Alcoholism and Getting a Haircut in a Foreign Language

I love my Ota ALTs!!! Last night we had our weekly potluck dinner. It was at Angie’s this time, and it was a blast. I had been craving wine on Tuesday night, but refrained, as it’s not exactly something you can drink by yourself (without having the whole bottle, and that’s depressing), so I was very excited to enjoy good wine and good company last night (despite the 15 minutes it took to open that damn first bottle….stupid synthetic corks!). We had good food, too. A yummy salad, bread AND CHEESE (you have no idea how exciting and rare cheese is in this country), pastries (for most people this is eaten last, but for me, Veronica and Angie, this is an appetizer), pasta with marinara and seafood, and ice cream. I may have gained 15 pounds and gotten no sleep, but it was worth it. Thanks, Angie!

So, the other day I took a large step and got my first haircut in Japan. The other two times I was here I was too scared to get a haircut in Japanese and just let my hair grow to afro proportions, but that’s not exactly advisable when living here for 1-3 years. Plus, I had to be sexy for Paradise Ball, so it was as good a time as any to take the plunge! I went to this $10 haircut place (yes, sounds sketchy, but there are lots of them in Japan) that my students recommended and it was awesome! The guys there had the most high-maintenance haircuts possible (and that’s saying a lot for Japanese guys), so I wasn’t too scared. The guy who cut my hair was really cool and we had a good conversation about 24, Gunma, and other stuff. I also somehow got my sister set up on a date with the guy behind the desk when she comes to visit in the spring. God, I’m turning into my grandma. Anyway, yay for sexy haircut! :)