positive post!
In an effort to be less of a Negative Nancy, I'm making a post about all the good things that have happened around here lately.
First off, on Friday, I went to Morioka to have dinner and sing karaoke with the new AETs, Alicia, Martin, and Martin's two friends from home. Dinner was delicious, and it was fun to talk to the new AETs more. We talked about bad movies, what they want to do here in Japan, and the jobs, of course. Paul's determination to try for Ikkyu (First Level) of the Japanese Language Ability Exam by December has inspired me to possibly try for Nikkyu (Second Level) this December. Of course, that's only if I can get an application in time. The bookstore that sells and orders them in Morioka is closed this week for Obon, and they won't be able to order it until next Monday. But then it's due on September 11th. I might be able to get that done. Back to the dinner. We had noodles, sushi, fried food, and even naan! With curry! After dinner, we waited outside for a bit (the elevator was too small to fit everyone inside), and saw a guy standing on the street corner with a parakeet on his shoulder, a guinea pig in his left hand, and a lizard (iguana) clinging to his right arm. Just standing there, looking at the menu outside the restaurant. He let us see the guinea pig, and pet both guinea pig and lizard. It was just so random! :P Crazy Japanese guy. After that, we sang karaoke (Martin's friends know some terrific songs), but I had to leave early to catch the train back to Tamayama. It was so hard to leave... The karaoke was way too fun. :)
Saturday, I stayed home, got laundry done, aired out my futons, and went to the Tamayama Summer Matsuri. I was waffling all day on whether to go, and then I finally did. And I'm extremely glad I did. I said hello to various groups of students, and had conversations with them (half in English, half in Japanese - I ran into a number of first year students.) It was nice that so many students talked to me. And at one point, I was talking to the school counselor from Shibutami and noticed Toshi trying to secretly take photos of me. I didn't look at him, but am sorely tempted to ask him to show me his photos next week when I'm back at school. ;) I watched the dances, both Sansa and Obon dances, and tried out the food. There was also a booth with baby rabbits for sale - for only 1000 yen! It was later reduced to 500 yen as the matsuri wore on. They were so adorable, that I was extremely tempted to buy one and smuggle it into my apartment. SO CUTE. Everyone was admiring them, but I think they only sold about three. There were the usual goldfish catching booths, water balloon scooping booths, and one booth where a man had old school Mario set up. The Mario booth had a sign saying that it was 50 yen to play, and if you beat the game without dying, you won a prize. All the little boys were trying so hard at it. I thought about showing them all up with my mad Mario skillz, but decided I would have to miss too much of the matsuri fun. I also tried yakimochi for the first time, and it's so delicious! Sweet, sticky, and utterly mouthwatering. The yakimochi booth man kept heckling me every time I walked by to try it, so I finally had to give in. There were also booths selling glow in the dark objects, like fans, pens, rings, etc. I bought a light-up fan, and the man gave me a pen as an extra gift. After that, there was a half hour long fireworks show, which was truly impressive. It's also the first time in ages that I've seen fireworks that close up. It was such a treat, and I enjoyed it immensely. And I didn't even have to walk home! A nice woman who is the mother of two of my students gave me a ride back to Kouma, since they live near my apartment building.
Yesterday, I went to Morioka and went shopping all day for shoes. At the fifth shop, I finally found a pair of Nikes on discount that fit me just perfectly! Narrow enough, and my size! Why does everyone else in the world have wide feet anyways? Even in America, I kept finding wide shoes easier than narrow shoes. But I finally found a pair, so that was good. And I bought strong new boot laces for my hiking boots. Today, I went to Morioka again, and tried out the new shoes. Hence, my gushing over them now. At Aiina, I registered at the International Center to find a Japanese teacher to tutor me in Japanese. They'll get back to me eventually, and in the meantime, I'll try to go to the Saturday morning open classes that are held there. I also registered for an Aiina card to use the International Center's library. And then I beat the heat by going to a movie in the afternoon, namely Ocean's Thirteen. It was exactly the entertaining heist flick that I expected, and fairly amusing. As I watched the subtitles, though, I realized why I was the only one laughing at half the jokes. The subtitles just weren't conveying (or weren't able to convey) all the humor. They reduced the dialogue to direct meaning translations, almost out of context. It made me try to think of how I would do it differently. But more than anything, it got me into a room with air conditioning during the peak heat of the day.
Tomorrow, I am hoping to beat the heat by reading or studying in the library tomorrow afternoon. Or maybe shopping or going to an arcade. I can't spend the day at home, my apartment gets too beastly hot. It was 96F and 33C in my apartment at 7pm tonight. I almost thought about getting a room at a hotel in Morioka this week, but the weather is supposed to cool down after Thursday. So, maybe I can wait it out. But I definitely won't be at home much, and when I do come home it will be late. I can't use the computer during the day time, and only at night. So, if I'm not online as much this week, or home too much, there's a good reason. It's TOO DAMN HOT. :P
And I forgot! I finally tried the famous Sotoyama soba! It is delicious! Definitely earned the reputation. I had the soba with shiitake mushrooms, and I met Sachie's mother, who works at the soba restaurant near Sotoyama Forest. And I've seen the restaurant on a TV special, too. :) If you're in Japan, up my way, it's worth a try.
But look at all the happy things that have happened! So, I can't be too emo, eh? And I have to say, the new AETs have definitely inspired me to be more assertive and do more with my remaining year! :)
First off, on Friday, I went to Morioka to have dinner and sing karaoke with the new AETs, Alicia, Martin, and Martin's two friends from home. Dinner was delicious, and it was fun to talk to the new AETs more. We talked about bad movies, what they want to do here in Japan, and the jobs, of course. Paul's determination to try for Ikkyu (First Level) of the Japanese Language Ability Exam by December has inspired me to possibly try for Nikkyu (Second Level) this December. Of course, that's only if I can get an application in time. The bookstore that sells and orders them in Morioka is closed this week for Obon, and they won't be able to order it until next Monday. But then it's due on September 11th. I might be able to get that done. Back to the dinner. We had noodles, sushi, fried food, and even naan! With curry! After dinner, we waited outside for a bit (the elevator was too small to fit everyone inside), and saw a guy standing on the street corner with a parakeet on his shoulder, a guinea pig in his left hand, and a lizard (iguana) clinging to his right arm. Just standing there, looking at the menu outside the restaurant. He let us see the guinea pig, and pet both guinea pig and lizard. It was just so random! :P Crazy Japanese guy. After that, we sang karaoke (Martin's friends know some terrific songs), but I had to leave early to catch the train back to Tamayama. It was so hard to leave... The karaoke was way too fun. :)
Saturday, I stayed home, got laundry done, aired out my futons, and went to the Tamayama Summer Matsuri. I was waffling all day on whether to go, and then I finally did. And I'm extremely glad I did. I said hello to various groups of students, and had conversations with them (half in English, half in Japanese - I ran into a number of first year students.) It was nice that so many students talked to me. And at one point, I was talking to the school counselor from Shibutami and noticed Toshi trying to secretly take photos of me. I didn't look at him, but am sorely tempted to ask him to show me his photos next week when I'm back at school. ;) I watched the dances, both Sansa and Obon dances, and tried out the food. There was also a booth with baby rabbits for sale - for only 1000 yen! It was later reduced to 500 yen as the matsuri wore on. They were so adorable, that I was extremely tempted to buy one and smuggle it into my apartment. SO CUTE. Everyone was admiring them, but I think they only sold about three. There were the usual goldfish catching booths, water balloon scooping booths, and one booth where a man had old school Mario set up. The Mario booth had a sign saying that it was 50 yen to play, and if you beat the game without dying, you won a prize. All the little boys were trying so hard at it. I thought about showing them all up with my mad Mario skillz, but decided I would have to miss too much of the matsuri fun. I also tried yakimochi for the first time, and it's so delicious! Sweet, sticky, and utterly mouthwatering. The yakimochi booth man kept heckling me every time I walked by to try it, so I finally had to give in. There were also booths selling glow in the dark objects, like fans, pens, rings, etc. I bought a light-up fan, and the man gave me a pen as an extra gift. After that, there was a half hour long fireworks show, which was truly impressive. It's also the first time in ages that I've seen fireworks that close up. It was such a treat, and I enjoyed it immensely. And I didn't even have to walk home! A nice woman who is the mother of two of my students gave me a ride back to Kouma, since they live near my apartment building.
Yesterday, I went to Morioka and went shopping all day for shoes. At the fifth shop, I finally found a pair of Nikes on discount that fit me just perfectly! Narrow enough, and my size! Why does everyone else in the world have wide feet anyways? Even in America, I kept finding wide shoes easier than narrow shoes. But I finally found a pair, so that was good. And I bought strong new boot laces for my hiking boots. Today, I went to Morioka again, and tried out the new shoes. Hence, my gushing over them now. At Aiina, I registered at the International Center to find a Japanese teacher to tutor me in Japanese. They'll get back to me eventually, and in the meantime, I'll try to go to the Saturday morning open classes that are held there. I also registered for an Aiina card to use the International Center's library. And then I beat the heat by going to a movie in the afternoon, namely Ocean's Thirteen. It was exactly the entertaining heist flick that I expected, and fairly amusing. As I watched the subtitles, though, I realized why I was the only one laughing at half the jokes. The subtitles just weren't conveying (or weren't able to convey) all the humor. They reduced the dialogue to direct meaning translations, almost out of context. It made me try to think of how I would do it differently. But more than anything, it got me into a room with air conditioning during the peak heat of the day.
Tomorrow, I am hoping to beat the heat by reading or studying in the library tomorrow afternoon. Or maybe shopping or going to an arcade. I can't spend the day at home, my apartment gets too beastly hot. It was 96F and 33C in my apartment at 7pm tonight. I almost thought about getting a room at a hotel in Morioka this week, but the weather is supposed to cool down after Thursday. So, maybe I can wait it out. But I definitely won't be at home much, and when I do come home it will be late. I can't use the computer during the day time, and only at night. So, if I'm not online as much this week, or home too much, there's a good reason. It's TOO DAMN HOT. :P
And I forgot! I finally tried the famous Sotoyama soba! It is delicious! Definitely earned the reputation. I had the soba with shiitake mushrooms, and I met Sachie's mother, who works at the soba restaurant near Sotoyama Forest. And I've seen the restaurant on a TV special, too. :) If you're in Japan, up my way, it's worth a try.
But look at all the happy things that have happened! So, I can't be too emo, eh? And I have to say, the new AETs have definitely inspired me to be more assertive and do more with my remaining year! :)