Shag's Goodbye Dinner & 3D Cards

Oh, man, I am not feeling very well today. I've been busy all week and weekend for the last few weeks, so I'm really not sure if it's all catching up with me... or something I ate.

It's Not a Goodbye, It's a See Ya Later

It's not the reason I am sick, but I was out in Kobe last night for an impromtu goodbye dinner for Sagar ("Shag"), who moves back to America today. It's amazing how fast time flies... I can't believe I've known that guy for two years and that his Japan experience has come to an end.

Dinner was fun, but it was sort of a surprise and somewhat last minute. I originally thought I had Japanese class and was going to try to meet Shag for a drink on my way home, but I found out sort of late in the day that I actually had the night off, so Dave and I made plans with Shag (and his two "families in Japan") for one last time out in Sannomiya.

Sagar's two families are basically close friends and their families, but it was cute watching the interaction between Shag and the two families; he really seems like an uncle-figure. I had met

Barry, one of the two friends and Shag's coworker (also from Chicago), but it was my first time meeting Steve (originally from England) and their families. The atmosphere (with two 7 year old boys and a 3 year old) was definitely different than from what I am accustomed to experiencing when I go out to dinner (or do anything) in Japan (not to mention when hanging out with Shag), but the kids were hilarious, the other couples were great and I had a really wonderful time. We also had an amazing dinner at an italian restaurant I hadn't known about before, with probably the best gnochi I have ever tried anywhere.

When dinner ended, Barry's family had to head home, but we followed Steve and his family to a nearby bar that Steve plays jazz at occassionally. The place was essentially empty, with the exception of one guy singing karaoke for the first 20 minutes we were there, so we essentially just talked and listened to Steve and Shag play some jazz tunes until last train.

Great night, but I'm really going to miss that guy!

3D Cards

While I'm not feeling in the best condition today, I have to show you guys something that pretty much made my morning: these two pop-out cards my coworker made for me!

1. LEFT card - The card on the left is supposed to be an image of Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto during cherry blossom season.
You can sort of make-out the white temple at the bottom, under the layers of sakura (altho it's leaning forward so maybe not that well).
Kodaiji is really famous for the sakura beautiful blossoms, and this is the same teacher that helped me with directions to Kodaiji when I wanted to go last spring... so I was pretty impressed.

2. RIGHT card - The card on the right is supposed to be an image of Himejijo, the famous Samurai Castle near where I live. It's detailed all the way down to the gun slots. Pret-ty good.

I know the color card was made on a computer, but I think this teacher might be making these cards with his math classes for fun. Pretty cool, huh? I think I want to try to recreate the Himeji Castle one and use them as Christmas cards this year.