That Didn't Suck...

The title of this blog post happens to be one of Mary's favorite sayings. It was well-used this weekend, which we spent in 東京 (Tokyo). Heather invited a bunch of us out to 本厚木 (Honatsugi) to spend our last weekend before winter vacation. Honastugi is about 40 minutes from Tokyo and about 2 1/2 hours on a local train from me. I met Mary in 沼津 (Numazu) and we met up with Heather at her station, then off to find Mandy at the 新宿 (Shinjuku) station in Tokyo. Poor Mandy. She was coming from  仙台 (Sendai) and has never left the area since she got there in July. If you don't already know, the Tokyo train/subway system is ridiculous. In case anyone else is wondering, Shinjuku is a place, not a train. We all wandered the streets of Shinjuku, impressed by the bright lights and the crowds and looking for a place that would suit everyone's needs for an acceptable dinner. Instead, we took photo stickers and stared at the men that stand around with pretty hair. We eventually found a little smokey "izakaya" (Google says it's a tavern, but I think of it as a step up from a pub. it's more restaurant than bar). We drank lots of sours and ate lots of little fried snacks. Delicious. After dinner, we went to karaoke, drank WAY too much and sang some awful songs. I made friends with the cabby on the way back to Heather's after our little bathroom excursion. It was great. 

Pretty view of Mt. Fuji from the train!

歌舞伎町--Kabuki-cho

The next day we had another adventure to 秋葉原 (Akihabara), the electronics district in Tokyo. These gorgeous yellow trees lined the streets and even though it was a tad cold, it was a beautiful day! We had lunch at the ガンダム (Gundam) Cafe. I was told once that Gundam are like Japanese transformers ( I also thought that transformers were Japanese, but apparently that is not true either).. They are things that morph into war-fighting robots (I'm sorry Heather if I get this wrong) and they now have their own cafe. Cool. I had lunch with robots with the strangest taste in food. I had a pizza, topped with what appeared to be potato salad and a drizzle of basil pesto. Why do they think they can just throw any picnic side-dish on top of a pizza? (**That reminds me. I had asked one of my students what kind of pizza she liked and she said salami. Now, I know there's pepperoni and Canadian bacon and whatever, but I don't believe I've ever heard of salami. I then told her my favorite is cheese and pineapple and I think she almost threw up in her mouth). 

He's so cute!

                                     

Pretty yellow trees!

 So, I'm not cool enough to give you all the statistics about the ridiculous amounts of anime and electronics that are produced or whatever happens here. Feel free to use my friend Google to find that information out on your own. We made our way to 浅草 (Asakusa) where we went to the 浅草寺 (Sensou-ji temple). The outer gate of the temple is called 雷門 (Kaminari-mon), which translates to "Thunder gate". We had asked someone to take our picture and as we're standing there, waiting for the guy to snap the shot, a bunch of older people with giant cameras squat down and immediately start snapping photos of the four of us. I wasn't aware that any of us are celebrities. I mean, if you're looking for foreigners there are plenty to choose from. All I have to say is, if you're going to put my face on a brochure, you better come find me because I want my cut. This face ain't cheap. I have kids that spend 7,500 yen to talk to this face for an hour. Rude. Anyway, we wandered around the temple grounds and there was a little festival thing happening. We ate some street vendor food and made our way back to the station to part our ways. We did run into a guy selling oranges who has no concept of bartering. He was trying to sell his oranges, 8 for 500 yen. We said that wasn't bad, but we don't need 8 oranges, they're too heavy. He said, "Ok. I give you 10 for 500 yen." Seriously sir? We may just want one. He said, "Ok. 12 for 200 yen." Mary couldn't take it anymore and just bought them. 
It was a fantastic weekend. Just what we all needed before we finish out the six days of work we have left this year. This weekend did not suck, as Mary would say. I cannot wait for this weekend because I can finally see my parents!! I will meet them in 横浜 (Yokohama) on Sunday and they will be here for the next 2 weeks. Well, until next time! またね！

The best fortune!

The regular fortune

A good fortune

a good fortune 

bargain. 

Kaminari-mon

Sensou-ji Temple

I don't know, but it's pretty. And Japanese looking. 

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New Vocabulary:

~迷子になった  my-go-ni-nah-tah   got lost

~寺  teh-rah  temple 

さようなら トラビス！ (Goodbye Travis!)

This week we sadly said goodbye to my co-NET, Travis. While his departure from our company has been sad, it has allowed us to meet Shawna (my new co-NET). She is so spunky and excited about everything. It's nice to see that energy in the office again. I lost that positive energy after my first week when I realized that I had no friends or anyone to hang out with during my first vacation. I hope she doesn't lose it!

I will miss Travis very very much. He was a wealth of information about the company and Japan and I don't know what I'm going to do without him. Since he had been here for 2 years, he was held responsible for pretty much anything that went wrong on behalf of the foreign teachers. I can't have that kind of responsibility. I've barely been here 4 months. It's still early in this game.

Anyway, to celebrate Travis and the new friends that have now joined our school, we all went out to karaoke and had a fabulous time! Here are some pictures from the evening!

I'm gonna miss that goofy face.

That was the office party. Now, let the real festivities begin......

With California Love playing in the background, we taught the Japanese ladies how to be real Cali gangsters
West-side (Really far west). For life. 

Manager sang the cutest song about salad. 

Shit got serious.

 We ended the night at Travis' favorite bar in downtown Shizuoka, Asobi Bar. We played darts and cards and took inappropriate pictures with some of the toys there.

I think she got a bullseye. 

あそび　バー (Asobi Bar)

"Hello...hello...hello. I am glad to see you...I am glad to see you..."

またあそぼうね！(we'll hang again soon!)

What's that? You want to hear some karaoke? You're in luck. I took videos. Ever heard Ricky Martin in Japanese...it doesn't translate well, but enjoy. You're welcome. (still trying to get the video to work. Be patient).

It was a great way to celebrate. Travis, you will be missed greatly. Thanks for everything!! You're an amazing mentor and friend. Good luck and I will see you when I return to California. Until next time! またね！

<3 Allison

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New Vocabulary:

~さようなら　トラビス   sah-yo-nah-rah Toe-rah-bee-sue    Goodbye Travis!

~またあそぼうね  mah-tah-ah-so-bow-neh    We'll hang again soon!

Thanksgiving in Japan!!

HAPPY SUPER LATE THANKSGIVING!!!

I was so sad to miss Thanksgiving with my family this year, so I wanted to host a little Thanksgiving themed dinner of my own the Sunday after the real American day. I say "themed" because to have an authentic Thanksgiving in Japan is impossible. Turkey is practically unheard of unless you eat at Subway on Wednesdays (it's the special).
So I invited Mary and Valerie and they invited Heather, a girl we all met at follow-up training. I was so happy they did. She brought pumpkin cheesecake (that's not the only reason why I was glad she was invited). Also, my new co-net arrived in Shizuoka on Sunday, so I invited her too to make sure she feels welcome and so we could all get to know her. I think we're going to get along great. It's been two days and I feel like I've known her for much longer. We spent the evening drinking girly drinks and chatting and eating.

The spread

Obviously Thanksgiving isn't a big holiday here. Scratch that, it's not a holiday here. Mary was very pleased that she didn't have to fight anyone at the market for potatoes. I did take control of the kitchen, but I have witnesses that I was only a little mean and demanding. Mary made mashed potatoes (delicious!). Valerie made deviled eggs (so yummy!). Heather made pumpkin cheesecake (so good!). And I made chicken and stuffing. For not having a real oven and one hot plate to cook food, Thanksgiving was a success!
 It was so nice to have great company and a great home-cooked, American-ish meal. A couple of us did have to use chopsticks. By the way, eating corn and mashed potatoes with chopsticks is more difficult than you think. We had a great time. We stayed up late, swapped (manly) stories, and in the morning, I made waffles. Thank you, girls, for making this Thanksgiving memorable for me!! Until next time! またね！

My lovely assistant, Mary

See, I let people do things..

Of course we all took photo stickers together because that's just what you do.

**Happy Birthday Samantha!! Miss you!

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New Vocabulary:
~サンクスギビング   san-ku-su-gee-been-goo   Thanksgiving
~包丁  hoe-oo-cho-oo   Kitchen knife
~友達   toe-moe-dah-chi    friend