To say that today was an adventure would definitely be an understatement! After chatting with some friends on Skype, I left the house around 1pm for the train station. I wasn’t scheduled for a lesson until 4pm but I didn’t want to emulate the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Especially since it was my first time taking the train to school by myself (without Lauren). I live in Sodegaura, which is right in between two train stations. If I want to go to Tokyo, it’s best to go to the Tsudanuma train station and there is a bus stop right near my house to get there. If I want to get to school in Makuhari, I have to go to the Shin-Narashino train station and I have to walk to that one. With my leisurely pace, it took me about 30 minutes to get up to the platform. It probably would’ve taken me less time but like the “alien” I am, I had to stop for some pictures.
Because I wasn’t paying attention, I missed the first train and waited about 15 minutes for the next. I wasn’t in a hurry so it was ok. I stepped off the train in Kaihimakuhari and put my memory to the test as I tried to get to school. I took a wrong turn but soon realized my mistake. Eventually, I made it to the park right near the school. I desperately wanted to take a picture of a little boy pushing his father in a stroller but I didn’t want to look too obvious. It was adorable! I was going to go right to school and then decided to go to a little bakery around the corner from school called “Lazy Afternoon”. Hiroko always points it out because she likes the name. I picked out a loaf of bread (maybe Marco Polo bread?) for 250 yen and headed back to the school for my 4pm lesson. I got there safely...YAY!
Over the bridge.
I'm going to have to explore this path later...
School is just past those far off steps.
For both my 4pm and 5pm lessons I taught a group of very quiet little girls. If you though I was a quite person, than these girls definitely put me to shame. Despite their hushed voices, they were very cute and intelligent. For my last lesson of the night, I taught Keigo. Keigo is a very good talker but needs help preparing for the SAT. I could tell that he was worried about it and tried my best to be supportive. He has four or five years until he takes the test! We had a lot in common which makes conversing easier and much more fun for the both of us. He’s a HP nut too!
After my lessons, it was time for Leah’s going away party/Lauren’s welcome party. Lauren and I told Hiroko that we would ride our new bikes home from the school, take the bus, and meet her and the rest of the gang (Leah, Peggy, and Hiroko’s daughter-in-law) just outside the Tsudanuma train station for dinner.
We were off! Did I mention it was the first time going home from school on foot and my first time riding a bike in a skirt? It was also dark out but Hiroko had just outfitted my bike with a new light for this situation. I think we ended up asking for directions three times and I fell off of my bike in front of five Japanese guys working at a gas station. I was so embarrassed until I realized that I wouldn’t ever see them again. It also started to rain, which was refreshing because Lauren and I were hot. We couldn’t help but laugh when we arrived home from the opposite direction that we had intended to come. We took the bus to Tsudanuma, met Hiroko, and walked into the restaurant.
It was almost 9pm by this time and I was starving! Dinner was so delicious. It was great to see Peggy and meet Hiroko’s daughter-in-law (I can’t remember her name for at the moment). And of course it was good to see Leah one last time before she left Japan for the U.S of A.
I have decided that I love the simplicity of Japanese food. We had: sliced fresh tomatoes with optional salt on the side, cucumbers with sesame oil and salt, raw salmon with avocado slices, edomame, some various meats which I didn’t try but Lauren seemed to like, these fried cheese dumpling like things that reminded me of Chinese food but much creamier, and some other yummy food. There was so much!
We said our goodbyes and went to bed with full stomachs.
Peggy, Leah and Hiroko at dinner.
8.30.07
Today I woke up at 8am to finish my lesson plans for the day. Lauren and I headed out of the house around noon. We wanted to ride our bikes to school but it was starting to rain and we didn’t want to chance it. The weather forecast also called for showers all afternoon. We made it to the train station in 20 minute; beating yesterday’s record.
Lauren headed off to meet a friend for lunch and I headed to school. The previous night at the going away party Leah told me about an Indian food restaurant down the street that I should visit. She said the waiters are all from Tibet and Nepal and they speak English. She told me to tell them that she sent me.
As I walked into “Jap Nepal” I was welcomed by the aroma of Indian spices, mainly curry. Expecting to speak English and be understood, I said thank you to the waiter for offering me a seat. In hind-sight, this may have not been the best choice to make but I was craving something that reminded me of home. The waiter, who later introduced himself as Bhesh, explained the menu to me. I chose the lunch buffet and ice tea for 1050 yen (about $10.50). He also pointed out the vegetarian dishes.
It was all so delicious and I wanted to try everything! I had some rice of course, curried beans (Indian style curry), thin French fries with a hot sauce on them, sweet fried bread that was slightly undercooked inside and so good, and salad (like in America). Japanese salad is very different from salad in America. As I ate, I told Bhesh that Leah has sent me and that I was a new teacher at Hands On English down the street. He smiled and spoke with a heavy accent as he brought me out a special bowl of vegetable curry just because I was a “visitor”. Along with the buffet we were also given this liquid yogurt type drink and a fruit salad with yogurt and spices. The fruit salad was so good! I’ll have to figure out how to make it. I was just about ready to pop at this point so I was very happy when Bhesh brought out my cold tea and gum syrup, which I didn’t use. In Japan they don’t use sugar packets. Instead they use liquid sugar for sweetening tea or coffee. Bhesh must have spoken to his fellow workers because Leah’s friend Sury came out to introduce himself. He was a very nice man and older than Bhesh. He asked me about my family, how long I was staying, and other causal information. They made me feel at home.
Yay for making two new friends! I also have to mention that I picked up this wickedly awesome free English magazine in at the train station. It pointed out lots and lots of really interesting sounding places that I will certainly have to visit. I also saw some familiar band names in the concert section. Bands like Less Than Jake, Ozomatli, and Rise Against! They also listed some Japanese bands and some jazz club. I’ll have to see if I can go even if the shows are a little pricey. Also, 192 Panasonic batteries make this the fastest car in the world (they talked about this in the magazine)!
My students were very rambunctious today and I almost thought I was going to lose my voice but luckily all went well and I think/hope they all learned something while having fun.
( I had a video of some breakdancers in the Kaihimakuhari train station but it was too big to load...sorry!)
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