Friday night I had a good time after work, hitting Osho for take-out Chinese food, and then later heading over to Red Spanky for some cocktails. I had a chance to meet some new friendly people over there, and we exchanged facebook info so that we can keep in touch later. Afterwards I went home pretty late, and crashed out.
Saturday the oncoming typhoon was all over the news, but there was little effect other than a constant downpour of rain. I spent most of the day sleeping, cleaning house, and relaxing before heading to the airport to meet Kuniko in the evening. I took the bus to the airport, and waited with some other teachers and lots of parents in the lobby of Itami airport.
The plane arrived on time, and after the last speech was made, and after the last student’s mother took her home, we were free to go. It was good to see Kuniko – she looked tired but happy that the trip went so well. Apparently it went without a hitch – and so it was more like a vacation than work. A vacation that you get paid for, not the other way around.
We grabbed a quick meal at a Japanese restaurant in the airport (sushi and zarusoba) and then caught a bus back to Sannomiya and a train from there to our place. Then it was unpacking time and we called it a night soon afterwards.
Sunday the typhoon officially arrived, and we sat it out inside our house. The typhoon actually fizzled out before it hit us, and it was more like a big storm – lots of rain and wind. Every few minutes a big gust of wind would come up and blow water all over the place, but other than that it was pretty mild. We were inside polishing off champagne and eating “salmon candy” from The Fishery. We also dug into some cheeses that Kuniko brought back – a hot pepper infused feta and goat cheese with black pepper. Yum.
Now it’s Monday morning, and outside it is still blowing hard. We’re off to work, but because of a weather warning it looks like Kuniko won’t have any students today. It’s very nice that she’ll enjoy a gradual return to teaching…
