Pancakes and Rainbows

9.8.07
If you’re being observant, you’ll notice the posting date on this journal entry. I just wanted to apologize that it has taken me so long to post. Lately, I’ve been quite a busy bee. Speaking of bees, I was reading an article in the Japan times about the Israeli bee virus that scientists believe to be the main cause behind the disappearance of honeybees, not cell phone towers as many of us believed, including myself. I couldn’t help but thinking of some friends from school; especially Steve Kingsley the bee keeper! Anyways, let’s get down to business!

After work on Saturday, Lauren and I finished decorating the classroom for fall and punched out for the weekend. We headed right to the train station because we were going to meet Lauren’s friend Sarah (from Jacksonville, FL and teaching for NOVA) and her Japanese boyfriend Rogi for dinner. At the station, we passed a band called The Strange Drama playing in the plaza and couldn’t help but stop and have a listen. The songs were in Japanese and the singer had a very smooth voice; a crucial trait for a super band, in my opinion. They have a concert coming up on September 22^nd. Lauren and I decided that we have to go.

We got to Shibuya where we were going for dinner and we walked around for a while checking out the scenery. About a million other people had the same idea as us. From the window of a Starbucks café we watched the crowds and crowds of people crossing the street in a diagonal fashion while enjoying our iced herbal tea (me), Japan exclusive green tea frappacino with blackberry sauce (Lauren), and our banana and soymilk muffin. We also went to Loft, a huge store with amazing stationary, supplies, and other “necessities” that aren’t “necessities” until you see them.

View from Starbucks

Man purses are very popular here. I think the pink one on the far right is especially interesting.

Fuzzy pencil cases.

Alex zee German...what does this mean?

Around 6pm we met Sarah and Rogi at Hachiko. Hachiko is just outside the Shibuya station. There is a statue of a dog commemorating this legend. If you’re ever meeting anyone in Shibuya, you meet them here. When we finally found Sarah, we decided to go find a restaurant that served okonomiaki. Okonomiaki is basically a Japanese pancake made of nappa cabbage, other vegetables, whatever meat you want, and egg, which holds everything together. They give you a bowl to mix all the ingredients together and then you pat in onto a large hot skillet in the middle of the table. It was fun and Rogi was a professional okonomiaki maker so we just sat back and watched. The restaurant even provides sand timers for you to make sure that you cook your pancake for 4 minutes on each side. The final product with special sauce and fish flakes was absolutely delish.

Rogi making okonomiaki.

The finished product.

Lauren and I walked around Shibuya after saying goodbye to her friends. As it the clock struck 10pm and the fear of turning into pumpkins overwhelmed us, we headed home for Sodegaura.

9.9.07

Lauren and I stayed to eat the "bee bee bop" at church. That isn't the precise name, but I prefer to call it by that name. Lauren and I thought it would be even funnier if we called it "baby bop" the next time we went to church. I would ask, "Can I please have some 'baby bop'?" Then they would say, "Um, sorry Sheila we don't serve purple dinosaur meat here. And wait...aren't you a vegetarian?"

When I got my baby bop, I decided that I needed a lot of sauce, which is spicy and a tad bit sweet, so I put on three scoops. Boy, was I feeling it by the end. I couldn't eat the humungous bowl so I asked my friend Min Soo to eat it. He looked up at me and sighed because he had just been given a bowl to finish by another friend named Jenny.

After church, Lauren and I were going to home to plan for next week but we decided to use our day off wisely by saving planning for after dinner. It was Lauren’s idea to go to Odaiba, a city on Tokyo Bay. We took this monorail like tram on wheels over the Rainbow bridge and explored Odaiba. Our first stop was Cats Living, a shop for cat lovers. You can actually pay to play with cats in a little confined area. We didn’t want to pay but we did walk around the shop. The cats/kittens were cute; very expensive but cute. Our next stop was another shopping plaza where we stopped for a few minutes to watch these breakdancer/acrobats performing in the middle of the two story shopping plaza. I must also point out that the first floor of the plaza was open to dogs. Dog owners could walk into stores with their best friend in toe. It took some getting used to but it was cute. They had a NHK character shop with favorites such as Moomin (my favorite), Totoro, Kiki (from the film Kiki’s Delivery Service), and many more. In the plaza there was a Toyta show room too.

The Rainbow Bridge across Tokyo Bay! Not to be confused with the Rainbow Bridge going into Canada.

We sat in the front seat!

Me at Cats Living.

Dogs are allowed in this mall.

Me hangin' with some crazy creatures.

The Toyota show room. Dad, I'll have to take you here.

We went back home because it was starting to get late but overall it had been a fun day! Please note the complicated nature of our day which is outlined below:

To church:
Bus to Tsudanuma
Tsudanuma train to Nishi-Funabashi
Metro to Ochii
Occhi is where church is

Leaving church and going to Odiaba:
Shin-Okobo train to Shinbashi
Switched in Shinbashi to the monorail on wheels (Yurikamome)
Shinbashi to Odiaba

From Odiaba back home:
Tokyo Teleport to Shinkiba
Shinkiba to Nishi-Funabashi
Nishi-Funabashi to Tsudanuma
Bus back home

Lots of transfers eh? Yes, I took the Tokyo Teleport and even though I tried really hard to beam myself up, it didn’t happen. I guess it was broken. Either that or I just have to try harder.

I should also mention that we had a visit by a second cockroach. We, and by "we" I mean me, got rid of the first one (we named him Mr. Tom Gross) the previous night. The second one, however, was much faster and much more daring. Lauren and I were screaming and laughing as I ran around the house trying to catch him under a glass cup. When he zoomed out of the kitchen towards my bedroom, I was even more determined to catch him! I cased him into the waiting area by the front door, caught him in a shoe, threw the shoe out the door and slammed the front door. We just left the shoes in the hallway for a while. My sides hurt from laughing and we were screaming so much that the neighbors probably think we're insane. Oh well!

9.10 and 9.11.07
Yesterday (9.10) was like any normal day for me. Lauren and I decided to take the train into school and my classes went relatively despite my rowdy students. I had to teach a lesson with one of the mother's watching me. I was nervous but I kept on her son's as the acted up several times. She was watching them in order to decide whether or not they should continue to have private lessons. Personally, I feel that it isn't such a great idea to have two brothers, who are not the same age, in a lesson together. They should be split up. Lauren and I got home pretty late (about 9:30pm), made dinner, planned, and went to bed.

Today (9.11) is the same as yesterday and I'm going to pick up the 10lb (4.5 kilos) that Mom sent me. Oh and thank you Mom Hensen for the card! I love it!