Today Antoine and I awoke to screaming children in the playground, and my community announcement, which always makes me feel like I’m waking up in prison. Not that I know what that feels like. Anyway, my folks called soon after, so I got to talk to them and also had a great conversation with my Grandma.
I took Antoine back to the train station, and then called Miss Kageyama. We decided to go out to a coffee place that she knew and study English and Japanese. We spent a couple of hours in the coffee shop, talking back and forth. I tried out some Japanese, and she was really good about correcting me in the right places. She had taken an exam as part of a job interview in Osaka on Saturday, so she told me all about that – it sounded really difficult. I don’t think I would have done that well, and English is my native language!
Afterwards we went out to eat at a new ramen shop that opened up near my place. We decided what to order, and Miss Kageyama ordered the food. Then the server asked question upon question, and it became apparent to me that I am missing a lot of things by not understanding the servers. Miss Kageyama described it just the way she wanted it, and it came out great. I just would have said, “Two ramens, please.”
Now I’m wrapping up my laundry and thinking about next week. I’ve got short classes because our school is preparing for the annual sports day. The entire school participates in a sports festival, so I’m eager to see all these hyper kids in action. Mr. Hayashi wants us to go out to dinner on Tuesday at Kitano Club, one of the top three most expensive restaurants in Kobe. It sits atop a hill overlooking all of Kobe. Originally we were going to a local restaurant that serves ostrich steaks, but at the last minute it sounds like Mr. Hayashi changed his mind. Lucky that Tuesday is payday – I think this is a pretty swanky place.
