Lau recaps the previous 2 weeks for YOU

So I haven't updated in a little while. Lots has happened, but I havent taken too many pictures, so I`ll explain through the magic of the written word. Weekend before last went down to Kobe area. Checked out Akashi Friday night and Okubo on Staurday (where I found the best Japanese english tee ever: spelling mistakes and shit are so unfunny but there was a tee that said in a massive cool font EXAMINATION PAPERS and underneath in smaller letters LOOK OVER THE EXAMINATION PAPERS... Something else) before Saturday afternoon going to a beer garden in Amagasaki. It's a cool little idea, on top of department stores on sunny summer evenings they have an all you can eat all you can drink dealie. Being handed an ice cold pint glass and being directed towards a row of beer taps to help yourself is a liberating experience. Anyway after that went to a place called Himeji, a city famous for it's castle, which is like a really old school looking Japanese building that sort of looms above the city. Went to a sports bar which seemed to be a meeting place for foreigners in the area, was fun, bumped into a few more jets.

After that we went to some little club with a cheesy name I forget that was playing some cool latin type music before your standard RNB stuff. Speaking of which, it had clearly been too long since I had been clubbing , as I found myself loving tunes like that Nelly and the girl out of Destiny's Child one. Oops. Maybe it was the deep loud bass I had been missing, maybe it was one too many Asahis, maybe it was the girls we'd met but either way I need to go to some decent nights. I've been checking out clubs online in Kyoto and Osaka in order to find some ones with good music, and some of them look SO DAMN COOL. In fact in 2 weeks theres a night called Reunite! Freedom Time in Osaka which I've always wanted to go to (seen it on the internet first time a couple years back) so definately gonna hit that.

Couple of other interesting things this week, firstly I started teaching properly and really enjoyed it, the kids, although bad by Japanese standards, have nothing on what kids used to be like at my high school in England. Only done introductory lessons so far, but looks like this could be fun. Also took the car I'm getting for a test drive! It's an old black Honda Civic, complete with tape player. Fun to drive though, and it has a button to change into sports mode, whatever that does. Sounds excellent though. My place is starting to feel like my own, got a playstation and some Winning Eleven (that's Pro Evo to you guys). I've been out of practice since the days I used to whip my housemate Hugh at it :o)

Sometimes you forget you're in a completely different country and it takes something unusual to remind you... like a CHEESE CURRY. Had it in this little chain curry place, and on the way out I noticed they were selling a playstation game where you could manage a branch of said curry restaurant.... surreal. Also got told by my class today reading from a phrasebook 'you look like Tom Cruise. Do you get that a lot?' I laughed and went to look at the book, and it was on a page along such phrases as 'do you have a condom because I'm not on the pill' and 'I think I'm falling in love with you'... it was a regular travel phrasebook as well. Sometimes it's nice to just be hit with the crazy japan feeling.
EDIT: It was boys who said this, just to make it even more surreal.

Oh also had the office welcome party for ME. Was pretty cool to see all the serious dudes from the staffroom cutting loose and getting wasted with each other (and taunting the fat teacher which was really funny, he didn't seem to mind). Got loads to do at school now, as well as my own lessons, essays and sheets to mark, other people's lessons to help out in and make tests and stuff. Hard to find time to study Japanese!