Sapporo and teaching

So friggin' blogger blocked me out because they thought I was spamming. Anyways...I returned from Sapporo. Lots of sightseeing. I met a ton of people, just like Tokyo orientation. Lots of drinking was done by all, but I was a good boy for the most part. I only drank one night and I learned my lesson...futatsu yori (hangovers) really suck.

Sapporo was uncanningly hot, and I spent most of the meetings in a sweaty button up shirt. That, on top of a hangover...made me a bitter person.

So apart from that, I had A LOT of good meals. Steve and I went to an izakaya. We don't know the name, but he knew how to get there. GREAT food. I introduced him to jingis kan. Good stuff...a Hokkaido must.

My gorgeous friend Moraya helped me buy a great camera at a super cheap price (26,000 yen) and a Nintendo DS. She saved me SO much money, and she just glowed with Samaritan pride afterwards.

A group of us went out to a Mexican restaurant in the Sapporo JR Station. Whoever says you can't find good Mexican food in Japan is a LIAR! We found a grand Mexican food place...it was called Tacos. The name could use a little work, but the food was awesome! Sour cream, guacamole...everything! Everybody agreed...so a big NYEAH! :-P to those that said Japan can't do it.

Afterwards, we went to a parfait place. Jennie, Brent, and I split the Challenge cup, which is basically a giant parfait put into a 2-cup pyrex glass. Lots of fun...and EVERYBODY was lookin' at us and laughing. We paid our bill and we overpaid 50 yen, so we jankened for the change. I won! Apparently we jankened pretty loudly cause the wait staff and the Japanese boys behind us were laughing hysterically. Tanoshikatta desu!

So Sapporo aside, today was my first day of teaching. It was very awkward, but it gave me a feel of what the school year was going to be like. It was at Mataochi Elementary school. Cute kids! I just met these kids, and they were acting like I've always been there. The first two classes were my experiment classes. So by my last class (which had 2 kids), I finally got the hang of it and they were asking me a bunch of questions.

Lunch was awkward. I was given a BIG bowl of rice, one piece of fried fish, and a seaweed noodle salad (wakame salad). It was delicious, but at the end, I was left with a lot of rice (and no soy sauce to flavor it with). So I was ganbari-ing my way to the bottom of the bowl, but I didn't make it. I still wasted a lot of rice. But no one seemed to pay attention, and everybody seemed to like me afterwards.

At the end of the day, the kids and teachers followed me out the door to wave goodbye. They never left either...they stayed there waving until I got in my car and left. Honest to God...it was an experience straight out of a movie.

I look forward to teaching.