It's not goodbye, it's see you later.

After work Saturday, Miho and I met in Sannomiya and took the overnight bus to Tokyo. We arrived at 5:30 am, and met up with Jen around 7. We ate breakfast, dropped our bags at the hotel, and went to the Imperial Palace. It has a really beautiful garden.

Me and part of the moat surrounding the Imperial Palace.

I know this looks strange, but let me explain: After the Palace, we went to Ginza, which is a very fancy shopping area. They just opened a 14 floor Abercrombie & Fitch, and we stopped by to check out all the handsome employees (seriously). We were totally unaware of the fact they get you to stop in the entrance, and take a Polaroid with a half-naked handsome employee. Jackpot! They all say, in English, "Hey, how's it going?". It's pretty unreal.

After that, we went back to the hotel to take a shower and a nap. We were going to meet up with Anthony for dinner, but we had a little bit of time. So we took Print Club stickers.

"Doitashimashita" means "you're welcome", and it sounds like, "Don't touch my mustache". It's our favorite joke.

Anthony Luzby, Jen's friend from Florida who happens to live in Tokyo. He's a super awesome guy, if you couldn't tell by his cute smile!

Jen, Miho and I in our matching Cheers shirts! Dinner and drinks at a ¥280 izakaiya.

After dinner, we went to the karaoke room that was in Lost in Translation. We were only going to stay for an hour, but ended up singing until 4am. I love karaoke. It doesn't love me though, because I lost my voice.

Last train beers on the NEX express from Tokyo station to Narita Airport.

Miho and I stood at the departures security line until Jen cleared it, and we watched her go down the escalator to her gate. Sad. Then we waited in the airport lobby until her flight took off. You know, in case she changed her mind about leaving after all.

Communication Breakdown

I'm not sure how to put this delicately, but sometimes my kid students mispronounce vocabulary so bad it's a whole new word. And sometimes that word already exists, and sometimes, very rarely, it's a bad word. And I giggle.

Friday, not one, but TWO classes did this. In one class, the word was "tarts", and the sentence was "Look at those tarts!". My students? They said "turds", as in "Look at those turds!". Look indeed...

The other class had "beaches" as a vocabulary. Can you guess what they said? If you guessed the sentence, "Are there any bitches there?" then you, sir or madame, are correct. And yes, there are bitches there.



February 13, Miho, Jen, the new teacher Farron and I went out to listen to Gordon's band, and we met up with another teacher from Takarazuka, Timothy. We went to take Print Club stickers, and it was so much fun, as it is every time.

L to R, top to bottom: Timothy Kingcaid, Jen, Miho, Farron, and Me.

Sayonara, Jen Chan!

On Valentine's Day, we had Jen's Going Away party at Hobgoblin. A big group of friends all ate at our favorite izakaiya, and then headed to the bar.

Tim teaches in Nishinomiya-kitaguchi, Farron teachs in Tarumi, me, and Akiko Hashimoto Assistant Manager at Tarumi.

Me, Jen, and Miho. Jen bought us these cute shirts.

JUN AND HIS WIFE!!!

Best friends.

Maiko for a Day

Thursday was a national holiday, so I didn't have work. Jen, Miho, Gordon and I went to Kyoto where Jen dressed as a maiko, and we took photos. She was beautiful! It is kinda strange to see super traditional Japanese attire on a westerner. She's such a great model too!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Jen and I went to Miho's parent's house in Higashikakogawa and ate dinner Sunday night. Miho made lasagna and mashed potatoes, and salad. We brought cakes and champagne, Andre cause we're classy, and had a great meal! Then Jen and I stayed at Miho's house, and got up early to watch the Super Bowl on the Hadaka's 52" flat screen. Wow.

It was a good game, but we didn't get to watch any commercials, because of licensing rights, or so I'm told. So during the commercial time, the cameras just stay on the players and the field. It's actually kinda boring. But it was a really good game, with Jen and I jumping around shouting at the TV. Jen's family is from New Orleans, and I just like a chance to yell about sports.

After the game, we watched some TV, then rode bikes to Tsutaya, a Japanese Blockbuster. We rented "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" which is hilarious, and watched that and ate Pizza Hut. All in all, not a very productive day. But definitely super fun!

Miho made dinner! Mama and Papa.

Snuggling in very warm and comfortable futons!

Breakfast! Miho's parents had to go to work. Probably for the best, as we started drinking and yelling pretty loud.

Saints win! Huge TV. Amazing.

The Doppleganger Effect

Saturday after class, I hoped on a bus over to Tarumi and had dinner with Jen, Miho, and some of their students. They are all so nice! We ate lots of different foods (fried tofu, chicken tempura, chicken livers, etc).

From bottom right, clockwise: Shoji, me, Jen, Yoshiko, Yoko, Yoko, Satoshi, Yuko, Kei, and Miho.

Saturday also proved to be a hilarious day for student quotes at my school.

Akinori, talking about customs: "Do Americans ever eat hamburgers for breakfast?"
Me: No, never.
Akinori: REALLY?!?!?!
He was shocked. I asked what he thought a typical American breakfast was, and he replied,

"Hamburger, potato, and milk."

I wonder what movie he saw that influenced his idea.


Masanori asked me if I planned to watch the Rice Bowl. That just seems self-depreciating to me. It's called the Koshien Bowl, and it's a championship game in American football in Japan. Cute nickname.


Hideto, who reminds me of a mix of Christian McAdams and Louis, said he loves Metallica. That is shocking to me, that he loves heavy metal. He also likes Dragonforce and Dream Theater.



As I said, he reminds me of Christian. I also have another student, Airi, who reminds me of my cousin Stephanie. Am I seeing dopplegangers because it's true, or because I've been gone so long? And at what point does everyone here start to look like someone from home?