*... everyone around me is a total stranger...everyone avoids me like a psyched lone ranger...everyone... ((turning japanese, i think i'm turning japanese, i really think so)) ...*
Saturday, March 29, 2003
*... something ...* old ... Yesterday I hung out with Mariko and Kaori, 2 teachers from my first school (Miyaura). Way back when, remember me talking about the school counselor that has fabulous English skills? That's Mariko. We went to her house and had an okonomiyaki party and just ate and talked and talked and talked, and it was so relaxing since it was just like home: chillin at someone's house. We had a very heated argument about the merits of nakedness at onsens (they insist it makes everyone closer friends, I beg to differ) and one of these days they are plotting to kidnap me and force me into "making friends" with them. They also spent a LOT of time and energy in evaluating my love life, giving me advice, and deciding exactly who I should go for and why. Mostly they just told me to pretend he (whoever "he" is) is Japanese, and then all their advice would make sense. I don't know if my brain is ready to bend in that direction, but I told them I would try my best... this caused them to bust out singing and clapping, "GAMBARE, BURITTO, GAMBARE!!"
new ... I visited my new school (Funaei JHS) and it is vastly different from the first 2 (not surprising). First of all, it is VERY small, and VERY old. There are about 100 less students than the previous school, and only 2 English teachers (as opposed to 3 or 4). Also there are many handicapped students in this school, where there were none in the first 2. That means some serious activity adjustments are in order. We'll see what happens.
borrowed ... ((quote o' the week)):
Marika-chan: "Next time let's push you home with my car."
Britt: "ohnopleasedon'tdothat."
blue ... I leave for Seoul and Kwangju tomorrow with JP. Exciting but slightly trepidatious (uh, hello, tension!) The "blue" part is I am sad that my transportation to Narita airport (in Tokyo) and back costs more than the flight and accomodations in South Korea. Why the fat is it so expensive to travel IN the country, and cheap to travel out?! 11:50 AM
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
*... gold you're here whit me ...* ((saw that on a t-shirt today)) 5 days of no school you'd think I would be bored outta my gourd. But for some reason days have flown by. Okay, well sleep has something to do with it. Lots of glorious sleep (slept till 12 the other day, a rare occurrence for me). Also I have had some wonderful company to pass the time. The Marika-chan ramen expedition turned out to be quite fruitful as I not only learned some handy Japanese slang, but also how to say "make it cheaper, please" in Korean (just in time for my trip to South Korea next week!). I had the pleasure of escorting the fabulous Miss Kim (my karate idol, now and forever... hahaha) around Niigata and orienting her to Japan's little pleasures (like the bestest mochi ever). Liz never ceases to surprise me, I can say that much. And lucky for me, she was like my own personal divining rod; in her presence not only did I get a cheaper flight to Seoul, but also stumbled upon a gorgeous wool coat that I had been looking for sometime, and this one seemed to be cut divinely for me. I never would have found it if she hadn't had insisted in poking around stores I normally don't go into. And I just now got back from a lovely little "quick" (4 hours?) meet-up with Kelly... I had stolen a bike for Liz to use while she was here (I have unabashedly turned to a life of crime since coming to Japan) and gave the bike to Kelly since she has been wanting a bike with a basket for forever and ever and hey, this one was free! (well, stolen, really). Way I see it, it's always a good idea to pawn off any hot items one might have stolen, yeah? 7:13 PM
Sunday, March 23, 2003
*... and i'm supposed to fall for that? ...* it's disappointing to log on to your email account, see you have like 27 new messages, and they ALL turn out to be junk mail, most with subject-lines of "He's a She" and "Save the Rainforest, Enlarge Your (insert body part you would like enlarged here)". The amusement these stupid baits bring me is quite quickly squashed by a big fat sigh... no one loves me today (how's that for guilt trip?)
gotta go clean the apartment for Miss Kim's arrival... for sheer lack of space, either she or I or her luggage will have to sleep outside... looks like we'll have to janken for it. (Janken is paper-rock-scissors, and how ALL major decisions are made in Japan. Who gets the last mochi? Janken. Should we go to the movies or bowling? Janken. Should Japan support the U.S.? Janken.) 3:37 PM
*a bit o' *britt*
In Niigata City, Japan it is:
* vItAl StAtS: *
* eYeS/hAiR/wEiGhT. brown/reddish?/yes. * cUrRenT wHeReAbOuTs. back back to cali, cali * bEdTiMe. my body has decided to forgo sleep for now. * fOoD. it has also decided it's anti-food. * pHrAsE. ahh! too many people speaking English! * mOoD. i feel weird, yo. Like twilight zoney, in another world weird. * tUnEs. i get to listen to the radio in my car again! * qUoTe: "whereas i am trying to read in the succession of things presented to me every day the world's intentions towards me, and I grope my way, knowing that there can exist no dictionary that will translate into words the burden of obscure allusions that lurks in these things."
*"One, seven, three, five -- The truth you search for cannot be grasped. As night advances, a bright moon illuminates the whole ocean; the dragon's jewels are found in every wave. Looking for the moon, it is here, in this wave, and in the next." Zen Master Hsueh-tou
* tHiNgS i WiLl MiSs... *
* kaori (kojima) and mariko, kaori (honma), marika and etsuko, setsuko, nakano and sakai (aka "the boys"), kelly, alan
* most of my students
* some of my teachers
* the Shin Ken Kan crew
* my granny bike (a little)
* speaking Japanese
* traveling
* tHiNgS i WoN't MiSs... *
* the staring
* the bus
* being bored outta my gourd
* sleeping on the floor
* the Japanese Way
* secondhand smoke
* the fashion
* jApAn, AkA tHe LaNd oF... *
* "We Don't Believe in Cilantro"
* "We Don't Believe in Towels"
* "Obscurely-Sized Paper"
* "Flouride is Foreign"
* "It's Rude to Eat on the Streets, but it is Perfectly Acceptable to Blow Smoke in your Face"
* "9am is Too Early for Stores to Open"
* "We Just Make the Technology, We Don't Use It"
* "Central Air? Never Heard of It. Central Heating? Nuh-uh. Heated Toilet Seats? Well duh, of course!!"
* "Deodor-what?"
* "Open 24Hrs = 7am - 10pm"
* "Our Knees Don't Freeze"
* "We Want to Speak Like Americans and Look Like Americans and Act Like Americans, But We Don't Actually Like Americans"
* "Hey, Free Beer!"
