Ca-ro-ru!

Happy Birthday Carol!
Thank you for making me

1) eat Okinawan food
2) do purikura
3) talk to strange men
4) hang around Sun Road
5) do karaoke until after 3am
6) get to bed after 4am

Rainy days....

The skies above Kumamoto have been grey and rainy for a while now. Maybe they are reflecting my mood….

Crazy Economy

This economy stuff is getting crazy. Everyday I hear about people losing their jobs and businesses and no one seems to be able to see an end to it.

One guy killed his entire family before shooting himself because things were so bad. I don’t think things should ever come to that. Hoping and praying for good fortune for those I know.

Dancing & Snow

At about 7pm last night I decided I wanted to go dancing. There aren’t that many places to go dancing in Kumamoto, so I called a few people to see if they were up for a last minute adventure. Dawn was the only one who was free so at 9:30pm we got on a train to Fukuoka.
Needless to say it was great fun; drinking, dancing, 3am munchies and love hotel-ing are just some of the crazy things we got up to. I love random adventures.

We decided to hang around Fukuoka and do some shopping and as the day wore on, the snow began to fall. It came down thicker and faster and before long the ground was covered. Dawn had to make a call to her family in Hawaii just to brag (obviously they don’t get much snow). I was quite content but did have to buy a pair of purple earmuffs to keep my ears warm!

Quote Of The Day

Here are some random quotes from my organizer. I get a different quote everyday but these stand out more than the others.

“The aim, if reached or not, makes great the life: Try to be Shakespeare, leave the rest to fate.”

“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”

“Presence is more than just being there.”

Cleaning Time

Luna went home yesterday. It was so sad to see her go. She has been living here for a whole month. I think I’m really going to miss her. If Carrie and David leave Japan this summer, I’ll get to keep her – yay! Well, I’ll be sad if they leave but I would love an excuse to get Luna back. For those not clear, this is Luna.

One good thing about Luna leaving is that I finally got to clean my apartment. I cleaned from 11am to 6pm! I threw out two bags of rubbish and a lot of stuff I didn’t need anymore. A good clean out always makes you feel better.

The Best Resolutions

This week I have made my students write their New Years Resolutions. Here are some of my favourites.

* I want to raise my hand in class.
* I will try harder to be kind to people.
* I won’t sleep in class.
* I’ll stop eating mayonnaise everyday.
* I’m going to have a beautiful body.
* I’m going to love Japan.
* I want to eat vegetarians?!?!
* I want to open my heart.
* I’m not going to tell a lie…absolutely.
* I will be ambitious.
* I won’t think in a negative way.
* I don’t want my parents to worry about me.
* I want to be number one!
* I won’t use abusive language.

Crazy Conversations

I washed my mobile phone last night! It went through a full cycle in the washing machine. It worked for a little while but as soon as the battery ran out, it was gone. Boo hoo – not sure how much it will cost to get fixed!

Today was the first meeting of a little coffee club Dawn decided to start up. Quite a few people turned up and we took over Starbucks, much to the dismay of the staff. It was good to see people I don’t get much chance to see and talk about all kinds of weird stuff.

At one point the topic of conversation turned to how each of us would like to die. Carrie’s answer was the best as she said she would like to be “squashed by a fat man”. Ok then!

Dondoya in Yoshino

Today we went to Yoshino to take part in the Dondoya festival. The weather forecast said to expect heavy snow so we all had our coats, hats and gloves at the ready. Luckily the weather was fine and we had a great day with the Yoshino gang.

First we had to beat the mochi (rice) Watch the experts!

After we’d all had a turn pounding, we had to make round mochi cakes filled with red beans, cheese and natto.

After a great lunch we all headed down to the bonfire with our bamboo poles to roast more mochi and then eat and drink some more.

It is always nice to hang out with the locals. I picked up a few grandmas who were so cute!

This is papa-san! Crazy guy who loves to drink and smoke (even though he’s not supposed to) and calls himself our papa! We love him!

Tough Decisions

Today at school I was part of a judging panel to choose 2 students to take part in this years’ recitation contest. It is hard to choose between students who are obviously good, and students who might benefit the most by being given a chance to compete. There were four judges and it came down to a vote in the end. It was hard giving the result to the kids as I know those that didn’t get it were disappointed but they can always try next year. Oh it’s tough being an ALT sometimes!

Going Gaga

Today I treated myself to a new CD. It is fantastic!

Fortunes

Today was the first day back at the office. We went to a local shrine with Natsuko (our boss), said another prayer for the New Year and received our fortunes for the year. This is a very important part of New Year celebrations in Japan. As well as going to a shrine with your family, people go with work colleagues, team mates and friends.

We managed to get a fortune in English this year and here are some of my favourite parts

Marriage Proposal – don’t depend on others too much

Childbirth – No problem, Easy to birth

Travel – No problem, but don’t give yourself up to sensual pleasures

Wish – The beginning is the most important

Game and Match – Ascertain your rival

“Though it seems to bed its head to one side, a green willow really bends its head in any direction depending on the wind. So does a man’s feeling.”

Tidy Up Time

Time to take down the decorations :( I know the apartment will feel so empty but it has to be done. Luna wanted in on the action too and decided to help Dawn untangle the lights – Thanks Luna!

Captain Jack

After lazing most of the day away Kittie and Natchan came over for dinner tonight.

At 7pm we watched Hawaii bring in the New Year via webcam. They had lots of firecrackers – New Year is apparently very noisy in Hawaii. We also said a brief hello to Kalani who is in Iraq. Hopefully we’ll be home before too long.

After all that excitement we settled down to a “Pirates of the Caribbean” marathon. We love Captain Jack!

Have A Great 2009!