It's been a while...

Ok, so I've been a little slack with this blog of late, but I have been keeping busy. I've been feeling a little under the weather so I wasn't in any major rush to update this, but I'm back now, so on with the entry.

This entry is written in the style of a passage in the novel The Rules of Attraction by Brett Easton Ellis.

So, October. Went back to Hiroshima for a weekend but not the main part. Saw the famous Kintai-kyo hashi(錦帯橋), or "Brocade Sash Bridge" in Iwakuni. Curvy bridge originally built without a single nail. Saw white snakes only found in Iwakuni- yawn, but Gemma's a reptile freak. Went to Iwakuni castle- pretty, but seen one castle in Japan, you've seen them all. Went to a rugby match in an Irish pub. Drooled over fish and chips. Loads of foreigners were there. Felt a little out of place. England beat whoever they were playing. 'Slept' in my first internet cafe. Cheap if you're homeless for the night.



Went to Miyajima. Climbed Mt Misen (not my idea). Got to the top surprisingly. Climbed back down Mt Misen (also not my idea). Was in pain for days afterwards. Never again. Saw the Itsukushima Shrine with its seemingly floating O-toril Gate. (Wikipedia it). Rushed back to Tsuyama to be in one of my school's culture festival. Was made to say classics like: "Do you know where the Beatles are from?" Kid answers: "They're from England- like you." Me: "Yes, the Beatles and I are from England." Cheesy as hell, but I survive.



Randomly go apple picking with my neighbour and her daughter. Communication is difficult, but we get by. Twilight wandering through an orchard. Imagine myself as Eve wandering through Eden. Japan has HUGE apples.

I switch schools. Am glad to be back at my fave school but am slightly put off by new English teacher who barely speaks ENGLISH. Am invited to my school's music festival. Awkward moment when all the third years are on stage crying as a speech is read out. It'll be their last concert until they join their new high school's orchestra. Struggle not to boo-hoo along with them. I'm such a softy...



Group of us road trip to Saijo just outside Hiroshima for Sake Matsuri (festival). All the sake you can drink. I drink warily as sake packs a punch. Only one person pukes. Run into one of Jay's best mates randomly. Sing 'It's a small world after all' in my head.



The monthly gaijin (foreigner) Halloween barbecue. I go as a witch. The pyro in me thrills at the bonfire. I go to the new mall. Huge, shiny, filled with stuff I don't need but want. Find and buy a big bottle of Malibu. Work on not downing it all in one. Sometimes Japan makes me want to drink...

Go to company meeting in Okayama. Drool over the impossibly hot Japanese cop who comes to talk to us about safety in Japan. Think about being arrested by hottie cop. Hang out with people after the meeting then get ready for Halloween party. Bunch of us troop down the street in fancy dress. Get even more stares from Japanese people than usual. They aren't too big on dressing up for Halloween oddly. Get to the party- all you can drink for just under £12. I get wasted- but not stupidly so. I dance like a mad thing. It feels sooooo good to be out for once on a Friday night. Wish Tsuyama had a nightclub or two. Meet lots of randoms. Sleep in another internet cafe...


Me and my friend G.

Tomorrow I'll be watching some of my kids in an English speech contest. I know their speeches pretty much off by heart since I've been rehearsing with them for a while. And that's what I've been up to lately.

To finish this entry, here's a Japanese song I've been playing repeatedly- I won't comment on the scantily clad girls in the video- if I had their bodies I'd be a little slutty myself too if I'm honest... ;)

Wakarimasen

Wakarimasen.
This is quite possibly the most useful Japanese word I have learnt whilst over here.
It means 'I don't understand', so obviously I get to use it a lot.
In this entry, I'm using it to talk about the interesting use of English in Japan...

Ok, I'm a Virgo- we're known for being somewhat anal when it comes to details and in that respect I am a true Virgo. One of my dream jobs has always been to be an editor- not so much for the creative input- but more to correct any mistakes that may have been made. I can't help it- grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and the worst offender of them all- text speak all make me twitch. Not to make you paranoid, but I mentally correct every email that I get. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not a snob, I'm just programmed this way...

So I'm finding that living in Japan I have to fight the urge to run around with a big red marker correcting everything.
Half the time I can get the gist of what was trying to be said, but the rest of the time I'm like: Huh?! Wakarimasen.

This was taken from the design on a student's notebook:
"I wish to sing a duet with transparent time.
You'll have mind to forgive everything.
If you become nervous or angry, hold communion with nature."

From my Japanese teacher's chopstick container I found:
"Enjoy a quiet lunch time while feeling a season
Nature put a person at his ease.."

Check the following...



This is from my friend's ashtray pot.


This is taken from a sticker booth


As is this


This is from hairclip packaging

And this is my latest mini project- yes, it's several weeks early but I had some time on my hands!


Check this link for some more examples of English that makes me twitch:
What?!