At a Loss in Translation...

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY!!! I so wish I could be there to celebrate with you. Actually, I wish you were here instead. It would save me a 12 hour plane ride and a lot of money. I'd rather spend that money on a nice sushi dinner for you. That's love.
*Sorry. I wrote this post yesterday, but I didn't finish, so let's pretend.*

Anyway, I had a fantastic weekend! It's been getting a little bit warmer (although my hands are practically frozen right now and I've been told recently that I might have a mild case of frostbite--that's another story) and it wasn't raining, so that automatically made it good. Saturday night, I booked it after work to Numazu to join Mary and Valerie at the Silver Lump. LOVE THAT PLACE. It's a small neighborhood bar, owned by this little man named Masaki (正樹), or better known to us as, Mr. Liar. He lied about being able to speak English and has since been dubbed, Mr. Liar. Granted his English isn't great, but he knows enough to talk to us and translate to the other patrons. He also knows how to properly use the f-word. This bar is great for so many reasons: 
1) it's right by Mary and Valerie's apartment 
2) we never leave before 6am 
3) you can drink for 9 hours and it won't cost more than $40
4) Mr. Bean and friends (other patrons that frequent the bar)
5) We play games!
6) We are treated like celebrities. Not gonna lie, I kinda feel like a pimp when I walk in. They know us by name and the bar tender insists that other people talk to us. At least just say "hi" and "bye". 
7) We teach them useful English, but also get plenty of opportunities to practice Japanese and learn some very obscure words like "reckless driver" and "sex drive".
You're probably wondering how that last one came up....This is where it gets good...


So, in addition to Mr. Bean and the bartender/owner of the bar, there is always at least one new person we meet. In the past we've met, Mr. New York, Mr. Seaweed, Mr. Blue, just to name a few. These men are named based on their Japanese name that we will never remember or by what they were wearing the night we met them. This past weekend we met one man, but we haven't decided on the appropriate Mr. nickname to give him. I voted for Mr. 70's because his hair style is as old as he is (he's 39). He says he goes by "Matt" with his American friends. Hold up. That 70's Japanese man just used air quotes. He does have American friends. Our explanation of "air quotes" was reinforced by a reference to Austin Powers, via Mr. Bean, which then led the bartender to question "what is mojo?" Oh dear. I do hope the Japanese have the same traditions that all moral values and inhibitions are left at the door of the bar. Here goes nothing. I looked up the Japanese word for "sex drive". For the next hour or so, we watched as the bartender mimed a female figure and politely asked her, "I am mojo. You try me?" That is, until he asked me, out of the three men there which one I would choose. I thought about it as the three of them sat there with their heads bowed low into their clasped hands, whispering something I can only assume translates to "pick me..pick me". I'm not that desperate, but it's nice to know I have choices. I chose Mary. 
How do you stop three Japanese men from consistently asking you to sleep with them? Give them something else to compete for...for example, English tongue twisters. Make sure they include lots of "th" and "z" sounds for your own benefit. It's hilarious. Then go home (at 7am). 

After our four hour nap, we got ready to venture out to Kawazu (河津) on the Izu Peninsula (across the Suruga Bay from Shizuoka) to see some early blooming cherry blossoms. Even though we had missed the big festival by one day, the streets were still lined with street vendors on one side and the gorgeous pink flowered trees along the river. I can't explain how beautiful it was. See for yourself! 

Valerie

Mary 

me

It's just so pretty! 

It was cold, but we had to try the cherry blossom soft cream!

On Monday I met my coworkers so we could all go strawberry picking! Shizuoka is well-known for it's strawberries. Strawberry picking is an all-you-can-eat affair for a half hour, which doesn't seem that long, but when you're just eating strawberries, it's forever. 

My stomach was definitely smaller than my eyes, but I was still hungry when we left. We stopped for lunch at some ghetto looking ramen shop and then continued on our way to Kuno-san Tosho-gu shrine. I had taken the ropeway there with my parents before, but that was when I was at the top of Mt. Kuno. I was now at the bottom and the only way up from there is the 1100 stone steps. I warned my coworkers that 1) I don't climb and 2) If I do this, I might have to unbutton my pants at some point on the climb, so don't be alarmed. It wasn't so bad. We had a nice view of the ocean. Once you walk up the 1100 steps, there's a sign that tells you there are still 59 more to get to the shrine. If this place hadn't been named a World Heritage Site, I would have quit long ago. Finally we reached the shrine and it was really beautiful. We kept going up above the shrine and I was expecting some epic view. All there was was construction and a tree that takes your money. We took the ropeway from the mountain to catch the bus back to Shizuoka station. 

It was really a great weekend!! I am really excited for next weekend's trip to Kobe!! Only 6 1/2 weeks until Aly, Megan, and Kelly come to visit!! 20 more weeks until I leave Japan. Well, until next time! またね！
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New Vocabulary:
~嘘つき  oo-so-tsu-key   Liar
~無謀運転者 moo-bou-oon-ten-sha        reckless driver
~性欲 say-yo-koo       sex drive
~早口言葉 hah-yah-goo-chee-ko-toe-bah   tongue twister
~花見  hah-nah-me   flower viewing
~いちご狩り  itchy-go-gah-ree   strawberry picking
~山を登る yah-mah-oh-no-bo-roo  climb a mountain