Review of My Week

Monday was a holiday. My friend Atsuko took me to an international festival. We didn't have high expectations for the festival, but it was kind of lame. We spent only about an hour there. After that, we did our traditional outing to Saizeriya for the drink bar and cheese pizza. We stayed and talked for a couple of hours. After that, I came home and vegged.

Tuesday was good except I forgot about our ALT (assistant language teacher) meeting. I had to rush out of school in the afternoon and apologize to the staff there. So they think that I am a flake now.
Our meeting was good, but we had to pay some bills afterwards. Katlin and I went to pay together. (More communication practice with non-English speakers. Why don't they teach us really useful Japanese in school?). After that, I introduced Katlin to the drink bar at Saizeriya. I enjoyed talking with Katlin. We talked a lot about Chicago...it's nice to talk about places we are both familiar with.

Wednesday had a rough start.
When I left the elementary school on Friday, I was told that my other visit was canceled and that I would only have a visit the following Friday. (Instinctively, I KNEW something wasn't right here). So on Wednesday, I am sitting at my desk at the junior high and there is a phone call from the elementary school wondering where I am. After lots of questioning, it was decided that it was my mistake (forget about the fact that TWO teachers told me not to come until Friday) and that I would have to make up for it by apologizing to everyone.
What was most frustrating, is that I suspected there was an error in communication, so I approached one of the jhs English teachers on Tuesday and told her I thought that there was a problem. Thinking she would help me, she acted clueless on Wednesday and seemed to blame me for the mix-up! I was so frustrated that I was nearly in tears.
Once I got to the elementary school, everything was fine. When I finished, I got back on my bike and started back for my junior high school. Let's just say that this was a day I should have considered not leaving the house.
I have decided that narrow streets, big trucks, Japanese drivers, long-wide pants, and foreigners on bikes are a disastrous combination. One of the streets I travel is very narrow and there is construction on one of its houses. I turned the corner on my back and had to suddenly stop for the truck who wasn't going to stop. I pulled my bike into a corner to wait for the truck to pass, but they finally stopped too. They stopped on the narrowest part of the road and there was not any room for a bike to pass on either side, let alone a bike and rider. They kept waving me to pass, but I waved for them. The passenger decided to get out and direct the truck into the driveway. At one point, they stopped to let me pass. I got on my bike and, I'm still not sure how this happened, but my pant leg went past my shoe and got caught in my bike. I couldn't continue paddling without ripping and/or de-pantsing myself. I was laughing at myself and the truck passenger was trying not to laugh, but eventually he had to give in. I had to balance my bike and try to pedal backwards in order to get my pants unstuck.
I'm sure it was very entertaining to watch and I'm sure it came up at dinner several places in Japan that night (unfortunately, the construction workers at that house witnessed the event too).
When the school day was finally over, I came home to a pleasant surprise. I had a package from Jessica! I was not expecting anything and it was the perfect day to be reminded of friends back home.

Thursday.
This was a pretty uneventful day. I was happy for that too. I had regular classes and my conversation groups.

Friday.
I was very happy for the end of the work week. I had another elementary school visit. I love the visits, but I am always wiped-out after them.
When I got home, there was a card from a very good friend. We had lost each other's addresses, but she came across my parents' phone number and decided to try it. Thankfully, she talked to my mom and got my address and now I have hers again.
I was so excited to hear from her, that I did a happy dance in my kitchen ^_^
I also got a text from Chikako saying that she and Mii would be here on Saturday. They wanted to meet for dinner in Shinjuku. Of course I said yes.

Saturday.
I went to Shinjuku early because it was my first time there and I wanted to be sure that I could find our meeting place. Talk about sensory over-load! There were so many people and so many flashing signs. It was hard to take it all in.
I found the place we were supposed to meet at and then decided to explore a little on my own. I found a Starbucks and had a non-caffeinated frappuccino and then I found a music store. Their prices are pretty reasonable for Japanese standards and they had a huge international section.
I gave in and finally got the new 50 Cent cd. It was only 1600 yen (usually 3200), so I felt like it was a bargain.
Next, I met up with Chikako and Mii. I was so happy to see them! We all lived in the same house together in Spokane.
We went to dinner at a place where they serve you 10 courses (everyone in your party shares the food) and then it's all you can drink. There is a flat fee of 3500 yen.
Oh my goodness! There was so much food and it was delicious! I didn't drink much alcohol, but I could drink juice, soda, and tea, too. Chikako didn't drink much either, but she was already tired, so the little she had hit her really hard. It was kind of funny.
Mii had 6 or 7 drinks. The two of them are crazy when they are sober, but give them alcohol and they are even more entertaining!
Mii was always asking Chikako questions before talking to the waiter. Chikako would answer in English knowing that Mii would repeat what she said. The waiter was confused, but understood. It was so much fun with them.
After dinner, we decided to do puri kura (print club photos. It's a cheap and popular past time here and it can be a lot of fun!) As we were trying to find a place, we were hustled by several "hosts" (gigolos). One street actually had about 10 together in a group. Most of them had dyed hair in the shape of a hedgehog. They had business cards too. Their business card was a laminated 4x7 with all of their head-shots on it. They gave it to Chikako and she kept it as a souvenir.
We finally made it to an arcade and found what we were looking for. We ended up running out of time and rushing back to the station so that I could get home before the trains quit running.
(I really don't know why they can't run longer on the weekends in a city this big).
Anyway, I had a lot of fun with Chikako and Mii. I hope that I can see them again soon.

Sunday.
It is now Sunday morning in Japan.
I will meet some people from my conversation class today. They are some of my quieter students and they initiated the out-side contact, so I want to make sure to meet with them. I want them to feel comfortable, so that it doesn't get in the way of their learning.
We will be meeting at Chestnut Grove. It is a small coffee place/restaurant that specializes in waffles. That doesn't sound so unusual, right? Well, have you ever had a salad waffle? They have two categories of waffles. The salad waffles or the dessert waffles. Breakfast waffles are not an option.
After that, I will probably go grocery shopping, do laundry, and watch a movie. I am wiped out!