No Reservations

10.24.07

I believe there is a saying that goes something much like this: “the early bird catches the worm”. Well, this morning Lauren and I were akin to early birds. We woke up at 8pm (I do realize that some of you may consider this time quite late), took out the “burnable garbage”, made breakfast, did the dishes, got dressed, and flew out of the house on our bicycles/broomsticks. Today’s destination? We were headed to the home of Tokyo Disney, Mihama, to see a movie in the Ikispiari Cinema. I wrote about Ikispiari in my blog before when I went to the Rainforest Café. Ikispiari is located just outside Tokyo Disney Land/Sea.

In many stores and restaurants around Tokyo ladies receive discounts on Wednesdays. Since it was “Ladies Day” today, Lauren and I got into the 10:30am showing of No Reservations staring Catherine Zetta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking), and Abigail Breslin (the little girl from Little Miss Sunshine) for 1000 yen (about $10 USD). Normally, the movies are about 1800 yen; I can’t tell you how glad I was to be a female.

The movie was very good, and definitely deserved the “Sheila Seal of Approval”. Thinking back to the last time I saw a movie in the States, I remember the audience being very vocal throughout the film; laughing together during the funny scenes and crying during the sad ones. Before the movie started, Lauren warned me that the Japanese people tend to keep their emotions to themselves. Lauren and I couldn’t help but contribute our own giggles to the silent theater from time to time. I tried to stop myself the first few times, but that didn’t last long. As someone that hardly ever cries during movies, I must also admit that my eyes filled with tears at least once during the movie.

As we left the theater together, Lauren and I had the same nostalgic thought going through our minds. For the past two hours, we had felt like we were back home in America, but as we walked into the lobby our minds brought us back to reality.

My two girls classes went really well. They are so fun to teach. Keigo was on a school trip and did not come, so instead I had two prospective student interviews. The first, a girl who might join my class of high school boys, and the second, an older man who needs to keep up his English as enforced by the company he works for. Hiroko was happy when the man decided to start taking lessons; he must have liked the interview. The girl will get back to Hiroko; she has to decide whether she will take private or group lessons. Why so many new prospective students you ask? Well, one of the Nova (wikipedia) schools down the street and around the corner is closing. As a result, we have had many people stop in and inquire about taking lessons at Hands On English. I heard from Lauren that Nova might have gone bankrupt because of the scandal here this past spring. I'm not sure if that rumor is true, but I will keep my senses open for any information concerning it.

Just before I left Hiroko fed me; butter and anko (sweet red bean paste) on a roll from one of her favorite bakeries. I rode my bike home from the station and was surprised at how cold the night had become without the sun’s warmth. As one of my girls pointed out today while we reviewed adjectives: “The sun is hot!”. I walked in the door made myself a quick dinner and started getting things ready for tomorrow as it is the first day of our week long Halloween extravaganza. I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but Lauren and I have decided to be good ‘ol American cowgirls.

I'm getting ready for my lessons about Halloween.

Hello Mr. Pumpkin! I decorated an origami balloon and turned it into a pumpkin.

Random Side Notes: As time goes on, Lauren and I have begun to increasingly develop a keen sense of knowing what the other person is thinking. Maybe it is because we are very much alike is some ways or maybe it’s just because we live together. Also, I am personally not a big pop drinker, but Lauren was really excited that the cinema had fountain Coke.

Random Quotes:
"There was this thing I heard that all the candy corn in the world was made in the 50's"
- Hu Huang
"A fart is quite a complex noise. It's definitely combines two things you wouldn't think of: whoopee cushions and a toilet."
-Dan Kinney (Dan and I were talking about the complexities of a Japanese toilet, and he had the brilliant idea to create a toilet that produces fart sounds rather than the signature Japanese flushing water sound.)

Oh and here is an interesting link that crossed my path:
The Inside Scoop on HP