| Current mood: |  productive |
| Current music: | GO!!! - FLOW (old school Naruto...yes) |
The magic is over...
Okay. Yes, I still have all ten fingers. I just don't really write anything that's not an email anymore. >_< But since Lilly was wonderful enough to write about her holiday, I felt inspired to do the same. So...here goes!
I feel like I've been off from school for three weeks, but it's really only been two. On the 19th of December, I skived off the monthly meeting at the Kure BOE to spend most of the day in Hondori, the main shopping district in Hiroshima. I got all kinds of gifts for everyone that I have yet to send, and I bought a sweater or two (I go a little crazy when I locate a shirt that's both not crap and that'll actually fit a human my humongous size...it's just so rare here. So rare. ^^). I also spent an hour and a half at my new favorite haunt in Hiroshima, a wonderful place called the Karaoke Kan (Or the "Karaoke Place/Room/Whatever." Ooohhh.)
So, yeah. Since they opened at the very end of November, I've had a really good relationship with the employees there. I talked to them (usually just this one guy--he's on the street when they had to stand out in the cold and advertise their business and pass out coupons and stuff. And before that I bust into the place to sign up for a card, even though I had no intention of renting a room at that moment. Karaoke Kan is a good place because it's conveniently located across from the train station, and I can have my fix (around 40 yen for half an hour--wha-id??!), then walk across the street and catch the bus home. It's really great.
So when I went to my haunt on that Tuesday, I wanted to know if there would be a Christmas special or if they would be closed or what, but all I said was, "What should I do on Christmas Day?" And my friend, whom I call the Karaoke Oniisan, was like, "Please come." And so I felt compelled to come again on Christmas Day, and it was good. I bought a couple of gift-wrapped food boxes (gosh, what do you call those things?), and gave them to the guy working the front desk. I hadn't ever seen him before, so I think he was really surprised to get anything from a customer, let alone me. I told him that it was for everyone and that they should eat it during their break time, as I'd rehearsed with my host mom. ^^ My friend came to work about an hour after I'd been there, and he checked me out when my time was up. He said that he was really happy for the Christmas present. I was glad to make him smile. But he always seems to be smiling, so whatever!!
Mmm...Yeah. I actually came to my host family's on Saturday the 22nd, I think. They all opened their presents on Christmas Eve, which I found a bit upsetting. I didn't get anyone but Asumi anything. I'd planned on getting stuff for Kazuma and Sayuri (and even asked them what they wanted), but my host mom wanted me to act as big sister and give the sibs a traditional New Year's gift: cold, hard cash. Which I did gladly. And they were happy. But I received now hugs. ::sob:: Maybe Sayuri hugged me after that, but it wasn't for the toshi-dama I gave. Needless to say, I felt bereft. ~_~
I've lost my train of thought. It's taken me three days to eke this out. Mmm...I'm preparing for this nice taiko recital (if you will) at the culture festival for my island on my birthday, February 10. Performance!! That's the word I was looking for. We're performing. Yes. Just three songs. That's all we know. We're working hard, though. Hopefully, some kind soul will take pictures for me. I'll even wear my contacts so people can see my face.
Anyway, we had practice yesterday (Monday, the 8th), and we all sucked ass from not practicing for twenty or so days. It wasn't horrible, though. We're getting back into the groove, though. Got just one more month to go before the big day.
Oh! Back to my holiday. I went to a pilates/cardio hip-hop class at the YMCA about three times with my host mom and Sayuri over break. It was rather invigorating. I felt like I could dance, thanks to Kihara-sensei, who has us shaking our thangs in to the beats of nice R&B jams from my childhood. I felt happy to know the songs. I also felt a lot of pain from exercising unused muscles. Hopefully, I can keep some kind of exercise going now that I'm back in my cement apartment and am responsible for my own welfare.
...And I'm back from another pause in my writing. I've wasted too much time emailing my friend Vanessa about our supervisor and possibly transferring and junk. Now I've gotta go wash my hair and get into bed by ten so that I can read for an hour and go to sleep at eleven (meaning eleven-thirty). Yaaay!
I'm out for now, but I've got more to say. One day!!
(Post a new comment)
 | 
 jachan
2007-01-11 04:49
(link) |
Gomen, gomen! The reason you probably didn't see the post was because I stopped in the middle the first time I started to write and made it private until I finally finished (if you can call it that ^^) a couple of days late. Next time, I'll just throw it out there! Just throw it!
What I gae the Karaoke-Kan people were these boxed, individually wrapped snack things. Well one box had a bunch of individually wrapped butter cookies in it. The other had these leaf-shaped snack cakes that are like Hiroshima's trademark snack or something. I hope they were good. lol I wouldn't give someone something I wouldn't want to eat, either. It's popular to bring back little individually wrapped snacks for people to eat at their desks, at least in schools here it is.
Un! Taiko. I found out that they had it, and even though it's on Mondays at 7:30 (the same time as Detective Conan, to my neverending consternation ^^;), I got involved after going to one practice and watching everyone. They're are only like seven members, but that's what makes it fun. We can talk to each and have fun and crap like that and it's not crazy pressure not to mess up. This one guy who was really involved in it up and quit, so we had to start learning a new song around the beginning of December. But that's okay. I actually think that there's less pressure without Ookame-san. He kept wanting us to do this stupid John Lennon song ("Stand By Me"), and I, for one, thought it too slow for taiko. And no accompaniament was written out. So, yeah. Glad we never had to practice that song. lol(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
|
(Anonymous)
2007-06-08 23:33
(link) | |
I was an AET on osaki shimojima ten years ago. I was feeling nostalgic and came across your journal. Your experience seems so strangely similar yet different. Good luck to you! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread) |
(Post a new comment)
|
