Parking-friendly car unveiled

It looks like a toy..!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=4397084&ch=2165253

Seeing as how ridiculously narrow and tiny some parking spots are and how difficult it is to try to maneuver into them, I think these 'parking-friendly' cars would be ideal for Japan! (No more 9-point turns when trying to get out of some parking lots...)

Yosakoi Festival in Sasebo

Over a hundred different teams come to Sasebo during the Yosakoi festival to compete for the title of 'best yosakoi group'. I had yet to see the Yosakoi festival in Sasebo, so I thought it would be nice to take a look!

On our way downtown, we stopped at the Biodome park for lunch. It was such a beautiful day!


In Sasebo, there were dancers performing on the street and throughout the arcade. People of all ages could be seen in these dances. I love that about festivals in Japan...The whole community will work together to organize these festivals. Young or old, there's something for everyone to do!



In the park was where the main competition was taking place. These dances were so energetic!! I wanted to join them!!

Orange Day at Ikiriki elementary school

I spent today at an elementary school where, along with about 20 or so other ALTs, I participated in 'Orange Day'.

We were each responsible for a goup of 6 kids, ranging from the ages of 6 to 12. The day started out with a hike up a mountain, and once we arrived at the top, there were all kinds of activities organized for us (treasure hunts, races, games etc..).

Part of the hike up to the park (easily an hour of the hike) was along a 2-lane road, where the sidewalk was just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and where large trucks and other vehicles would wizz by. I couldn't help but think that this was very unsafe....!

Once we arrived at the park, we went mikan (orange) picking, race tobagonned down a hill, yelled at the top of our lungs, played catch, etc....

I felt like a little kid again!

Results for the Speech contest applicants

I came home exhausted from work, wanting nothing more then to have supper and go to bed. I went to grab some food and saw this!!

Ack, I hate spiders! Doesn't this spider know that the bug and insect season is over??

I grabbed a huge omiyage box I had laying around, and tried to whack it, but it jumped into the box I was holding. I was startled, dropped the box, and it ran towards the bottom of my counter.

Approaching the counter slowly armed with my omiyage box, I checked under the counter and couldn't find it..where did it go???

Now I have an angry spider running around somewhere in my house.....this is not good....

On a brighter note, when I checked my email just now, I found that I have been selected as one of the 10 speakers for the speech contest!!!! I need to get started on memorizing the speech now..!

Japanese Speech submitted

I’ve been meaning to catch up on my blogging for the last month, but as time goes by and the amount of stuff I want to write about grows, it becomes this huge project... If I get a chance, I’ll list some of the highlights from the past couple of months.

However, for now, I’ll just pick up from the last couple of days, and try to be more regular with my updates!

Preparations for the trip to China are coming along well. I got my passport back a couple of days ago, with my visa for China. I'm still on the waiting list for the plane ticket..I hope I will get a seat.

Yesterday, I submitted a recording for the Japanese speech contest I entered. I read about it in a local newsletter and thought I’d give it a try. I have no expectations of winning any prizes with it, but I figured it would serve as good practice! Ten applicants out of the recordings that are received will be invited to compete in a speech contest next month.

Every day, there are little incidences that come up that make me think that I need to put more effort into improving my Japanese. Just yesterday, I went down to the office to ask to pick up my paycheck, and instead asked for a cucumber.

International Day at Minami high school

I spent the day at Steve's high school downtown where some ALTs were invited to do presentation on their home countries. The students at this school were all very enthusiastic about learning new things, nice class.

It was a nice change spending the day at a different school!

Afterwards, a couple of us went to hang out at Roxy's place for a while. With 2 guitars lying around, some of the musically-inclined people treated us to some good listening...it was a nice evening!

Nagasaki Okunchi Festival

A week before the Okunchi festival began, Roxy and I were rushing downtown to buy a couple of train tickets for Fukuoka where Roxy will be attending a NOVA training meeting. Just our luck, there happen to be a jaodori (dragon dance) practice happening at Amu..!

Once they were done with the practice, the head of the dragon was available for people come see up close. Pretty creepy looking...

A week later was the official start to the Okunchi festival. The day before one of the shows, Iwata san called me up and said that she had a free ticket to one of the shows, and offered it to Roxy since it's first year in Japan. I took Roxy to the location thinking that I would not be able to enter (not having bought a ticket beforehand..) but when we got to the doors, the lady allowed me to go in with Roxy...! nice..!

Here are some pictures of the dances from the Okunchi festival this year:

Lunch Chengdu-style

Cho and Lee are a Chinese couple that work at Isahaya Shogyo High school. After I met them last summer, I found out that they had lived a short while in Chengdu where I will meeting my parents during the winter holidays this year.

They invited me over for lunch today to share more about what Chengdu is like. They prepared this lovely homecooked meal, one of the dishes being a speciality of Chengdu. And my favorite..gyoza! It was delicious!!