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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Three More Days

July 30th
I was called this morning at about 8:20, by Shinmiya.  Who would have guessed that a Japanese speaker and an English speaker couldn’t understand each other on the phone?  Luckily, he passed the phone to Andrew who translated that they wanted to see if I could bike to school, proving I have memorized the route.  I agreed and hung up.  Went to the shed to find the tires of the bike deflated.  No big deal, there’s a bicycle pump.  Oh wait, the pump doesn’t fit the tube stem AND the connecting hose is so rotted, it doesn’t hold air.  Somehow, Shinmiya sensed this and had already headed over to the house to pick me up.  Tons of introductions today.  I’m pretty sure I met the “FBI” of Osaki Town as well as some other head figures.  They showed me a museum of the ancient artifacts that have been uncovered throughout the town.  Actually, it was all quite amazing.  Visited some more schools, met some funny kids who just came up and blabbed in my face (I’m guessing they were making fun of English) but it was funny.  Finished the work day by taking a drive to Miyazaki and seeing some awesome beaches.  I got to touch sand and salt water again!  There were also a few surfers riding the 1.5 – 2 foot waves.  Oh it was a wonderful day.  Now, I’m pressed for time, as my Enkai (welcoming party) is going to start in the next couple hours.  So, I’ll add more when the hangover goes away, and I’ve had some good food.  ;)

July 31st
Met a ton of people last night, including a bunch of Kagoshima JETs.  Perry, Rob, and Cara, John, and Laura.  The ceremony was great, as there was a ton of a food, a beer garden, and they welcomed me to the city by standing up and yelling “Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!”  The other JETs and I went to Kanoya and had a few beers at some pub that was decorated in UK rugby paraphernalia.  The owner was awesome, playing vinyl records and displaying the case on the wall so everyone knew what the music was.  We then headed down the street to a karaoke bar that was about $30 to get in, but you got to drink as much as you wanted.  The drinks weren’t that strong, but they made them with really good stuff (Dewars, Kahlua, Grey Goose, etc.).  We called a Daiko, which is a taxi service that brings two drivers, one to drive you in your car, and the other to follow, so that you don’t have to worry about leaving your car overnight.  Woke up this morning, having had better days, but we were all alive.  John drove me home, I slept for a bit, and then headed out to explore the town a bit.  I got lost, but finally found one of my schools and made my way back.  Bought some Pocari Sweat, Crunky, and a cool little ball of rice that was wrapped in seaweed and had some unknown type of meat in it.  Now I’m just waiting for Andrew and the other ALTs, to see if we are going camping on a beach tonight.

August 1st
Ended up going out with Andrew and a huge group of other ALTs.  It was in celebration of Gabe's birthday, but I got to meet Colin, the KJET President, Ruth, Daniel, Neil, and some others whose names escape me.  We arrived at the beach that had a view of Japan’s 2nd largest rocket facility, and there were already a couple people getting the BBQ ready. 
Camping on the beach...

We ate different meats, veggies, and had some beer.  Started a campfire with driftwood that washed on shore, along with tons of trash.  As beautiful as the beach is, there is always trash around.  It’s not left from beach-goers, but brought in with the tide from Korea and China (or so I’m told).  Some people lit fireworks, we went swimming in the ocean, got a few jellyfish stings, and found that there were bioluminescent organisms in the water (reminded me of midnight kayak trips in Mission Bay).  I can’t even describe how amazing the night was.  The sky was bright from the moon, the air was warm, the water was probably in the mid-70s, and the backdrop of the mountains and ocean was unreal.  I have a feeling I’ll be going there on a regular basis after I buy a fishing pole.   At night, I fell asleep on the beach in a tent with a futon as my sleeping bag. 
This was my view, waking up in the tent that morning.  That guy on the right was fishing...I love Japan.

We got a few bursts of rain throughout the night and morning, but it has turned out to be a nice day.  Actually, it’s just barely 1pm, but I feel like I’ve already had a full day. 
Continued…
I finally motivated myself to get out of the house after a nice nap.  Took the bike to find the Daiwa (supermarket and 100 yen store) and of course passed it by a few miles.  On the way home I saw the sign for it and stopped to get some food and home necessities.   It was so much fun looking up and down the aisles, but I’m still getting weird looks because the people don’t know who I am yet.  Supposedly, after the school year starts again, the families will begin to recognize me and practice their English whenever they have the chance.  Rode home, made some spaghetti, and fell asleep listening to my Japanese language instruction. 

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