So, this past Saturday was the middle school's culture festival. Nat will probably have her own things to say about it which will be more insightful than my own, but here's my experience.
First of all, it went really well. It was completely different from what I expected, but a lot like an elementary/middle school talent show in the US. Though it was all day long. I got there in the middle of the jazz band's thing, but they were one of the first groups to go, so I didn't feel too late. Besides, parents were coming and going the entire time. There were student arts and crafts on display all around the gymnasium (which is in a separate building from the rest of the school). The students did really well. The first half of the day was performances by the various performance clubs (the jazz band, a choral group, etc). There was an all-girls musical/operetta version of Snow White (the kids need to learn to project their voices, but they still sounded good) and the students who did best with the English recitations got to (had to) recite on stage. Out of all of this, there were only two boys on stage. Both of them were from the first year English recitation. I was a bit surprised at how few parents came to support their children.
Lunchtime came and I walked home, ate some food and wandered along the seaside until it was time for the second half to begin. When I walked in, I was almost floored at the amount of parents that arrived for the second half. The seats were mostly full with several parents opting to stand in hopes they may better see their child/children perform. My faith in Japanese parenting was restored. The first performance was the PTA chorus (which Nat is in). They did really well, even if the men drowned out the women when the women were supposed to be singing an important line and the men were just singing "lalala" ("rarara"). The students demanded an encore. The PTA chorus obliged. Then, each class was called up to sing a song. Their performance would be judged and winners determined later. The first-year students were noncommittal, especially the boys. Second year were better and third year really put their hearts into it. I was somewhat surprised. Some speeches were made and the judgment of the class songs was announced. The third-year student announcing the program was in tears because her class lost. The student giving a speech immediately following the announcement was also in tears, as she was also a third-year and her class also lost. There was also a song by the entire student body, but they didn't fit on stage. They ended up having to make a half-circle that spanned half of the gym.
The day ended with a speech from one of the music teachers and I went grocery shopping before walking home.
The next two days were uneventful and relaxing.
Today, I went grocery shopping again. Usually, when I'm at the grocery store, I buy a lunch so I don't have to worry about cooking for myself and only have to cook dinner. I saw some salads and I thought they looked good, so I bought one. I'm eating it now and have discovered that it is a spaghetti salad. I know that when most Americans hear "spaghetti salad", they think of some sort of pasta salad, like one might make for a picnic or a potluck. No. Don't think that. That is not what this is. This spaghetti salad is spaghetti noodles with a regular chef salad on top. Lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced eggs...that sort of salad. It came with a soy-based dressing and is actually very good. But it offends my salad and spaghetti sensibilities.
I'll probably buy another one sometime.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Back to School!
Well, I'm back. Which is good, 'cause I was going crazy.
The hilariously ironic thing is, I was feeling all bad about staying home...last night, Sekiguchi-sensei (one of the English teachers, and our neighbor. She's awesome and really sweet.) came by and said to me, in no certain terms, "I think you always working too hard! You need to rest! You need to take breaks!"
When I came in this morning, also, the vice principal stopped by my desk and said in Japanese what equated to "You always come in early, teach extra classes, and stay late. Don't overdo it...you need to take it easy!" so that kind of made me happy.
But yeah, the hilariously ironic thing, is, for real this time, when I came in today there was a survey on my desk that was sent from the Board of Education. Someone was doing a survey on culture shock among ALTs in Japan, and stress.
-Have you been getting headaches?
-Having trouble staying alert and awake?
-Paralyzed by nervousness?
-Having hot and cold spells?
-Scared and panicky for no good reason?
-Worrying unduly?
-Have trouble getting to sleep at a decent hour?
-Feel run down for seemingly no reason?
And I was like, "haha....oh."
So I'm now confident in saying that I'm not really SICK sick, I just must have had a stressplosion. And everyone seems to understand about it. In fact, people seemed amazed that I came back today.
I really need to like destress somehow. My friends have been saying so for years. It's just how to do it....
And now, for your amusement, the 3rd grade recitation for the culture festival. I've been helping the kids practice this for a couple months now, and they're going to recite the whole thing, in English, in front of the school on Saturday. As an American, it makes me kind of giggle nervously.
A Mother's Lullaby
A big old tree stands by a road near the city of Hiroshima. Through the years, it has seen many things. One summer night, the tree heard a lullaby. A mother was singing to her little girl under the tree. They looked happy, and the song sounded sweet. But the tree remembered something sad. "Yes, it was some sixty years ago. I heard a lullaby that night, too."
Me: Uh oh. This isn't gonna end well.
On the morning of that day, a big bomb fell on the city of Hiroshima. Many people lost their lives, and many others were injured. They had burns all over their bodies. I was very sad when I saw those people.
It was a very hot day. Some of the people fell down near me. I said to them, "Come and rest in my shade. You'll be all right soon."
Me: [glancing off to the side, scratching cheek nervously]
Night came. Some people were already dead. I heard a weak voice. It was a lullabye. A young girl was singing to a little boy.
"Mommy! Mommy!"the boy cried.
"Don't cry," the girl said. "Mommy is here." Then she began to sing again.
She was very weak, but she tried to be a mother to the poor little boy. She held him in her arms like a real mother.
Me: Oh man, and people say I'm drama...[shifts uncomfortably]
"Mommy," the boy was still crying.
"Be a good boy," said the girl. "You'll be all right." She held the boy more tightly and began to sing again.
After a while, the boy stopped crying and quietly died. But the little mother did not stop singing. It was a sad lullabye. The girl's voice became weaker and weaker.
Morning came, and the sun rose, but the girl never moved again.
Me: BAD END! BAD END! HIT RESET!
Not to make light of anything that happened as a result of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but....aaaaaaawwwwkkkkwaaaaard.....
The hilariously ironic thing is, I was feeling all bad about staying home...last night, Sekiguchi-sensei (one of the English teachers, and our neighbor. She's awesome and really sweet.) came by and said to me, in no certain terms, "I think you always working too hard! You need to rest! You need to take breaks!"
When I came in this morning, also, the vice principal stopped by my desk and said in Japanese what equated to "You always come in early, teach extra classes, and stay late. Don't overdo it...you need to take it easy!" so that kind of made me happy.
But yeah, the hilariously ironic thing, is, for real this time, when I came in today there was a survey on my desk that was sent from the Board of Education. Someone was doing a survey on culture shock among ALTs in Japan, and stress.
-Have you been getting headaches?
-Having trouble staying alert and awake?
-Paralyzed by nervousness?
-Having hot and cold spells?
-Scared and panicky for no good reason?
-Worrying unduly?
-Have trouble getting to sleep at a decent hour?
-Feel run down for seemingly no reason?
And I was like, "haha....oh."
So I'm now confident in saying that I'm not really SICK sick, I just must have had a stressplosion. And everyone seems to understand about it. In fact, people seemed amazed that I came back today.
I really need to like destress somehow. My friends have been saying so for years. It's just how to do it....
And now, for your amusement, the 3rd grade recitation for the culture festival. I've been helping the kids practice this for a couple months now, and they're going to recite the whole thing, in English, in front of the school on Saturday. As an American, it makes me kind of giggle nervously.
A Mother's Lullaby
A big old tree stands by a road near the city of Hiroshima. Through the years, it has seen many things. One summer night, the tree heard a lullaby. A mother was singing to her little girl under the tree. They looked happy, and the song sounded sweet. But the tree remembered something sad. "Yes, it was some sixty years ago. I heard a lullaby that night, too."
Me: Uh oh. This isn't gonna end well.
On the morning of that day, a big bomb fell on the city of Hiroshima. Many people lost their lives, and many others were injured. They had burns all over their bodies. I was very sad when I saw those people.
It was a very hot day. Some of the people fell down near me. I said to them, "Come and rest in my shade. You'll be all right soon."
Me: [glancing off to the side, scratching cheek nervously]
Night came. Some people were already dead. I heard a weak voice. It was a lullabye. A young girl was singing to a little boy.
"Mommy! Mommy!"the boy cried.
"Don't cry," the girl said. "Mommy is here." Then she began to sing again.
She was very weak, but she tried to be a mother to the poor little boy. She held him in her arms like a real mother.
Me: Oh man, and people say I'm drama...[shifts uncomfortably]
"Mommy," the boy was still crying.
"Be a good boy," said the girl. "You'll be all right." She held the boy more tightly and began to sing again.
After a while, the boy stopped crying and quietly died. But the little mother did not stop singing. It was a sad lullabye. The girl's voice became weaker and weaker.
Morning came, and the sun rose, but the girl never moved again.
Me: BAD END! BAD END! HIT RESET!
Not to make light of anything that happened as a result of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but....aaaaaaawwwwkkkkwaaaaard.....
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Home
Well...after my last post, I felt absolutely awful yesterday and called my supervisor. She ordered me to stay home - there are a lot of swine flu scares around the area and the worst thing to do is to infect a bunch of students.
This morning I felt much better and got all dressed. I sat down to arrange some things in my bag before leaving, and then when I got up, I was intensely dizzy, and ran off to throw up.
I was worried, so I called the school again, and they told me that if I came in they'd send me home again. But I feel really awful. I mean, I don't feel good sick-wise, but I feel more sick about missing school.
I'd better get better by tomorrow or I'll be seriously panicking.
This morning I felt much better and got all dressed. I sat down to arrange some things in my bag before leaving, and then when I got up, I was intensely dizzy, and ran off to throw up.
I was worried, so I called the school again, and they told me that if I came in they'd send me home again. But I feel really awful. I mean, I don't feel good sick-wise, but I feel more sick about missing school.
I'd better get better by tomorrow or I'll be seriously panicking.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Yeth Now.
I'm making myself post 'cause I don't do it enough. So I'll give my impression of the weekend, too. :)
Yes, the dinner party went great! There were more people than we thought there were going to be. The night was a mixture of English conversation, more English conversation, explaining English conversations in Japanese, fixing the ceiling in our tatami room, and eating a lot, a lot, a LOT of food.
Most of the people at the dinner were our English conversation group friends. Those that were not attended the conversation classes in Kaya, and we knew everyone who came. Curiously, one of the women was Catholic! I talked with her excitedly. I'm not Catholic, but Christians are rare enough in Japan that it's best to stick together.
As Alex said, Brett and Shawn are from New Zealand. We had this big long conversation about Chinese miners dying in New Zealand, having their bodies shipped to China, the ship crashing, the coffins floating back to New Zealand and being found by some Maori, and everything that ensued. But after we had this conversation, we glanced around and noticed that the Japanese attendees all had that blank goldfish look in their eyes. So I went about the daunting task of translating the entire conversation into Japanese. It was fun, but it was a challenge...
We ate a ton of food, like Alex said. There was...let me see if I can remember it all...
-Of course, the fried eggplant and skordalia. This went over really well. Everyone thought the skordalia was delicious, and Alex was so cute in his little headkerchief cooking-man style. <3 I noticed people putting the skordalia on EVERYTHING. It was cute.
-The spanakorizo. Alex made tiny little flowers out of cut slices of carrots and dressed each little bowl with one. People loved this. I don't think there was a single scrap left. I overheard some people mention that it tasted familiar. Maybe it was the shiso leaves?
-Homemade Spring Rolls. They were full of carrot, lettuce, and ...something else I can't recall but was a green vegetable, I promise. They were very refreshing.
-Fried Spring Rolls. These had meat and bamboo shoots in them, and had the traditional Japanese Mirin-Shoyu-Sake flavor to them. They kind of reminded me of tiny, savory crepes.
-Sushi. <3 Someone brought some sushi. It was delicious. Just a big variety platter of various nigirizushi (the long ones with the fish on top, not the rolls).
-Kara-age? I think? Small fried chicken pieces. These are really good, but I didn't eat much of it 'cause there was so much other stuff.
-Dango. Japanese breaded meatballs on a stick.
-Tiny grilled chicken wings.
-Shrimp-on-a-stick.
-Raw squid. I didn't eat any of this because I don't really like it, but that was fine - I was totally full by this point anyway.
-An absolutely delicious chiffon cake. It was flavored with tea.
So I think that's everything but we ate a whole heck of a lot so I might have missed something.
About the ceiling...our ceiling is made of about four or five really long panels that lay parallel, flush with one another, lengthwise across the ceiling. The one farthest from the window was sagging in the middle. We'd tried to fix it when we first moved in (since the panels are all notched and not set up with nails) but gave up.
Brett noticed this, and decided it needed to be fixed. So everything was moved around, couches were relocated, and about six people stood up on the couches to shift the board back into place. It was hilarious.
We didn't get to bed that night until like 1:30. I didn't want to do anything on Sunday, but I'm trying not to be a stupid stick-in-the-mud so I reluctantly agreed to do something the next day when pressed.
After the time was straightened out, we were off to Miyazu! We went to Mipple! Finally! I didn't buy anything since everyone seemed eager to rush along, but at the same time people were suprised I didn't buy anything. I was like, "whateva". :) But I noticed they had toaster ovens there. Once we get a long table to act as a counter I am SO getting one of those.
We ate lunch at a restaurant in Mipple (which by the way is a huge shopping complex. Well, huge for Japan) and I felt a little shy since I wasn't wearing socks....so I was walking barefoot in this restaurant. I'm gonna have to start keeping socks in my purse.
After we left Mipple we went walking on the beach. Shawn and Brett went swimming. I wished I could swim, but I satisfied myself with wading. Unfortunately the water got...a little...affectionate, and I soon was sporting "I'm-not-potty-trained-yet" fashion. I was soooooo embarassed! But you know...one of the pieces of advice I've heard from JET that's struck me the hardest is "don't be afraid to embarass yourself." This is really hard for me. But if I think about it, it makes it easier. So off we went to the cafe.
We had that great conversation Alex mentioned. The lady at the cafe/station was super nice. She actually made all the cakes herself. And I had this peach drink that was absolutely great, but I drank it way too quickly. I always drink way too quickly.
Then we went home. It was late afternoon. We were utterly exhausted.
And then I went to school this morning YAAAAAY! But I've been having hot and cold flashes, and some of the teachers noticed I was looking kinda iffy. I don't really feel good. But I'm not really sure what to do about that, as far as taking nenkyuu (paid leave) or something. But then again, the culture festival is this weekend; significantly featuring the English recitation contest, which I have been asked to help the students with every day.
So I'll hang in there and wait for Sunday. (Saturday's the Culture Fest, so I'm workin'.)
Yes, the dinner party went great! There were more people than we thought there were going to be. The night was a mixture of English conversation, more English conversation, explaining English conversations in Japanese, fixing the ceiling in our tatami room, and eating a lot, a lot, a LOT of food.
Most of the people at the dinner were our English conversation group friends. Those that were not attended the conversation classes in Kaya, and we knew everyone who came. Curiously, one of the women was Catholic! I talked with her excitedly. I'm not Catholic, but Christians are rare enough in Japan that it's best to stick together.
As Alex said, Brett and Shawn are from New Zealand. We had this big long conversation about Chinese miners dying in New Zealand, having their bodies shipped to China, the ship crashing, the coffins floating back to New Zealand and being found by some Maori, and everything that ensued. But after we had this conversation, we glanced around and noticed that the Japanese attendees all had that blank goldfish look in their eyes. So I went about the daunting task of translating the entire conversation into Japanese. It was fun, but it was a challenge...
We ate a ton of food, like Alex said. There was...let me see if I can remember it all...
-Of course, the fried eggplant and skordalia. This went over really well. Everyone thought the skordalia was delicious, and Alex was so cute in his little headkerchief cooking-man style. <3 I noticed people putting the skordalia on EVERYTHING. It was cute.
-The spanakorizo. Alex made tiny little flowers out of cut slices of carrots and dressed each little bowl with one. People loved this. I don't think there was a single scrap left. I overheard some people mention that it tasted familiar. Maybe it was the shiso leaves?
-Homemade Spring Rolls. They were full of carrot, lettuce, and ...something else I can't recall but was a green vegetable, I promise. They were very refreshing.
-Fried Spring Rolls. These had meat and bamboo shoots in them, and had the traditional Japanese Mirin-Shoyu-Sake flavor to them. They kind of reminded me of tiny, savory crepes.
-Sushi. <3 Someone brought some sushi. It was delicious. Just a big variety platter of various nigirizushi (the long ones with the fish on top, not the rolls).
-Kara-age? I think? Small fried chicken pieces. These are really good, but I didn't eat much of it 'cause there was so much other stuff.
-Dango. Japanese breaded meatballs on a stick.
-Tiny grilled chicken wings.
-Shrimp-on-a-stick.
-Raw squid. I didn't eat any of this because I don't really like it, but that was fine - I was totally full by this point anyway.
-An absolutely delicious chiffon cake. It was flavored with tea.
So I think that's everything but we ate a whole heck of a lot so I might have missed something.
About the ceiling...our ceiling is made of about four or five really long panels that lay parallel, flush with one another, lengthwise across the ceiling. The one farthest from the window was sagging in the middle. We'd tried to fix it when we first moved in (since the panels are all notched and not set up with nails) but gave up.
Brett noticed this, and decided it needed to be fixed. So everything was moved around, couches were relocated, and about six people stood up on the couches to shift the board back into place. It was hilarious.
We didn't get to bed that night until like 1:30. I didn't want to do anything on Sunday, but I'm trying not to be a stupid stick-in-the-mud so I reluctantly agreed to do something the next day when pressed.
After the time was straightened out, we were off to Miyazu! We went to Mipple! Finally! I didn't buy anything since everyone seemed eager to rush along, but at the same time people were suprised I didn't buy anything. I was like, "whateva". :) But I noticed they had toaster ovens there. Once we get a long table to act as a counter I am SO getting one of those.
We ate lunch at a restaurant in Mipple (which by the way is a huge shopping complex. Well, huge for Japan) and I felt a little shy since I wasn't wearing socks....so I was walking barefoot in this restaurant. I'm gonna have to start keeping socks in my purse.
After we left Mipple we went walking on the beach. Shawn and Brett went swimming. I wished I could swim, but I satisfied myself with wading. Unfortunately the water got...a little...affectionate, and I soon was sporting "I'm-not-potty-trained-yet" fashion. I was soooooo embarassed! But you know...one of the pieces of advice I've heard from JET that's struck me the hardest is "don't be afraid to embarass yourself." This is really hard for me. But if I think about it, it makes it easier. So off we went to the cafe.
We had that great conversation Alex mentioned. The lady at the cafe/station was super nice. She actually made all the cakes herself. And I had this peach drink that was absolutely great, but I drank it way too quickly. I always drink way too quickly.
Then we went home. It was late afternoon. We were utterly exhausted.
And then I went to school this morning YAAAAAY! But I've been having hot and cold flashes, and some of the teachers noticed I was looking kinda iffy. I don't really feel good. But I'm not really sure what to do about that, as far as taking nenkyuu (paid leave) or something. But then again, the culture festival is this weekend; significantly featuring the English recitation contest, which I have been asked to help the students with every day.
So I'll hang in there and wait for Sunday. (Saturday's the Culture Fest, so I'm workin'.)
A Weekend with Kiwis
I'll start with the dinner party.
It was really fun! Brett and Shawn (I actually never saw the spelling of either of their names, so it might be wrong) were very nice and talking to them was insightful. I was still frying some of the eggplant when everybody got here, so most of the women came over to watch me cook or ask if I needed help. Brett was the only one who managed to ask in time for me to give a job to. All of the food everyone brought was very delicious. We got to keep half of the leftovers (maybe more, but I know we sent some home with somebody...there was a lot of food) and I just finished them off for lunch today. Everybody helped clean up, which I was really grateful for. I think it's common practice at a potluck, though, since everybody wants to clean their own platters before they take them home. The skordalia and eggplant was a success, as was the spanakorizo and the lemonade. Everyone wanted to know what was in everything. I don't know if it was because they liked it and want to make it themselves or because they just found it to be such curious food.
As everyone was leaving, someone said "See you tomorrow!" I replied in kind, then turned to Nat and asked what was happening "tomorrow"? I had heard mention of going fishing and Nat had heard mention of going to Mipple (a sort-of shopping mall in the next town over), but we never really heard anything conclusive. It was late, so we went to bed. The next day, we woke up and saw that we were being picked up at 1:30. The doorbell rang at 11:30. We then realized that we misread the cellphone email. What we thought was a 1 was actually an 11. Whoops! At least we were awake and dressed (the dressed part was particularly important), but we had just eaten breakfast since we weren't expecting anyone for another two hours. So, off we went, not entirely sure what we were going to be doing or for how long. Most of the group from the dinner party was there, along with Shawn and Brett. We went out for lunch at Mipple, looked around an amateur art gallery, perused a few stores then went to the beach. We didn't expect to be going to the beach, so we didn't bring our swimsuits, but it seems the only people who were planning on it were Shawn and Brett, so we waded and wandered with Ken and Yuuko while the guys swam and the older ladies looked for a cafe. After the swimming was done, we went to the cafe which doubled as a tiny, local-access train station. There was a cat sitting in the middle of the last real parking space, so we got a little creative with our parking. All around the area were persimmon and pomegranate trees. Most of the persimmons were ripe, but the pomegranates were still ripening. There were some grapefruit and kiwi trees here and there, too, but most of those were down the street a ways. When we went in the cafe, there was a table of little old ladies drinking coffee that were moved to an outside table in order to make room for us (I am assuming the ladies volunteered, but it's more amusing to think that the cafe owner commandeered their table). Most everyone ordered cake and some beverage. I didn't order any cake, because I was still full from lunch, but everything was reported to be very delicious. Then, the cafe owner placed a whole cake on our table and told us it was on the house. So, over more cake, we discussed the differences between New Zealand and American English, New Zealand and Australian English, and that all the wildlife in Australia wants to kill people. (I should have mentioned earlier that both Shawn and Brett are from New Zealand. Shawn had Nat's job three or four people ago and Brett is currently an English tutor somewhere between Osaka and Kobe). After that, we dropped Shawn and Brett off at a larger train station and headed home. We flopped for the rest of the day. It's been a full weekend. I don't want to do anything today.
It was really fun! Brett and Shawn (I actually never saw the spelling of either of their names, so it might be wrong) were very nice and talking to them was insightful. I was still frying some of the eggplant when everybody got here, so most of the women came over to watch me cook or ask if I needed help. Brett was the only one who managed to ask in time for me to give a job to. All of the food everyone brought was very delicious. We got to keep half of the leftovers (maybe more, but I know we sent some home with somebody...there was a lot of food) and I just finished them off for lunch today. Everybody helped clean up, which I was really grateful for. I think it's common practice at a potluck, though, since everybody wants to clean their own platters before they take them home. The skordalia and eggplant was a success, as was the spanakorizo and the lemonade. Everyone wanted to know what was in everything. I don't know if it was because they liked it and want to make it themselves or because they just found it to be such curious food.
As everyone was leaving, someone said "See you tomorrow!" I replied in kind, then turned to Nat and asked what was happening "tomorrow"? I had heard mention of going fishing and Nat had heard mention of going to Mipple (a sort-of shopping mall in the next town over), but we never really heard anything conclusive. It was late, so we went to bed. The next day, we woke up and saw that we were being picked up at 1:30. The doorbell rang at 11:30. We then realized that we misread the cellphone email. What we thought was a 1 was actually an 11. Whoops! At least we were awake and dressed (the dressed part was particularly important), but we had just eaten breakfast since we weren't expecting anyone for another two hours. So, off we went, not entirely sure what we were going to be doing or for how long. Most of the group from the dinner party was there, along with Shawn and Brett. We went out for lunch at Mipple, looked around an amateur art gallery, perused a few stores then went to the beach. We didn't expect to be going to the beach, so we didn't bring our swimsuits, but it seems the only people who were planning on it were Shawn and Brett, so we waded and wandered with Ken and Yuuko while the guys swam and the older ladies looked for a cafe. After the swimming was done, we went to the cafe which doubled as a tiny, local-access train station. There was a cat sitting in the middle of the last real parking space, so we got a little creative with our parking. All around the area were persimmon and pomegranate trees. Most of the persimmons were ripe, but the pomegranates were still ripening. There were some grapefruit and kiwi trees here and there, too, but most of those were down the street a ways. When we went in the cafe, there was a table of little old ladies drinking coffee that were moved to an outside table in order to make room for us (I am assuming the ladies volunteered, but it's more amusing to think that the cafe owner commandeered their table). Most everyone ordered cake and some beverage. I didn't order any cake, because I was still full from lunch, but everything was reported to be very delicious. Then, the cafe owner placed a whole cake on our table and told us it was on the house. So, over more cake, we discussed the differences between New Zealand and American English, New Zealand and Australian English, and that all the wildlife in Australia wants to kill people. (I should have mentioned earlier that both Shawn and Brett are from New Zealand. Shawn had Nat's job three or four people ago and Brett is currently an English tutor somewhere between Osaka and Kobe). After that, we dropped Shawn and Brett off at a larger train station and headed home. We flopped for the rest of the day. It's been a full weekend. I don't want to do anything today.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Dinner party minutes (supersummary)
The dinner party went really well. It was really fun. One (or both) of us will talk about it more when it's not 1:30 AM and we aren't brain-oozingly tired.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Delaaaays
So, yeah. As Nat mentioned, we're having the party tonight instead of last night. Miscommunication is fun. I'm still not sure how many people we have, so I hope we have enough dishes. Maybe I'll go check to see if the grocery store still has their sale on cheap dishes. It's in their section of rotating goods that are around for maybe a week before the store decides that something else would be fun to sell.
Also, as Nat mentioned, I made lemonade. I got done with most of the prep work a little (actually, a lot) early, so I ran to the store to buy some lemons (which were, oddly, not next to all the other fruits, but amongst the leafy vegetables). I made the lemonade in a 2-liter water bottle, since we don't have any pitchers (I doubt any would fit in our tiny refrigerators). I tasted some and put it away. A couple hours later, I tasted it again and realized that I had made it for me and not for someone with reasonable taste buds (aka "it was too sour"), so I added more sugar until it was a proper lemonade.
Yup.
Also, as Nat mentioned, I made lemonade. I got done with most of the prep work a little (actually, a lot) early, so I ran to the store to buy some lemons (which were, oddly, not next to all the other fruits, but amongst the leafy vegetables). I made the lemonade in a 2-liter water bottle, since we don't have any pitchers (I doubt any would fit in our tiny refrigerators). I tasted some and put it away. A couple hours later, I tasted it again and realized that I had made it for me and not for someone with reasonable taste buds (aka "it was too sour"), so I added more sugar until it was a proper lemonade.
Yup.
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