Life in the 'city'

What have I done since the last post? So Friday I went to school like normal and didn't do any sports because we had meetings all day. I did manage to take some pictures! They'll be posted throughout the entry. Uh, yeah... In the afternoon Ms. T took me to her Uncle's car depot so I could look at some used cars. They were all pretty ugly and out of my price range (not to mention I know nothing about cars so his talk about each car being a steal was lost on me) so I doubt I will be buying one from him. Kind of a bummer though because I know how much Ms. T wants to help out. That evening I went running with K. I only made it like 1.7 miles which for being both sore and pretty out of shape isn't... that... bad. Hopefully I can improve with practice. Looking to run tonight even although it is getting kind of late.

Went out to dinner with K and S for the regional welcome party. No one else could come so we are going reschedule it. I think there are actually only two or three other people in the region though so hopefully it will be easy to organize. The bar was the same S typically frequents and we actually ran into one of my co-workers from the BOE who bought us all a round on his way to the next stop on his nomihoudai - all you can drink party. It was a lot of fun except for when those two went at each other's throats. Guess they don't really get along. Well, I can't do much about that so hopefully they will both hang out with me?

Woke up with a bit of a hangover on Saturday morning and was subsequently kidnapped by Mr. O's parents. they swung by about 10 mins after calling me and picked me and S up to give us a car tour of the town. Showed their favorite restaurants, hair salons and stores. They also bought me copies of the pictures they had taken earlier in the week of the bon dancing festival. It was a pleasant trip and shortly after I returned home and caught up with a few friends on Skype I was off to Beppu with B.

Being in the city was a nice change but it made me realize that after only 3 weeks I feel almost at home in my tiny little town. Sure sometimes I long for a bigger grocery store  - but what more could I ask for when I have cheap fish and organic veggies available 10-10 everyday? :-)

Me and B walked around a lot, I got to shop a little at Uniqlo.  We got paid on Friday (first paycheck!) so I am feeling a little more comfortable. Well quite a bit more comfortable. I think I got paid more than I have ever received in a month! Four of these paychecks is going to top the highest amount of money I have ever made in a year in my life (a whooping $10,000). Too bad rent and bills come out this week! lol.

Also got the chance to meet some of the students at the international university in Beppu. I guess I really have  grown up because the thought of attending parties with these people almost makes me queasy. The girl instantly got defensive when me and B walked up - B said she probably felt threatened by us. Honestly I was only interesting in the guy chatting on his phone the whole time but he only had eyes for B! :-) Turns out he is the DJ though at a local hot spot (Beppu tower to be precise) and he personally added us on facebook to the group? B says this is half-way to free drinks and I hope she's right! Guess since I was dating a guy most of college I didn't exactly perfect the 'make the boys buy drinks' technique ;-P. Time for me to learn!

The temple at my elementary school

We got back early to her city and went out to a bar. Well - the bar was closed! What a terrible marketing technique being closed on a Saturday! So on our way back some older men stopped us and wanted to chat? they invited us to a bar and we went. Honestly Japanese men are the least intimidating men alive I think and they ended up taking us to this hole in the wall where I spent most of the evening chatting with the older female owner and translating for B. The drinks were strong but good and the guys ended up chatting mostly between themselves and we left around 10 after politely refusing more drinks and when we tried to pay the owner shrugged it off saying the guys would cover us. Early but... interesting... night! Went home and watched a movie and passed out!

Given the opportunity to sleep in we actually managed to not get up until 9. Maybe the jetlag is finally gone! Grabbed a local sightseeing bus to visit some shrines that B had arranged for us to take. It was fun and a few of her colleagues from work - along with their children - joined us. I spent most of the time talking with the kids. Guess I like them I after all! Lol :-D. It was a great opportunity to practice Japanese and an even better one to help work on the best technique for overcoming their shyness - a trait which seems to hold the entire population in it's grip. It seemed to be successful because by the end of the trip the most shy of the four was  touching my arm and comparing the color of my skin with hers? It was pretty damn funny being told I am pale by a small adorable Japanese girl :-).

The teacher's room - busy busy!

After some video games and movies I finally managed to get this entry done and hopefully will have more to update later this week. Tomorrow is the prefectural orientation and I will finally get to meet all the new JETs (and some old ones) in the prefecture. It will be a busy but hopefully fun day and soon enough school will be starting. Back to my movies - LOVE!