買い物した。：）I went shopping.

This weekend I had a mission. I was going to go out and get the things I've been wanting for the past month. Things I sudo-needed and sudo-wanted...

Needed:

Silver shoes for Chris and Lisa's Wedding (yes, it's a bridesmaid requirement. Oh darn.)

Wanted, but maybe kind of needed:

New towel- the ones in my apartment are... scratchy :( And I want to feel as smooth as a baby's--

Nail polish, last time toes were painted it was June. They aren't so cute anymore...

Shoes- my sandals are near death

Clothes- a never ending battle to be cute.

Saturday I tried my luck at Sunpark and got a new outfit by the time I left, but the shoes were no where in sight. The store selling shoes had silver, sure, but not my size, or price range if they weren't on sale (I'm talking 80-150 dollar heels. Sale please,please,please). So here is outfit number 1!

Shirt 2990 yen + tights (originally 1250 yen, paid 258 yen) = WIN!

Today I tried my luck again to finish my list and here it goes!

Towel! Aww so sowft and fwuzzy. 699 yen.

SHOES!

3000 yen, originally 8000 yen.

Red shoes. I'm not in Kansas anymore right?

500 yen, originally 1990 yen. STEAL.

Billowy shirt

I wish I had this all month to deal with the 100 degree heat. Yes. You heard me. The temp is usually 88 and the humidity brings us to a grand total of 100.6 usually. GAH! Nevertheless, I asked the clothes store girl and it's okay to wear this through September. I said "Oh, it's not going to be cold for me. I lived in Minnesota" aka Hokkaido to the Japanese.

I've started to realize I hate wearing pants--I mean jeans. Tights feel so much more comfortable and breathable. If only my homecountry didn't get cold, I might convert but I'm sure I'll get used to them again. I'll take the cold over the heat any day!

I also got some nail polish but who needs to see that? I thought so.

English Dinner

Anne, Keigo, me, then BOSS, his wife Tomoko, and daughters-- Momoka, Mie, and Ryuu

So after going to Ohama Beach and getting stung by a Jellyfish with Keigo and Anne, Keigo invited Anne and I to a dinner with his boss. He works at the bakery at the grocery store and his boss has 3 daughters who are learning English. They are 7, 6 and 3, so cute! So last Sunday we went to a restaurant at Sunpark. Anne sat by the girls and I sat by the adults, which was nice. His boss didn't know a ton of English and he and his wife used their cell phones are dictionaries, but it was overall, pretty fun! We had dinner and chatted, then after the boss had some more rounds of beer some ice cream. When the little girls were so tired they were falling asleep on their mom, we decided it was time to go home. It was great :) Strangers in the beginning and friends by the end.

Banana bread a la Nippon

I'm going to dedicate this entry to my baking endeavors. So far I have made a cheeseburger and now banana bread. My cravings drove me crazy because in the summer Dad makes killer burgers and we have them about once a week, and it's summer... so where are my burgers!? Last week I made sure I tracked down everything I needed: burger seasoning--check, pickles--check, cheese--check, ground beef--check. I already had ketchup and mustard so I was set to go. I laughed at the pickles I found though. I gave up searching and asked a grocery store lady only to find the one jar of baby pickles in the store. Oh well! I just sliced them up! Then I made the best burger this side of Europe. It was difficult to find a bun because all the bread is usually geared towards sweetness, or sliced bread looks like great French toast, but not for a burger. I buy English muffins so that was as close as I could get. Anyway, it still tasted to die for!

But Casey, don't they make burgers in Japan? Why sure! They just shouldn't be called that. They should be called ground sirloin, or patties, because where's the bun and dressings my friend? No where! That is an improper burger--Improper usage of the bun, foul!!!

Today I finally made banana bread. I'd been waiting for the bananas to go brown but just couldn't stand it anymore. I had everything, including the time. I found a recipe that was low fat and I thought I'd give it a try. Although it called for applesauce instead of butter, and applesauce doesn't exists in Japan. Go figure. So I bought an apple for $2, yes, one apple. It's huge and comes with a fruit cushion it's so shmancy. Ugh. I'd take a bag of grade B- apples, half the size! But first I had to make the applesauce.

1. Cut up the apples, boil in 3 tablespoons of cinnamon, sugar and water for 15 minutes.

My "oven." It cooks in Celsius.

By the end, they were like potatoes waiting to be mashed they were so soft--excellent. It made about a cup and then some (I used half an apple. HALF! But it was a beast). Then I set to making the bread! I had to improvise the pan for a square one so once it was all mixed and ready to go, I watched it carefully and put sugar and cinnamon on top for a little crust. Instead of 45-50 minutes, it was done after 15-20 and smelled like heaven! Afterwards I went to the store and bought some half the fat butter so I can slather it on without the guilt and dived in. Well, all my alterations were great!!! This is amazing!

It's soft and most, banana-y, nutty, a little hint of spice, and to think, there isn't much fat (how much is in an egg white x 2?). And it feels even more amazing to make it all by hand. Who would have known that applesauce would be just as good as butter for moistness? I didn't. And I still have stuff to make a second batch now. Of course it's the most expensive to start, the next will be cheaper. :) I can't wait to share it with Keigo who works at the bakery. He said he wanted to try it after I told him my mission at the beach two weeks ago. Japanese haven't heard of banana bread so I will be happy to share the American goodness! YUM!

下関の花火 Shimonoseki Fireworks!

Out of the station at Shimonoseki!

It seems all I do is go to fireworks celebrations. But 'tis the season I suppose. It is Obon now, which means the ancestors come back and you are supposed to visit their graves, go back to your hometown, and have a good time. Anyway, all the yukatas I saw at the Onoda festival made me reallllly want a yukata. A yukata is a summer kimono, they are thinner and cooler than the kimono. Also easier to wash. So the day after the festival I bought a goregous yukata that is blue with yellow and pink sakura, a pink obi with pink sparkles, and the necessary odds and ends to put it all together. Yay! I was determined to wear it to Shimonoseki, despite everyone warning me that it would be crowded. Yeah, so is Disneyworld. I'll survive.

So Saturday I went out and bought a flower for my hair. The girl tried to get me to buy two and showed me a book of yukata hairstyles and looks like the bigger the better. I said no, I'll start with one giant pinky. It's got little pearls popping out of the center. And it was ten dollars. Enough spent.

Then I went home and did my hair only to realize I was running very short on time and I would have to tie my yukata with lightening speed. No problem, I'd only worn one once a year ago and had no idea how it worked, and the lady at the yukata shop had dressed me in it, but how did it go? I did my best and at least got the left then right side done correctly. I goofed the center but my excuse is I'm foreign! I barely made it in time for the train but "Sheeeee's SAFE!"

A blowfish with a goatee?!

Shimonoseki is actually kind of beautiful, now that I'm not driving around aimlessly and hopelessly lost, or driving to the outskirts of town to teach one class. As soon as we stepped off the train, people were saying we were beautiful. For once it was nice to be called that instead of gawked at. You kind of feel like a movie star. When we finally got to the strip next to the ocean, I laughed because I'd been here before, but much more upset and lost. How ironic! We were all sweating profusely and as soon as I found the kakigori stand, we all dove in for snow cones! Yum, peach. It's my favorite flavor in Japan, followed by strawberry. Kristen's Nanny (grandma) and Poppy (grandpa) were visiting and once I saw them all come back with crepes, I went off to find the crepe stand! Ah, chocolate almond. When I came back they wondered where that one was, so I told them I read Japanese so it's not as hard for me to get by. Lucky ducky I suppose. YUM.

After we were all fed, the fireworks began at 8:00 pm and again, I will say wow. Each show has been unique and just as good. The fireworks here were huge! Jenny said "Wow, look at all that exploding cash" and we all laughed. There was also fireworks going off across the ocean in Moji, a city in Kyushu. Shimonoseki is the southernmost city in Yamaguchi, otherwise you leave it for the next island. Very cool idea! There was a lot of ooing and awing from all around. In the middle of it too a guy with a tv camera was taping some girls watching and then he saw us and quickly turned his camera around to get us. I got his picture too so HA Mr. Cameraman! Hope we made the news...

Leaving was of course crazy but it was a fun adventure. The fugu (blowfish) is the national mascot of Shimonoseki so it was everywhere, and always too cute. Now, if only I could find a Fugu Hello Kitty keychain I would be happy.... At least the yukata is easy to wash after a night of baking in the heat! :)

While we waiting for the crowds to leave, we turned around and hopped into the fountain behind us to cool down. Other people had done it before us, so we probably weren't breaking any rules.

And this sign said "You cannot drink the water."

A nice way to end a long, FUN, hot night!

花火大会 Hanabi Taikai (featuring Lazers!)

Last Saturday I was still recovering from being sick (update: I caught a monster of a cold. I tried to call in sick but all I got was "do your best. Rest until classes, right?" Gahhhhh). But I was determined not to let anything stand between me and the Onoda Festival. It was near Sunpark so after I spent as long as I could recovering in bed, I took my Harry Potter book to Starbucks where a coffee frappuchino kept me company until the other teachers showed up. Miyoko, one of the Benda secretaries (who is amazing at English) came with Anne. So at 7 we left Starbucks and right around the corner were about a dozen little shops of takoyaki (octopus ball-pancakes with sauce, very delicious), yakisoba (fried noodles with veggies and sauce, you've probably eaten it), kakigori (snow cones!), and yakitori (grilled chicken). I was starving so I bolted to the yakitori stand to buy 3 sticks of chicken for 3 dollars, or 300 yen rather. Since I was a foreigner, they gave me a stick of pineapple too (Try Japanese Pineapple! Delicious! Delicious!). Ah, sometimes there are perks to being gawked at every other day.

First Miyoko took us to the roof of the mall to watch them, and then she changed her mind. She said no, this isn't good enough! Then down we went, outside, and across a parking lot to a giant baseball field to get front row seats. An old lady saw we had nothing to sit on and offered us plastic bags which made my shorts very happy to receive. Then the show started! It was an average firework show first, then halfway through four pillars of fire began to burn with the music, and then a light show began with lazers!

From behind us bubbles also drifted up! Then add some more fireworks and what do you get? One top notch firework festival (hanabi taikai). So glad I went despite being the sniffle queen. Just wow!!! It was even better than Ube!

宇部 図書館 (Ube Toshokan)

On Wednesday I joined the Ube Library!! After one of my classes I have seemed to have started a Wednesday lunch with a woman named Esato. She is a bit older and married to a doctor/professor or medical sciences that seems pretty impressive. I think she likes to take the Benda teachers to lunch for some Eikaiwa (English conversation). We can't technically take money for outside lessons but I think she just likes it as a hobby, taking cute foreign ladies to an international hotel restaurant. The food is very good and its always 1 dish per day. She always brings a snack too, candy or cookies, this week she brought me Vitamin C drink mixes and Japanese pudding to make at home. It's a sweet thought and I benefit too--she speaks Japanese back to me too and will often explain things to me and new words/phrases, which is super helpful. I think I like our tradition!

My new little hobby! Staying cool in the INSANE heat. And the little decals of my apartment.

She told me where the library was (just down the street to the right) so after lunch I had a break and figured hey! I'm close enough! Parking was a beast though I circled once, twice, then around the block and thought 'oh no, now I'm at the end of the line!' but as luck would have it someone pulled out in front of me so I got a parking spot. All is right with the world. I made it my goal to be as quick as possible though since people like me were wondering where the heck to park. I hurried inside and up to customer services to get a library card! About 10 minutes later I got my cute 80's-looking card with white and pink pelicans reading books with my name on the back! I asked where the English books were and they are stuffed way in the back by all the sleeping old people. It's picture books, children's books, and then some popular fiction, history and junk. Luckily I found Harry Potter #4, just the one I was looking for! I grabbed it and The Secret Life of Bees since mom said it was good. At the check out counter I told the woman I loved reading and was excited to read again. She responded with 'wow your Japanese is good' and that my books were due in 2 weeks. It's a lot sooner than my good ol' Hennepin County Library and she said if I bring them back and no one wants them I can check them out again but I groaned. It looks like there isn't an online system for book tracking at their library. At home I can go to the library website and check RENEW. C'mon Japan. Get with it. Oh well, that's motivation to read them by the due date. :) I can't wait to go check out what else they have so I can possibly study Japanese children's books and maybe some comics. They are higher level than elementary books minus all the unnecessary words in a novel. Haa! Until then!

The Return to Ohama Beach

I know I am a little behind but that just means I'll have to fill you in. Because we couldn't get enough of Ohama Beach, Anne and I went back last Sunday! Except we brought her friend Keigo who works at the mall with us! It was a fun ride because Keigo is a young musician so he had good music out there and since he's 23, we can learn lots of appropriate Japanese slang! It's a nice mix of Japlish, I'll say that for sure.

This time at Ohama I showed Keigo were all the fishies were and warned him "If you get tired you have to tell me, I am a fish." After circling the rocks a bit I spotted something well, fishy... it was a clear bubble like umbrella floating down to the bottom. When I surfaced to ask Keigo if it was a jellyfish, he was busy looking down himself and by the time I stuck my head back under, the questionable ghosty was gone. It kind of looked like this baby but, more clear and maybe smaller.

Finally Keigo surfaced and said he was tired so we swam back to shore. That's when I noticed my shin hurt. It was stinging once, then again. As we neared shore I could tell it was something odd. It wasn't extremely painful, but it felt like a line of stinging across my lower shin. Sure enough, a few red dots show up and Keigo said it was probably a jellyfish. Blasted little baby one! But I was prepared for anything. I had pain medicine in my bag in case anybody had an ailment, along with after sun, etc. I took a break from the beautiful water and after it stopped stinging, joined Anne in the water again--away from all rocks and fish life.

We ended the day with a trip to Baskin Robbins and the weekends really boost my mood! Somedays I have a stressful time with a kids class and then I get a mini vacation to remind me that hey--I ALMOST am on vacation! I'm in tropical Japan! Which during the weekday, without swimming, really isn't my cup of tea. Miss you cold Minnesota!