More Catchin' Up......The CliffsNotes Version

OK, so it takes too much effort to catch up on bloggin' once you've taken a long break. So here's what I've been doing the past few weekends...

A few weeks ago, Jeff and I trekked out to Takasaki AEON. It took a long long time to get there by train (1 hour), then by bus (1/2 hour). I'm glad that we went tho, b/c it was amazing. They have 3 floors as compared to Ota AEON's 2. (No worries, I still LOVE Ota AEON!) They just have many cool places there, ie) GAP, Comme Ca Ism, amazing food shops, etc. I'm glad we went but it is just as far as Tokyo...almost...so I don't know when I'll go back again, but I shall try!

Hmm. Oh yeah, a couple of weekends ago, the wonder known as the Ashikaga Wine Festival took place. This year I actually got wine instead of grape juice! Aren't you proud of me?? Hehe. It was fun times as everyone was happy and drunk. Woot! However, some Japanese lush stole my bottle of wine! That that...(insert awesome-British-word-I-can't-think-of here)!!

Oh yes, I had my birthday the next day. Just had a nice dinner with a couple of friends. Btw, thx to all those who remembered and sent me messages one way or another...I am just slow with my replies...I will email you people soon!

Let's see. Oh, I finally saw Rent on Saturday! Woot! I'm glad Jeff told me to listen to the soundtrack beforehand, b/c it totally allowed me to enjoy the music more so during the show! I love love the music...it's all stuck in my head even tho I don't know the lyrics! Hehe.

Oh, and on Sunday I had a postponed birthday potluck at my place. Thanks to all those that came!! I was so pleasantly surprised that people actually cooked b/c I sure didn't! Haha. We ended up eating like we had never laid eyes on food before, but luckily, no one passed out from the over-eating. Or did they? Hmm. Anyhoo, we played Taboo and that was awesome, as I love love the game even tho the "West Siiidee" lost. Well, that just means that there will have to be a rematch in the near future! Woot!

K, that's it for now! Thx for reading!

Song of the Day:

I recently heard Tim Mcgraw's "When The Stars Go Blue" and I love it! It's old...but it's good! Listen to it!

Catchin' Up

I've been a lot lazier at blogging my second year. Can you tell? Hehe. Anyhoo, lemme tell you what's been happening lately. Before you leave to grab that donut and return in hopes that you can indulge in my bewitching anecdotes, stop. Seriously. My life is really not that interesting. Seriously. K, now that you've been warned, let's continue...

Oh yeah, I still need to post Taiwan pics. Patience is a virture, my friend. Goodness, where did that come from? Wait a sec...no one says 'goodness' any more either, huh? Dude, I should really hire a paraphraser....you know, one that paraphrases. K, looks like I'm in desperate need of one. What is wrong with me?

Movin' on.

A couple of weeks ago, Jeff and I went to Tokyo for the long weekend. We were super-tired of hanging out in Gunma yet another weekend, so we decided to see what Tokyo had to offer. Our biggest complaint about Tokyo was that it's always the same; the same places, the same things, just the same. Thus, we decided to visit some random new places. Our first destination was Odaiba, a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay. On our way there, we stopped by Shinbashi station, which turned out to be an awesome station b/c, of course, they have tons of food places that looked yummy! Haha. Also, they have an awesome Anpanman store. And yes, surely we couldn't resist the urge to buy more toys for our desks at work! Hehe.

After finally reaching Odaiba, we didn't spend much time there as it was a bit um, touristy? They had this one place that was an exact replica of the shopping area at Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Seriously. After Odaiba, we headed to Nakameguro, a cute little riverfront area recommended by a friend. It wasn't what we were expecting, but it was nice and quaint, nonetheless. I'd definitely go back some time. After having a couple of tacos there as our pre-dinner appetizer (*ahem*), we went to Harajuku to our favorite Indian restaurant. Omg...it's sooo good. Mmmm.

We decided to stay the night in Tokyo, as Jeff had to be in Tokyo the next day anyway, and I didn't want to rush back home either. Our goal was to stay in a themed love hotel. For those of you who don't know, love hotels are places that rent rooms for a few hours or for a night. Hmm...I wonder what for. Anyway, they are VERY popular in Japan, as many young people live with their parents, or married couples have kids in homes with very thin walls, etc. So yeah, this is a way for them to do their business in private. Also, it's a great place for affairs. Hehe. You may think that that's sooo dirty, and you'd be right, except that it's in Japan, meaning the dirtiest of places are probably cleaner than your local Motel 6 at home. Seriously.

We must've looked at 20 to 30 hotels (it is quite popular to window shop since you don't have to face anyone....a mysterious hand just pops out of a sealed window to collect your money and hand you your key...for privacy) before we chose our lovely room. Oh yeah, there are lit-up menus to show you which rooms are available so you just press the button, pay the mysterious hand, get your key and off you go! How exciting! The room we chose was a city-themed room. It was AWESOME. Love hotels ROCK!

In normal lighting, our room just looked...normal. However, once we turned on the black lights, it was CLAZY! All the walls had a night cityscape painted on it; it really felt like we were in the city...in like the cheesiest way possible! Awesome. Also, they had a HUGE TV, a DVD player, a satellite radio with a million channels, and a huge bathroom! We wanted to be as Japanese as possible, so we watched The American President on the DVD player. Seriously. Hahaha. We definitely got our moneys worth by leaving both the black lights and the radio on while we were sleeping. Hehe.

If you ever get a chance, I'd TOTALLY recommend going to a love hotel at least once. It is quite affordable and very clean for what it is! We already want to go back again! Our next destination is an ocean-themed room!

More of this "catchin' up" stuff later...I'm sreepy!

Did you know......

that the English word 'ketchup' comes from the Chinese language, just like 'cafe' comes from French? Strange, right?! I was surprised, that's for sure. K, yes, I am easily amused.

Look to the Future!

Every year, the 2nensei students leave school for two days to do some job shadowing at work places nearby. This could be at another school, a bank, a hospital, a supermarket, a library, a cake shop, a hair salon, etc. The teachers got very excited just now b/c the student who is placed at the kyushoku (school lunch) center, just stopped by to help deliver the school lunches. (Yes, we get our lunches delivered...at least our school does.) I think that this is a great idea! It doesn’t even matter where they get placed; just the fact that they are out there in the “real world” seems cool. It would’ve been nice to do this when I was in Jr. high! Maybe I’d be a patissier by now! Hmm...the possibilities. Perhaps this whole job shadowing program will spawn MORE hair dressers in Gunma...just what we need.

Dramarama

So, there has been some drama involving the girls' basketball team at school as of late. The 3nensei have already stopped playing sports at the end of summer, due to the fact that they are now drowning themselves with studying for this and that in order to get into high school. Anyway, so that leaves the sports teams with only 1nensei and 2nensei. With the way things work in Japan, the 2nensei get to play a lot more than the 1nensei in the matches against other schools because, well, they are the senpai. This may not seem fair, but that's just how things work in a country that values seniority so highly. Well, things have been working out fine this way at Kizaki until now. Apparently, the 1nensei girls are pretty skilled at basketball because many of them started playing a few years ago while they were still in elementary school. The 2nensei girls, however, are not as skilled. See where I'm going with this? Well, many of the 1nensei girls' parents have requested that their kids get to play in the matches over the 2nensei girls. And, oh yes, the parents are quite pushy about this. Lemme tell you now, the PTA/parents in general in Japan have A LOT of influence over what goes on at school, sometimes too much me thinks. Anyway, this has created a huge headache for Ishioka sensei, the girls' basketball coach. The basketball team is now in “recess” until this situation gets resolved, meaning NOBODY gets to play in ANY games. SAD.

I'm not sure how I feel about this as I think I've been in Japan for too long. What do you think?

Oh yeah, onto other amusing news. I've just been told to write a script in which I'll be video conferencing MYSELF in class. Yes, that's right; I get to talk to myself...as someone else, of course...thru the magic of video editing? My JTE said that I may have to rehearse the dialogue before he films me, as he's planning to run the video non-stop while I'm talking to myself over the screen in front of the students. How nice that the principal will be there to observe this class as well. Hmm, I have a feeling this might turn out to be disastrous. Haha.

Kids say the darndest things (Class 3C)

I gave my 3nensei kids a worksheet with some questions to answer. Here are some of the answers I got:

Do you know what you want to do when you grow up?

"I want to be a singer to give a dream to many people."
"I want to slow life."
"I want to be happy."
"I want to be a little children's teacher."
"I want to riding bike."
"I want to buy many fruits at Senbikiya."
"I want to drink sake."

Can you tell me where the best place to go shopping in Ota is?

"I think Seven Eleven is the best."
"I think Time crip is the best."

Please tell me why you like/dislike English.

"I don't like English because I am Japanese."

Do you know how the weather in Ota was yesterday?

"Yes, I do. It was sunny."
"Yes. It was cloudy and stomy."
"Yes, I do. It was snowy in Hokkaido."

I still have two more classes to go. More to come later! Yes, I know, I am a terrible ALT! Hehe. =)

I don't think they get it

Thought of the day:

In a homogeneous society such as Japan where 98.6% of the population is pure Japanese, it's no wonder my students don't get that I'm Chinese American. It never fails; every time I tell my students that my parents are Chinese, they react as if I've just told them I'm part African. Seriously. I think the initial confusion of me looking "Japanese" (due to the fact that I'm Asian) passes their minds quickly, because I am supposed to be "American." They've just accepted the fact that I'm American, without ever asking/wondering why I look "Japanese" as well. If I tell them I'm Chinese American, they'd think I'm mixed. It's hard for them to grasp the difference between ethnicity and nationality, because to them, they're one in the same.

Spooky!

K, so as you can see, I dressed up to school on Halloween again this year as a student. However, instead of the track suit, I decided to wear the official school uniform, skirt and all. It was a lot of fun! The teachers couldn't stop laughing when I came in the staff room in the morning. My kids, especially the 1nensei, were VERY amused...probably b/c they thought something was wrong with me. I made kids say "Trick or treat" throughout the day and passed out numerous stickers. Too bad I can't pass out candy at school...that would've been AWESOME. Anyhoo, just by chance, my 3nensei students had testing that day, so they had to wear their uniforms as well! Yaay for blending in! Seriously though, soo many teachers and students I passed by had to take a second look to realize it was me, and not an actual student. Hehehe.


How could I not pose on such a day, right? (I later found out that they actually sell a special kind of glue to keep the knee-high socks from sliding down! They think of everything!)


Some of my 3nensei girls asked me why my skirt wasn't up higher. Sad!


Takaagi sensei, the tea lady and the groundskeeper (not pictured) even went out and bought me some "treats" since I dressed up that day! Aww...how sweet!


My 1nensei were VERY excited about this picture, does it show?



Oh yeah, I also went to an ALT Halloween party the Saturday before! I was dressed as an American. The picture doesn't show just how well-endowed I was that night. Seriously.

Taiwan: The Land of Non-stop Eating (Part III)

Procrastinating definitely makes blogging about my Taiwan trip that much harder. I can hardly remember anything at this point. No worries, I wrote some stuff down so you’ll get the full version whether you like it or not. Haha.

Here goes.

Day 3

On Monday, our last full day in Taiwan, we decided to start our morning by going to Din Tai Fung again. Mmm...it was just as good the second time around! We then took a taxi to Long Shan Temple. Everyone was “bai sun”-ing when we were there. K, that is not a real word, but I can’t be bothered to think of the word not in Cantonese at the moment. Wait, that didn’t make sense either. Anyway! Yes, it was a nice temple. Very colorful and detailed.

After the temple, we went to Miramar Mall (yes, another mall) to watch The Departed, the American remake of Infernal Affairs. It was actually pretty good, and I thought Leonardo Dicaprio was great in it, but I still prefer the original Chinese version. After watching a movie in a foreign land, what do you do next? Go grocery shopping, of course. I’m not kidding. We went to the supermarket in the mall and bought everything that looked tasty. Um, hello, we’re probably never gonna be in Taiwan again, so it was TOTALLY necessary! Yes, we each got tons of snacks to bring back with us. So much so, that we decided to cab it back to our hotel to drop off our groceries before heading out again. Hahahaha.

After dropping off our groceries, we headed out to the Taipei 101 area to do more shopping. The only things we bought were Kiehls products! Haha, we’re so American. Anyhoo, after that, we headed for another 24-hour dim sum place that was recommended by our hotel concierge. It seems like all dim sum places in Taipei are called something-star, ie) Nature Star, City Star, Big Star...wait, nevermind, isn’t that the name of a Carls Jr. burger? Oops.

Our final stop of our final night in Taipei was to Shi Lin Market again. We had to have at least one more boba and one more shaved ice before we left Taiwan. The boba was good, but I think I still prefer the ones back home, as Taiwanese people seem to prefer theirs somewhat weak? I dunno. We decided to try a new shaved ice place and it turned out to be the best idea ever! The owner spoke English to us and recommended the mango shaved ice with fruit. That’s right...the ice itself was mango-flavored!! It was soooooo good! I want another one right now! Mmmmm.

Day 4

This was a traveling day so not much happened at all. Our Chinese tour guide made us stop by a touristy-Japanese-catered place to buy souvenirs or whatnot before we headed to the airport. The place mainly sold brand name stuff...as if we’d all forgotten to buy our Fendi purses during our stay in Taiwan. Whew! Thank goodness I got to buy my Vuitton bag there...my trip to Taiwan wouldn’t have been complete w/o it! J/k. Yes, so Jeff and I decided to ditch and get our dose of caffeine at Starbucks instead. After that we finally made it to the Chinese restaurant, I mean airport. Then came much confusion b/c our sketchy tour guide left us and promptly disappeared, but everything worked out and we were finally able to get our omiyage (souvenirs) and board our flight.

K, so that FINALLY concludes my entries on Taiwan. Are you happy? Oh yeah, pictures, huh? Well, you’ll just have to wait another month for that. Haha. Yaay, another trip, another stamp!

Not Again

Um, yes, you guessed it...another bike theft at Kizaki. But before you freak out, this time it was only my bike lock. Oh yes, and it wasn't at the eki (train station), it was in front of my apt. I only had a short break in the late afternoon before I needed to head out again, so I decided not to use my extra lock on the bike. Um, I guess I didn't think anyone would want to steal a freakin' bike lock they didn't have a key to!! Guess I was wrong. Dammit, now I have to walk to the eki before I get a chance to buy a new lock or else my bike...w/o the extra lock...would be stolen FOR SURE at Kizaki eki. ARGH, I am sooo over this crap!