Sayonara...

This will probably be my last entry in Japan.

I can't believe I'll be leaving in only five days! So much is happening. Tomorrow will be my last day in this apartment. I'll be staying at my friend's place for the last few days. I'm really busy cleaning, packing, sending out job applications, and spending time with everyone before I go. I'm really going to miss everyone here! Tomorrow night I'm going to Karaoke with some of the other ALTs and then I'm going to my the house of a family who are friends with my host family. The mother is someone who teaches people how to put on a kimono and she said I can try one on! It will be my first time to wear a kimono, but I did buy a yukata (summer kimono) a few weeks ago. It's really cute. I'm going to wear it to Knott's Scary Farm for Halloween! I already sent it off with most of my other stuff by sea mail.

Even though I'm sad about leaving Japan and all of my friends and students behind, I'm also really excited about my future in Los Angeles. There are several good schools that I am applying for. I'm hoping to work at a Junior High/Middle school. There are even several charter schools and Elementary schools that are K-8. I look forward to teaching English and putting the experience I've earned here to work. Of course, I'll also be happy to see all of my family and friends back home (and Pooh-bear, the dog who lives across the street).

Wish me luck!

B'z

Last night I went with my host mother to a B'z concert. B'z is a rock band (it's actually just a singer and a guitar player) who are really cool and have been around for a while. They are both very talented. I couldn't help but think that if they could write/sing songs in English they would be really popular. I'm not really a huge B'z fan, but they played several songs that I know - including the theme song from "Beautiful Life". I also felt pretty cool singing along to the English lyrics in "Alone", which are as follows:

I was born to fall in love
You know, we're all alone
Hold your dreams, it never ends
Naked eyes in the sky...

They don't make a lot of sense, but they are fun to sing. Maybe I should practice for my final round of karaoke...

Rakuten Golden Eagles

I went to my first Japanese Professional Baseball game at the new FULLCAST stadium yesterday. It was an inter-league game with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles vs. The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants. I think the Giants won 10-6, but we couldn't see the score board from the nosebleed seats we had! Still, it was really fun. I even ate pizza that didn't have any of the following on it:

Mayonnaise
Corn
Squid

And that's saying something for Japanese pizza!

I hope to see another game before my time is up here!


Eagles vs. Giants 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! Kyonen mo yoroshiku!
I spent the holidays in Japan this year, saving money instead of going on a trip. Since several of my co-workers decided to go to Thailand, I guess it's a good thing I decided to take it easy. I spent Christmas with my host family and New Year's with my friends in the snow. A special thanks to my friends and family who remembered me with a card or package! A little bit of home for the holidays!
Here is a picture of my first shrine visit of the year (Hatsumode)!



Hatsumode 

Howl's Moving Castle

Well, Tuesday was my birthday (thanks to everyone who remembered little old me). I went to the movies to see "Howl's Moving Castle" which is the first Ghibli movie I've ever actually seen at the theatre in Japan. It was good. Over the weekend I went to Tokyo Disneyland with some friends. Now I'm busy doing some last minute cramming for the Japanese Proficiency Test which is on December 5th. Wish me luck!


Howl's Moving Castle 

Magnum Bowl 8

I went to another indies concert last night. This time it was at Park Square. We went to see MB8. The Captains were also supposed to play, but they weren't all there for some reason, so the (bass player?) and the lead singer of Magnum formed a duo called "MagCap", ha ha ha! They even sang some Beatles songs. I forget the name of the other band, but they were cool. They had a lot of screaming, and I thought the lead singer kind of looked like Quentin Tarantino.

Check out the webpage of Magnum Bowl 8, even though it's in Japanese.

Candy

I got a package today from my family in Oregon. I thought it was an early birthday present, but it turned out to be a box full of Halloween candy! I was so surprised. It was a real slice of American life. Thanks guys!


Thanks for the candy!