Summer part 2
The rest of my summer
Saturday I had another party, this one a wedding shower type thing for one of the teachers I worked with at the JHS. We played BINGO, which was a bit of a challenge for me since I really had to pay attention to the numbers, luckily the teachers beside me helped out occasionally. I got my bingo about halfway through the game, which meant I won some socks (which was better than winning a shirt I couldn’t have worn). They also made a big table of questions/information on the happy couple, and there were toasts and lots of laughing. As usual after a staff party, a bunch of us went out to karaoke. Most of us had to catch the train back to where we lived (me included) and since the trains stop running around midnight, we had to finish/pay up and head out. The train wasn’t as busy as it could have been so some people were eventually able to get seats. My stop came before most people’s so I bid them farewell and headed home.
Sunday night I went to the sumo event at the local center, it was adorable, as it was a children’s sumo tournament. The youngest pairing were probably around 18 months, all the way up to 6th grade or so. My camera didn’t like it much, so my pictures aren’t great but it was so cute to watch.
The next week was quiet; TV, shopping, laundry, etc. Friday, however I headed down to Tokushima to visit with friends and see a bit of Awa Odori. I went to Awa Odori a couple of years ago and saw the parade, so this time, I was just heading down for the night to hang with friends and wear my yukata. I got to the station and headed to a bathroom I didn’t think would be used much, as it was up on the 6th floor, by the international center, which was now closed. It turned out there was also a beer hall set up there, but I wasn’t too disturbed. I got changed and then had to decide if I was going to lock my suitcase up for the night or take it with me to my friend’s bar. I decided, since I wanted to have something to change into the next day, that bringing it with me was the best idea. A pain, but a good idea. On my way to my friend’s bar, I stopped and watched some of the random dancing here and there, got some chicken and something cold to eat, and eventually made it to the bar. We found a safe place for my suitcase, and I was able to relax and hang out. I sang some karaoke, talked to some old friends and made some new ones, and closed out the bar (mostly because I was staying with the owner). We headed to her place to crash.
She had made me up a futon in her living room, which was awesome. I think I fell asleep almost immediately (it was around 5 by this point). I woke up around 7, hideously hot. I went to the bathroom and when I came back I realized that not only was my futon hot, but the carpet the futon was on was hot. Suddenly a light went on! The carpet was hot, it was a hot carpet! I checked, and sure enough, somehow, at some point, the heated carpet had been turned on. I turned off the carpet, and managed to fall back asleep until around 10. I woke up and a little later, my friend was awake as well. We talked about what she was going to wear that night, and I got myself dressed and ready to head out. She called me a cab and I headed to the train station.
I threw my stuff in a locker, and tried to visit some former co-workers, but their office was closed, so I grabbed some snacks I was craving, and got some lunch. It was now around 1:30 and my hotel in Takamatsu (an hour away) would be available at 3. I caught the train and ended up seated across from a little girl and her mother. She was wearing a cute sundress with a little sweater and matching hat. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I then told her that her dress was pretty. She said (with a little prompting from her mom “thank you”. I asked her how old she was, and she was 3. She then asked me where I was from, and when I said “Canada” she told me that her English teacher was also from Canada. I was wishing that my niece had been there, so they could have played together because it would have been so cute. Eventually the train headed out, and she fell asleep and I watched a movie on my phone and read.
I got to Takamatsu and got to my hotel. I had a shower (which I hadn’t done that morning) and changed. I went out and got some munchies to hold me over until I had dinner much later. I then watched some TV and cooled off. I made plans to meet up with some friends at our usual hangout, but when I got there, it was closed. There were fireworks, and I was told later that last year (when I was at home) she’d opened late. The first person arrived, and we found another place to sit and drink and talk. Eventually another friend met up with us and I found out that some of the regulars had moved away for work or gotten married and moved. Some other friends were supposed to be at the bar by now, so we headed back over. The owner was very happy to see me, but my friends were gone. I hung out a few other people I knew came in and we chatted, and the owner called one of the people who had moved away and we spoke briefly. Around 2 I headed back to the hotel.
After talking with my friends at dinner I decided to stick around for a couple days to say hi to some of my former students. So when I got to the hotel, I booked 2 nights at the closest one I could find an opening in, the one in Okayama. The next morning I got up and packed, then headed to the waterfront. I debated going out on the water to a local island, but the ferry had left already and the next one wasn’t for 3 or 4 hours. The high speed ferry was going to be leaving shortly but cost over twice the price and I didn’t think it was worth it. Instead I wandered around the buildings near the train station called Sunport. Inside I found a museum with some cool stuff about Kagawa and its history. I spent over an hour there, and then went and found a place to eat lunch that wasn’t too busy.
I caught the train, grabbed some food for later, and got to my new hotel. Since I had only planned on staying for a couple of days, I was starting to run out of clothes, so I ran a load through the washer and dryer and relaxed for the evening. The next day I went to see the exhibit at the local NHK station on a TV show I watch. There were costumes, family trees, pictures, and some interviews on loop. I had already seen most of it earlier at Tokyo Tower a few weeks earlier but it was nice to be able to get closer to it. I knew there was a chance I’d run out of power on my e-reader so I headed to a bookstore I knew about which had a decent selection of English books. I browsed for about an hour before heading back towards the station. I was starting to get hungry. It took me a while to decide where to go, but eventually I found a place. I ordered a pizza, and almost wasn’t able to finish it. I was going to take it with me, but they didn’t have any take out containers. The idea of doggy bags isn’t very popular in Japan. I headed back to the hotel to read, watch TV and generally relax.
The next day I packed up and headed back to Takamatsu. I had actually recognised another student getting off the train with me, and when I got abreast of her, she saw me and said hello. I told her why I was there, and she said she had a lesson in that time period. I said that I’d see her in class and that I first had to find a place to put my suitcase. I eventually found a place to stash my suitcases (in the luggage room) and headed over to my old workplace to visit. I knew from my conversations on Saturday night that the people working that day were new staff and wouldn’t know me. When I got there I talked with the front desk staff and she showed me the schedule for the day. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to see everyone I’d wanted to see, but was able to see the one person I wanted most to see. The teacher came in and I made a bit of small talk with him. When the bell rang, there wasn’t anyone there yet, but I said if so-n-so was still there he’d probably show up shortly and sure enough it wasn’t 2 minutes later, when he walked in.
About 10 minutes later the person I had planned to see showed up. He was very surprised to see me, but very happy that I had made the trip to say hi. We chatted for a while and then the lady I’d spoken to earlier arrived. We all talked until their class started, then I headed back to the train station and made my long trip home. The trip home, took 4 trains, one of which was the shinkansen. I didn’t get a seat immediately, but I was okay with that since I had my hardbody suitcase which can bear my weight. About midway through the trip, the ticket taker, came up to me and escorted me to a seat (woo hoo).
I worked a bit the following week, but nothing much. On the 27th I went to see some fireworks in Sumida with some friends. We got a late start, and weren’t able to get great seats, but we found a place that wasn’t too crowded and we could see most of the big ones. We then grabbed some dinner and managed to make it back to my place before the trains started running (One girl crashed with me, cause she wasn’t going to make it back to her place before the trains stopped running). I also went and saw a few movies. Classes started back up on the 1st of September. That was my summer.
And pictures are here: http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f334/_meesh_/Japan%202011-2012/Summer%20part%202/?start=all
Saturday I had another party, this one a wedding shower type thing for one of the teachers I worked with at the JHS. We played BINGO, which was a bit of a challenge for me since I really had to pay attention to the numbers, luckily the teachers beside me helped out occasionally. I got my bingo about halfway through the game, which meant I won some socks (which was better than winning a shirt I couldn’t have worn). They also made a big table of questions/information on the happy couple, and there were toasts and lots of laughing. As usual after a staff party, a bunch of us went out to karaoke. Most of us had to catch the train back to where we lived (me included) and since the trains stop running around midnight, we had to finish/pay up and head out. The train wasn’t as busy as it could have been so some people were eventually able to get seats. My stop came before most people’s so I bid them farewell and headed home.
Sunday night I went to the sumo event at the local center, it was adorable, as it was a children’s sumo tournament. The youngest pairing were probably around 18 months, all the way up to 6th grade or so. My camera didn’t like it much, so my pictures aren’t great but it was so cute to watch.
The next week was quiet; TV, shopping, laundry, etc. Friday, however I headed down to Tokushima to visit with friends and see a bit of Awa Odori. I went to Awa Odori a couple of years ago and saw the parade, so this time, I was just heading down for the night to hang with friends and wear my yukata. I got to the station and headed to a bathroom I didn’t think would be used much, as it was up on the 6th floor, by the international center, which was now closed. It turned out there was also a beer hall set up there, but I wasn’t too disturbed. I got changed and then had to decide if I was going to lock my suitcase up for the night or take it with me to my friend’s bar. I decided, since I wanted to have something to change into the next day, that bringing it with me was the best idea. A pain, but a good idea. On my way to my friend’s bar, I stopped and watched some of the random dancing here and there, got some chicken and something cold to eat, and eventually made it to the bar. We found a safe place for my suitcase, and I was able to relax and hang out. I sang some karaoke, talked to some old friends and made some new ones, and closed out the bar (mostly because I was staying with the owner). We headed to her place to crash.
She had made me up a futon in her living room, which was awesome. I think I fell asleep almost immediately (it was around 5 by this point). I woke up around 7, hideously hot. I went to the bathroom and when I came back I realized that not only was my futon hot, but the carpet the futon was on was hot. Suddenly a light went on! The carpet was hot, it was a hot carpet! I checked, and sure enough, somehow, at some point, the heated carpet had been turned on. I turned off the carpet, and managed to fall back asleep until around 10. I woke up and a little later, my friend was awake as well. We talked about what she was going to wear that night, and I got myself dressed and ready to head out. She called me a cab and I headed to the train station.
I threw my stuff in a locker, and tried to visit some former co-workers, but their office was closed, so I grabbed some snacks I was craving, and got some lunch. It was now around 1:30 and my hotel in Takamatsu (an hour away) would be available at 3. I caught the train and ended up seated across from a little girl and her mother. She was wearing a cute sundress with a little sweater and matching hat. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I then told her that her dress was pretty. She said (with a little prompting from her mom “thank you”. I asked her how old she was, and she was 3. She then asked me where I was from, and when I said “Canada” she told me that her English teacher was also from Canada. I was wishing that my niece had been there, so they could have played together because it would have been so cute. Eventually the train headed out, and she fell asleep and I watched a movie on my phone and read.
I got to Takamatsu and got to my hotel. I had a shower (which I hadn’t done that morning) and changed. I went out and got some munchies to hold me over until I had dinner much later. I then watched some TV and cooled off. I made plans to meet up with some friends at our usual hangout, but when I got there, it was closed. There were fireworks, and I was told later that last year (when I was at home) she’d opened late. The first person arrived, and we found another place to sit and drink and talk. Eventually another friend met up with us and I found out that some of the regulars had moved away for work or gotten married and moved. Some other friends were supposed to be at the bar by now, so we headed back over. The owner was very happy to see me, but my friends were gone. I hung out a few other people I knew came in and we chatted, and the owner called one of the people who had moved away and we spoke briefly. Around 2 I headed back to the hotel.
After talking with my friends at dinner I decided to stick around for a couple days to say hi to some of my former students. So when I got to the hotel, I booked 2 nights at the closest one I could find an opening in, the one in Okayama. The next morning I got up and packed, then headed to the waterfront. I debated going out on the water to a local island, but the ferry had left already and the next one wasn’t for 3 or 4 hours. The high speed ferry was going to be leaving shortly but cost over twice the price and I didn’t think it was worth it. Instead I wandered around the buildings near the train station called Sunport. Inside I found a museum with some cool stuff about Kagawa and its history. I spent over an hour there, and then went and found a place to eat lunch that wasn’t too busy.
I caught the train, grabbed some food for later, and got to my new hotel. Since I had only planned on staying for a couple of days, I was starting to run out of clothes, so I ran a load through the washer and dryer and relaxed for the evening. The next day I went to see the exhibit at the local NHK station on a TV show I watch. There were costumes, family trees, pictures, and some interviews on loop. I had already seen most of it earlier at Tokyo Tower a few weeks earlier but it was nice to be able to get closer to it. I knew there was a chance I’d run out of power on my e-reader so I headed to a bookstore I knew about which had a decent selection of English books. I browsed for about an hour before heading back towards the station. I was starting to get hungry. It took me a while to decide where to go, but eventually I found a place. I ordered a pizza, and almost wasn’t able to finish it. I was going to take it with me, but they didn’t have any take out containers. The idea of doggy bags isn’t very popular in Japan. I headed back to the hotel to read, watch TV and generally relax.
The next day I packed up and headed back to Takamatsu. I had actually recognised another student getting off the train with me, and when I got abreast of her, she saw me and said hello. I told her why I was there, and she said she had a lesson in that time period. I said that I’d see her in class and that I first had to find a place to put my suitcase. I eventually found a place to stash my suitcases (in the luggage room) and headed over to my old workplace to visit. I knew from my conversations on Saturday night that the people working that day were new staff and wouldn’t know me. When I got there I talked with the front desk staff and she showed me the schedule for the day. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to see everyone I’d wanted to see, but was able to see the one person I wanted most to see. The teacher came in and I made a bit of small talk with him. When the bell rang, there wasn’t anyone there yet, but I said if so-n-so was still there he’d probably show up shortly and sure enough it wasn’t 2 minutes later, when he walked in.
About 10 minutes later the person I had planned to see showed up. He was very surprised to see me, but very happy that I had made the trip to say hi. We chatted for a while and then the lady I’d spoken to earlier arrived. We all talked until their class started, then I headed back to the train station and made my long trip home. The trip home, took 4 trains, one of which was the shinkansen. I didn’t get a seat immediately, but I was okay with that since I had my hardbody suitcase which can bear my weight. About midway through the trip, the ticket taker, came up to me and escorted me to a seat (woo hoo).
I worked a bit the following week, but nothing much. On the 27th I went to see some fireworks in Sumida with some friends. We got a late start, and weren’t able to get great seats, but we found a place that wasn’t too crowded and we could see most of the big ones. We then grabbed some dinner and managed to make it back to my place before the trains started running (One girl crashed with me, cause she wasn’t going to make it back to her place before the trains stopped running). I also went and saw a few movies. Classes started back up on the 1st of September. That was my summer.
And pictures are here: http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f334/_meesh_/Japan%202011-2012/Summer%20part%202/?start=all