Guess what? MONDAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY!!! :D I am now 24 years old. The wheel in the sky keeps on turning.
I've been busy ever since. lol. This week was Golden Week (a series of holidays at the beginning of May), so I had Tuesday through Thursday (today) off! :D This still means that I had to work on Monday, which sucked in the sense that having a holiday on my birthday would've been awesome, but it was AWESOME because I taught my first graders at one of my schools for the first time and they were SOOOO CUTE!!! I mean, seriously? I had at least 6 little girls run up to me during lunch time and tell me that they love me. B'awww.
After a long day at work because I had to be especially energetic for my little ones, I went home to change out of business clothes into comfy clothes and went out to the ramen shop near my house with my friend Eric. Aki, the owner of the ramen shop (who has also become a friend) gave me two slices of char siu on the house since it was my birthday. :3 Eric ate a bunch of gyoza because he didn't feel like having ramen while I porked out on, well, PORK. And ramen. :D
Kazupon, who I'd only met once but is really sweet and nice, came over a little later and gave me a present! She bought me a little Happy Birthday card that looks like a chocolate cake (IT LOOKS DELICIOUS!) as well as a cute beige scrunchy. So adorable! Eric gave me a Hawaiian Red Guava scented air freshener that I keep sniffing even now. It smells SO good, and you just know he got it for me because I'm from Hawaii. hahaha.
Eric left early because he was going to spend the night at his mom's place because of Mother's Day and I went out drinking with Aki, Gou, Kazupon and Hanawa, Kazupon's boyfriend. There was also the guy who lives in Chigasaki, but I forgot his name. D: If anything, I have the excuse that I'd already had two whole bottles of beer, and I mean Japanese bottles, not the smaller American ones. Haha. After a few drinks I totally knocked out because I 1) drank a lot, which made me sleepy and 2) it was late and I'd woken up early because of work. Luckily, I had Gou's shoulder to sleep on. I don't think he minded at all. He thinks I'm cute. XD
After I'd woken up from my catnap we bought more booze at the nearby 7-11 and went to Aki's place to chill. Aki started pushing pressure points on everyone's feet. Apparently, if you didn't feel it that was a sign you're healthy. If that's the case, Hanawa and I are NOT healthy. Why am I not surprised? Hahaha. Out of boredom I went around giving shoulder massages after Kazupon left early, and I guess out of mutual boredom Hanawa and I gave each other simultaneous foot massages. I apparently did a really good job because he could really feel the difference when he walked around afterward. Hahaha.
After all of 3 to 4 hours of sleep I woke up and got ready to go down to Odawara for the parade they have there. I brought my yukata and T helped me put it on. She's no pro, but I couldn't do it myself without a mirror so it really helped to have her help me. T wore hers and she also helped out friend Christina get into the one T gave her. We met up with some friends at the Odawara Castle to watch the parade. It was swarming with people, but because of the earthquake and the tsunami back in March, the parade was smaller. It was probably less than half the size it was last year. Sad, but still pretty. I took video, so hopefully I can upload that eventually. I'll probably forget though. lol.
We wandered around the festival stands and got food. I got rainbow shaved ice, which was AWESOME, along with a GIGANTIC burger. I can't believe I ate the entire thing. Haha. They had shop stalls as well. The girls were interested in buying kimono because they had used kimono for sale. I actually got a pink silk kimono, an obi and the under kimono for about $35! The woman was going to sell the kimono for $50 at first, but she saw that I was skeptical and said she'd lower the price to $30. SO awesome.
After swinging back to T's place and changing into normal clothes, we went out with Christina again to a party for a bunch of foreigners living in the Odawara area. It was fun. We had Yakiniku and the meat was, of course, good quality and therefore tasted ridiculously good. We went to a bar afterward where I was hit on by a VERY drunk Japanese guy who kept asking me to kiss him. Of course, I didn't. He moved on to another girl after my continuous refusal, only to return again once that girl had left. I was so mean. He said "Maybe I'll just go home." in Japanese and I replied "Yeah, maybe you should." Honestly, that's what you get for being 34 and hitting on a 24 year old that you KNOW is 24.
I spent the night dancing along with my friends and went back home to T's place covered in sweat from the heat of the bar as well all the dancing. T and I fell asleep almost right after we got home and woke up relatively early to have some coffee. Her friends came over to visit while I was getting ready to leave. They were so nice and gave me a lift to the train station so I wouldn't miss my train! :D
After dropping off my stuff at my place, I went back to the station and hopped on a train bound for Yokohama where I met Shimbo and some of her friends. We went to Karaoke and did Purikura before two of her friends had to leave. I had a Matcha Cafe au Lait with Shimbo and Kobayashi while talking about what had changed at one of my schools since Kobayashi had moved to another school.
We split ways after coffee and I dropped by Uni Qlo and Putumayo afterward and did a bit of shopping. I bought an ADORABLE outfit and skirt from Putumayo as well as two adorable Care Bears themed shirts from Uni Qlo. Something comfy to wear out with the new skirt I'd bought. :3 I also dropped by a jewelry shop in the same department store and bought some earrings.
While walking home from my station I noticed that Aki's shop was still open and dropped by, only to find that he was sitting having drinks with some friends. They invited me in and I got drunk on Shochu that was delicious.
And now it's Thursday. The week's gone by surprisingly fast and I've done so much only to spend today checking emails and fiddling around with my computer. I've got to say, after all the fun it feels really good to just sit and relax at home. Especially since my neck's hurting from some serious head banging when we were all dancing at that bar two nights ago. Ouch.
Showing posts with label kimono. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kimono. Show all posts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Iron Penis Festival and Odawara Castle
It's Adventure Time!!!
So I bet you're all wondering what I mean by the Iron Penis Festival. Well, once a year on the first Sunday of April in Kawasaki there's this fertility festival at the Kanamara Shrine. There you eat penis shaped foods (like banana-chocolate flavored crepes) as well as buy depictions of different sexual positions on small towels or charms. I heard about this festival at the end of my senior year in Santa Barbara and when I heard that it was on Sunday, I HAD to go. It was an imperative. I mean, who doesn't want to celebrate fertility and eat corn dogs and, omg, penis or vulva shaped lollipops?
It was incredibly embarrassing looking at all the giant wooden cocks.
I went with my new friend Tanyisha. Getting there was an adventure in itself. We were going to meet up with some of our fellow teachers, but we ended up walking from the Kawasaki train station to the Kawasaki-Daishi station where the actual festival is held. It took about half an hour, but we bumped into some fellow tourists (one was from Brazil and the rest were from various South-East Asian countries) and eventually found our way there. Sadly, Tan-chan and I got there after the lollipop man had sold out of all his hand-made penis and vulva lollipops. I really wanted one, though it would've been ridiculously embarrassing to actually eat one. We did succeed in getting a banana-chocolate crepe each, as well as take some (need I say) incredible pictures with giant renditions of phalluses. After wandering around the festival and spying a priest and priestess (I loved their outfits!), we went to the closer train station and got corn dogs (because they're phallus-shaped, and caught the train back to Odawara, where Tan-chan lives.
Odawara is actually quite the touristy area because it has a gorgeous castle that is simply littered with Sakura trees. I must say that Odawara, or at least the part she lives in, is not very well lit and seriously looked like a ghost town when we got off the train at night. I really wouldn't want to make that walk at night by myself. We dropped by Denny's for dinner and had the Japanese version of Denny's, which was really really good. Sadly, I had the tomato lasagna and found an inch by inch piece of plastic in it. The waitress apologized profusely. Tan-chan and I joked that they were trying to kill us after she had a coughing fit while eating her matcha green tea sundae. I got caramel. Since we were obviously the only ones who spoke English in the whole restaurant, we joked back and forth that the restaurant was going to sick "The Denny" on us, who would stalk us back to her place and kill us with a glowing red sword with a D for a handle like the little skewers that kept her sandwiches together. He'd also sing corny pop songs while he hacked us to pieces. We have a wonderful sense of humor. :3
After Denny's we got a six pack of beer and split it between the two of us while watching a movie at her place before sleeping. I slept in her loft, which is much smaller than mine. It was actually really nice and comfortable! I'm really tempted to drag my futon up to my own loft and sleep there instead, but my table and my laptop are down here, so that's obviously out of the question. Haha!
The next day it was raining. We went to Odawara Castle anyway and walked around looking at all the sakura trees. I can't begin to express how gorgeous they were. Walking beneath them and watching the petals fall with the slightest breeze was heart stopping. I'm thinking of going back to her place on Friday or Saturday to go back to the castle and see it when it's not raining. It was so beautiful. I used up my battery life just taking pictures there.
After admiring nature's beauty at its best, we found this cute little Italian restaurant called Piazza and had lunch there. It was delicious! And cheap. Tan-chan had the pasta lunch special and I had the fish lunch special. We're definitely going back there when we get a chance. I would love to eat there everyday. The owner and his assistant were really nice too. :D
After lunch we wandered around Odawara near its train station, which is a stop down from Tan-chan's station. I found out that my Japanese shoe size is 25, which is the largest size they make for women. Shoes only fit, it seems, if they're sneakers. lol. Not that I need more shoes, but my flats were totally drenched halfway through walking around the castle, which was why we looked. We totally walked into a kimono store called Sagami because I really wanted to look at the kimono. They had really cheap kimono there, and they looked really nice. I bought one because 1) it was cheap and 2) it came with an obi of your choice. My very first kimono! It's not made of silk, but it's still really nice. I figured out that most of the pinks they use for kimono doesn't look good on me because my cheeks flush too much and I blend in with the kimono. My kimono is black with wide pale yellow vertical stripes with flowers on it. I got it over another because it has flowers from all four seasons depicted on it, so it can be worn any time of the year. I don't have a hadagi, or under kimono, yet because Tan-chan said I could buy it elsewhere for cheaper. When I go back to her place this weekend, she's going to lend me her hadagi and her obi ties so I can wear my kimono to the castle again. :D
The woman who helped me try on my kimono, Keiko, liked me and Tanyisha so much that she asked for our addresses so she could mail us a letter! Tanyisha asked her to have tea with us, which is supposed to be a really big compliment in Japan. Hanging out with her is really teaching me a lot because she's been here for almost 3 whole years!
That night we cleaned up her place a bit (since she just moved in) and we watched Lilo and Stitch, which you should totally watch if you haven't already. It's a fun movie, not to mention they got real local kine actors to do the voices. It made me a little homesick.
The next day, today actually, I caught the train home. I was so overcome with emotion watching the sakura while flying by on the train that I almost cried. They are so beautiful. I could sit outside and watch them all day. I can see why hanami, or flower viewing, is so popular here. I'm really looking forward to the weekend so I can go see them again at the castle. :3
I came home to find a letter from grandma! I was so surprised and happy all at once. Reading her letter really made me homesick and I'm totally not ashamed to admit that I cried. I really miss my family and I really need to find out how much it costs to mail letters to America. haha. I'm going to try doing that tomorrow morning before I go to meet my Board of Education. I'm kind of nervous, but since over 100 other people are going I'm feeling a bit more confident. I finished writing my speech, which includes my name, age, where I was born, hobbies, and even the fact that I like Pokemon. I timed it and it won't even last a minute, even with slip ups. I hope they like me!
So I bet you're all wondering what I mean by the Iron Penis Festival. Well, once a year on the first Sunday of April in Kawasaki there's this fertility festival at the Kanamara Shrine. There you eat penis shaped foods (like banana-chocolate flavored crepes) as well as buy depictions of different sexual positions on small towels or charms. I heard about this festival at the end of my senior year in Santa Barbara and when I heard that it was on Sunday, I HAD to go. It was an imperative. I mean, who doesn't want to celebrate fertility and eat corn dogs and, omg, penis or vulva shaped lollipops?
It was incredibly embarrassing looking at all the giant wooden cocks.
I went with my new friend Tanyisha. Getting there was an adventure in itself. We were going to meet up with some of our fellow teachers, but we ended up walking from the Kawasaki train station to the Kawasaki-Daishi station where the actual festival is held. It took about half an hour, but we bumped into some fellow tourists (one was from Brazil and the rest were from various South-East Asian countries) and eventually found our way there. Sadly, Tan-chan and I got there after the lollipop man had sold out of all his hand-made penis and vulva lollipops. I really wanted one, though it would've been ridiculously embarrassing to actually eat one. We did succeed in getting a banana-chocolate crepe each, as well as take some (need I say) incredible pictures with giant renditions of phalluses. After wandering around the festival and spying a priest and priestess (I loved their outfits!), we went to the closer train station and got corn dogs (because they're phallus-shaped, and caught the train back to Odawara, where Tan-chan lives.
Odawara is actually quite the touristy area because it has a gorgeous castle that is simply littered with Sakura trees. I must say that Odawara, or at least the part she lives in, is not very well lit and seriously looked like a ghost town when we got off the train at night. I really wouldn't want to make that walk at night by myself. We dropped by Denny's for dinner and had the Japanese version of Denny's, which was really really good. Sadly, I had the tomato lasagna and found an inch by inch piece of plastic in it. The waitress apologized profusely. Tan-chan and I joked that they were trying to kill us after she had a coughing fit while eating her matcha green tea sundae. I got caramel. Since we were obviously the only ones who spoke English in the whole restaurant, we joked back and forth that the restaurant was going to sick "The Denny" on us, who would stalk us back to her place and kill us with a glowing red sword with a D for a handle like the little skewers that kept her sandwiches together. He'd also sing corny pop songs while he hacked us to pieces. We have a wonderful sense of humor. :3
After Denny's we got a six pack of beer and split it between the two of us while watching a movie at her place before sleeping. I slept in her loft, which is much smaller than mine. It was actually really nice and comfortable! I'm really tempted to drag my futon up to my own loft and sleep there instead, but my table and my laptop are down here, so that's obviously out of the question. Haha!
The next day it was raining. We went to Odawara Castle anyway and walked around looking at all the sakura trees. I can't begin to express how gorgeous they were. Walking beneath them and watching the petals fall with the slightest breeze was heart stopping. I'm thinking of going back to her place on Friday or Saturday to go back to the castle and see it when it's not raining. It was so beautiful. I used up my battery life just taking pictures there.
After admiring nature's beauty at its best, we found this cute little Italian restaurant called Piazza and had lunch there. It was delicious! And cheap. Tan-chan had the pasta lunch special and I had the fish lunch special. We're definitely going back there when we get a chance. I would love to eat there everyday. The owner and his assistant were really nice too. :D
After lunch we wandered around Odawara near its train station, which is a stop down from Tan-chan's station. I found out that my Japanese shoe size is 25, which is the largest size they make for women. Shoes only fit, it seems, if they're sneakers. lol. Not that I need more shoes, but my flats were totally drenched halfway through walking around the castle, which was why we looked. We totally walked into a kimono store called Sagami because I really wanted to look at the kimono. They had really cheap kimono there, and they looked really nice. I bought one because 1) it was cheap and 2) it came with an obi of your choice. My very first kimono! It's not made of silk, but it's still really nice. I figured out that most of the pinks they use for kimono doesn't look good on me because my cheeks flush too much and I blend in with the kimono. My kimono is black with wide pale yellow vertical stripes with flowers on it. I got it over another because it has flowers from all four seasons depicted on it, so it can be worn any time of the year. I don't have a hadagi, or under kimono, yet because Tan-chan said I could buy it elsewhere for cheaper. When I go back to her place this weekend, she's going to lend me her hadagi and her obi ties so I can wear my kimono to the castle again. :D
The woman who helped me try on my kimono, Keiko, liked me and Tanyisha so much that she asked for our addresses so she could mail us a letter! Tanyisha asked her to have tea with us, which is supposed to be a really big compliment in Japan. Hanging out with her is really teaching me a lot because she's been here for almost 3 whole years!
That night we cleaned up her place a bit (since she just moved in) and we watched Lilo and Stitch, which you should totally watch if you haven't already. It's a fun movie, not to mention they got real local kine actors to do the voices. It made me a little homesick.
The next day, today actually, I caught the train home. I was so overcome with emotion watching the sakura while flying by on the train that I almost cried. They are so beautiful. I could sit outside and watch them all day. I can see why hanami, or flower viewing, is so popular here. I'm really looking forward to the weekend so I can go see them again at the castle. :3
I came home to find a letter from grandma! I was so surprised and happy all at once. Reading her letter really made me homesick and I'm totally not ashamed to admit that I cried. I really miss my family and I really need to find out how much it costs to mail letters to America. haha. I'm going to try doing that tomorrow morning before I go to meet my Board of Education. I'm kind of nervous, but since over 100 other people are going I'm feeling a bit more confident. I finished writing my speech, which includes my name, age, where I was born, hobbies, and even the fact that I like Pokemon. I timed it and it won't even last a minute, even with slip ups. I hope they like me!
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