Japan Time

Monday, December 8, 2008

"and when all's been said and done, it's the things that are given not won..."

General timeline of the past two days:
Sunday:
-took the train to Shimizu at about 10:30 am (saw Fuji-san for the first time on the train!) - had to change trains in Shizuoka, got confused, called Michiko and got everything straightened out,
-arrived in Shimizu at about 11:35 am, went to Michiko's friends' house for a very international Christmas dinner, complete with sushi, mashed potatoes, pumpkin soup, edamame, KFC chicken and McDonalds french fries,
-enjoyed some conversation with Japanese and foreign guests,
-took the train from Shimizu back to Shizuoka at about 5:15 pm with a new friend from the party, Kim. Met up with Christina, a fellow teacher, at the station and took the train to Hamamatsu,
-arrived in Hamamatsu at about 6:45 pm, met up with a group of other teachers and foreigners, and headed to a Western (literally - waitresses complete with cowboy hats) restaurant for a few hours,
-then off to karaoke...the group of us who had to catch the train to get home decided to take the 1:19 am express so we could enjoy as much karaoke fun as possible,
-caught the train and got off at Shizuoka with Christina (since it was an express train, it didn't make a stop in Fujieda),
-stayed the night at Christina's,
Monday:
-took the train this afternoon at about 12:35 pm back to Fujieda (P.S. I had to do this without my contacts in, half-blind...we bought Japanese contact solution at a convenience store since I didn't have mine with me, and when I tried to put my contacts in this morning, they were all cloudy and weird...don't know what that was about),
-went for a bike ride and took some photos around Fujieda:


and now, after a long (but very fun) weekend, it's time to go to bed and get back to work tomorrow!

4 comments:

Kori said...

It sounds like you're having a ton of fun! I'd watch out for the fishy Japanese contact solution though... Yikes. I wonder what was in it? Battery acid? Lol, just kidding, I'm sure it was fine, probably just too diferent for your poor eyes. :-) That christmas dinner with the KFC and Mickey D's made me laugh. I'm glad you're having fun, it's been raining and snowing here, it's like a giant slushy. Ugh. I'm still waiting for a picture that has you holding a sign that has mine and Kelly's name on it! Love you, miss you!

Jeannette said...

Just curious...what are those vegetables for sale? Do we have them in the U.S.? Enjoying the pictures!

Kori said...

Thanks for the in-law well wishes. We'll see how Christmas goes. *sigh* This is so not fun.

Brianna said...

Jeannette, I think those are radishes. They are all over the place here in Japan, but I've never seen them in the States.