Shopping and Singing

Last week at school was pretty quiet again. Leah came over on Thursday for dinner, but other than that I stayed home. Friday I did some shopping after school at Book Off. I'm getting a few of my favorite books, music, and movies to bring home for when I miss Japan. I headed to Aru Aru City after and met Megan where we did a bit more shopping before meeting Caol for dinner. We snacked on some gyoza before doing a few hours of karaoke. Megan went home after, but Caol and I stayed out a bit later at Babu Box, a bar owned by a friend of mine and the drummer for the band. We didn't stay out too much later, but it was a nice night and a nice end to the week.

On Saturday I cleaned during the day and ran errands. For dinner I met up with one of my students from Shinozaki who I don't see anymore. It was so nice to see her! We went out for conveyor belt sushi. Normally if you order sushi they put it on a special plate to mark it as reserved and it comes around on the conveyor belt like everything else, but this restaurant had a second conveyor belt about a foot above the first where the "shinkansen" would come with your orders. It would go directly to your table and you took the plates and pushed a little button to have it go back to the kitchen. It was so cool! And instead of stacking your plates to be counted at the end of the meal, there was a little shoot the plates went down that cleared them away and counted them at the same time. As an incentive to eat more, for every five plates you sent down the shoot you had a chance to win a little capsule prize. We stayed at the restaurant for about two hours talking and it was really nice to see her. After dinner I waited with her while her mom came to pick her up. Her mom was really nice and was so excited to meet me. She told me about how much her daughter liked having me as a teacher and how sad she was when I changed school and how grateful she was for the books I have her. My poor student was getting more embarrassed every minute her mom was talking, but it was really sweet. After talking for a bit we parted ways and I headed to Caol's to watch movies and hang out. Megan was there as well and the three of us stayed up late talking.

Sunday I went over to Megan's in the morning for breakfast. I had gotten Megan a waffle iron for her birthday and she wanted to try it out. Our first batch of waffles didn't turn out so good, but we got the hang of it by the second batch and made some pretty ones by the time our batter ran out. I didn't stay long and soon I was back home getting ready for band practice. The band changed one of the songs at the last minute, so I went in at 4:00 to practice. We only had half an hour to practice the new song before mic check started for all the bands, so it was a little rushed. Despite that, everything went really well! Leah, Bec, Caol, and Megan all came out to see me and we had a great night! Two other bands played as well and they were both great. Because it was a Sunday the show started a bit early, so even though the entire show was about three hours we still finished just after 10:00. Unfortunately the video's aren't up yet, but I should have links by next week!

This last weekend was so amazing and next week should be just as fun! It'll be another quiet week in school, although I am going to go to the science classes to help them dissect pig heats. I'm also taking anther step towards coming home and will be figuring out which of the new JETs will get my apartment after I leave. Next weekend is the 4th of July, so I organized a trip for eight of us to go on a camping trip where we can BBQ and celebrate the holiday. Only three of us are Americans, but everyone is really excited!

First Goodbye

School last week was again pretty normal. I had a good time at Matsugae and enjoyed eating lunch with the students in their classroom during the week. I went out for dinner on Monday with Kikumi and Shinki, but other than that I pretty much stayed home getting work done during the week.

Friday night I went out with Leah and one of my teacher, Yamato. We went to a restaurant in Kokura that none of us had been to before, but passed by often. It was really good and I'm so glad we went! After dinner we went to Orange Door. I was helping Kikumi and bar tending that night. Before it got busier I was able to sit down and play cards with Leah, Yamato, and Caol who came to join us. Around midnight my friends left and I stayed behind the bar until I headed home. It was a really fun night!

On Saturday I cleaned up my apartment in the morning and ran errands in the afternoon. For dinner I took the train into Fukuoka and met with a bunch of JETs for the (first of many) Sayonara Party. It was at one of my favorite restaurants in Fukuoka and it was really nice to see everyone. I don't often go into Fukuoka, so I don't get to see them very often. Jake, Greg, and I left a little early to grab one more drink before going home and it was nice to spend some time with them. I caught the last train back to Kokura and all in all it was a great night.

Sunday I had work for an English camp I won't be attending. It was fun seeing all the students, especially the students I knew from last year or other schools, but it was a little sad for me to be there since I will be gone before the camp starts. It was just an afternoon full of meetings, so it didn't take too much time. After we got out I went over to Heart Key to practice with Kikumi's band. I'll sing two new songs with them next Sunday and we wanted to practice for a bit! For dinner I met up with Leah, Juha, Marc, Tanya, and Megan at Cha Cha Town. We ended up at a 回転寿司 (kaiten zushi, conveyor belt sushi) restaurant. We had an early dinner so that we could catch a movie afterwards. We went to see Mad Max: Fury Road since it came out here on Saturday. We all really enjoyed the movie! Leah, Juha, and I all walked home together afterwards and it was a great end to a great weekend.

More Birthday's and Games

Last week was a calm week at school. I had a lot of nice classes and enjoyed eating my school lunch in the classroom with the students. I got some great news Thursday morning, I will have a job when I get back to the States! I also found out my flight home will be one July 30th and I'll be flying to Boston via Toronto. I'll be flying home in a month and a half and although I will miss Japan, I'm really excited to come back and start on my next adventure!

I went out with Leah on Thursday night to celebrate. I cooked dinner and we both went to Bob's bar for a drink and some karaoke. We both went home early, but it was nice to see her! On Friday my friend Lisa came over after school for a girls night in. I cooked and she brought a bottle of wine and dessert. We live a bit far apart from each other, so we don't see each other often. It was really nice seeing her and we ended up hanging out well into the night.

Saturday we celebrated Bec's birthday. I met Dave for coffee in the morning and we headed to the castle together. Chris rented a BBQ and we had a little picnic on the castle grounds. It was a ton of fun! I left with Marc and Tanya a little early to head into Fukuoka for the night. The JET charity committee hosted a pub quiz to raise money for the relief effort in Nepal. Juha was originally supposed to be on their team, but he had to drop out at the last minute, so I went instead. We did win, but it was a great night and it was nice to be in Fukuoka again.

Sunday Marc and I headed back into Fukuoka for a game day. I've missed the last few months of gaming, but it was really nice to be back! We played some games I've played before, but we also played a bunch of new games! We played from 11 AM until well after dinner. Marc and I headed back to Kokura around 9:30 PM. It was a great week!

This week I'm excited to be in Matsugae again for school. I'll also be back in Fukuoka over the weekend for the JET Sayonara party. I have to work next Sunday, but afterwards some of us are thinking of going to see the new Mad Max movie (it comes out next Saturday in Japan). I'm really enjoying the last of my time in Japan and I looking forward to my last few trips before heading home!

誕生日おめでとう！

Another quiet school week this week. It was great to be back at Tsukida. I'm really close with the two English teachers there and I was so happy to be back! This week I'm switching back to Matsugae, but I like this school as well, so I'm still sure it'll be a great week!

On Thursday, Kikumi had a movie night in her bar. It all-you-can-drink during the movie and we watched Gone Girl with Japanese subtitles. I was the only one who had already seen the movie, but I was happy to see it again! Patrick came out as well and we had a good night. Friday I also saw Patrick, Kikumi, and Shinki. We all went to Patrick's apartment and I cooked dinner. Kikumi and Shinki had to leave for work right after dinner, but I stayed with Patrick a little later. I helped him clean a little and we just hung out on his balcony and talked for a while. It was a really great night.

Saturday I didn't have anything to do during the day so I took the morning to run errands. I ran into Patrick one last time on my way to the post office, which turned out to be good. He had a bunch of bags with him that I could help with. After my errands I spent the rest of the morning cleaning. I'd let my apartment get a bit messier than I'd meant to, so it was really nice to get everything back in order. I also went through my clothes and other things to make sure I know exactly what I have to pack up since my return home is coming up pretty fast! Around 7:00 that night I headed out to 牛さくら (Gyu Sakura), a yakiniku restaurant, for Kazuki's birthday. About eighteen people came for dinner and he was so excited because he said it was the biggest birthday party he'd ever had. We had a great dinner and even surprised him with a cake at the end. Some of us went to Bob's Bar afterwards. It's a small place that barely fit us, but thankfully Caol had rented out the whole place for the party. Bob's does unlimited karaoke for only ￥200 and it was tons of fun! I left a little early to get some sleep, but it sounds like no one stayed out too much later after I left. It was a great party!

Sunday I slept in and was pretty lazy throughout the morning. I headed over to Megan's apartment in the early afternoon for movies. We watched stuff all afternoon while periodically making popcorn or running out for ice cream. It was a really relaxing way to spend a Saturday.

This week will be another quiet one. Bec's birthday is on Saturday and we'll have a picnic at the castle, but other than that I don't have much planned. My next big adventure will be camping on July 4th. Although I haven't been traveling much, I've been really busy making preparations for back home and hopefully I'll have some good news soon about what I'll be up to once I'm back in the States!