My folks and I made the hour and a half drive to Sacramento to pick up my grandparents today. It was interesting to visit the airport without actually taking a flight – I still get those traveling nervous excitement jitters when I go to an airport… even Sacramento airport.

They arrived right on time and came off the plane excited and happy to be here. They don’t often travel on the plane – for the longest time we would relay them back and forth between San Diego and Glen Ellen by car.

The drive back was a little traumatic – my grandmother’s travel sickness kicked in, so we took a long slow drive back. Once she got some time to rest up she did just fine.

We snacked big time on chips, salsa, and cheese, and then had a big dinner. I cooked up yakisoba, and we also put some veggies on the BBQ – giant portabello mushrooms, onions, and peppers – wow! I had forgotten how good portabello mushrooms are.

After dinner I passed around samples of two of my favorite beverages in Japan, yogurt-flavored Qoo, and Calpis. They both got good reviews from our panel of judges. Maybe I can send some back now and then.

Tomorrow is the big party, so we’ll be preparing in the day and then partying through the night!

Banzai took the day off of work today so that we could beat the crowds and get into Costco to do some shopping for the big fiesta on Sunday. As it turned out, the crowds were still there – lots of them. We walked up and down the aisles and stocked up. I didn’t find anything I needed except for contact solution. Everything else was no big deal or I could get it at my local Costco in Amagasaki.

After Costco we walked through Trader Joe’s (or TJ’s, as my mom calls it) and bought some more stuff. I found some salmon jerky for the history teacher – he’ll get a kick out of that.

My dad and I decided to meet up with Mark at the sushi restaurant in Sonoma, called Sushinoma. I thought it was cool when I saw the kanji for the name of the restaurant (寿司の間) – it basically translates into “sushi-time”. It’s a clever name in English and Japanese.

We had a combination sashimi platter, and my dad had his first experience with raw fish. The quality of the sashimi and sushi was quite good – very little difference between the sushi I get when I buy it in Japan. We had some hand rolls, so nigiri sushi, and some makizushi as well – delicious.

After dinner we headed to Murphy’s and had a beer there. It was pretty lively, and before long Victor and Rico showed up. We sat around and chatted and enjoyed the atmosphere and nice cool weather. I was loving it. My brother and dad took off soon after, but Rico and Victor and I stayed through a few more beers to relax and catch up.

During the evening we ran into one of my father’s old students, Nate Pouch, who was pretty sloshed. He told us all about his experiences in Amsterdam while eating our appetizers and shouting obscenities across the crowd. It was a lot of fun – really!

At 10 p.m. or so we drove over to the radio station to watch my brother’s radio show. It was cool to be in the studio with the mood lighting and have the whole place to ourselves. Mark did a great show and told us all about how it worked. I’ve gotten a little more appreciation into what goes into a show when I’m listening in Japan.

Around 11 o’clock we left the station to head our separate ways. Mark was probably glad to get rid of us. We’re all going to meet up again during the party on Sunday. Tomorrow my grandparents fly in from San Diego, so we’re heading into Sacramento to meet them at the airport. It’ll be great to see them again!

Today was my parent’s 37th wedding anniversary. They spent it like any other day – my mom went to work. My dad stayed home and did chores around the house.

I went into Sonoma to walk around the plaza looking for good omiyage ideas. It’s interesting to walk through with a tourist’s perspective. Lots of stores and lots of shopping. I went into the Cheese Factory for some free cheese, popped into lots of art stores to look around – it was fun.

I ended up finding some cool stuff at the Mexican folk art store in Boyes Hot Springs. I also stopped in at the Imagery Winery to taste some wines and pick something up for Mr. Hayashi. I ended up picking up the Malbec – it was delicious. It was fun to see all the new labels that they’ve done since I had been there last – some really cool ones!

Mark and I had planned to cook dinner for my folks to celebrate, so we put together a serious meal. We had steaks, risotto, green salad, baked beans, and some great wine.

After dinner we had some desserts that Mark had picked up down at Glen Ellen Village Market, and then we took a short walk before retiring. It was a lot of fun, especially for a Thursday. Tomorrow we’re going to go to Costco to do a little shopping – I’m stocking up for my trip back to Japan.

Today my father and I drove into town to pick up some sandwiches and have lunch at my mom’s winery, Gundlach Bundschu. We sat out in front of her office in the shade and ate our sandwiches. People would walk by and we could say hello to them – it’s a small family winery and it definitely has that feel.

Afterwards I brought my pictures into the office and so people could get a look at them. I brought way too many pictures – almost 150 – so it takes a while to go through them. We also sat with Mary Bundschu and talked for a while about the pictures, life in Japan, and the family. It was fun – a good way to spend the hot afternoon.

We drove from the winery into town to visit the Sonoma Valley Art Museum where my brother works. Mark got the job a couple of weeks ago, and so we wanted to stop in and see him, but also see the exhibition by Rodin. His most famous work is “The Thinker”, but he did a variety of other interesting pieces that were on display at the museum in Sonoma.

The museum itself was well-designed. Mark had especially recommended the bathrooms, and upon visiting I noticed some really cool sinks. I should have taken a picture, but I’ve noticed that people tend to get uncomfortable when you do photography in a public restroom.

After enjoying the art for a little while we drove home, stopping in at the lcoal grocery to pick up some goodies for our taco dinner that night.

Dinner turned out great – it has been a long time since I’ve had the chance to eat mom’s tacos. The beans were especially good, with some chipotle peppers floating around in there for flavor. I went to bed with a full stomach – it was excellent.

Today I woke up at home with the house empty – everyone had gone to work. I got my act together, had some breakfast, and soon after my dad called looking for a ride home from Sassarini School. I jumped in the Cressida, and headed out to pick him up.

Rather than coming home, we decided to go out and do some shopping. I found some good omiyage for my teachers and students, and a couple of books on the Japanese language that look interesting.

For lunch my dad and I went to Rubio’s in the Santa Rosa Plaza. I was planning on hitting a Rubio’s in San Diego, but my schedule looks to be so tight that I figured I’d take care of it now. We both had fish tacos, and I also had a shrimp burrito. I’m going to gain so much weight on this trip.

In the evening my dad and I went to the Degliantoni’s, for the monthly poker night. Matt Atkinson was there – I hadn’t seen him yet this trip and it was nice to say hello. We got to hear about Bob Weller’s trip to Italy, and he had even brought back some great wines for us to try. We had burritos for dinner (delicious!) and played poker for a couple of hours.

The games were pretty good – most of them I had played before. My dad helped me out with the details of some of the games that I didn’t remember. These guys play so often that they know the games by heart, and they are throwing around poker terms all the time. I ended up losing five bucks on the night, but it could have been a lot worse – I won a couple of hands near the end otherwise I’d be almost ten bucks in the hole.

We played outside on the patio, and the weather was perfect for an outdoor poker night. Too much fun. Afterwards my dad and I just walked back home, and hit the hay soon after. Tomorrow I’m hoping to go visit Mark at his new job in the Sonoma Valley Art Museum.

Since I went to bed fairly early last night I was able to get up at a decent hour today. My dad was planning to do his daily ritual of pulling down some bags of insulation in preparation for their new kitchen. He went up into the attic while I was in the shower and filled a bunch of garbage bags.

By the time I was out of the shower he had finished up, and then we both got ready to go out and split wood. I had packed pretty light this trip – in fact, I didn’t even pack any pants. Definitely nothing I could wear while working with the wood splitter. My dad found an old pair of overalls in the back of his closet that seemed to fit me. I looked like an Oklahoma country boy – I should have taken a picture.

Anyway, by the time we finished splitting wood it was around 1:30, so we cleaned up and went up to visit the Benziger winery. I was able to see Luisa, Brian, Terry, Casey, and Nacho. Everyone looked great, and it was fun to walk around the winery again after being away for so long.

Soon after we got back Mark and Banzai came home from work and we were off to the Degliantoni’s for dinner. I hadn’t been over to George and Margaret’s place in years and years. Their place was really nice, especially the back yard area. It is all shaded by trees, and they have a nice hot tub out in the woods.

We ate BBQ chicken and burgers outside and had an incredible blackberry crisp for dessert. We chatted about all kinds of things, from my adventures in Japan to Mark’s adventures in a snowbound car with my dad.

Finally we headed back and relaxed around the house. We’re trying to get my computer to recognize the network at home, but it’s proving to be a pain – hopefully I can figure it out before I leave!

Today I managed to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to call Kuniko in Japan. It was around nine p.m. there on Sunday, and she was just getting home. I was pretty tired on the phone, and she sounded pretty good after being wired running around work.

We talked for about half an hour, and then I went back to sleep – I didn’t wake up until around 10:30 in the morning. We had a nice breakfast and then organized a trip to Concord. My folks wanted to go there to do some paperwork relating to their new kitchen, and I wanted to do a little shopping.

The shopping turned out pretty well, actually. I picked up a nice pair of flipflops, three pairs of socks, and a cheap pair of sunglasses. Just walking around the mall was interesting – American people are interesting to watch. Nobody pays much attention to me here, and I can understand what people are saying while they are walking along.

After Concord we drove back, and in Napa we stopped in at In-N-Out Burger to satisfy my burger craving.

I really enjoyed digging into a proper hamburger, and then we headed back home.

In the eveing I went over to Victor and Lisa’s, and I got to see their son Alexander again. He’s a lot bigger, and really cute with light hair and a great smile. He was walking around organizing his toys, and he was fun to talk to. He just stared back at my like I was a total lunatic, which probably isn’t too far from the truth.

We went out to Mary’s Pizza and had a big meal – it was delicious. The place was decorated to look like the first Mary’s Pizza shack – interesting decor. We caught up about all kinds of things – and afterwards we went back to their place where I wore down everyone’s patience by looking at pictures from my first year in Japan.

Upon leaving they awarded me with an entire case of Guinness – what a lucky guy. Lisa still gets cool fringe benefits at her company, and this time it worked out for me. How lucky! Now I’ve got to find a way to drink all this beer. Big issues to deal with around here.

Today I slept in until around 10:30 in the morning, and then got up for some breakfast and to relax a little bit. Around the middle of the day we decided to go into town to do a little shopping trip for me. I’m looking for a lot of things, flip-flops, t-shirts, sunglasses, and more.

We decided to go into Napa to do the shopping, really just because there is a Jamba Juice in town, and I really had missed the juice. I did some shopping in the Target next door, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I’m going to keep looking around, and hopefully I’ll find what I need later on.

We did do some shopping in the local grocery store, and we have the ingredients to make yakisoba now! I’m hoping to do a little cooking sometime soon. I also picked up some garlic salt and garlic powder to bring back to Japan.

My dad and I both scored a Jamba Juice, and then we headed home. On the way back we passed by a wildfire that was burning to the south of Sonoma. It was incredible how much smoke was created by that fire – it was really heavy.

For dinner tonight we went to a party at Francine Sweeny’s house. It was a lot of fun. The beer, wine and appetizers were great, and the dinner was even better. It was fun to catch up with everyone, and we got a chance to look at pictures from my adventures in Japan.

We were celebrating Richard’s birthday. There were some cool presents for him, including a goofy visor with a fan that blows down on your face to keep you cool. We all had a great time. We heard through the grapevine that the fire had flared up, and Francine’s boyfriend, who is by coincidence my parent’s new kitchen contractor, went to go check on a house that he was working on. Apparently everything was OK, though.

I’m getting ready to head to bed – I’m tired out. Tomorrow I’m going to get up early and give Kuniko a call. We’re going to head to Concord to sign off on some paperwork for the new kitchen, and I’m hoping to get to In-N-Out Burger while we’re there!

So I’ve arrived safely here in California. The trip was a bit arduous. I started by hauling my heavy suitcase to the train station in Futami, and by the time I arrived, I was covered in sweat. Then, I took my gear to Akashi, and finally to Kobe before getting on the airport bus.

Getting on the flight was no problem – I zipped through security, and nobody took a second glance at all the weird stuff I had in my suitcase. Before I knew it I was on my airplane and heading towards Korea.

I had requested an emergency exit row, so I got a lot of leg room. I also got to sit next to a couple of flight attendants that were very friendly. We talked in English about all kinds of things, and it was interesting to hear a little about their jobs. They are expected to speak Korean and English, since we were on a Korean airline. They also find it helpful to learn some Japanese and Chinese, since those countries are part of their flight plans. They were all really nice and they treated me really well when it came time to give me food and drink.

I said goodbye to my new friends and got off at the airport in Seoul. This was my second visit to the airport. Last time I left right away, this time I could relax, eat, do some shopping, and have some fun while I waited for my flight. Things were dirt cheap here, and I could use dollars, yen, or wan to pay for stuff.

Around 6:30 local time I was boarding my plane, a big Korean airlines 777. The flight wasn’t too bad, actually, but I didn’t get much sleep. I sat next to a very talkative lady that had been visiting her American boyfriend stationed in Korea. She had been in Seoul for a month and had never eaten a meal off the base. She said she isn’t too adventurous. What a shame. She was nice enough, though, and we chatted for a while before I finally got to reading my book and listening to music.

I was very happy to arrive in San Francisco – I picked up my suitcase and cleared immigration and customs without a problem. The first thing I noticed was all the security – lots of guns and uniforms. Scary.

I went outside and saw my mom right away – my dad swung by in the van and we were off! We made the drive home to Glen Ellen and I was finally able to relax a bit. I had a Fat Tire Ale, and we went in to town to eat some Mary’s Pizza. Oh yeah…

Now it’s Saturday here, and I’m getting ready to go into town with the family and do a little bit of shopping. Tonight we’re heading to Francine Sweeny’s place for a party. Should be fun!

Today was my last day at school before I leave for vacation. I had two classes, both with Mr. Hayashi. We amused ourselves by having the students write questions for me about my upcoming trip. They could write in English or Japanese, so we got some crazy questions. Here’s a sample:

“What would you do if the world was destroyed after summer vacation?”

“What do you prefer, American girls or Japanese girls?”

“What is the first thing you will do when you reach America?”

“Isn’t America dangerous? Why are you going there?”

“If your plane crashes in the ocean, what will you do?”

As an added twist, Mr. Hayashi had me try to answer the questions in Japanese. That lead to all sorts of embarrassing situations. The students were pretty supportive of me trying Japanese, and Mr. Hayashi thought it would be a good on the spot check of my abilities. I made lots of mistakes, but hopefully it’ll show the students that nobody is perfect.

We also had a firedrill today. The students ran out to the back of the school and stood in the hot sun while a fireman made a speech, and then the principal got up and made a speech. Only one student collapsed, which has to be a record.

On the way back I noticed cases and cases of Gatorade in the hallway. Apparently they were shipped to our school for free. Gatorade has made almost no headway in the Japanese market – it’s very rare to see it in the stores. The boxes said that the Gatorade was free for the members of the sports clubs. There were 20 boxes, and there were six 2 liter bottles of Gatorade in each box. Interesting strategy – we’ll see if it works.

Mr. Hayashi is using my departure tomorrow as an excuse to skip a party put on by the second year teachers. He’s “seeing me off” tomorrow, so he can’t go to the party. Not true, actually – I’m going by myself to the airport, but I’m happy to give him an alibi. He’s not much of a party person, anyway.

Tonight I did some last minute packing, and I ran out to the grocery store for a couple more little things to bring. The bag weighs 22 kg (48 pounds), so I hope that’s cool with the airline. I have to be at the airport tomorrow by 10:30 a.m., so I’ll be getting a fairly early start tomorrow.

Next update is from America – back to where I started from!

It’s starting to heat up even more around here – the temperature got into the low 30’s today, and the humidity is still up there. I spent a lot of time in the air-conditioned teacher’s office studying.

I had only one class, with Ms. Tsutsumi, and the students took a listening test to prepare them for the college entrance exams. It was an easy class for me – nothing really to do but tell them the answers and give them cues on what to listen for next time.

Mr. Urakami came by and tried to find out what I was doing yesterday. Everybody is curious, and the principal and vice-principal aren’t helping much – they won’t tell anyone anything, not even an alibi, so it just burns the curious people. I told Mr. Urakami that I was making teacher’s materials, and he seemed satisfied with that.

During most of the day I studied Japanese, but my brain was rejecting the words I tried to memorize. I figured that today wasn’t a memorization day, and instead did some reading. I read a couple of articles from the back of my textbook and at least got a little practice with that.

I was out of school a little early, and so I got home early and did a little bit of packing and laundry. I have all night tomorrow to get ready, but I just wanted to check and see if everything is going to fit – and I think it will. I’ll be traveling light, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Customs is going to love my bag – lots of weird little goodies in there.

Kuniko called and we chatted for about half an hour. We’re both not thrilled about being apart for as long as it will be. She’ll be taking the teacher’s exam while I’m gone, so I won’t be around to give her encouragement. I’ll be very happy to see her again once I get back.

The whole house is open, but it’s still hot. I’m off to close up the bedroom and turn on the A/C. Tomorrow is the last day before my vacation!

Today I got a chance to sleep in early, because I was mysteriously recruited to do some work for the prefectural board of education. They had asked about me through my principal, so I volunteered to help them out.

I met Mr. Hasegawa, the very friendly supervisor of the prefecture. He’s the top dog of the JET program in my prefecture, and he’s really a great guy. He had remembered me from some conversations we had early on in Tokyo and later in Yashiro, so he thought of me when this job came up.

My principal and vice-principal were pretty “cloak and dagger” about this, and I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone what I was doing. Mr. Hasegawa was also kind of secretive about it, and as we waited for one other ALT we chatted about my school, how my first year on JET was, and my expectations for the next year.

A few minutes later, Monica showed up and met us. A JET from the northern part of the prefecture, she spoke great Japanese, and she’s been studying hard and taking classes. I got the impression that maybe she studied a little too hard, but she seemed nice enough. Together we drove over to the library at the center of Akashi park, and went into a audio video room to be briefed on our mission.

Mr. Hasegawa introduced us to two other teachers, one of which also spoke English. All together the three teachers were responsible for creating the teacher’s exam for prospective teachers in the prefecture. These exams are notoriously difficult, and cover topics like English, Japanese, kanji, biology, history, you name it. It turns out that we were going to make the listening part of the English exam.

We were given the script, and then we went inside a sound studio to do sound levels and testing. The room was also set up for video, but we didn’t use it. The lights illuminating the stage were really bright, and you couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous when under the scrutiny of the teachers and the lights.

After fooling around a little and doing some practice runs, we started recording small pieces, and then the sound guy would put them together onto a tape in the right order. I had to over-enunciate words and basically sound like I was speaking to a kindergarten class. The only hitch was that I had to speak at a natural speed – without noticing my voice had slowed down to accomodate the people I speak with at school.

Monica was a natural at the voice part, and she did great. My voice seemed a little too nasal, but at the end the test sounded pretty good, and very professional. We took a break for lunch, and then worked until about 3 p.m. Afterwards, Mr. Hasegawa asked us if we could work on a few more secret projects in August. I volunteered to do that, so he said he’d talk to my principal. Monica is attending a Japanese language workshop in Nagoya during August, so she won’t be able to make it.

Overall it was a really interesting experience, and I was sworn to secrecy afterwards. In an interesting conflict-of-interest sidenote, it turns out that I know three teachers that are taking the teacher’s exam next week, one of which is Kuniko. We joked on the phone about it afterwards, but we both thought it would be best not to share anything about it. I’d hate for her to pass the exam and then think that it was only because she got some inside info from me.

Mr. Hayashi, Mr. Komuri, and Mr. Urakami all wanted to take me out to sushi as a going away party. We met up in Akashi around 7 p.m., and had a great sushi dinner. The beer was flowing, and we had lots of sushi. Lots. I don’t remember everything we had, but it started with a big plate of sashimi (straight raw fish – about eight different kinds). Then we had onigiri sushi (raw fish on top of a mound of sushi rice). We had around seven or eight different onigiri sushi, and then moved to makizushi (sushi rolls). We had four different rolls of makizushi.

Mr. Hayashi had kind of guessed what I was up to, and hinted around looking for details, but I didn’t give him much to go on. By now, I’m pretty good at keeping secrets from him. At one point an older guy bought me a beer because he was impressed with my chopstick skills – that was very nice.

Afterwards we headed back, and I took my usual anti-hangover precautions, four aspirin, and about 500 mL of water. Tomorrow is a school day – and it’s back to work!

We woke up fairly early Monday morning. Kuniko has a day off, so she was planning on just hanging out around my place until I get off work at 10:30. I got cleaned up and headed out the door in shorts and a T-shirt. Today at school is the second half of the mini-sports day, so it’s casual dress.

At school Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Komuri were raving about how well the dinner at Graciani’s went. They both said that I missed out on a great opportunity, and they showed me pictures of everyone having a good time. I stopped in later and asked the office lady how it went, and she said that it was excellent. She even got a birthday cake from the staff.

I hadn’t heard anything more about doing the recording job that my principal had asked me about earlier, but today I found out that I’ll be doing that on Tuesday. This caused a bit of a problem, because by the time they figured out when and where it was, I was already out the door and heading home. In the end, Mr. Hayashi called me at home to ask me to check with the principal, but I could tell he was curious. He’s getting cut out of the loop on this one, and nobody likes it when that happens.

When I got home, I got a warm greeting from Kuniko. She had bought me a takoyaki grill! What’s takoyaki? Little balls of dough, cooked up with a little chunk of octopus inside, and then served with sauce and some mayonnaise. They’re very good, and pretty popular in this area. Now I can make them at home! Kuniko fired up the grill and showed me how it’s done. They turned out great. She had bought a big chunk of octopus to cut up and put inside, and seeing that sitting on the counter was a real eye-opener.

While we were preparing the takoyaki, I called my folks and chatted with them for a while. Kuniko got on the phone with everyone, which was her first chance to talk to my family. I think it went pretty well – Kuniko was really nervous, but she did just fine. What do you say in a situation like that? Maybe now the ice is broken and we can have some more chats later on.

After a big lunch my phone started ringing, and I pretended I wasn’t home. Instead, Kuniko and I went and took a nap that lasted almost three hours. After the nap, we gathered up all our stuff, and headed to Sannomiya.

Originally, that is, before the three hour nap, our plans were to do some shopping in Sannomiya, have dinner, and then I would go to my class and Kuniko would go home. As it ended up, we skipped the shopping and did dinner only. What a dinner it was!

Kuniko suggested on the train ride over that we have dim sum. I haven’t had dim sum in years – not since I was working for Synapta in Palo Alto. Kuniko knew a place near the station, and since it was early we sat down without waiting and Kuniko ordered up some 食べ放題 (all you can eat) dim sum. The price was amazing – $15. In a place like that, foreigners can really do some damage. There was a big menu of different kinds of dim sum – you just tell the nice lady which ones and how many. There was also noodles, dessert, the works. Unbelievable. Kuniko was ordering like a pro, and I was enjoying all the food. It tasted great.

After dinner we walked to the YMCA, and I showed Kuniko where my class was. I saw some of my teachers walking around beforehand, and they smiled at me but didn’t really stop and chat. I think they probably saw me with Kuniko and thought, “So that’s his motivation…”

Kuniko and I walked down to the end of the street, and we said our goodbyes. I couldn’t believe how hard it was to see her walk away. I won’t see her again for almost a month – it will be tough. I’ve gotten used to looking forward to the weekends and knowing that she’ll be around soon enough. I know people that are maintaining relationships over long distances – seeing each other only a couple of times a year, and here I am sweating it out over a few weeks.

Class went really well, and we are moving along quickly now. I’m going to miss the next six meetings, so I’ll be playing catch-up big time when I get back. Between that and the jet lag, I’ll have my work cut out for me.

I got a message from Mr. Komuri – he wants to throw a going away party for me at his favorite sushi place. I’ve been there once before, but a week after we were there the owner found out he had cancer and closed the shop. Now he is opening it up for us because Mr. Komuri is a friend. I hope he is careful with the blowfish sushi – that’s my favorite, but it’s also the most dangerous. Just what I need – a sushi slicer that is looking death square in the eye.

Well, the tacos did turn out great. Kuniko helped me by chopping the veggies, and we put together quite a feast. Kuniko had brought along some cake from a bakery in Osaka, so we had dessert covered as well.

In the end Kuniko decided to stay the night here, so we got an early start the next day, since we had to get her home to pick up her car and drive to Takasago Minami for interviews.

Around six in the morning we walked to the train station, but we ended up missing the train by two minutes. Poor Kuniko had to wait around for another fifteen minutes early in the morning for the next train. I walked back home and cleaned up my act, and then around 8 o’clock I went to the school.

As I was walking up, Kuniko pulled into the parking lot in her car, and we waved at each other like we hadn’t seen each other in months.

The STEP test is always easy money, and today was no exception. I had a little less money this time since I wasn’t interviewing, but it was pretty simple. I sat around with one of the office ladies and chatted in Japanese. She was joining the gang for a dinner at Graciani’s, but I had cancelled to spend time with Kuniko. I told her that she would enjoy the food and the atmosphere. It’s always fun at Graciani’s.

Mr. Hayashi was a little sketchy on the details of what I was going to do, but he did ask me to make a speech about the qualification level of the examiners. Some of them had gotten in under a “grandfather clause” and so they have the same level as the people they are interviewing – which seems strange. I made a quick speech to put a little pressure on them, and there was some uncomfortable shifting in chairs among some of the older teachers. I think my speech had the desired effect.

Mr. Hayashi occasionally gave me some papers and asked me to walk around the hallways looking like I was doing something important, so I did. All the students waiting for an interview would look at me with a mix of fear and concern – they were hoping that I wasn’t their interviewer.

Lots of Takasago Minami teachers were helping by hanging out with the interviewees before the interview, organizing papers, and just being around in case something happened. That was an easy job, too, but not as easy as chatting with the office lady in the room with all the fans and the cold tea.

After the test was over, Mr. Hayashi gave me around $140, and sent me home. Kuniko called and told me that she was heading my way, so I went to the station to meet her there. After three trains had come and gone, it seemed like something was wrong. I hurried home, and barely caught Kuniko as she was heading the other direction. She had waited at my door for 20 minutes, and was worried about me. We must have passed each other at some point – I felt terrible. She was just relieved that I was OK.

After a while we heard from Yasu. Yasu is going to take care of my plants while I’m gone, so he was coming over to see where the plants were and to pick up my spare key. He was also my alibi to get out of dinner at Graciani’s.

It only took five minutes to see where the plants were. Then, we went out for some pasta at an Italian restaurant that Yasu knew about. It was right next door to Carrefour, and the food was pretty good. I had a carbonara, and Kuniko had a shrimp and mushroom pasta. Yasu had a fresh vegetable pasta that looked really good.

We chatted for a long time, the conversations drifting between English and Japanese. The people at the next table would be able to understand us, and then they wouldn’t, and then they would. The food was really good, and not very expensive. Usually Italian food is more expensive here, because things that are perceived as European seem to cost more.

Back home we split up some of the desserts that I had on hand – Kuniko’s cake, and some ice cream from New Zealand that I had bought at Carrefour. We sat around the living room talking about places we all wanted to visit inside Japan – there are lots of interesting places that I haven’t seen yet.

Yasu headed home early, so Kuniko and I did some cleanup and went to bed. I have to work for a couple of hours tomorrow, so it’s early to bed for me.

This morning I woke to a wet morning, but the good news was that it was nice and cool. I spent the morning getting organized, having a light breakfast, and doing laundry. My folks called in, and so we spent some time chatting – this time next week I’ll be in California.

The rain stopped, and I even saw a little sunshine in the distance. I saw this as my big opportunity, so I tucked my umbrella in my pocket, and made a run for Carrefour.

I really tried to do a light shopping trip, especially considering that I would have to lug everything back. I ended up buying quite a bit of stuff for tonight’s dinner and the weekend in general. I picked up a few things to bring back to America, and in general had a fun time shopping.

I’m hoping the tacos turn out great tonight!