Une
This is my second day back from vacation and I think I already need another one. Crazy series of events!
Big Black Van
I had to jump right back into school, teaching a pretty full day (four classes, two new lessons plans and then English club - including planning our event for the upcoming Culture Festival... totem pole... yay...). As expected, I was already a little tired after pulling in on the last bullet train from Beppu the night before. I am generally one of those annoyingly optimist people who is not cranky too often, but when I was followed to the station I sort of let all the tired/cranky hang loose and had to snap at a few guys. They deserved it, though... was literally stalked by this black van with three pervy, long-blond-haired, 22-year-old Japanese punks yelling that they wanted to "sex me" - among other things - IN FRONT OF MY KIDS for the entire TEN minute walk to the train station. Not OK and I didn't want to put up with it, either, but I think just being firm, not giving them too much attention and moving on quickly is the best way to handle that sort of thing. I think it happens a lot to foreign women here (my friend has been flashed by old men a few times) and calling the police doesn't always help, but it was the first time it had happened to me.
My Night in the Beetle Town
During the evening, I headed to Kobe to meet peeps at The Hub (expat hangout that has a good Happy Hour) and then get some burgers at Polo Dog. I wasn't drunk at all and left at a pretty reasonable time, but the night turned into a much longer one than expected when I ran into an unexpected adventure.
Night owl that I am, somehow it's happened a few times before, but I basically fell asleep on the rapid train (NOT instantly waking up at my station this time... as any Japanese person seems to inherently know how to do) and woke up WAY past where I live, in a small town on the border of the next prefecture. When I woke up and realized it was about an hour and a half past my hop-off time, I jumped off at the first station before I got too far. Unfortunately, however, I probably should have stayed on. It was already past midnight at this point and after walking around town for a bit, I slowly came to the daunting realization that I was in the DEEP country - no hotels or konbinis (or cabs!) anywhere near- and the station was closing. Not a good discovery to make on a Wednesday night. So what is a girl to do? Look for somewhere to sleep.
I eventually found a suitable garden (yes, garden) and slept outside for the night. I had my windbreaker and gloves so it wasn't TOO cold, but I think next time I go "camping" it'd be wise to stick with the tents and sleeping bags :-P Luckily, the lack of street lights also prevented me from noticing the signs showing that the town was famous for large beetles, or I might have had more problems with the situation than I already did...
Big Black Van
I had to jump right back into school, teaching a pretty full day (four classes, two new lessons plans and then English club - including planning our event for the upcoming Culture Festival... totem pole... yay...). As expected, I was already a little tired after pulling in on the last bullet train from Beppu the night before. I am generally one of those annoyingly optimist people who is not cranky too often, but when I was followed to the station I sort of let all the tired/cranky hang loose and had to snap at a few guys. They deserved it, though... was literally stalked by this black van with three pervy, long-blond-haired, 22-year-old Japanese punks yelling that they wanted to "sex me" - among other things - IN FRONT OF MY KIDS for the entire TEN minute walk to the train station. Not OK and I didn't want to put up with it, either, but I think just being firm, not giving them too much attention and moving on quickly is the best way to handle that sort of thing. I think it happens a lot to foreign women here (my friend has been flashed by old men a few times) and calling the police doesn't always help, but it was the first time it had happened to me.
My Night in the Beetle Town
During the evening, I headed to Kobe to meet peeps at The Hub (expat hangout that has a good Happy Hour) and then get some burgers at Polo Dog. I wasn't drunk at all and left at a pretty reasonable time, but the night turned into a much longer one than expected when I ran into an unexpected adventure.
Night owl that I am, somehow it's happened a few times before, but I basically fell asleep on the rapid train (NOT instantly waking up at my station this time... as any Japanese person seems to inherently know how to do) and woke up WAY past where I live, in a small town on the border of the next prefecture. When I woke up and realized it was about an hour and a half past my hop-off time, I jumped off at the first station before I got too far. Unfortunately, however, I probably should have stayed on. It was already past midnight at this point and after walking around town for a bit, I slowly came to the daunting realization that I was in the DEEP country - no hotels or konbinis (or cabs!) anywhere near- and the station was closing. Not a good discovery to make on a Wednesday night. So what is a girl to do? Look for somewhere to sleep.
I eventually found a suitable garden (yes, garden) and slept outside for the night. I had my windbreaker and gloves so it wasn't TOO cold, but I think next time I go "camping" it'd be wise to stick with the tents and sleeping bags :-P Luckily, the lack of street lights also prevented me from noticing the signs showing that the town was famous for large beetles, or I might have had more problems with the situation than I already did...
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 10:18 PM
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