Happy Halloween!!

Just home from Yanai - home of the legendary Halloween Party! It was a biggy! Louise and I went as Policemen, due to the brilliant finds we found in the Shimonoseki 100 yen shop! Namely the highway patrol-like plastic hat, and the super cool sunglasses! Since the basic uniform was just black pants (skirt for Louise), White shirt and black jacket, it was all about the accessories! And boy did we do that well - hat, sunnies, brillant moustaches, handcuffs, gun, key chain thing, ear speaker thing, black money bag, white gloves and very authentic looking 'Special Police' badges!! I don't know if I should be pleased or not that I told numerous times that people thought I was a real cop from afar, or that I suited a moustache..!?

But awesome night, people were transformed to an entirely different being!!... Some highlights would be Tori, Jenny and Paul as elementary school kids, Jimmy as a punk (never would have thought the bad arse like would suit him like it did!!), and all our animal friends - Jo, slutty cow; Jocelyn - funky dinosaur; Eleanor - Mr Penguin and Osamu - Mr Panda!! Then there was Ann the pregnant nun, and Neal the priest with a huge erection (entirely by co-incidence!), Dan the class nerd, and Rosie the J-housewife!! There were so many more brillant costumes, I could go on for hours!

So we drank lots, and danced lots, and drank more - maybe Jo will tell a tale about that... And then at the end of the night Jocelyn, Jo, Tom and I got in a taxi and I said "Kuga Chuu Gakko" (that being Kuga Junior High!)...so we head off, and we're cruising knowing that it takes a while and the fare will be about 4500 yen... As we drive we hit the coast, and I ask the driver, "is that Shikoku?" and he says it's not, it's Oshima. So that was nice, then we're cruising some more and the meter is up to 5500 yen...and we are on the coast but it's on the other side of us! I'm thinking this guy is taking us for a ride (in both senses of the word), so I tell him that on the way to Yanai it only cost 4500 yen. So he stops the meter and we soon arrive... It is totally unfamilar and he doesn't know where the school is. So then I told him to go back to the station and I'd be able to tell from there... We went to the BUS station and discover we are in Kuka, on Oshima Island in Artenze's town!! OH MY GOD!!! Thankfully we had had the meter turned off, and the man was nice about the whole sitch, which was mostly his fault I say! Anyway we got home about 45 mins later, since we had pretty much gone is the opposite direction! Question is: how did we miss going over that bridge!?

Ok, gotta go, have to write a special blog..!

Yay the end of the week is here again..!

The damn winter is so setting in, damn it! Officially its still autumn, well at least according to my NZ season calculations where spring begins on Sept. 1st and goes through to the end of November. Which should mean that Japan's autumn finishes at the same time... But no, its been freakin' cold in the mornings and evenings, like I think down to 3 degrees. That is ridiculus! I have even brought out the ol' toyu (kerosene) heater for the mornings. When I cranked it up last night to test it out, oh how the sufficating, smelly, gasy memories of last winter flooded back! And there is still months to go...can't wait for my first trip to the petrol station with my big blue tank wedged into my basket, to fill up. Then I'll get home, and start pumping the kerosene into that little tank that will fit snuggly into the heater for another few days of warmth..! Oh, I bet you girls who left are jealous!!

Today I'm at Omine High, and it's actually been rather good, great even. I have been way productive in my breaks by studying, and the 4 lessons have been fun where students actually seemed to be enjoying themselves! EVEN the 2nd year students!! We did a Halloween Scrambled Pumpkins thing, and a crossword. One of the clues was 'a scary thing that says boo', so after they worked out that it was ghost, I asked what ghosts say in Japan... this lead to me saying we sometimes say they go 'wooooooooooooo' (you know that ghosty sound?), but then some cracked up and said it sounds like a fire engine! So I cracked up, and one girl goes "kawaii!!", so I went red, and we laugh more and she says "kawaii!!" again!! Gotta love that! Actually I do, cos it is so better than them sitting around like stunned mullets, being rude and obnoxious!!

Right better go and get enthusiastic with the English Club...now they are a bunch of lifeless so and soes!! I am certain they have joined the English club solely because they are inside, can leave after an hour (or less), and don't have to be running around practicing a physical activity for 2 or 3 hours every day!! After that Osamu and Heather are coming to Asa for night on the town (!?), since Osamu claims that he has no friends to do things with ...poor boy...! Look out for the weekend report on Sunday or Monday, especially since I forgot last weekends!

Where is the love...?

It appears I've been forgotten..! I'm sure I'm meant to have class now (well 20 mins ago) with the annoying teacher at Ube High. I arrived at 8.10am after leaving my house at the God foresaken hour of 7.20am. I kept going to the teachers' room to see if he's there but no, so I return to the English Teachers' room and hang out... Just before the 2nd period bell I go looking again, but I see him going down the stairs! Not exactly looking prepared to teach with the AET, so I think why bother chasing! Nice to know I'm wanted and needed to teach the youth of Japan how to be better English speakers...

So my new computer arrived on Friday night! So exciting! I like to think I know what I'm doing on a computer, so I play around and try changing things, removing things...I think I'm going to lose something important soon, so I am going to stop playing around so much... The computer has come at a bad time though cos I'm meant to be studying for the Proficiency test on December 5th... study is so not coming along well, thanks to mindlessly filling hours playing on my new computer... That will have to stop!

This weekend is looking pretty busy... Louise and I are judging a speech competition in Ube. It is the Yamaguchi Commercial High Schools Competition, so hopefully we get paid!! Oops, of course I don't expect renummeration (check that big word!), I do it out of the kindness of my AET heart! Then after that we are all off to the Halloween party in Yanai. I won't go into the details of my costume now I will wait til I have been to the party and have stories to accompany the image!

Well, I better go, I think the class I am meant to be in is nearly finished so I should head back to the teachers' room, and look gutted that I was left out!

Last update from annoying school computer...!

Yay, today at 5.30pm-ish, my new laptop is arriving! Oh how I can't wait, it seems like an eternity since I last used my own computer. I would have got it earlier, but I couldn't afford it til after pay day! Damn it! So now it's paid for and I'm poor for another month...but after that folks I have big saving plans..!

So, just briefly I will tell a sad story. Everyday when I get on to a computer at school, I log into my blog and read lovely comments, and I might update. Then I always check the blogs of those who left Japan, promising to keep us over here updated on their re-entry into the homeland. There is a moment when I think 'today might be the day, when Mary has a great story about going to Essex all blinged up and partying with Lee', or as I go to Meag's blog, I wonder if I will read that she's managed to snag herself a J-boy of her own in Cincinnati! You get my drift...humour me guys, and write something for me! And Abra, start a new blog, cos you're quite funny really and I want to read your wisdom!

This weekend is the Shimonoseki Party. Tis going be a good one, after Jo and Jocelyn put the word out numerous times, the numbers have risen big time. Kind of scary to think possibly 40 plus people are meant to fit into two apartments..! You never know though, we may have been underestimating the spaciousness of J-apartments all this time...!

What a weekend!

Firstly, it appears that I've been missed! Ah, how nice, but I'm back to blog, and at the end of the week I will have a computer again I hope so then I can blog away til my hearts content, and you'll all be sick of the shit that comes out of my brain! (that was a really long sentence...)

So yeah, this weekend was the soccer tournament Tsuna, on Awaji-shima, over by Kobe. The Guch has gone three times now, and in April Mary and I went as the only two faithful supporters. It was so fun, and of course for all the cheering that we did, the team came a respectable 2nd last! This time however, there were six supporters (you forgot one Jo!), and we really went to town! On the way home last time, Mary, Chris, Rei and I were talking about how next time we should have music, particularly the song with the line "Everytime we come we bring the DAAANGER!!" Amusing because the Yamaguchi team although there are moments of amazing skill and agilility, they're there for fun and don't usually scare the opposition too much! So yeah, although that song didn't make it on the the CD, we put together a "Go Da Guch" soundtrack, with inspiring songs, celebratory tunes, and others to intimidate, or commissorate! (sp!?). With the boombox in hand, we doned a hand-decorated "Go Da Guch" supporters top, and hyped up the team with our pom-poms! Right classy we were!

It was such a fun time, the trip started off slowly, but by the time the van was loaded in Tokuyama we were off. Not quite as exciting as Amy's police encounter, but Jimmy and I did try to keep the party going in our van, and were singing away..! With a whole lot of genki newbies in the Guch this year, there were 32 in the Yamaguchi contingent - that's half the AETs in the whole ken!! So there were two teams, making it a busy time for us supporters! But exciting times I tell you, with both teams scoring in their first games (a record, seeing as Yamaguchi have never scored on the first day!)! And since there were the two teams, only once playing at the same time, there were about 15 Guchians supporter at one game! Phew! Jo forgot to mention one of her cheers, "Put the cat among the Pigeons Guch"...I don't get it still..! When the team played the local high school team, the team even came and bowed to the supporters! By the end of the day, my throat was starting to suffer, and boy that first beer was soooo good!

Which leads us into the night's entertainment! And that it was! After getting a few brewskies into us, we headed off to the party, that was already pumping. So not to babble for too long I will list the highlights:

• Jenny, Tom and I harrassing Jimmy, squeezing his arse all while he carried on a conversation with another JET...only pausing to say "sorry, I'm a bit distracted, people are squeezing my arse!" Such control!
• Dancing in one of the smallest dance rooms/floors ever, with the majority of the people being from Yamaguchi!
• A table about 1 by 2 metres, being loaded with primarily dancing Guchians all night!
• The "YAMAGUCHI" call in every quiet part or pause in the music by Neal, and then us all screaming and yelling "Yeah, Yamaguchiii!"
• Going to get Paul's Corona and my Malibu and coke, to find there was no coke at the moment, or no Corona, so we got free beers!
• Coke arrives, and Malibu is runs out as my drink is poured...so lady tops it up with vodka! Yeah!
• Neal, Jocelyn and I peering through the window at Jo and this guy talking, and making kissing gestures, and laughing and generally being silly buggers!
• Witnessing Gillians boobs being well groped by some guy..! But missing the photo cos someone got in the way!
• Paul and I witnessing Jo pashing a guy, and not missing the photo op!
• When all but a few had gone, Paul, Jenny, Jo, Amy, Tom and I were the only ones left carving up the dance floor!
• Thinking it was time to go, and losing some, Paul and I go upstairs to find Louise and Osamu still at the Party!
• Louise being so so so so drunk!
• Osamu being so so so drunk and gutted to have lost his jacket. Quote (the last part prompted by me!): "This weekend has been a big loss. I've lost my licence. I've lost my jacket, and I've lost a lot of games!" Such a sad story!
• Paul, Louise and I walking home, Paul and I arguing about whether he was more drunk than sober (Definitely more drunk). Luckily we realised we were heading down the wrong road before too long...
• Louise stumbling down the road, the Paul and I ran away and hid in a driveway (obvious place to look for us...), then Louise stumbling by calling "hello...? helllooo...? where are you...I'm lost...hello...?" Walking right by the drive...

There was so much more to the night, but God if you could only remember it all! Thankfully, and to the surprise of many probably, I wasn't hardly hungover at all the next day! But I didn't have a voice hardly! Too much cheering, and those damn "Yamaguchi" shouting and carry on at the party me thinks! I did manage to get the voice back up to a husky dry cheer for the last day of soccer though! Cos boy was it exciting! Yamaguchi A ended up winning in a tie break, and we sang to the sounds of Tina Turner "Simply the Best"!! Then after the curry lunch (ah remember that yummy curry Mary!?), they went out and won 5-1! Boy was there partying going on! Of course to " We are the Champions"! And Jeremy the Marine addition to the team, running back from goal with his bum bared...!? Has to be said one of the cool things is that the national Mainichi newspaper wrote about the Yamaguchi group! He wanted to write about how we all had so much fun, and spirit even though we didn't have any wins! But then the teams won a couple of games and ruined that! But he still wrote about the team! How funny!

So I too am tired today, at the office. Not talking to anyone cos I can't! Well I can a little, but its all low and husky, and not of the sexy variety! I should be right soon though and hopefully I don't become an Ariel like Jo did! Right have to get back to the Japanese study, 6 weeks til exam, and have I done much recently...? Of course not!

Nothing to say...much!

I for once have nothing to say, but being the ever faithful blogger, am going to pull something out just for the sake of it..!

I have nothing to say cos I was a complete bum over the weekend. Apart from going to Shimonoseki for sushi and Jo and Jocelyn's company on Friday night, and then Jo coming to play on Sunday, I did nothing. It was nice though, I got out "Along Came Polly" - fun and cute movie. Actually I have wanted to watch it since I was home and my brother told me about the 'shart' line!! What's a 'shart' I hear you people who haven't seen it ask? Well, it's when you fart and a little shit comes out! So gross, but oh-so funny!! Anyway...yeah, I also finally watched "The Last Samurai" - really enjoyed it, jolly good. So yeah, that was my weekend. Oh and I talked to Meagan and Mary. Abra, I wanted to call you, but I got wind of the fact you were doing your exam on Satuday, so didn't want to interrupt study...and then it was tricky working out the time to call, I figured you would've got really drunk on Saturday night! So I shall try this week, 16 hours is a big chunk of time difference ne!

Well I better go, it's kyu-shoku time...hmm, it actually doesn't look half bad! I too am going to Shikoku this weekend. I am looking forward to the Asahi Brewery tour, which has a beer garden with Beer (obviously) and mutton! Of course one woud prefer lamb, but mutton will suffice. Louise and I intend to have a mint sauce making/CD burning evening this week! Asa is pumping as you can imagine!