It's been a crazy but crazy good few weeks for me!
Summary:
Oct. 4: Japanese dance performance
Oct.5: "aisatsu" with Rika-sensei (Nihonbuyo teacher)
- baking thank-you cookies for some of the people who gave me flowers (plus a few friends)
Oct. 6: taiko to confirm that I could bring my brother to see a practice on Thursday
Oct. 7: apartment cleaning & Nate's arrival in Japan
Oct. 8: Nate's visit to Kirita JHS
- getting his Kyoto, Hiroshima & Tokyo train tickets at JTB
- trip to Towada Jusco
- movie night at home (Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence) since taiko practice was canceled due to the typhoon - quick dinner at Marumatsu
Oct. 9: Kitazono ES (just me--Nate got to sleep in/lounge around a bit)
- lunch at Oirase Soba
- Oirase Gorge/Lake Towada tour
- quick office visit
- Sakagami's drinking house
- first episode of "My Girl" drama
Oct. 10: TOKYO!! Square Enix Character Goods Shop Show Case
-Taikokan
- Edo-Tokyo Museum/Sumo Arena (exterior pictures only!)
- monja-yaki in Tsukishima
- Shibuya (Hachiko statue, shopping at Shibuya 109 and Tower Records)
Oct. 11: Ghibli Museum!!
Odaiba: Miraikan, Fuji Television (exterior pictures only), Aqua City Mall, sushi in Decks Tokyo Beach restaurant
- Tokyo Tower
- National Diet Building
Oct. 12: Asakusa: Kaminari Mon (gate), Sensoji, Asakusa Jinja, Chingodoji
- Ginza: Uniqlo, Sony Building; lunch at Wendy's
- Tokyo Station: Character Street (Shonen Jump Shop, etc.), resting at Cafe Tame, buying omiyage, seeing Nate off to his platform, going home
Oct. 13: early morning omiyage drop-off to office
- Kirita
- dance practice for Nov. 3 performance (it doesn't seem to end...^^;;)
- grocery shopping
- Otomen drama
- first episode of "Real Clothes" drama
Oct. 14: Sawada ES (morning); Kirita JHS (afternoon)
- clothes shopping at Uniqlo
- delivery of the "Sawako-image" one piece and dress & parka!!
- uploading photos of Nate's trip to Japan to FB (see the album here)
And the rest of this week looks to be just as good:
Oct. 15: Kirita JHS (I forgot to mention, but the past two weeks we've been preparing for the school festival, so I've been at school until 6pm or later most nights, but it's so much fun I don't mind at all!)
- taiko practice
Oct. 16: Horanai ES
- dance practice for Nov. 3 performance
- dinner w/ a friend
Oct. 17: dance practice for Nov. 3 performance (4pm ~)
Oct. 18: Kirita JHS School (Culture) Festival!!!!
Oct. 19: Daikyu!! (Substitute day off since I'm "working" on Sunday at Kirita ^__^)
I'll write more details about Nate's visit (and other things) soon. ^___^ For now, off to class! (So glad I finally got added to the school network!)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Metro Passes
Tokyo Metro passes are very useful--much more so than the JR special free area pass I got. Oh well, next time I know.
More about my Tokyo adventures with my brother later! ^__^
More about my Tokyo adventures with my brother later! ^__^
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Typhoon =(
So my brother, Nathan, managed to arrive safely and on time (with only a little more turbulence than usual) in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon--I'm guessing he just beat out Typhoon #18.
Unfortunately it hit Towada today and messed up our plans a bit. He was supposed to see all three grades for English class, but because school was canceled for the afternoon for all Towada junior high and elementary schools, the schedule was changed and the period scheduled for the sannensei (3rd grade) class became chorus practice (the Kirita Bunka Sai is only about a week away!!). But at least we were able to eat lunch with the sannensei so he was able to talk with some of them.
Since the students didn't have hiru yasumi (afternoon recess/break), we also missed the chance to play with the students (which was really too bad because, unlike me, he can actually play badminton and chess, which the students also enjoy).
But still, we had a good time at the school. Nathan even said that he thought the students were really cute and wished he could take one (or some) home with him! (Surprising considering that he's not really a "kid" person--but I guess it helps that they're preteens and not elementary kids.) The first graders in particular asked some really interesting questions, like: "Do you like [your] sister?" and "Is Hiroki (one of the students) handsome?" =D
After the students left we stayed for the teacher's meeting and I had to fumble my way through translating Nathan's comments about the day. ^^;; It's unfortunate that I'm the type that cracks under pressure and I really couldn't translate properly even though I probably knew most of the words for what he said; I was just too flustered.
The next stop after Kirita was the JTB to get his train tickets to Kyoto, Hiroshima, and back to Tokyo. (I really love the JTB staff--they're so friendly and helpful!) Once we were done there I took him for a quick drive-by tour of Kanchogai Dori--making sure to stop and point out the billion yen public restroom facility. =P
Following that we went to Jusco to look around and to buy some snacks for the train ride to Tokyo. We also had some takoyaki from Gindako. ^__^ It had been raining all day, but the rain and wind were pretty crazy when we were leaving the Jusco.
It was around 5pm when we finally got back to my apartment--very wet and tired. The original plan was for me to take Nathan to see the taiko practice at the Towadako-machi Community Center, but with the weather so bad the practice ended up being canceled. So Nathan checked email and looked up stuff to do in Tokyo while I ended up passing out on the couch.
When I woke up (around 6:30pm? 7:00pm?) we decided to watch "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence." This time Nathan was the one who passed out while watching the movie. After the movie ended and Nathan woke up, we went for a quick dinner at Marumatsu. (Sad that after getting all that advice about good places in Towada to eat, the place I ended up taking him to was a chain family-style restaurant. ^^;;)
Shortly after returning, Nate passed out again. So I guess in a way the typhoon helped a little by disrupting our plans because it forced us to spend more time at home relaxing rather than running around doing things. And since it seems like Nate does/did have a bit of jet lag, I think it's good that he had/has a chance to get over it while in Towada so he can make the most of his time in Tokyo with me (and in Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Tokyo on his own).
Still, I wish the typhoon would hurry up and move past Towada. I really want the weather tobe somewhat decent for tomorrow's trip through Oirase Gorge and to Lake Towada!
Unfortunately it hit Towada today and messed up our plans a bit. He was supposed to see all three grades for English class, but because school was canceled for the afternoon for all Towada junior high and elementary schools, the schedule was changed and the period scheduled for the sannensei (3rd grade) class became chorus practice (the Kirita Bunka Sai is only about a week away!!). But at least we were able to eat lunch with the sannensei so he was able to talk with some of them.
Since the students didn't have hiru yasumi (afternoon recess/break), we also missed the chance to play with the students (which was really too bad because, unlike me, he can actually play badminton and chess, which the students also enjoy).
But still, we had a good time at the school. Nathan even said that he thought the students were really cute and wished he could take one (or some) home with him! (Surprising considering that he's not really a "kid" person--but I guess it helps that they're preteens and not elementary kids.) The first graders in particular asked some really interesting questions, like: "Do you like [your] sister?" and "Is Hiroki (one of the students) handsome?" =D
After the students left we stayed for the teacher's meeting and I had to fumble my way through translating Nathan's comments about the day. ^^;; It's unfortunate that I'm the type that cracks under pressure and I really couldn't translate properly even though I probably knew most of the words for what he said; I was just too flustered.
The next stop after Kirita was the JTB to get his train tickets to Kyoto, Hiroshima, and back to Tokyo. (I really love the JTB staff--they're so friendly and helpful!) Once we were done there I took him for a quick drive-by tour of Kanchogai Dori--making sure to stop and point out the billion yen public restroom facility. =P
Following that we went to Jusco to look around and to buy some snacks for the train ride to Tokyo. We also had some takoyaki from Gindako. ^__^ It had been raining all day, but the rain and wind were pretty crazy when we were leaving the Jusco.
It was around 5pm when we finally got back to my apartment--very wet and tired. The original plan was for me to take Nathan to see the taiko practice at the Towadako-machi Community Center, but with the weather so bad the practice ended up being canceled. So Nathan checked email and looked up stuff to do in Tokyo while I ended up passing out on the couch.
When I woke up (around 6:30pm? 7:00pm?) we decided to watch "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence." This time Nathan was the one who passed out while watching the movie. After the movie ended and Nathan woke up, we went for a quick dinner at Marumatsu. (Sad that after getting all that advice about good places in Towada to eat, the place I ended up taking him to was a chain family-style restaurant. ^^;;)
Shortly after returning, Nate passed out again. So I guess in a way the typhoon helped a little by disrupting our plans because it forced us to spend more time at home relaxing rather than running around doing things. And since it seems like Nate does/did have a bit of jet lag, I think it's good that he had/has a chance to get over it while in Towada so he can make the most of his time in Tokyo with me (and in Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Tokyo on his own).
Still, I wish the typhoon would hurry up and move past Towada. I really want the weather tobe somewhat decent for tomorrow's trip through Oirase Gorge and to Lake Towada!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
When the Sane Go Marching In
I'm really not a pronunciation Nazi, but after spending a good portion of sixth period today listening to the students practicing their songs for the Culture Festival, I was ready to tear my hair out.
As you can guess, one of the songs they are performing is "When the Saints Go Marching In." But somehow it was never actually "saints" but "sane," "scene" or occasionally even "sea". @_@ If this was at a school that only had ALT visits once in a while I could totally understand, but I've been going to this school three times a week for the past two years and two months! Why not ask me--even just once--for the proper pronunciation?
I really wanted to say something, but didn't really feel that it was my place to do so. (I get along well enough with the music teacher, but we're not close enough for me to feel comfortable "correcting" him.) *sigh* Oh well. Their pronunciation for everything else is pretty good, so I really shouldn't dwell on that one word.
As you can guess, one of the songs they are performing is "When the Saints Go Marching In." But somehow it was never actually "saints" but "sane," "scene" or occasionally even "sea". @_@ If this was at a school that only had ALT visits once in a while I could totally understand, but I've been going to this school three times a week for the past two years and two months! Why not ask me--even just once--for the proper pronunciation?
I really wanted to say something, but didn't really feel that it was my place to do so. (I get along well enough with the music teacher, but we're not close enough for me to feel comfortable "correcting" him.) *sigh* Oh well. Their pronunciation for everything else is pretty good, so I really shouldn't dwell on that one word.
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