by now as that's all I have been talking about in the past few days. Unfortunately, packaged tours (even tho ours is not a real tour in that it only includes the flight and hotel) suck in that they issue restricted tickets, meaning no changes are allowed. I am soooooooo bummed about this.

Anyway, nothing can be done now. But yeah, I am still VERY excited about this trip. The mix of cultures, the food, and especially getting to see Agnes....I miss Singapore! Natsukashii! I have a feeling Jeff and I will be eating A LOT on this trip. But then again, when do we not? Hehe.

Bah, did you know that flying from Tokyo to Singapore takes 7 hours?? That's only 3 hours less than it does for flying from Tokyo to LA! Now that part I'm not looking forward to. At least we're flying JAL, which means good service, good movies/games, and good plane food! Hehe.

YAAAAY, Singapore, YAAAAAAY!!!

By the way, I have the worst memory EVER so I can't remember many of the places that I visited when I was there. For those of you reading this post who studied abroad with me or has recently visited Singapore, where should we go?? I remember some places, ie)curry roti prata behind Tamesek Hall, Indonesian at Clarke Quay, Thai at Golden Mile, hawker stalls galore, etc. But yeah, any other suggestions for must-see places/must-eat foods are welcomed!! Suggest away!!!

ALT Day

On Tuesday, we had our first ALT Day at Kizaki Jr. High. I invited 3 ALTs, Jeff, Jason and Pete to my school so that my kids could get a chance to interact with other native English speakers. In order to build up the excitement, I had put up their pictures and profiles on the English Board a week before their arrival. I also made signature cards for each of my kids, and told them that every time they asked the ALTs a question, they would get their cards signed.

The day began with all of us going to the gym and getting on stage to introduce ourselves (not me, really) at the morning ceremony. It was nice too in that we have somewhat different accents, as Jason is from North Carolina and Pete is from England. I guess Jeff and I sound alike since he's from Oregon, but I just sound a bit more Asian. ;) Anyway, it was a great opportunity for my kids to hear ALTs with different accents.

There was a lot of drama about which periods we were going to teach; I was especially hoping that we wouldn't need to teach 1st period since we had not discussed the lesson plans prior to that day! Haha. Anyway, things worked out because we ended up getting 1st and 2nd period off. We stayed in the library to discuss the lesson plans as we busted out our snacks (hello, we need energy for the kids!). Hehe.

The four of us taught 4 lessons together, 2 2nensei lessons and 2 3nensei lessons, while my JTEs stood in the back and watched. Also, the break time in between classes were filled up since my students pretty much attacked the ALTs to get signatures from them. The card idea worked out better than I had hoped because the guys had long lines of students waiting to talk to them every free minute they had. Poor guys didn't even have time for a restroom break! Haha. The idea was good in that it got the students to talk to the ALTs, but I felt bad for the ALTs since they had to answer questions like, "What sports do you like?" about 300 times. Sad.

We ended up eating lunch at the kouchou sensei's (principal's) office by ourselves. Whoa, it felt like we were important or something. It's funny, because I never usually ask for seconds, but because all the ALTs that came were guys, my tea lady served us like 7 lunches! Haha.

After lunch, the guys kept getting bombarded by my students. So much in fact, that my JTE had to move them to the Meeting Room. Um, now that my students worked so hard to get their cards signed, I have to get better prizes for them! Sad.

Anyway, the day went very well. None of the lessons bombed, so what more could you ask for? Hehe. Well, my 3nensei could've been a bit more genki, but oh well. By the end of it though, the four of us were soooooooo tired, it was ridiculous. We had gone non-stop from 3rd period to the end of the day, and we were exhausted.

In all, I think this was a wonderful experience for the students. It's one of those experiences which I could actually see my kids saying years from now, "Remember that day when all the different ALTs came to our school...." I dunno what I'm saying, but you get the drift.

I've encouraged the other guys to have an ALT Day at their schools as well, just b/c I could definitely see the difference it made for my kids. They still talk about the ALTs now! But yeah, I think Jeff will definitely try to arrange one at his school as well, so that should be fun. However, I'm scared to go to his school b/c apparently all of his students know me, and think that we're a couple! Haha.

The only bad part about ALT Day was that I forgot to take pictures! SAD! Oh well, I'll just have to take them when Pete, Jason or Jeff has the next ALT Day at their schools! =)

"Rain is coming down and it won't stop......."

Counting down.....


Thanks Jeff, for I have stolen your Rain concert picture! Hehe. So if you don't know already, Jeff and I are going to Tokyo Dome in one week to see Rain in concert! Omg, sooo excited! Jeff just received our tickets in the mail today, and we are on the first floor, in the first row!!! OMG. Although I know that Tokyo Dome is a horrible venue for concerts, I'm still SUPER excited.

So my girl students go to boy-band concerts quite often, and every time, they make fan signs that they wave in air at the concerts. I sort of backed myself into a corner by agreeing to make one for the Rain concert...they are VERY excited to teach me how to make it! A couple of the girls brought in their old ones to school today and um, they are like freakin' 3-D!! LOL. They had me make a list of all the materials I need to buy in order to make mine. Aiyah...this shall be interesting, indeed.

Yaaaaay, Rain!!!

Why I love my students

I think one of the things I will miss most about Japan is seeing my students' faces every day and talking to them. They are just so darn cute! I'm gonna miss them soo much! I wish I could see how they turn out in 10 years! Anyway, here are a couple of reasons, among many, as to why my students rock...

A. Yesterday, I visited badminton practice after school. I was just sitting there watching, when my student, Erika, came up to me. She was soo excited to talk to me. I asked her if she likes English and she said no, and that she is not good at it. But then, she started asking me question after question, beginnning with, "Have you ever....?" because that's the grammar point we're studying right now, and that's all she could think of! Isn't that soo cute?! She doesn't like English but was willing to use what she learned in class just so that she could converse with me. Awwwww.

B. Today in my 1nensei class, my JTE taught the students the differences between, "Mr.", "Miss", and "Mrs." A student in the back then shouted, "What do you call gay people then??" Omg, I had to hold back from busting out laughing.

Yes, I LOVE my kids.

Koban

So I decided to enter the world of Japanese bureacracy and file a police report on my stolen wallet. As I stepped in the police station, I was greeted by two policemen who seemed to have more than a little free time on their hands. In my crappy and broken Japanese, I tried to explain what had happened. The younger police officer took down every detail, as the older one dictated which forms he should be filling out. Actually, the first guy wrote down everything on a scratch piece of paper, then transfered the information onto the actual police report...in pencil, THEN wrote over the report in pen and erased the pencil marks with his Muji eraser. Let's just say I was not surprised that even police officers in Japan have their own pencil pouches.

Everything seemed to be going well until it came to the issue of where I worked. They asked where I worked and about the BOE (Board of Education) but I had no idea what they wanted to get out of me, so I called Jeff. Jeff spoke to them briefly and when I got back on the phone with him, he said he didn't quite understand what they wanted, either. That's when I called my supervisor, Mr. Goino. I really didn't want to bother him with this but I was left with no choice. I called Mr. Goino and he spoke to the older officer for 15 minutes. Mr. Goino was able to give them what they wanted....a Japanese title for my job as an ALT, none of which included the word, "sensei," in it. Even these officers questioned the status of my job as an ALT. Sad. Everything else they spoke about was gibberish that comes along with Japanese bureacracy, so it seemed. Surprisingly, Mr. Goino was very nice and offered to help me with replacing some of the lost cards.

At the end of writing the report, the younger officer pointed out the few minor errors that were made...spelling errors, that is. Instead of initialing the parts that had errors, I was asked for my fingerprint on each individual error. By the time this was done, my police report looked as though I had completed a kindergarten finger-painting project.

After the police report, the officers put on their rain gear. I was escorted to the back of the police car, which turned out to be no different than any 4-door sudan, and driven 100 feet to the scene of the crime. With one hand holding my umbrella and the other holding the end of a tape measure, I stood in the rain while one officer pulled the tape measure at various angles while the other took down the measurements. After that, I was finally set free. Who would've thought that filing a police report for a stolen wallet would take nearly 2 hours and have me auditioning for an episode of CSI?

I arrived back to my apartment and about an hour later, I get a call. I was hoping that, miraculously, there'd be some good news. However, the koban was just calling to let me know that there had been an error in my police report and I was asked if they could stop by my apt. Seeing that I had no plans to go outside in the pouring rain in the near future, I said yes. Four hours later, the younger officer rings my doorbell and immediately starts apologizing, as you do if you are Japanese. He then shows me the police report and points out a spelling error that had not been caught while I was at the police station. Oh, the horror. He then took out his mini-ink-pad and asked for my fingerprint on the error. Once that was done, there was more apologizing, then he left. I swear I am not making this up.

So there you go, boys and girls, that's what it's like to file a police report in Japan...for a stolen wallet. I cannot imagine the process for a much more pressing issue. But hey, at least they genuinely seemed to care, right? =P

"That's why you shouldn't go exercising!"

Maybe Jeff's right. Maybe I shouldn't go exercising anymore. I went to the track for a jog tonight and left my backpack unattended, thinking that since this is Japan, what could happen, right? Actually, I didn't think anything of it at all. Well, I'm afraid I was a bit too at ease about leaving things out in the open for people to STEAL. That's right, my wallet got STOLEN. Nevermind the fact that I had over $200 in there, but I am the type of person that keeps everything in my wallet. I had sooo many cards in there I can't even remember what I've lost! Dammit, just take the damn money but give me back the other shit in my wallet!!! ARGGGGHHHH. I am always the one with the luck. I think either Kizaki or I am cursed. First the mysterious bike-returned incident, then the bike-stolen incident, now the wallet-stolen incident...just a few months before I am to leave this country. Great. I am still crossing my fingers....and please cross yours with me....that SOMEHOW my wallet gets returned to me, minus the cash, of course. I have heard stories of such things happening, ESPECIALLY in a country like Japan, so let's hoping. Bah, this SUCKS!

*By the way, that comment by Jeff was said in a comedic way....just thought I had to clear that up. :)