For Christmas I went to the Magic Kingdom at Tokyo Disneyland. It was really crowded! In Japan Christmas is a couples holiday, so couples go to Disneyland for some reason. I didn't really take too many pictures, but I hope you enjoy these.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Christmas at Disneyland
For Christmas I went to the Magic Kingdom at Tokyo Disneyland. It was really crowded! In Japan Christmas is a couples holiday, so couples go to Disneyland for some reason. I didn't really take too many pictures, but I hope you enjoy these.
More Parties!
Parties, Parties, Parties!
I have been attending many holiday parties. In Japan it is common to have a bonenkai party, which means forget the year. I went to two of them. I also went to a mochi party, which is pounding rice. Finally, I went to a Christmas party with other foreigners here in Japan. Needless to say, I am tired from all the parties!! The pictures are of me pounding rice, the Christmas party and the rest of them are from the bonenkai. The bonenkai made the list of 10 best places to spend New Year's! If you want to read the article click here http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081226/lf_nm_life/us_travel_picks_newyear
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Today...
Today at Iwai West (my Wednesday school) was marathon day. I was asked if I wanted to join (a while ago, not just today!) and I said yes. The boys ran 8k (almost 5 miles) and the girls ran 6k (between 3 and a half and 4 miles). I joined the girls.
It was rainy today and a bit cold. After putting on a tank top, an Under Armor T-shirt, and an Under Armor long sleeve shirt, I decided that I would still be way too cold. So I looked through what I have for running outside in the cold....nothing. I have no sweatshirts. I decided to put on my red cashmere sweater! It was the only thing I have that matched what I was wearing. I did the whole thing in my sweater!
I ran and walked. I am not sure how much I ran and how much I walked, but I would say I ran 30% to 40% of it and walked the rest. I wanted to run more, but after a while my feet got numb (I don't know why, they weren't cold) and I couldn't feel them. I decided it would be better to just walk when I couldn't feel my feet. One of my students later told me her feet got numb too. I think my shoes weren't on properly. I also kept a really good pace too. I think that is important in running. I am a slow runner, but I keep the same pace, even when I stop to walk.
I am happy to say, even with walking, I completed it in under an hour! It was super fun. I am happy I did it. The students were too. I think they will respect me more now.
It was rainy today and a bit cold. After putting on a tank top, an Under Armor T-shirt, and an Under Armor long sleeve shirt, I decided that I would still be way too cold. So I looked through what I have for running outside in the cold....nothing. I have no sweatshirts. I decided to put on my red cashmere sweater! It was the only thing I have that matched what I was wearing. I did the whole thing in my sweater!
I ran and walked. I am not sure how much I ran and how much I walked, but I would say I ran 30% to 40% of it and walked the rest. I wanted to run more, but after a while my feet got numb (I don't know why, they weren't cold) and I couldn't feel them. I decided it would be better to just walk when I couldn't feel my feet. One of my students later told me her feet got numb too. I think my shoes weren't on properly. I also kept a really good pace too. I think that is important in running. I am a slow runner, but I keep the same pace, even when I stop to walk.
I am happy to say, even with walking, I completed it in under an hour! It was super fun. I am happy I did it. The students were too. I think they will respect me more now.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Stupid mistake only I would make...
So, this weekend I went to get gas. Gas was really expensive when I first came here, at the time it cost me about 9,000 yen (about $90.00 assuming the yen is equal to the dollar) to fill my tank. On top of that, I was always going to full service places because that is all they have in Bando, so I know part of the 9,000 yen was paying for the full service.
Well, I finally found a station in Moriya that is cheap, and it is self service. Gas has gone down too, right now it is only about 4,500 yen to fill up. At this gas station I would always go to the same pump and fill up.
On Saturday night I was almost on empty and I went there. All of the pumps were full. One finally opened, but it was on a different side than I usually go on. I filled up, paid and went to leave. My car started to shake and it died two seconds after I turned it on. I realized I had put leaded gas in my car!
When I was pumping a part of me thought I was putting the wrong gas in, but I just kept pumping it anyway. So I had to call my friend and have him come translate for me. The people at the gas station said they could drain my car and put unleaded in it, but it might not start. It would cost 5,000 for them to drain it, and another 4,500 for the gas. I said yes do it and hoped for the best.
After the longest half and hour or so of my life, they finally pushed my car out to be filled up with unleaded. After filling it, they tried to start it. It didn`t start. I started to think about having the engine cleaned....or maybe would I have to buy a new car? How was I going to get home? How was I going to get to school on Monday. It is a half and hour drive, at least.
Finally, after trying for a minute, the car started! It was just running the leaded out of it. The man said they couldn`t get all the leaded gas out, so it might still shake at times. He said to fill it up again when the tank is half down. After about three or four tanks the leaded gas should be out of it.
I can`t tell you how happy I was. I only lost about 10,000 yen, it could have cost so much more than it did. Plus, the car is actually running better than it did before! So, this is the first major mistake I have made here in Japan. If I wasn`t illiterate here, it wouldn`t have even happened. I hope I don`t do more things like this...
Well, I finally found a station in Moriya that is cheap, and it is self service. Gas has gone down too, right now it is only about 4,500 yen to fill up. At this gas station I would always go to the same pump and fill up.
On Saturday night I was almost on empty and I went there. All of the pumps were full. One finally opened, but it was on a different side than I usually go on. I filled up, paid and went to leave. My car started to shake and it died two seconds after I turned it on. I realized I had put leaded gas in my car!
When I was pumping a part of me thought I was putting the wrong gas in, but I just kept pumping it anyway. So I had to call my friend and have him come translate for me. The people at the gas station said they could drain my car and put unleaded in it, but it might not start. It would cost 5,000 for them to drain it, and another 4,500 for the gas. I said yes do it and hoped for the best.
After the longest half and hour or so of my life, they finally pushed my car out to be filled up with unleaded. After filling it, they tried to start it. It didn`t start. I started to think about having the engine cleaned....or maybe would I have to buy a new car? How was I going to get home? How was I going to get to school on Monday. It is a half and hour drive, at least.
Finally, after trying for a minute, the car started! It was just running the leaded out of it. The man said they couldn`t get all the leaded gas out, so it might still shake at times. He said to fill it up again when the tank is half down. After about three or four tanks the leaded gas should be out of it.
I can`t tell you how happy I was. I only lost about 10,000 yen, it could have cost so much more than it did. Plus, the car is actually running better than it did before! So, this is the first major mistake I have made here in Japan. If I wasn`t illiterate here, it wouldn`t have even happened. I hope I don`t do more things like this...
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Art?
My friend and I went to this Art Gallery for foreign artists. One had a display of Japanese trash. Interesting...
The one with the three colors in jars are Japanese trash bags. Red is burnable, blue is not burnable, green is recycle. One of the biggest challenges when I moved here was figuring out what trash went into what bag and what day each type of trash needs to be put out!
Kamakura
Kamakura is a historical site in Japan. They have a fat Budda! I was there during the change of color, very nice!
Landmark Tower
Landmark Tower is the tallest building in Japan. One one side is Tokyo Bay, the other is Yokosuka, the other is Mount Fuji and the other is Tokyo. Can you guess what my favorite side is?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Finally, baby Anna!
This is Junpei's daughter, baby Anna! Isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen?
Zen Garden
On Saturday my friend Junpei and I went hiking through a Kamakura and through a Zen garden. It was a good day!
Adam's Birthday!!
So, my friend Adam had his birthday last Friday. Brita and I got him a Hello Kitty book and a Japanese Men's Magazine. Basically, it shows the lastest fashions and then some naked pics. He LOVED it!
More on Tsukuba
So, the mountain there was the vending machine that sold beer. I guess if you look into the camera the machine is supposed to tell you are over the age of 20 (drinking age in Japan) and sell you the beer. Well, both Steve and I tried and it wouldn't let us! That is why we were sad.
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