Guess who's back? Back again. Kenji's back. Tell a friend...
Alright, now that I've gotten through my system, let's move on to the newest entry in my blog. Life recently has been filled with some ups and downs as of late. Teaching has been pretty good, for the most part, I've fooled the kids into believing I can understand Japanese, although there are a few who still don't hesitate to call me 'unko no sensei'.... which isn't exactly much of a compliment.
It's nice being in Atsugi, where after 4 months of being in Japan, I finally have a place to settle down and sort of call my own. Atsugi, although not the most interesting place I've ever been, it's a bit lively and even has one of those coin operated claw-machine games where you can win anything from toys to potato chips to beetles (yes, weird, I know). Actually, there's a couple of pretty big arcades near my house which I've explored out of pure boredom... As you approach your senses become pretty overwhelmed... flashing lights, loud noises, japanese dudes everywhere... It's worse than trying to eat a meal in the Rainforest Cafe (where you get a free meal on your birthday, quickly followed by a complimentary epileptic seizure).
These arcades are actually pretty amazing though... Usually about 3 or 4 levels, they house videogames, slot machines, carnival games, and of course, the ever popular claw machine game. I'm not sure why they're so big over here, but the claw machine games make a killing here! I mean, if I were smart, I should have gotten a B.A. in Claw Machine Management... alas, I am not. But any rate, at all hours of the day, I see people putting coin after coin into these stupid things just to win a bag of chips or some stupid Pikachu doll. Mind you, these aren't just young people either... I've seen 40 year old men rocking these machines... I even saw a purple haired g-ma pumping 100 yen pieces into them too! Yes, claw machines are big in Japan.
Ahhh... good stuff.
Moving on, my dad happens to be in Japan and he's actually coming to see me today, which I'm looking forward to. Thankfully, he's bringing me a few things 'from the states.' These things include the ever important 'I'm from Seattle and enjoy the outdoors' Nalgene bottle, a handy dandy Japanese for Busy People book (but apparently people who are not busy at all can use it to, hence my dad is bringing it to me), and a bicycle! Yep... a bicycle. My dad is hooking it up... He's bringing one of his bikes for me to ride (which I actually have to register at the city ward office so I don't get a ticket). Bicycles are big business here in Japan. At all times of the day, people are getting from point A to point B on their bikes... but not just any bike. Nope, in a technologically advanced country like Japan, people choose to ride in style. Let me make a semi-weird reference. Remember the Wizard of Oz? The Wicked Witch of the West before she was the witch, was that old lady on that bike and when she rode it, that really creepy music playing? Yeah, Japanese people pretty much ride those... I mean, those exact bikes. They haven't made any new bikes since about the 1940's. When I see them, I pretend that music is playing... but then I realize I'm actually singing the music out loud and everyone's staring at me and things get awkward..... um, yeah.
Well, I'm getting the internet in about a week, at which point I'll be able to make some regular updates to my blog with some new pictures and videos (with my John Madden-esque commentary). Alright, I gotta get out of here but thanks for reading.
Peace, love, and Dwight Schrute.
Kenji
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