I'm really ureshii that Hiroko is back in Japan, after exactly one year. (A loong year - Don moved to Kobe, we got a cat, we met Simon and Sara, Peter and co. moved to Singapore, I went to Texas (and met
joshdavis), we made merry fun with Akiko and Kazuki, we moved to Nishinomiya. Whoa, I wasn't even on the internet a year ago. No LJ! Didn't even have a computer; I wrote my diary in Japanese. (What happened to that habit? I did it every day for 18 months...) Don and Muyan quit the fascist, sicko school they worked for and started doing what they SHOULD be doing. P A couple punk shows, Half Japanese, a summer splash, a Japanese proficiency exam, some Sumo, Kyle and Masae's wedding, barbecues, Don's mom, Japan Nights.)(English Studio is different, too. There didn't use to be group lessons or the O-Shaberi Passport - now the place is always crowded. There are photos everywhere and more couches and a lot of food. Greek food last night, brought to us by
antivert, our Master Chef.)Anyway, my year wasn't as long as Hiroko's. I didn't live in a (art-school?) dormitory, making endless sidetrips all over Europe. I surprised myself by how overjoyed I was to have Hiroko back. Guess it had just been so long that I'd forgotten how great it is to know her. She brought back an enviable European accent and an impressive knowledge of Belgian beers, and next she's bringing her (Belgian?) boyfriend, Niko. I was at English Studio WAAAAY to long because I spent so much time listening to her stories, and even after I came home I was wishing we could go back and hang out with her some more.
This is a picture of Hiroko and Mafumi, who is also high on my "favorite people" list:
Hiroko's a student and she went to Belgium on full scholarship. Way to go, Hiroko! And all you other scholarship-having people:
crims0n, Brett...Here's something else. I used to feel like my school was the best place to work in the whole world.. or in Kobe, anyway. But the last few weeks, the tension has been so harrowing that waitressing or stewardessing is becoming very, very attractive.
I just read today that Rokko Island's land used to be the top of a mountain. They also developed the flat mountain top. Clever, these Japanese... Did everybody but me know this? (I mean, everybody in Kobe but me.)
Today I watched Sumo, made a stripcreator comic, and read Ko Fight Club - a lot. Takamisakari (aka Robocop) defeated Kaio, which was really quite cool; Asashoryu defeated Tochinonada. Which is to be expected, but I'm happy Asashoryu has kept a perfect record in the first 5 days.
Last weekend, Don and I had a conbini-food-and-katori-senko picnic by the river and then went to Karaoke on the Master Card. The next day, we spent a quiet evening with Simon, Sara, Sophia, Bailey, and some Bailey's. We walked home to Nishinomiya from Kobe, and got lost in Ashiya. Meanwhile discovered a great view spot in our neighborhood, plus the location of Bar Ape.
I have a junior-high school student who is generally so demotivated, she throws her books on the floor every week and tries her best be hostile to me (even though she really likes me). Anyway, TODAY she told me SO many stories: about bodyboarding in Hawaii, lying on her belly waiting for the waves to behave, getting a deep tan on only her back; how she did a jousting/cavalry at school, but instead of horses, the two girls were each carried by three other girls, and she was the front girl on the bottom. Then she REQUESTED to practice the past-perfect form. So we did, for 20 minutes or so! So, can anyone with sources please check whether hell has frozen over?
Is it just me or are most LJ users from Texas or Canada?
Don is showing me benchmarks for his 3d card. Wow!
Mafumi has a Ministry of Silly Walks T-shirt. Wherever did she get such a cool thing?
Three days ago, Don and I watched the first of the GRASSHOPPA! series. If you have access to Japanese stuff, watch this! Don wants to rip it, so if he gets a DVD-R drive, I'll start taking orders. GRASSHOPPA! is a collection of short, serial films, but that is all I know about it. Because they're serial, you have to watch them in order. But if the others prove as good as the first, this is the funniest shit there ever was.
I watched Tonari no Tottoro for the second time, this time with subtitles, and found I didn't miss anything by watching it in Japanese the first time. Yesterday I wrote となり on my hand and confused the heck out of everyone over 11, but kids instantly connected it with Tonari no Tottoro. Clever, these kids...
I was going to make this as long as humanly possible, but it's late and I'm pretty tired. Sore ja oyasumi!
