Had my second lesson on how to drive a manual car today. It started with "alright, drive us to the parking lot."
@.@
After a rather jerky, slow, panicky ride, we got there. I drove in circles and practiced starting on a hill. Then we drove to the store and back home. By the way, first time driving on the left side of the road, with gutters on steroids, very veeery narrow, sharp curves, and lots of rain. ^_^
Total drive time, 1st and 2nd lessons put together? Maybe 45 minutes tops.
Ready to drive to kendo tonight? Oooh yeah :P
Aaaaah, freedom.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Japanese TV
Oh, ho exciting Japanese TV is. Currently trying to find something to one out to, on the channels there are:
1. horse racing
2. horse racing (same thing)
3.a show i think about food, currently a food-eating contest in the middle of a field.
4.golf (womens)
5.more golf
6.more golf(the womens one again)
7.fuzz (never works)
8. sumo
9.one of those commentated talk-about-anything shows. This time it's on trains.
10.even more golf (same as #5)
11.pre-recorded video of ppl doing a slow repeating dance in the streets for hours on end (local channel)
12.live shougi atch with live commentary!!To make it more interesting. Think of a chess game at the pro level where each move takes about 5 minutes, with 2 people n the background discussing possible strategies.
And I pay $25 a month for this, since it's required.
1. horse racing
2. horse racing (same thing)
3.a show i think about food, currently a food-eating contest in the middle of a field.
4.golf (womens)
5.more golf
6.more golf(the womens one again)
7.fuzz (never works)
8. sumo
9.one of those commentated talk-about-anything shows. This time it's on trains.
10.even more golf (same as #5)
11.pre-recorded video of ppl doing a slow repeating dance in the streets for hours on end (local channel)
12.live shougi atch with live commentary!!To make it more interesting. Think of a chess game at the pro level where each move takes about 5 minutes, with 2 people n the background discussing possible strategies.
And I pay $25 a month for this, since it's required.
Kendo party
Last night just as I finished my blog, I got kidnapped by all the Kendo Sensei for a party at the onsen, lol. there were maybe 20 people in a sitting room in the onsen eating and drinking, then an after party at the nearby cottages where we stayed for the night. The guys got really drunk and hilarious, with the younger ones spontaneously wrestling, and an arm wrestling tournament. I did pretty well in that, though I have a feeling that they went easy on me....
Some of them knew enough English to converse with, and yes, I was the only girl. When we threw the futons out to sleep they gave me plenty of space, though. Everyone woke up with a huuge hangovr today, but not me cause I drank lotsa water and not as much alcohols (not for their lack of trying, as is in any Japanese social gathering). The best part about this: it was free (for me)!
Now to sleep, since I got maybe 1 hr of sleep tops last night and it's 10:00am right now. Night!
Some of them knew enough English to converse with, and yes, I was the only girl. When we threw the futons out to sleep they gave me plenty of space, though. Everyone woke up with a huuge hangovr today, but not me cause I drank lotsa water and not as much alcohols (not for their lack of trying, as is in any Japanese social gathering). The best part about this: it was free (for me)!
Now to sleep, since I got maybe 1 hr of sleep tops last night and it's 10:00am right now. Night!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
V-rock Festival '09
One more thing.
For my birthday present from my parents and to myself, I'm going to the visual kei concert in Tokyo in October. I'm sooooooooooooooo psyched. A lineup of the artists is here: http://v-rockfes.com/content2/ . Including some of my favs Abington Boys School, D'espairs Ray, the Gazette, and Moi Dix Mois (Mana on stage?!). Also Marilyn Manson. Once in a lifetime opportunity? YES. Worth the $200 ticket? YES. A whole weekend of being merry and listening to kick-ass music? YES. Bring it on.
The only thing better would be X Japan...ah well. Next time.
For my birthday present from my parents and to myself, I'm going to the visual kei concert in Tokyo in October. I'm sooooooooooooooo psyched. A lineup of the artists is here: http://v-rockfes.com/content2/ . Including some of my favs Abington Boys School, D'espairs Ray, the Gazette, and Moi Dix Mois (Mana on stage?!). Also Marilyn Manson. Once in a lifetime opportunity? YES. Worth the $200 ticket? YES. A whole weekend of being merry and listening to kick-ass music? YES. Bring it on.
The only thing better would be X Japan...ah well. Next time.
Silver Week
Alright, so it's the weekend after silver week. Many things have happened, I guess. One of them is that I've started teaching in elementary schools (shogakko). I'm lazy, so I'll copy and paste a paragraph from an email about it: "Recently, I have been going to an elementary school Tomikusa to teach 5th and 6th graders. It was quite a shock the first day when they brought me there, stuck me in front of a class, and said "teach." I had no idea where to start, what they knew, how elementary classes were run, etc. We ended up practicing numbers, colors, and doing the hokey pokey, which they seemed to enjoy saying more than acting (hokey pokey hokey pokey hokey pokey). After that initial time, I have the knowledge and time to prepare for classes so I really look forward to those classes, which I think of as "play time"."
Apparently the 5th grade teacher and I are going to be teaching an extremely important (the lesson was planned out a month ago) English lesson October 9th. It's the kind of thing where all the teachers in the school will be watching and taking notes (basically grading us). I'm not really nervous, just kind of want it to be over with. Also, I'm staying at my current jr. high (ichu0 until it's over so the kids can get used to me. When I go to nichu I will be doing more blogs, I promise!!!! More free time in the teachers' room.
This past week or so, in order to keep busy during break, I've taken up hiking as a hobby. I kinda walk around all the hills maybe twice a day for an hour, sometimes jogging if I feel like it, listening to music. It' keeping me in relatively decent shape to hopefully kendo won't kill me when I go >.
Although I really should have the whole set of armor so I can join in the whole lesson. Right now I'm stuck doing basic drills, but if I got the (expensive) armor set, I would look like:
Pretty scary, huh? These guys are lightning fast, too. Oh, and after the practice I hung the outfit on a door to dry out, and cause of how its arranged, it looks exactly like a captain's uniform from Bleach is hanging there lol (Anime fans would get that one). Tonight I have practice at Anan's kendo club at 6:30, looking forward to it!
Apparently, there will be an art show in a few days displaying teachers' artwork. No one thought it was important to tell me until yesterday. Now I gotta whip up something or other to display for the community (which will be HIGHLY scrutinized) in 2 days. -.-;;; Oh joy.
In other news, I've been trying to keep up with the popular culture that the kids are tellig me about in their diaries. Many of them mentioned "Buzzer Beat," a Japanese drama that just ended. I've gotta say, it's the best directed JDrama I've seen. Most of them are pretty cheezy and akward, but this one really shone in terms of quality. The story was another one about romance, cheating on boy/girlfriends, etc. though. There are way too many of those, and waaay too many about yakuza and gangs, surprisingly.
One I am watching now came highly reccomended, Ninkyo Hlper. Basicallya bunch of ppl in a certain yakuza gang were told to go work at a nursing home, and the person that does the best job will take over as leader in the future. ....What? It's pretty good actually. You can watch both of these and other Chinese, Chinese, and I think Korean dramas at http://www.dramacrazy.net/. God, I sound like a commercial.
Black Jack episodes keep getting released, and I keep getting right back into the fandom again and again, lol. I really need to find a new series to go ga-ga for -.-; I started a new small series Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, about what would happen if a huge earthquake would hit Tokyo. You would think it's another Grave of the Fireflies (if your eyes are dry at the end of that movie, YOU'RE NOT HUMAN!!), but it keeps a bit of light on. I reccomend it if you're looking for a short something to watch.
I stopped in the library for a bit today and ran into a student of mine studying math. That's one thing that's kind of a universal language, I could actually understand the textbook, gasp! And yes, it's jr. high math, so I knew how to do it -.-; While I was there I thuroughly scanned the library for what they had that would interest me...how the heck do they sort books here?! At least in the manga section, I think it might be by genre or something first, then author after that. The magazine section was kind of lacking (not interested in Japanese "Seventeen"), the VHS/DVD section has a few good things like Disney and Ghibli movies, and there's lotsa books with funny signs in them I'm guessing are kanji :P There is a decent manga section here, for when I'm up for a challenge.
The elementary schools had their field days last weekend, which was alot of fun. They have been preparing for it for months, and they're basically huuuge shows of sports and such, very theatrical. Again, I'm amazed at the control these kids have. You'd think they grew up in boot camps. I participated in the adult tug-of-war, which my team lost, and I got a pulled muscle as a result, but wow it was fun!! There was also a traditional Japanese dance with partners that everyone joined in for, and I got paired with an obviously special needs young kid. He was pretty cool though, not doing the dance but going forward and back with everyone, but having the habit of grabbing people and hanging on. At Tomikusa (one of the elem. schools) I was invited to sit with the guests of honor and enjoy the festivities, and talked to alot of cool people.
Walking home the other day, I passed the old lady that lives in the apartments next to the road that's very talkative. She's nice but doesn't really get that I only understand about 30%-50% of what she says.... anyways, yesterday there was also a very verbal little black kitty on the side of the road. It didn't really trust me so I had to be careful, but I got to pet a cat!!!!! YESS!!!!!!! It's been months, I really missed petting a real kitty *sniff* The lady told me its name, that it's a mother, and some other stuff all the meanwhile.
Another thing I really miss about home is singing out loud to my music. Living in an apartment building with walls literally made of paper you can hear exactly what your neighbors are doing. Right now I'm listening to some Disturbed (YEAH!) and wishing I could totally rock out, but oh well.
One more thing. Taiko Drum Master KICK BUTT. I played some with my friend Cris, that arcade one had lots of anime songs and popular Japanese songs, and I was sweating by the end of it. Also, on a sushi trip with nichu people, we stopped into a bowling lley with a DDR machine. So OF COURSE I had to play... with a few Japanese teachers looking on like :O and trying to distract me lol.
One more thing. The cure to homesickness = a familiar anime. Go figure.
One more thing. poached ish is soooo much better than broiled fish.
One more thing. This is the end.
Apparently the 5th grade teacher and I are going to be teaching an extremely important (the lesson was planned out a month ago) English lesson October 9th. It's the kind of thing where all the teachers in the school will be watching and taking notes (basically grading us). I'm not really nervous, just kind of want it to be over with. Also, I'm staying at my current jr. high (ichu0 until it's over so the kids can get used to me. When I go to nichu I will be doing more blogs, I promise!!!! More free time in the teachers' room.
This past week or so, in order to keep busy during break, I've taken up hiking as a hobby. I kinda walk around all the hills maybe twice a day for an hour, sometimes jogging if I feel like it, listening to music. It' keeping me in relatively decent shape to hopefully kendo won't kill me when I go >.
Although I really should have the whole set of armor so I can join in the whole lesson. Right now I'm stuck doing basic drills, but if I got the (expensive) armor set, I would look like:
Pretty scary, huh? These guys are lightning fast, too. Oh, and after the practice I hung the outfit on a door to dry out, and cause of how its arranged, it looks exactly like a captain's uniform from Bleach is hanging there lol (Anime fans would get that one). Tonight I have practice at Anan's kendo club at 6:30, looking forward to it!
Apparently, there will be an art show in a few days displaying teachers' artwork. No one thought it was important to tell me until yesterday. Now I gotta whip up something or other to display for the community (which will be HIGHLY scrutinized) in 2 days. -.-;;; Oh joy.
In other news, I've been trying to keep up with the popular culture that the kids are tellig me about in their diaries. Many of them mentioned "Buzzer Beat," a Japanese drama that just ended. I've gotta say, it's the best directed JDrama I've seen. Most of them are pretty cheezy and akward, but this one really shone in terms of quality. The story was another one about romance, cheating on boy/girlfriends, etc. though. There are way too many of those, and waaay too many about yakuza and gangs, surprisingly.
One I am watching now came highly reccomended, Ninkyo Hlper. Basicallya bunch of ppl in a certain yakuza gang were told to go work at a nursing home, and the person that does the best job will take over as leader in the future. ....What? It's pretty good actually. You can watch both of these and other Chinese, Chinese, and I think Korean dramas at http://www.dramacrazy.net/. God, I sound like a commercial.
Black Jack episodes keep getting released, and I keep getting right back into the fandom again and again, lol. I really need to find a new series to go ga-ga for -.-; I started a new small series Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, about what would happen if a huge earthquake would hit Tokyo. You would think it's another Grave of the Fireflies (if your eyes are dry at the end of that movie, YOU'RE NOT HUMAN!!), but it keeps a bit of light on. I reccomend it if you're looking for a short something to watch.
I stopped in the library for a bit today and ran into a student of mine studying math. That's one thing that's kind of a universal language, I could actually understand the textbook, gasp! And yes, it's jr. high math, so I knew how to do it -.-; While I was there I thuroughly scanned the library for what they had that would interest me...how the heck do they sort books here?! At least in the manga section, I think it might be by genre or something first, then author after that. The magazine section was kind of lacking (not interested in Japanese "Seventeen"), the VHS/DVD section has a few good things like Disney and Ghibli movies, and there's lotsa books with funny signs in them I'm guessing are kanji :P There is a decent manga section here, for when I'm up for a challenge.
The elementary schools had their field days last weekend, which was alot of fun. They have been preparing for it for months, and they're basically huuuge shows of sports and such, very theatrical. Again, I'm amazed at the control these kids have. You'd think they grew up in boot camps. I participated in the adult tug-of-war, which my team lost, and I got a pulled muscle as a result, but wow it was fun!! There was also a traditional Japanese dance with partners that everyone joined in for, and I got paired with an obviously special needs young kid. He was pretty cool though, not doing the dance but going forward and back with everyone, but having the habit of grabbing people and hanging on. At Tomikusa (one of the elem. schools) I was invited to sit with the guests of honor and enjoy the festivities, and talked to alot of cool people.
Walking home the other day, I passed the old lady that lives in the apartments next to the road that's very talkative. She's nice but doesn't really get that I only understand about 30%-50% of what she says.... anyways, yesterday there was also a very verbal little black kitty on the side of the road. It didn't really trust me so I had to be careful, but I got to pet a cat!!!!! YESS!!!!!!! It's been months, I really missed petting a real kitty *sniff* The lady told me its name, that it's a mother, and some other stuff all the meanwhile.
Another thing I really miss about home is singing out loud to my music. Living in an apartment building with walls literally made of paper you can hear exactly what your neighbors are doing. Right now I'm listening to some Disturbed (YEAH!) and wishing I could totally rock out, but oh well.
One more thing. Taiko Drum Master KICK BUTT. I played some with my friend Cris, that arcade one had lots of anime songs and popular Japanese songs, and I was sweating by the end of it. Also, on a sushi trip with nichu people, we stopped into a bowling lley with a DDR machine. So OF COURSE I had to play... with a few Japanese teachers looking on like :O and trying to distract me lol.
One more thing. The cure to homesickness = a familiar anime. Go figure.
One more thing. poached ish is soooo much better than broiled fish.
One more thing. This is the end.
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