Helpful teachers

My fellow teachers rock. They are so helpful to me, and each other, it's awesome. We have a few that have lived in Japan before, and they help a LOT with reading/speaking Japanese. Also some have taught before, and they understand what we need to focus on. It's a great support group. I'm not too sure how I'm going to cope once we all leave each other for our schools on Saturday.
We've already proposed getting together again on St. Patrick's Day, and in a year, to see how we are. Personally, I don't plan on going a year without seeing at least three of them :)
We went to a great dinner place in Osaka tonight. It was kinda like a tapas bar, where everything was 280 yen, and you order a lot of different appetizers, and share. It was wonderful, even thought I'm not 100% sure what I was eating. Apparently, a lot of it was chicken. I had a type of skewered pork meatloaf covered in cheese that was GREAAAAAAT. I need to learn the names for these things. Lamika is asleeping, and I've been practicing my group lesson with the gentlemen upstairs. Oliver (from the UK) assures me I would love England. We're already trying to plan a trip for Golden Week. I'm thinking the Phillipines....
I'm sad that we won't see each other everyday after Saturday. We each have a welcoming party / farwell party at our schools on Saturday evening. I think we're moving to our respective towns and staying in a hotel there until our current teacher vacates the apartment.
It's late here, I'm tired. I hate the time difference. Please call and leave me a message, it really makes my day :)
Love you all.

NCAA Basketball

Carolina played Duke today at 4:00pm EST. I woke up at 3am to try to catch it online. Apparently, CBS and ESPN don't carry live coverage of the games. So I just watched the score and read the play by play. Sucks, but Carolina won, so that's good.

It's a little after 8am here, and Lamekia and I already went down to the grocery store for breakfast. I had Frosted Flakes. Yum. We have training today from 11 - 8. Weeeeeee.

Too much fun

Today's Lunch: Natchan (orange drink), Onigiri, and sushi.

I've done so much lately! Went to the first day of traning, Bill came from the center to show us the subway there. He went to Elon back when it was a college hahaha. We talked about Burlington. Lameka, Eddie, and I are the three Americans. Oliver is from the UK, and Aaron and Adam are from Canada. Traning went by quickly, and it was actually pretty fun.

Everyone but Oliver and I have been to Japan before, so they knew some stuff about the area. Eddie used to live here for two years, so he's been super helpful. Aaron's an ass, but that's why we get along. Adam can do the Cleveland voice from Family Guy dead on. We had this conversation at lunch:

Adam: Yea, I already read our homework.
Me: You're such an overachiever!
Adam (in the Cleveland voice): Obama was an overachiever, and look where he is now.
It was awesome.

Walked forEVER to a bar, The British Pub haha, and watched the Japan - South Korea baseball game. Got pretty drunk, and aparently Skyped my mom (whoops). Don't worry, won't be a regular thing, just bonding with the fellow teachers.

Today Eddie showed up around Osaka, and that was really fun. We walked forever though, and I'm so tired. Went into a store, saw a cute dress, almost picked it up, then saw it was 49,300 yen (almost $500). Wow. We saw a lot of record stores, but this one had the best sign, by far:


Watching Japanese TV has been pretty entertaining lately. I have no idea what the hell is going on, or what's being said.

Japan-rah

So we finally landed in Japan around 4:45pm (whatever ST Japan is). That's like 2am EST. I caught a few hours of sleep on the plane, which was a Boeing 747 and huge. Dad wasn't lying when he said you could play football in them! I seemed to have put my chapstick in my checked bag, and it was HELL. Still don't have any, going to have to find some. Ate a decent lunch and a pretty good dinner on the plane. I like flying, except for the whole immobile leg-clot thing. Watched 4 movies (City of Ember, The Family that Preys which is a Tyler Perry bullshit drama, The Throwdown with Ice Cube haha, and Sixty Six). Met some really cool other teachers, Lameka and Eddie from NY, and David from Australia. Sadly, none of them will be at my school. But the fact that they aren't lame gives me great hope for my coworkers :)

Sitting in the Weekly Green Hotel, just took a much needed shower. Called Mom, woke her up haha. Gonna try to Skype with her at 10am EST.
Right now, gonna iron clothes for tomorrow.

Here's a photo from the balcony of the Weekly Green Hotel

Gone, baby gone.

I'm on a HUGE plane (yay window seat!) preparing to take off for Kansai. 14 hours over the Pacific. I hope I can sleep. If I didn't call you, I'm sorry, it's because I will cry.

Sayonara, America. Konichiwa Kobe, Japan!

LAX to SFO

Found some internets in the waiting area for United at LAX. I got to the airport way too early (but I suppose that's better than too late!). Just had a super dank egg and cheese panini, but it was $10. WTF it's highway robbery.

I forgot to mention the other day: Anyone else realize that the theme song to the animated kids show from the 90's "Anamaniacs" is the same tune as "Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes". I hope you all sing it out loud now.

LA's been nice, Em took me out and showed me around the Grove, and a great Mexican place. It could grow on me if I stayed here. I can't wait to travel that doesn't involve just waiting in airports, trying to get from point A to point B.

A sad thing I realized this morning is when I think of something funny, and start to laugh out loud, there's not going to be anyone to share it with. So I'm going to look manic-depressive when I smile, laugh, and immediately frown and sigh.

Window seat LAX to SFO. Think I have a window seat to Japan, too.

Day Two: Sayonara, America.

I am not sure why, but my phone's clock doesn't change when you cross time zones. So, for example, when my alarm went off at 4:45am this morning, it was still on Eastern Standard Time. I got up at 1:45am PST. I had gone to bed at 12:30am PST.

Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Thanks to Fater for the talking watch (it's a hit on the plane), to Josh for the books and mags, and Cary for the GREAT book and girnal ("Don't you mean journal? Yea, whatever." Name that movie).