Saturday morning I was up at 7:30 in order to report for my community clean up duties around the apartment buildings where I live. A couple of weeks ago I got a little note in English that explained the system to me. I’m guessing that Jane upstairs also got the same note, since she has missed the clean up lots of times.
I really don’t mind doing the cleanup, it’s just that the schedule is erratic, and I’m never quite sure when it is. The last time it was on Sunday, but every time before that it was on Saturday. Maybe it is influenced by the weather.
Anyway, I was outside raking away at the leaves with Jane, and we got a good chance to catch up. She’s really enjoying her life in Japan, and she seems a little more relaxed lately. At first when she arrived she was a bundle of nerves, and I think it took a while for her to settle into a routine that she is comfortable with.
She mentioned that she knew a local elementary school that might be in the market for a foreign English teacher, so I might get in touch with them. It’s a year before I need a job, but maybe it would be worth talking a little with them. Teaching English to elementary students is a much different ballgame than teaching to junior high or high school students. Is it something I’d be interested in? The focus at that age is more on singing, games, and physical activities. People I know that do it full time come home exhausted. Still, I love kids and it might be fun to try a few times and see how it goes.
In the evening Kuniko came over and together we went over to a karoke place across from Carrefour for a post-wedding party for a friend of mine who is a regular over at the yakitori. He’s one of the first guys I met at the yakitori, and he invited Kuniko and me to join in the fun.
Kuniko and I each contributed 15,000 yen (about $150) and wrapped them in a symbolic envelope with our names on them. Then we went into the party and met with the organizers (more regulars from the yakitori). We paid 5000 yen each ($50) for all you can drink and all you can eat (and all you can sing, for that matter). Kuniko drove so she just had a couple of glasses of orange juice. I had four or five cups of beer, and they kept the beer flowing pretty good. The food was a little scarce, actually, and I was pretty hungry. For my 5000 yen I don’t think I got my money’s worth, but at least the party was good.
There were lots of people I didn’t know, but some people sang karaoke. There were a few speeches by the bride and groom, a few kisses, and some games. They played this weird game where six people came up on stage and each one ate a creampuff. Six other people watched them eat the creampuffs. The gimmick was that one of the creampuffs had something evil inside, I don’t know what. Maybe wasabi, maybe something salty, I don’t know. Anyway, the people observing have to guess which person ate the bad creampuff. If the observers guess correctly, the creampuff eaters have to drink a shot of oolong tea mixed with Tabasco sauce. If the observers guess wrong, they have to drink the shot.
The first round, Kuniko got called up there, and she ate a normal creampuff no problem. I was up there the second round, and I had a normal creampuff myself. Delicious, but I wanted to see what was in the weird creampuff.
The final game was one where we had a relay, and you had to eat two saltine crackers, swallow them, and then the next person goes. Kuniko and I both competed in this one, and we both cheated. I saved up lots of saliva and also secretly dipped my cracker in mayonnaise. We still lost, though, and so I got to drink the Tabasco tea cocktail. It wasn’t so bad, really, but maybe that’s because I like Tabasco so much.
We had a good time at the party – the only downside was that everyone was smoking there. It seemed like everyone, anyway. The kids that were there weren’t smoking, but them and us and that was it. When we left we reeked of tobacco smoke. Yuck. On the way home from the party we stopped in at a ramen shop to get some food – I was still hungry. The noodles hit the spot.
Sunday we got up and headed to the town of Shingu, west of Himeji, to see Yuri perform in a taiko drum concert. I’ve always been a big fan of taiko drums – they are so loud and the effect of their noise shakes you from the inside. Yuri got us free tickets, so we went and sat right in the front to root her own.
She did a great job – it looked really difficult, but she seemed to do it effortlessly. The other drummers were also very talented, and I was so impressed. They played for about two hours, interspersed with a dance troupe that did a variety of international dances.
At the end of the show we got to congratulate her and she looked really happy. There was quite a big crowd there, and she must have been nervous performing for so many people.
Sunday night Kuniko and I just hung out and had a simple dinner of tantan noodles (cold spicy noodles with a meat and miso sauce). The rain is coming almost every day lately, so it’s good to stay in and stay dry. This week I’ll have to go out and face it, though. It has been a pretty wet season so far.
