Dinner and a Family

One of the nicest things I got from my predecessor wasn't the TV, or the (ugly) couch, or the bookshelves, or the kitchenware. You see, my predecessor left me a family.

Once a week on Wednesday or Thursday usually, the Iwada family welcomes me into their home. Mr. I is a psychiatrist who wants to get a fellowship in the US and live there. He is working hard to study English and hopes to get a good enough score on the TOEIC test to get a position in the US. Mrs. I is a stay-at-home mom who studies English every day and is trying to get over an 800 on the TOEIC. They both took the test last month again, and the missus improved her previous score by 100 points! (up to 620) So I hope I can be of help to them, teaching them English.

Oh also, they have offspring. Ma-kun and Ma-chan. They are cute. I mean, they are adorable. I mean, they are a 5 year old boy, and a 2 year old girl. Today was my third week visiting them, and Ma-chan hugged me! It was really nice, because the first day she was so afraid and would cry she caught me looking at her the wrong way.

The kids have the most hilarious books. I'll blog about them sometime. We didn't read books tonight so I can't remember the plots, but they are these children books in English written by a Japanese author for Japanese children, and the plots tend to be bizarre, or end suddenly, or totally change halfway through without warning. Oh I remember one of the plots a little, it's a book called "Balloon Cat" and the ending is "Balloon cat floated up toward the moon." next page, pictures of opposite things! "Short! Tall!" etc. WHAT?

Even if they didn't pay me 3 watermelons worth a week in yen for the pleasure of their company, the food alone would be worth it. There's always 4 or 5 different things, and fruit for dessert. It's quite lovely and saves me the trip to the conbini (convenience store) for a premade meal. Or cooking myself a small portion of spaghetti...again. :)

But ah, to spend the evening with learned, well-travelled Japanese people with fairly competent English levels explaining the differences between "abbreviation" and "contraction", or "any of them" and "some of them", whilst eating everything in sight and playing with baby children.

Also I learn some new Japanese as well!

Ah...so far, this is one of the best things about Japan for me. Every week I have something to look forward to.

My disappointment for today

While picking up some sushi at the grocery store for dinner, I grabbed ANAGO (saltwater eel) instead of UNAGI (freshwater eel).

The texture and taste of the Anago is similar but unique from Unagi.

Also, I don't like it very much.

Live and learn...to stop five seconds and make myself read the Japanese words on the package next time.

On the brighter side, my negitoromaki (Fatty tuna and green onion roll) is fabulous.

Shopping Therapy.

Peter Rabbit towel - ¥105

Kiyomi Taguchi kitty wallet - ¥525

Monkey and cat pot holders - ¥210

Triumphant fairy puzzle (1000 pc) - ¥3,280

Getting through a terrible sunburn sustained at Kozomi beach by buying fun new things - PRICELESS

Videos from Gaina Matsuri

A pair of cool vids I captured at the Gaina Matsuri. Enjoy!

First, umbrella dancing.



Second, lantern balancing.

祭り！Festivals!

I've really been enjoying the festival season here in Japan. At this time of year there is a festival just about every day! You could get tired of them pretty quickly, but I've had a blast at the two I've been to.

I went to the Gaina Matsuri on August 2-3 in Yonago. The first day focused on the thing shown to the left - lantern balancing and that parade. It was really cool to watch and one of the lanterns fell right above my head once! We also saw some catch on fire that had to be quickly stomped out. I think the one the kid is balancing isn't lit, but they don't play around in Japan. Those paper lanterns were lit on fire and being carried around.

The second day we went to a great fireworks display followed by some Taiko drumming. The other big thing at festivals is food stalls. Festival food stpales include takoyaki (octopus dumplings), manjuu (bean paste confections), ikayaki (grilled squid), and french fries! The stall pictured to the right sells yam fries.

The other festival I went to was the Tsuki no Wa (Moon Wheel) festival in Yasugi (20 minutes away from Yonago by train) There we saw the famous "3000 fireworks" fireworks display. It was amazing! The fireworks were RIGHT THERE next to us. Also they had some of the loudest fireworks I've ever experienced. More than a few times I heard bawling children. Following the fireworks there was a rock concert featuring the Japanese band Chunk followed by a screaming band named...something else. We really enjoyed Chunk so we got t-shirts and had the band sign them! Good fun.


Please check out the rest of the pictures - more cool lanterns and fireworks and cute children.

Very cool, very Japanese.

About a week ago I made this walkthrough of my apartment. Should give you an idea of where I'm living!



Apologies in advance if you feel like you've wasted your time watching this video!

Don't Mistake!

People often wonder why the Japanese use so much English on their clothing and packaging. Adding to the confusion is the tendency to use English that is flat-out incorrect. But there is a purpose, and that purpose is fashion. Simply put, English is a trend. English is cool. Much like some people wear Chinese characters on their shirts or their skin, the Japanese like to have some English hanging around.

But enough information. That first photo up there is of a bag from the kura-no-suke store. Cool place, and thanks for the kind wishes!

      

These are signs from a bathroom at the restaurant "CAFE MOTHER" (oh that place is such an Engrish goldmine!)

This chair promises a lot...and honestly I sat, and I was disappointed.

This is the first in a million part series.

Click here for the Engrish archive

I'm alive!

It's been a while, folks. And trust me there is lots to tell!

My internet just got connected! It's awesome to have it again!

Tomorrow I will try to start writing again about Japan, catching up and telling you about all the sights, places, people, and KARAOKE I've been up to!