osaka

This weekend I ventured over to Sarah and Boone's and had dinner with Amy, Richard, and Bernie as well. Great food and Sarah, I need that recipe. Sarah, Boone, and I woke up to catch the train, only to find out it would be awhile. So we drove to the Wake and got the train to Osaka all for a really nice price. I used that savings to buy myself some delicious Mexican food and some margaritas as well. Then checking into our hostel, which was inside the stadium. Then off to get more beer. Some delicious beer I might add. We tried a couple of places that didn't want to be open on a Saturday night. Two beers later and a delicious taste in my mouth. Off to another restaurant to be greeter by the best margaritas in Japan. Might I add they were fresh fruit kiwi and the next one was mixed berry. After that everything was a blur (not really but I was so stunned at the deliciousness of the margaritas that I couldn't think of anything else).

Delicious+ delicious Osaka+ fun company+ cheap trains= DELICIOUSNESS

I am a pro at office equipment

Not really, but I mastered the copy machine in another language (I can double face them and resize them), I have mastered microsoft word (thank goodness for the same symbols), and I thought I mastered the laminater (I told the office lady how to run it, she just showed me where it was) until I tried to laminate a magnet with it. That did not work at all. It made a gurgling noise and it didn't get the rest of the paper hot enough. Oh did I mention the secretary wanted to make the temperature 120 C (that would be boiling the plastic 100C = 212 F).

Oh and I forgot I got a video on caligraphy still in the wrapper. Tonight was my adult English class and I got some coffee and chocolate from Tokyo. I scored HUGE this week. And a dinner date with another student who is a teacher at the kindergarten next door.

My 6th grade student watch drawing a giraffe and the students were yelling "kirin, kirin, kirin". The girl who was drawing turns to the class and says "English Please". I had a kick ass day! My Kocho sensei was playing a concentration game with animals and they have to close their eyes and remember 4 animals. When I say go, they have to pick up the animal cards that I said. The Kocho sensei says, "ooooo four is tough, I can do three"

I am kind of scatter brained so I hope this all makes sense.

All piled into one day

Yesterday I had a wonderful day. I hung out with the librarian all day. We chatted about songs and what was going to happen this week. What I really got was:

1. The librarian is going to buy me a book on cool origami (I am paying for it- she is doing the hard work of shopping for it)
2. An English book from the Kyoto sensei (maybe because she couldn't read it and thought I could)
3. A dinner invite from the first grade teacher I interact with the most. (dinner and meeting her daughter who speaks English, too)
4. Candy from the taxi driver. It was only 2 pieces but it was better than nothing.
5. Sweets from a student in my English conversation class (Saw her in the parking lot and she came running with a bag full of goodies)

Great day and I got to sleep into today

taxi drivers

Why do all of the taxi drivers fart when I am in the car?

I mean if my friends farted, I would open a window. If I ripped one, I would open the window. But how does a paying customer deal with a fart from the driver? Do I open the window? That would embarrass them, or stick through the stench and hide your face in your sweater? I can't stand the putrid smell.

Just a few pictures of the weekend in Shikoku

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple. I shall sit on the beach all covered up and eat sushi.

And when you go to the market you can buy anything and even used dog.

The castle at Matsuyama with the pretty flower.


Random photo opportunity in Matsuyama. For those of you that don't zoom, I am the second from the right.

The sex museum shrine for fertility. I rubbed it, but no babies until I finish being a vagabond.

In the shrine everything seemed to have a phallic shape, even this guy with his little ribbed hat.

Walking for hours to get to this mountain top view. I was sweating and then I had to climb these set of stairs with that face.

Sapporo classic beer only found in Hokkaido. Loving every bit of it.

Hokkaido Yuki Matsuri for the cheap folks

Pictures first, words later. Sorry about that.

Some of the humungus snow sculptures. This one is my favorite.



One all lit up from the inside. I waited and waited for the guy to move, but he was working on something more important than me taking a picture.

The year of the boar. Around the big sculptures, are these little ones. They aren't that tiny though.

A cool tiger. So much detail, they got the hangy ball thing in the back.

A cool sculpture that I don't know the meaning of.

Working on a shark or just a big fish. You decide. They work around the clock to get them done before the big day in three days.

Stitch and scaffolding. We will just have to wait and see.

The before picture of some ice sculptures before the rain comes.

The rain made this guy glisten to make a cool looking picture. No alterations here.

In the process of melting from the rain.

Climbing up to the top of the mountain (in a gondola) and going into the Bar The Ice. Yes that is the name of the bar and this is me in it.

The snowcats bringing us to the gondola with a sleigh in the back. Watch out this one bucks.

Top of Mt Moiwa. Sapparo froom above.

The TV tower in Sapparo. We went to the top and had a great view. But what is the difference in views from city to city. They are all starting to look the same. Got this marked off the list.

I mingled my cake

1 chiffon cake comin atchya. I successfully mingled my egg whites and then mingled it all together. My neighbor girl helped me. She told me that chiffon cakes weren't supposed to be in square pans. Well ladies and gentlemen, we have a square chiffon cake and it is DELICIOUS.

As for everything else, I took the smoothest ride to my school today. I guess that's all he does and he better be good at it. I looked out my window today to see who the driver is..... Mr. Dopey. Quite frankly maybe one of the ugliest guys I have seen. He doesn't make conversation and his hands have never seen a day of real work.

When I got home, I thought I would shower myself why my house wasn't freezing. When I was a kid, I always had a belly button that was even, not in, and heaven for bid i have an outie. Maybe because I was skinnin bones and could eat a horse. As you grow older I think everyone gets and innie. Today I got my first belly button lint.