The Week(end) Review - MO Party, Mo problems

Well, I head out for Australia & New Zealand tomorrow and am pretty pumped and ready to go. I still need to pack (well, I have a pile of stuff sitting on top of my hiking backpack that I need to sort through and edit) and send out Christmas cards and presents... but I'm mentally as ready as it gets. 

My wallet is still not back (recently realized my ICOCA - train fare - card was in there, too, so some punk's probably using it to get to Osaka), so renting a car this weekend is out.  I might still try to get to Jervis Bay by bus, though.  I think I can still see the park, which seems even more amazing now that I've had to research it more for alt. transportation options.  I've also thought about trying to get a pair of binoculars for the trip before I go (for stuff like the Bay & Ntl park) and I need to get a new camera case (lost mine... grr), but I don't think there's time, so maybe I'll pick them up on the road.

Anyways, just to catch up quickly on what has been going on (this week has been flying by!), here's a little recap on last weekend (lots of fun) and the week so far:

On Friday, we had our annual ESS Christmas party after school. This year, we made traditional American cookies, did a Secret Santa (capped at $3) and made Christmas cards, which was generally a foreign concept to my kids (we send New Years postcards, or nengajo, here instead of cards). A lot more students than I expected came to the party and the cookies (made with Betty Crocker cookie mix and Hershey's kisses - see, traditional!) were really good.  I'd say it was a success :)

After the party (which lasted for over 3 hours), I met Dave for dinner and a walk through the Luminarie in Kobe. Afterwards, we met Chris and Emi to see Wall-E at the Nishinomiya Garden shopping mall. The new mall just opened two weeks ago and was honestly a little interesting to see.... probably because it's huge, American-style and looks a lot like the Mall of American inside! I loved the movie, too, and definitely recommend it if you haven't seen it.

On Saturday morning, a small group of friends and I headed out and hiked for most of the morning.  This time, we started at Ashiagawa Station and going over the Rokko Mountain chain to the famous Arima Hot Springs (ending the 4-hour hike with a soak in the "golden" bath). Then, on Saturday night, we had a small party in Amagasaki to celebrate the end of Movember (and efforts of the guys who participated - mustaches are gone!), ending the relatively low-key evening with a 3am dance party. 

The party was great, but it made it a little to difficult to get up and get to Kyoto for the 8am Buddhist-Zen meditation ceremony that we had planned to attend the next morning. I thinkthe guy who planned it, Chris, ended up going alone (or with a Japanese friend), but the rest of us sort of just slept in (slumber party!).  We spent Sunday evening in Osaka, finally checking out the top of the Sky Bulding in Umeda (georgous views!!), doing a little Christmas shopping and then going to El Pancho Mexican restaurant in Shinsaibashi for dinner (split the nachos and entrees between the four of us there - delish!).

I was back at Harima Minami High School on Monday and Yesterday was our annual cultural event with the Takasago Minami students, usually a concert or show displaying traditional Japanese culture. 

Every year, the entire schools makes their way over to the town concert hall and the events typically last about 2 hours.  Last year, we watched a Rakugo performance (traditional Japanese storytelling), but this year someone decided it would be good to book... get this... an electronic guitar concert. 

The whole thing was a little cheesy and bizarre (especially considering this is supposed to be a opportunity for the students' to learn about culture), but I guess it was a good time. I think the guy who played the main guitar (Tennoji Takeshi; his band goes by "Terry and the Blue Jeans") is apparently kind of famous, or at least was 20 or 30 years ago, so we were actually told we couldn't take pictures.  It's a shame, though because the whole thing was reminiscent of a Vegas act. 

So we all sit down and the lights go off and then this short & stout man - Tennoji - comes out looking like Elvis, with a zebra-print jacket, no shirt and a gold chain to boot.  What's more, his 5-person band (2 guys on the keyboard, 2 on base and 1 on the drums) were all dressed inkitchy  white suits, some with sunglasses, and Tennoji-san even had a young, Japanese (but blond-haired), sequin-studded assistant that sang a few songs or danced around with a tamborine while he played. 

The concert was actually pretty good, but I couldn't get over the fact that the guy came out and said he was really excited to be playing for Takasago East High School. Um, we're Takasago South. Why can I see this guy playing at the MN State Fair?  Anyways, like I said: very Vegas.

It's Wednesday and I've only had one class today, so it hasn't been too busy.  We actually just watched Charlie Brown's Christmas Special and I gave the kids some study time (spent most of my time helping a girl work through her ridiculously difficult pre-University reading homework). Easy day, but I'm also a bit sleepy right now - mostly because last night was a late one.

I was already at work kind of late yesterday to mark papers, but after going home for a bit to make dinner, I had to head right back out to meet a friend who was going to deliver a Christmas present to another friend that used to live here (that they're going to see over break).  I thought the meeting time was kind of late as it was, but I didn't think it would take that long.  Unfortunately, the guy I was meeting completely forgot about the appointment and I ended up biking 40 minutes each way and then waiting outside - for no reason - for an hour. Needless to say, I was not happy, but I was able to give the present to my friend Emerald (who can pass it on later). I ended up being gone from about 10pm to 1:45am, and then had to call my best friend at home (thought I'd be back earlier and she was waiting), but yeah... no mysteries about being tired today.  At least I'll definitely conk out on the plane tomorrow night and I'm feeling a bit better after going to the doctor again on Monday.  I got meds for bronchitis this time, but my coworker that came with was making fun of me - calling me a junkie - because I have so many pills!

Tonight is mostly going to be packing and a small, final Christmas party at my friend Tu's house.  Gotta say goodbye to everyone before we all head off to various parts of the world for the next few weeks.  Hope you're having a Merry one.  More soon! xo