~This is Scarlett~

Here she is! Isn't she a beauty?? The color is extremely unusual for Japan, too so I'll be able to find her a crowd easily (good thing, too! There are dozens, sometimes hundreds of bikes in one place!)
And the color is a really high-shine metallic dark red! I figured Scarlett was super appropriate.
Props to Vivienne Leigh, yo!

These are the other bikes in the yard. They're a little jealous.

I like to ride side-saddle like that lady that I am.
Actually, I just didn't have time to jump on it properly!

I felt like such a dummy trying to figure this ring lock out! I couldn't even tell where you put the key for a few minutes! But now I got it! HOLLA!!!!
I wonder how far I can get on this thing.........

My Life in Pictures

I went out with Wendell and Ai alll day (and night) yesterday and we had so much fun! I told them about the Recycle shop I went to last week and they wanted to see it too so we hopped a bus and were on our way! The interesting thing about this shop (and speaks volumns about people here, I think) is that they have tons of namebrand, really nice, brand new with tags, etc. stuff that people just got rid of (although we're not sure yet if it's a pawn shop or just a depository?). And everything from electronics to paintings, bicycles to clothes, toys to traditional kimono, a bunch of slot machines, re-ment, washers, furniture, musical instruments, cds, movies, and of course the namebrand goodies at insanely low prices: Burberry, Chanel, Hermes, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany&Co., etc.

I bought a bike which I am insanely stoked about! It is a gorgeous reddish/maroon color (which is extremely unusual in Japan) and looks brand new! Bikes here are amazing with all the little bells and whistles! There's lights that power up as you pedal so you don't have to worry about batteries dying, a bell, an attached lock (not a chain) so the bike can't be stolen, a registered number so if it gets stolen the police can track it, a big basket on the front, and a flat thing on the back to strap down something or give a friend a ride (which might technically be illegal... maybe... perhaps... but I'm a dumb gaijin so I don't understand the laws)! =D

So we went through the store's two floors with a fine-tooth comb and each got some goodies at rock bottom prices and then went to a super yummy Japanese resturant for dinner (can you say BEST chicken ever? YUM!!)! Ai went to bed after that but Wendell and I headed out for some karaoke and massage chairs. Ahhhh, fun!

While I was picking out my bike, Ai took this one alllll around the store! It was hysterical to me!!!

We found a Hawaiian/tropical style hotel on the way home, complete with palm trees and burning torches outside! It made us feel like we were in the tropics!! Ahhhhh, our images are so fun!!

Wendell and Elliot sharing a moment. Wendell said he wants one, too and he's going to name it Wallace.
That is too fabulous for words!

Ai was making a moutache with her hair and laughing like a Frenchman. It was great!

Wendell doing the YES Dance at karaoke! HYSTERICAL!!

Walking Alone

Last weekend I got a little restless and decided to try to *walk* to this Recycle Shop that a friend took me to about a month ago. I walked to the Akaden (20 minute walk), then took the train to Hamamatsu City. From there I walked for over 2 miles (which feels like forever in a city!) to get to the Vintage Pick-Up store. I decided to document the trip a little, so here is an average street/sidewalk in Ham. Notice how WIDE the sidewalk is? And the yellow stripes? I'm glad you asked! Those have raised bumps and grooves for visually impaired people (of which there are MANY). I think the system is really great!

Something about this house intrigued me. I think it was the massive bamboo-looking privacy fence they constructed on the blamcony. Hmmm....

I arrived!!! I was trying to take a picture of the store front but I moved the camera too fast.
I think this looks cooler than the store front anyway, LOL!

This is a very creepy character that is popular in Japan. I can't remember his name but he's a cute teddy bear with BLOOD dripping his his sharp claws and mouth. Nice, huh?

This picture is especially for Lydia. It's a VW van that I think looks pretty cool, too!! =D

In Japan, *every* KFC (even the little ones in malls) have a statue of Colonel Sanders.
That is insanely funny to me.

This picture has three points. One: to show off the uniformity of most cars in Japan and how "squarish" they look. 2. To demonstrate how every SINGLE driver BACKS INTO their parking spot (when Americans usually avoid it like the plague, LOL!), and 3. This building (beautiful building, sorry the pic didn't capture) is called the Hamamatsu Fashion Community Center. I have no idea if it's about fashion... or a community center... or what. I should have run inside but I was on a mission!

So that you don't have to cross the wide, busy streets, there are also lots of tunnels that run underground. This door reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. It was super tiny (as evident by the boots left outside it!)! The door was so tiny! I wouldn't have been able to fit through it! And inside I could see bags of cans and maybe trash. But then I ran away because I heard something moving in there and you never know...

I thought this would tickle my Dad. Look! It's the Ford dealership in Hamamatsu!!

The sun is setting and I'm stillll walking (and in the wrong direction, LOL. I got home long after dark!)

A new bookstore opened in the station with a small selection of English books and magazines. I flipped through this Vogue and then noticed the price: $25.00. Seriously people?! Hmmm....

My conclusion: Walking alone is really fun when the weather is decent. But it takes forever! I have to get a bike (hehe, spoiler alert!) =D

Hanging with Miharu

This is a few weeks overdue, but things have been uber busy lately (and are expected to get even more so over the next month as the normal school year starts in April). My friend Miharu and I hung out all day and she took me to a great temple about thirty minutes northwest from my house. A few flowers were just starting to bloom but I forgot my camera, so these are from my cell phone. Not toooo bad...

I cracked Miharu up! Can you tell? A ton of people suffer from hayfever here and allergies so they wear the mask to try to cut out the pollen. She feels fine and forgot she was even wearing the mask.

Too dark, sorry!!

Around the back of the temple was the gong and the monk's house (which was suprisingly modern "in my image"). (Does anyone else's students say that constantly?)

A better angle! The temple was actually closed but we wandered around the back to the gardens and walked up a moutain. Good times!

Side view of the temple.

This is the BEST thing ever!!!!!! This is a side view of the monk's house.
I was climbing, climbing, climbing and glanced back at the house. LOOK AT THR ROOF towards the left:
they have a sattelite dish!!! This is totally not in my image, LOL, but it made us crack up!

The view from the top of the mountain. Gorgeous! I wish the expansiveness could be conveyed on a cell phone camera. *sigh*

This was a really fun day!!! I couldn't get a picture quick enough (we didn't stop) but I saw an orange grove for the first time this day and it was amazing!! So BRIGHT and vast, it was awesome! It actually made me feel really happy and lucky, my heart warmed up when I saw it. Maybe I should be an orange farmer? LOL!

Ohh, GEOS video!

Hello all! I hope everyone is doing well! Sorry I haven't posted in a little while, not much new and exciting has been happening here. I'm trying to help Wendell settle into his new routine, though it's been getting tricky for him lately as he's been getting a few new classes added to his schedule already. We're actually about even now which is great for me but I'm sure he'd be grateful for the break!

Today we went into work to see the old daytime Manager there! She came to visit to make a GEOS video of us for the website. With ten minutes to prepare we pulled a little something out of our bums (which isn't bad!) and it was on the site within minutes. Here is a link to our school's website. If you click on the pinkish red square around the top/middle/rightish of the screen that says "2/25" and then a bunch of stuff in Japanese, it will have you download/open the video. Enjoy!

http://www.geos.co.jp/school_j/contents/hamamatsuichino/index.html

This will give you a chance to see me in all my awkwardness (trying to hide a horribly thick scratch on my nose), Ai in all her cuteness, and Wendell in all his funniness! ENJOY!! =D

Old Boy, Atta Boy, Whatta Boy, BIG BOY!!!!

One of my favorite things about Japanese women is that they're super thin but most of them
can eat like it's nobody's business!
Miharu suggested an Italian restaurant for lunch today called Cafe Tartaruga.
What she didn't tell me is it's the most kick-butt buffet EVER!!!
I had the yummiest Margarita mini-pizza, some seafood alfredo, a plethora of healthy (and not so healthy) appetizers, and a massize sundae for dessert that consisted of melon, strawberry, banana, and chocolate ice cream. It was AMAZING!!! (Why don't Americans have honeydew flavored ice cream? It rocks!!) And the best part? She kept up with me every step of the way! PARTY!!

Anyhoo, as we're driving home I glance at a restuarant that has tons of Japanese banners out front. I don't realize exactly what I'm seeing until this clicks in my brain:

OMG! It's Frisch's BIG BOY!!!!
I haven't seen one of these since visiting Grandma all those times in Ohio!!
This is sooo freakin' awesome for me!! =D


.....

So that's really all this blog was supposed to be about. =D
But, as usual, I got side-tracked when food was mentioned.

Out with the old, In with the New!

After a grueling schedule of arriving in Japan yesterday, two full days of training, and trying to maneuver the city buses by himself, Wendell arrived in Hamamatsu tonight. What a trooper, not only did he come to work and meet some students, but he stuck around until we closed, even making a poster for the lobby! After work I told Kashima I would get her into the city (a 20 minute walk + 10 minute train ride one way) to her hotel (as she was staying in Wendell's apartment until he came in) and what a nice guy, he offered to walk with us. Mike (my Area Leader and Ai's temporary replacement) came with us too but he rode his bike away from us the whole way. I think he just wanted someone to tell him how to get to the station, where he left us. =D Ah, well!

So from the two hour adventure, I'd say he seems pretty funny. We all quoted Scrubs a lot and I decided to push him in the shopping cart that we borrowed from the mall on the way home. It was pretty funny. I'm glad we have someone genki here so I don't go insane when Kashima leaves on Saturday! Holla! P.s. He's a bit taller than he looks in the cart, and he's eating sushi. I called it an "incart meal"... like "inflight meal." Get it? =D