Thursday, July 06, 2006
Izakaya Pride!
Dude, I hate L.A., but I might have to visit there when I am missing Japan! Izakayas are taking over, yo!
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
You may be an over-eater if….
Your parents take out their never-used digital camera to take a picture of the Burgerville sign declaring it Walla Walla Onion Ring season. FUCK, I want some right now, even though I know my Japanese stomach can’t handle them. Mmmmmmmmm, onion rings the size of my hands……
Risaikuru
It is a VERY big day in Yabuchu for Jeffrey, as an actual paper-recycling system has been set up! Gasp, shock, ooo, awww! YAY! I have been a horrible environment killer since August, and I am VERY happy at the thought of actually being able to recycle the endless amount of paper used in this damn school! *does an Oregon hippie dance*
Monday, July 03, 2006
Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems
Let’s hope Puff Daddy is right with that lyric, because I will surely be problem-free with the complete LACK of money I have until payday! Hehe. But despite mysteriously having no money, the last week has been fun (also despite shitty hotness at work!)!
Thursday night some of us went out to dinner at Ikkyu, our favorite izakaya in Ota. The reason for the dinner was because Cindy’s friends Lisa, Mona and Larissa came from the States and we had to give them a good ol’ inaka welcome ;) It was a good dinner! It had been way too long since Ikkyu dinner, and we made up for it in beer alone! Cindy’s friends enjoy the alcohol, which makes them very cool in my book. Hehe. In fact, Sean and I fear we may have had a bit too much alcohol for a school night! Sad that we are (or at least I am) too old for drinking on a weekday! Friday morning wasn’t the best morning ever, but it could have been far worse!
After a very long day at work on Friday, we went out again (and were joined by Jenny this time) at Eru, the new western-style bar that is owned by the same (hot) guy as Ikkyu. It’s the COMPLETE opposite of Ikkyu, though. It is really cool and western and trendy-looking, but unfortunately it also has crappy-ass western service! They like completely ignored us! We were kinda picky bitches, but still, bastards! The food was also not izakaya-style at all, which made family-style eating rather difficult. It is a cool place (and they have YUMMY drinks) but I don’t think I’ll be going back to Eru anytime soon.
Saturday morning I got up earlier than usual to meet up with Ann, Sean, Cindy and her friends for a day and night at Lake Haruna, which is in northern Gunma (i.e. in the middle of nowhere!). It is where a bunch of us went for an ALT Christmas party in December. It’s a great place to relax and is fucking cheap, yo! We got transportation to and from there, onsen, a big dinner, breakfast, nomihoudai (all you can drink for 2 hours), karaoke and a place to sleep for 125 bucks each! Not bad at all, yo.
In the afternoon we just chilled (sadly, both times I have been there I have been too lazy to go outside and do anything lake-ish, but you can see it from the windows and that’s enough!), then did some onsen-ing. I think the mountain air fucks with you in the onsen, as Sean and I were about to die very quickly in there. It was relaxing, though.
In the evening we had a big Japanese-y dinner with the nomihoudai. Man, did we take advantage of their alcohol! We found out that we could rent a karaoke room for a flat rate of 3700 yen….hello, best deal ever! And we could also bring our alcohol from dinner there, so we totally over-ordered with karaoke in mind. The girls hadn’t done karaoke since coming here, so we showed them the WONDERS of Japanese karaoke. It was great, though the HOTTEST ROOM IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I was pretty much just wearing my underwear by the end of it (they give you robes there and we were wearing them, but I couldn’t handle that shit in the heat). You KNOW you wish you had been there ;)
After we all lost our voices, we watched some World Cup before assing out. I am sad that England lost! I wanted them to win the whole thing, but they did deserve to lose, as their offense was awful. Also, it is kinda cool that Portugal is all little and made it to the final four. And I didn’t stay up for the game, but I am SO HAPPY that Brazil LOST! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEA! I hope Italy wins…..anyone but Germany will make me happy, though.
Anyway, Haruna was fun times! Thanks Mona, Lisa and Larissa for giving us Ota ALTs excuses to party :)
Thursday night some of us went out to dinner at Ikkyu, our favorite izakaya in Ota. The reason for the dinner was because Cindy’s friends Lisa, Mona and Larissa came from the States and we had to give them a good ol’ inaka welcome ;) It was a good dinner! It had been way too long since Ikkyu dinner, and we made up for it in beer alone! Cindy’s friends enjoy the alcohol, which makes them very cool in my book. Hehe. In fact, Sean and I fear we may have had a bit too much alcohol for a school night! Sad that we are (or at least I am) too old for drinking on a weekday! Friday morning wasn’t the best morning ever, but it could have been far worse!
After a very long day at work on Friday, we went out again (and were joined by Jenny this time) at Eru, the new western-style bar that is owned by the same (hot) guy as Ikkyu. It’s the COMPLETE opposite of Ikkyu, though. It is really cool and western and trendy-looking, but unfortunately it also has crappy-ass western service! They like completely ignored us! We were kinda picky bitches, but still, bastards! The food was also not izakaya-style at all, which made family-style eating rather difficult. It is a cool place (and they have YUMMY drinks) but I don’t think I’ll be going back to Eru anytime soon.
Saturday morning I got up earlier than usual to meet up with Ann, Sean, Cindy and her friends for a day and night at Lake Haruna, which is in northern Gunma (i.e. in the middle of nowhere!). It is where a bunch of us went for an ALT Christmas party in December. It’s a great place to relax and is fucking cheap, yo! We got transportation to and from there, onsen, a big dinner, breakfast, nomihoudai (all you can drink for 2 hours), karaoke and a place to sleep for 125 bucks each! Not bad at all, yo.
In the afternoon we just chilled (sadly, both times I have been there I have been too lazy to go outside and do anything lake-ish, but you can see it from the windows and that’s enough!), then did some onsen-ing. I think the mountain air fucks with you in the onsen, as Sean and I were about to die very quickly in there. It was relaxing, though.
In the evening we had a big Japanese-y dinner with the nomihoudai. Man, did we take advantage of their alcohol! We found out that we could rent a karaoke room for a flat rate of 3700 yen….hello, best deal ever! And we could also bring our alcohol from dinner there, so we totally over-ordered with karaoke in mind. The girls hadn’t done karaoke since coming here, so we showed them the WONDERS of Japanese karaoke. It was great, though the HOTTEST ROOM IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I was pretty much just wearing my underwear by the end of it (they give you robes there and we were wearing them, but I couldn’t handle that shit in the heat). You KNOW you wish you had been there ;)
After we all lost our voices, we watched some World Cup before assing out. I am sad that England lost! I wanted them to win the whole thing, but they did deserve to lose, as their offense was awful. Also, it is kinda cool that Portugal is all little and made it to the final four. And I didn’t stay up for the game, but I am SO HAPPY that Brazil LOST! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEA! I hope Italy wins…..anyone but Germany will make me happy, though.
Anyway, Haruna was fun times! Thanks Mona, Lisa and Larissa for giving us Ota ALTs excuses to party :)
Conbinis for the Elderly
In 50 years, perhaps I'll be wheelin' my way over to the old people's Lawson!
Friday, June 30, 2006
Everything about summer sucks!!!
Dude, even though winter was the season of the devil, I want it back RIGHT NOW because I am already dying in this fucking heat. I am tired of showering every five minutes! BAH!
What makes it far worse is that we have school until July 20th (in case you forgot this charming gem of information, Japanese schools don’t have air conditioning). It is SO fucking pointless to have school in this heat because all of the teachers are near death, and the kids don’t do ANYTHING in class. They just sit there and zone out or sleep (seriously half of my last class was asleep). It is so fucking ridiculous and irritating!!!! BAH!
Also, I am about to offer to pay the fucking electric bill for my cheap-ass whore of a Kyoto sensei to TURN ON THE MOTHERFUCKING AIR CONDITIONING IN THE STAFF ROOM! WHAT THE FUCK! When it is 32 degrees, one would expect to have windows wide open, or preferably, air conditioning on. But we wouldn’t want to have flies come into the staffroom now would, we? And we wouldn’t want to pay like 2 extra yen for genki teachers, no! It’s hotter in here than it is outside! Fucking ghetto-ass country.
*this message has been brought to you by the Bitter ALT Association
What makes it far worse is that we have school until July 20th (in case you forgot this charming gem of information, Japanese schools don’t have air conditioning). It is SO fucking pointless to have school in this heat because all of the teachers are near death, and the kids don’t do ANYTHING in class. They just sit there and zone out or sleep (seriously half of my last class was asleep). It is so fucking ridiculous and irritating!!!! BAH!
Also, I am about to offer to pay the fucking electric bill for my cheap-ass whore of a Kyoto sensei to TURN ON THE MOTHERFUCKING AIR CONDITIONING IN THE STAFF ROOM! WHAT THE FUCK! When it is 32 degrees, one would expect to have windows wide open, or preferably, air conditioning on. But we wouldn’t want to have flies come into the staffroom now would, we? And we wouldn’t want to pay like 2 extra yen for genki teachers, no! It’s hotter in here than it is outside! Fucking ghetto-ass country.
*this message has been brought to you by the Bitter ALT Association
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Various Photos
K, I was going to make the subject "Photos de Randomo," but realized I had already used that as a subject (or so says my entry history), then I was going to use "Random Photos," but that has been used, too. Sad, I'm not original. So you get the most boring subject ever for this one!
Here are "various photos" from my keitai and digicam....I was going to upload Korea photos while I was at it, but I realized that I have to wait to get everyone else's photos before I do that *nodnod*
I love me some grapefruits sours, even though I don't like grapefruit! When you order a grapefruit sour, you get a big glass of...sour stuff. I dunno, alcoholic stuff, then you get a grapefruit that you squeeze yourself and pour into the drink. Not only is it is fun, but it a) makes you feel very productive b) makes you feel like you're having a vitamin-enriched drink, and not something that destroys your immune system and c) is fresh! Fun stuff all around, I tell you. This is from Tokyo orientation (those weren't all for me, thank you).
To show you how awful my English is at the moment, I first wrote "sour" as "sower," then "sawer," then "saur." Then I was pretty sure it was "sour," but it looked wrong so I had to look it up in the dictionary. Oy.
Beware of the power of Japanese marketing! Coke was having the best "saabisu" (service) EVER for the World Cup....keychains that looked like poker chips. There was one for each country in the World Cup, with their flag and stuff on it. K, it doesn't sound cool, but it is! I swear ;) Hehe. Anyway, Tim introduced Cindy and I to them and we immediately went to every conbini near (and not near) us in order to collect the ones we wanted (might I add that it is embarrassing to empty a refrigerator of Cokes while looking for the World Cup keychain of your choice...and it's even more embarrassing to do so while on the phone saying "Okay, they have Saudi Arabia....shit, they don't have Japan! Ooooooooo, they have Korea, do you want me to get it for you?").
This is the baseball game we went to about a month ago. I am so macho!
While wandering around Ota (getting some necessary exercise between our two dinners that night, hehe) we ran into an izakaya called "Inaka." Inaka means like boonies, country, middle-of-nowhere. I was pretty amused and found it fitting that it's in Ota.
Here are "various photos" from my keitai and digicam....I was going to upload Korea photos while I was at it, but I realized that I have to wait to get everyone else's photos before I do that *nodnod*
I love me some grapefruits sours, even though I don't like grapefruit! When you order a grapefruit sour, you get a big glass of...sour stuff. I dunno, alcoholic stuff, then you get a grapefruit that you squeeze yourself and pour into the drink. Not only is it is fun, but it a) makes you feel very productive b) makes you feel like you're having a vitamin-enriched drink, and not something that destroys your immune system and c) is fresh! Fun stuff all around, I tell you. This is from Tokyo orientation (those weren't all for me, thank you).
To show you how awful my English is at the moment, I first wrote "sour" as "sower," then "sawer," then "saur." Then I was pretty sure it was "sour," but it looked wrong so I had to look it up in the dictionary. Oy.
Beware of the power of Japanese marketing! Coke was having the best "saabisu" (service) EVER for the World Cup....keychains that looked like poker chips. There was one for each country in the World Cup, with their flag and stuff on it. K, it doesn't sound cool, but it is! I swear ;) Hehe. Anyway, Tim introduced Cindy and I to them and we immediately went to every conbini near (and not near) us in order to collect the ones we wanted (might I add that it is embarrassing to empty a refrigerator of Cokes while looking for the World Cup keychain of your choice...and it's even more embarrassing to do so while on the phone saying "Okay, they have Saudi Arabia....shit, they don't have Japan! Ooooooooo, they have Korea, do you want me to get it for you?").
This is the baseball game we went to about a month ago. I am so macho!
While wandering around Ota (getting some necessary exercise between our two dinners that night, hehe) we ran into an izakaya called "Inaka." Inaka means like boonies, country, middle-of-nowhere. I was pretty amused and found it fitting that it's in Ota.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
South and North Korea
An interesting NY Times article about North Korean defectors' lives in South Korea. K, that sentence doesn't sound interesting at all, but read the article!
Suicide by pills may be cheaper than by train
An, er, interesting quote from an article about the Yamanote line in the Japan Times:
Yamanote Line traffic usually flows like water. But with so many trains hauling so many people about, it is inevitable that some occasional logistic snafus occur.
None is more unwelcome than the chaos that ensues when someone ends it all by jumping in front of an oncoming train. Last year there were 18 so-called jinshin jiko (human accidents), JR East spokesman Koichi Ueno said in an assertion which may surprise many regular users, for whom announcements of jinshin jiko delays seem far more frequent. According to officials, most jinshin jiko are suicides.
When a passenger jumps, the driver immediately stops the train, confirms the condition of the victim, checks for any damage to train machinery (brakes are particularly susceptible to impact) and communicates all findings to both the control center and his partner minding the back of the train.
Suicide delays generally last about 30 minutes, but can go much longer. JR East bills families of suicide jumpers for damages, with the requested amount commensurate with how many train lines are affected and for how long, said Shunichi Sekiguchi, another spokesman. Officials adamantly refused to discuss exact figures or the company's rationale for the policy.
Yamanote Line traffic usually flows like water. But with so many trains hauling so many people about, it is inevitable that some occasional logistic snafus occur.
None is more unwelcome than the chaos that ensues when someone ends it all by jumping in front of an oncoming train. Last year there were 18 so-called jinshin jiko (human accidents), JR East spokesman Koichi Ueno said in an assertion which may surprise many regular users, for whom announcements of jinshin jiko delays seem far more frequent. According to officials, most jinshin jiko are suicides.
When a passenger jumps, the driver immediately stops the train, confirms the condition of the victim, checks for any damage to train machinery (brakes are particularly susceptible to impact) and communicates all findings to both the control center and his partner minding the back of the train.
Suicide delays generally last about 30 minutes, but can go much longer. JR East bills families of suicide jumpers for damages, with the requested amount commensurate with how many train lines are affected and for how long, said Shunichi Sekiguchi, another spokesman. Officials adamantly refused to discuss exact figures or the company's rationale for the policy.
Friday, June 23, 2006
'Cause I know you want more Korea info...
Cindy's blog has a way better summary than mine!!! She includes the cultural and funny stuff that I forgot by the time I posted. So yes, reading her blog is my osusume. Douzo.
Japan is clazy, as always
Some observations:
-Chuugakkou is where the genki-human-to-societal-robot transformation starts, so teachers (especially 1nensei teachers) always have to tell kids how to behave and what they should do in certain situations. Actually, it’s mostly only 1nensei teachers that do that, as 1nensei have no idea what they are doing, and they can mold them however they want.
Anyway, every day after school, a student from each club comes to the staffroom to get the keys for their club activities (to open a room, or a closet with equipment or whatever). The students are supposed to say who they are and what they are taking. So yesterday a 3nensei comes in and takes the key and starts to leave, and this 1nensei teacher (high pants, huge visor woman) is like, “Wait, wait, wait, you didn’t say anything! You should say what class you’re from and what you are doing, or people will think you’re a suspicious person (I don’t know how to translate that well) trying to steal the keys!” Um, I don’t think that anyone is going to be worried about a student in uniform (and the student body president, might I add!) being “suspicious” and randomly stealing the keys to a closet! Hahaha.
-There are flags around town (and now in the staffroom, waiting to be hung) for “Bike Manner Up Day.” The 15th of every month is Bike Manner Up Day in which people are apparently supposed to bike safer and have better bike manners than every other day of the month? Hmmm.
-Just after starting 3rd period (a 3nensei class), my JTE suddenly turns to me and says, “A student has escaped. I will go look for him.” He came in halfway through the class, looked at the lunch menu and was really disappointed. It turned out that he had just arrived at5 school, and his sole purpose for coming was to have kyushoku. Nice.
-Chuugakkou is where the genki-human-to-societal-robot transformation starts, so teachers (especially 1nensei teachers) always have to tell kids how to behave and what they should do in certain situations. Actually, it’s mostly only 1nensei teachers that do that, as 1nensei have no idea what they are doing, and they can mold them however they want.
Anyway, every day after school, a student from each club comes to the staffroom to get the keys for their club activities (to open a room, or a closet with equipment or whatever). The students are supposed to say who they are and what they are taking. So yesterday a 3nensei comes in and takes the key and starts to leave, and this 1nensei teacher (high pants, huge visor woman) is like, “Wait, wait, wait, you didn’t say anything! You should say what class you’re from and what you are doing, or people will think you’re a suspicious person (I don’t know how to translate that well) trying to steal the keys!” Um, I don’t think that anyone is going to be worried about a student in uniform (and the student body president, might I add!) being “suspicious” and randomly stealing the keys to a closet! Hahaha.
-There are flags around town (and now in the staffroom, waiting to be hung) for “Bike Manner Up Day.” The 15th of every month is Bike Manner Up Day in which people are apparently supposed to bike safer and have better bike manners than every other day of the month? Hmmm.
-Just after starting 3rd period (a 3nensei class), my JTE suddenly turns to me and says, “A student has escaped. I will go look for him.” He came in halfway through the class, looked at the lunch menu and was really disappointed. It turned out that he had just arrived at5 school, and his sole purpose for coming was to have kyushoku. Nice.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
No sex please, we're Japanese
This definitely earns the award for the most amusing headline of the week.
Korea some more hamnida!
On Monday morning Cindy and I got up earlier than the others, so we decided to get yummy Korean donuts and try Korean Starbucks. Little did we know that Korean Starbucks is for freaking MILLIONAIRES! I got a grande frappuccino (I don’t know why, I so didn’t need grande, but oh well) and it was $6.50!!! That is crazy! However, it was worth it, as they have white chocolate mocha frappuccinos (I don’t know if they have those in the States now, but they don’t have them in Japan) and it was sooooooooooooooooooo good. But still, that is way too much money! A tumbler there was $40! Um, okay?!
After getting ripped off by corporate America, all of us went to a palace in Seoul that was purty, tho like every temple-type area in Japan/Korea/Asia. Hehe. It was nice to do some obligatory touristy stuff, though. For lunch we found out there was a Chili’s in Seoul, and us being the sad American-food-depraved JETs that we are decided to be losers and go there. IT WAS GOOD! Mmmm, chips and salsa! And I got quesadillas and a huge margarita. MMMMM! Good stuff!
After lunch we did some shopping, then in the evening Sean, Tim, Cindy and I went to Seoul Tower, where we could see a smoggy view of the city, as well as a pretty sunset. Cindy and I only wanted to go there because it was on our favorite Korean drama! Actually everything we did in Korea was based on our Korean drama, hahahaha. Oh, on the way down from the tower I gathered some apparent stalkers! I was standing with the others, waiting for the cable car, when I realized this Korean girl was standing next to me and her friend was “sneakily” taking our picture?! I was like, um, okay…..then they continued to do it with like their five other friends, one-by-one! They were the least sneaky people EVER! Finally I ended up posing with them because I couldn’t ignore them. What can I say, I am incredibly sexy in Korea ;)
After that we went to a university area that was VERY cool and fun! I wish we would have found it sooner in the trip! We tried Haagen Dazs’ AMAZING ice cream fondue, which I must say was life-altering. You will have to see the pics later! MMMMM. Then we got a HUGE dinner and wanted to die. After that we got some beers and watched some more World Cup before going back to the hotel.
On Tuesday we had to get up far too early to go to the airport, then we nearly died on the flight back to Japan. Well, not really, but Sean and I were NOT amused with the horrible amount of turbulence throughout the flight. Let’s just say I was thinking of who would be most nutritious were we to land on a deserted island!
After finally landing safely, we made our way back to Gunma, which always takes far too long.
And yeah, that was the trip! It was very fun, and I spent less money than I expected, so that was good! The bad thing is I gained SO MUCH WEIGHT in three days, I didn’t even know it was possible! I am on a detox diet right now as I feel nasty nasty nasty! Bah! But yes, it was fun :)
P.S. Rain is fucking HOT.
After getting ripped off by corporate America, all of us went to a palace in Seoul that was purty, tho like every temple-type area in Japan/Korea/Asia. Hehe. It was nice to do some obligatory touristy stuff, though. For lunch we found out there was a Chili’s in Seoul, and us being the sad American-food-depraved JETs that we are decided to be losers and go there. IT WAS GOOD! Mmmm, chips and salsa! And I got quesadillas and a huge margarita. MMMMM! Good stuff!
After lunch we did some shopping, then in the evening Sean, Tim, Cindy and I went to Seoul Tower, where we could see a smoggy view of the city, as well as a pretty sunset. Cindy and I only wanted to go there because it was on our favorite Korean drama! Actually everything we did in Korea was based on our Korean drama, hahahaha. Oh, on the way down from the tower I gathered some apparent stalkers! I was standing with the others, waiting for the cable car, when I realized this Korean girl was standing next to me and her friend was “sneakily” taking our picture?! I was like, um, okay…..then they continued to do it with like their five other friends, one-by-one! They were the least sneaky people EVER! Finally I ended up posing with them because I couldn’t ignore them. What can I say, I am incredibly sexy in Korea ;)
After that we went to a university area that was VERY cool and fun! I wish we would have found it sooner in the trip! We tried Haagen Dazs’ AMAZING ice cream fondue, which I must say was life-altering. You will have to see the pics later! MMMMM. Then we got a HUGE dinner and wanted to die. After that we got some beers and watched some more World Cup before going back to the hotel.
On Tuesday we had to get up far too early to go to the airport, then we nearly died on the flight back to Japan. Well, not really, but Sean and I were NOT amused with the horrible amount of turbulence throughout the flight. Let’s just say I was thinking of who would be most nutritious were we to land on a deserted island!
After finally landing safely, we made our way back to Gunma, which always takes far too long.
And yeah, that was the trip! It was very fun, and I spent less money than I expected, so that was good! The bad thing is I gained SO MUCH WEIGHT in three days, I didn’t even know it was possible! I am on a detox diet right now as I feel nasty nasty nasty! Bah! But yes, it was fun :)
P.S. Rain is fucking HOT.
Korea!
K, I was going to do a highlights of Korea thing, but decided my parents would want more details than that, so I wrote a long-ass description of the trip. I will break it in two, but it is long, so don’t read it if you don’t want to. I don’t think I would want to! Hehe.
So, Saturday morning I woke up wayyyyy too early (for a Saturday) and caught the train to Narita. About halfway there I met up with Cindy, Tim and Sean, then we met up with Ann and Emily on another train. We got there, checked in with the tour place, then had some lunch before heading off to Seoul! Unfortunately, the damn plane didn’t move until an HOUR after our scheduled departure! BAH! Not amusing. We got to the airport at about 4:30, then met up with our small tour group that took us into the city. It is funny because I listened to more Japanese in Korea than I do in Japan! Hahaha. The tour was meant for Japanese people (I booked it through a Japanese site because it was the cheapest), so the lady talked non-stop for an hour in the bus. Eventually we got to the hotel, which was better than I expected for the price we were paying! It had its ghetto moments, but it was good for the most part. It was also in a great area, as it was very central, so we could get anywhere really easily!
That night we went out for yakiniku (Korean barbecue) and it was very yummy!!! We ate WAY too much, which was the theme of the trip, sadly. After that we were complete losers and went to see X-Men 3, as it doesn’t come out until September in Japan, and I couldn’t wait that long! But it turns out I could have waited longer than that, because the movie SUCKED! It was soooooooooooooo bad! Not cool at all! Hrm.
After that, Cindy and I wandered around Seoul for an hour to burn off some of the dinner, then we slept!
Everyone but Cindy and I were very motivated and got up early for a tour of the North Korean border in the morning, but Cindy and I were too lazy and cheap to do so, so we slept in a bit, then went to a big market. We ended up buying Korean jerseys to cheer on the soccer team in the World Cup, as Koreans are BEYOND CRAZY cheerleaders. The whole country was red for the game, it was crazy! They sold stuff EVERYWHERE, and everyone was covered in jerseys, flags, etc. I can’t even describe it!
After that we got a GOOD (but huge) lunch, then shopped in a more western area, where we both bought a pair of shoes. I bought these cool green and yellow funky Pumas (U of O colors!) that I had been eyeing for like six months….it’s a much easier decision to buy something when on vacation ;) We also bought a DVD set of Rain (a Korean popstar) in concert…..HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. Rain is SO FUCKING HOT. He is seriously SEX. ROWR! Sigh.
After that, we met up with the others and went out to dinner part one, hehe. We wanted to watch the Japan vs. Croatia World Cup game that night, so we decided to have a “small” dinner in the evening, and then another “small” dinner late at night while watching the game. Well, of course both meals ended up being huge feasts! Hrm. We got REALLY good street vendor food in the evening, then wandered around Seoul for a while before going to another yakiniku place for some beers, TOO MUCH FREAKING FOOD, and the game. It was fun, tho. We were very vocal, and the people kept laughing at us while we yelled at the TV, hehe. Stupid Japan should have won!
To be continued...
So, Saturday morning I woke up wayyyyy too early (for a Saturday) and caught the train to Narita. About halfway there I met up with Cindy, Tim and Sean, then we met up with Ann and Emily on another train. We got there, checked in with the tour place, then had some lunch before heading off to Seoul! Unfortunately, the damn plane didn’t move until an HOUR after our scheduled departure! BAH! Not amusing. We got to the airport at about 4:30, then met up with our small tour group that took us into the city. It is funny because I listened to more Japanese in Korea than I do in Japan! Hahaha. The tour was meant for Japanese people (I booked it through a Japanese site because it was the cheapest), so the lady talked non-stop for an hour in the bus. Eventually we got to the hotel, which was better than I expected for the price we were paying! It had its ghetto moments, but it was good for the most part. It was also in a great area, as it was very central, so we could get anywhere really easily!
That night we went out for yakiniku (Korean barbecue) and it was very yummy!!! We ate WAY too much, which was the theme of the trip, sadly. After that we were complete losers and went to see X-Men 3, as it doesn’t come out until September in Japan, and I couldn’t wait that long! But it turns out I could have waited longer than that, because the movie SUCKED! It was soooooooooooooo bad! Not cool at all! Hrm.
After that, Cindy and I wandered around Seoul for an hour to burn off some of the dinner, then we slept!
Everyone but Cindy and I were very motivated and got up early for a tour of the North Korean border in the morning, but Cindy and I were too lazy and cheap to do so, so we slept in a bit, then went to a big market. We ended up buying Korean jerseys to cheer on the soccer team in the World Cup, as Koreans are BEYOND CRAZY cheerleaders. The whole country was red for the game, it was crazy! They sold stuff EVERYWHERE, and everyone was covered in jerseys, flags, etc. I can’t even describe it!
After that we got a GOOD (but huge) lunch, then shopped in a more western area, where we both bought a pair of shoes. I bought these cool green and yellow funky Pumas (U of O colors!) that I had been eyeing for like six months….it’s a much easier decision to buy something when on vacation ;) We also bought a DVD set of Rain (a Korean popstar) in concert…..HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. Rain is SO FUCKING HOT. He is seriously SEX. ROWR! Sigh.
After that, we met up with the others and went out to dinner part one, hehe. We wanted to watch the Japan vs. Croatia World Cup game that night, so we decided to have a “small” dinner in the evening, and then another “small” dinner late at night while watching the game. Well, of course both meals ended up being huge feasts! Hrm. We got REALLY good street vendor food in the evening, then wandered around Seoul for a while before going to another yakiniku place for some beers, TOO MUCH FREAKING FOOD, and the game. It was fun, tho. We were very vocal, and the people kept laughing at us while we yelled at the TV, hehe. Stupid Japan should have won!
To be continued...
Thursday, June 15, 2006
New Guilty Pleasure
I have found a new guilty pleasure website....Dlisted. Thanks to it, I have found this awful, awful, awful, terrifying pic of white trash Britney (you really need to click on it and see the large version to believe it). WTF!
Monday, June 12, 2006
Dude, I am SO into sports
I am watching the big Japan vs. Australia game of the World Cup tonight, if only so that I can talk to everyone about it tomorrow at work. Cindy and I are watching for the same reasons....a mix of boredom, and (more importantly) to look for hot guys! Things that go through Jeff's head during soccer, as E-Mailed to Cindy earlier:
Dude, why is the Japanese national anthem SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring and anti-climactic?! Hello, have some exciting ending, please! Bah, it figgers. It also sounds like Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote it.....while asleep.
Ooo, a Japanese guy just had his ass in the air.
Nakata is hot at times....he seems like a TOTAL bitch, tho.
There is another hot player on the Japan team, hmm! Must research later.
I don't like how they keep taking kids out with them at the beginning. it is creepy. Why are kids there?!
The Australian team is not attractive, except for one guy who is okay. Sad!
Ooo, they are huddling. Asses!
Dude, why is the Japanese national anthem SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO boring and anti-climactic?! Hello, have some exciting ending, please! Bah, it figgers. It also sounds like Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote it.....while asleep.
Ooo, a Japanese guy just had his ass in the air.
Nakata is hot at times....he seems like a TOTAL bitch, tho.
There is another hot player on the Japan team, hmm! Must research later.
I don't like how they keep taking kids out with them at the beginning. it is creepy. Why are kids there?!
The Australian team is not attractive, except for one guy who is okay. Sad!
Ooo, they are huddling. Asses!
What time does school start?
My 3nensei are doing a writing assignment in which they introduce their school (talking about club activities, what subjects they study, etc.). One of the (I thought) easiest questions is “What time does your school begin and end every day?” However, it is sad because NO ONE knows the answer! Everyone has a different time written down! It officially starts at 8:30, as that is when they have their morning meeting, followed by cleaning. However, the first class starts at 9:00, so some people put that. On the other hand, a lot of kids have to be at school FAR too early for club activities (who wants to play baseball at 7 in the morning?!).
Even I don’t know what time school ends! The last class ends at 3:40, but then they have the afternoon meeting that can last a little while, then they have club activities again until 6:30 (after which many kids go to juku (cram school) to study even more….poor kids). So, not only does everyone have a different answer to the question, but some people have sentences like “School begins at 7:00 and ends at 6:30.” Um, that is not natural! Flee, kids, FLEE!
Even I don’t know what time school ends! The last class ends at 3:40, but then they have the afternoon meeting that can last a little while, then they have club activities again until 6:30 (after which many kids go to juku (cram school) to study even more….poor kids). So, not only does everyone have a different answer to the question, but some people have sentences like “School begins at 7:00 and ends at 6:30.” Um, that is not natural! Flee, kids, FLEE!
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