Episode 21: Overtime's a Bit... much.

Konnichiwa mina-san!

After a few 'helpful' reminders from my one and only, I have resolved to at least put up a quick update of my life during my most busy and hectic scheduled period thusfar. Yes, I'm working like a fiend at the moment, and yes, I barely have enough time to do my laundry, but at least I'm living it large, and having a good time, despite the lack of sleep/blog-updates/sanity.

... That being said, I'm not too worried about upholding my "One-post a week" motto, seeing how in just over 3 weeks, Laura will be here in Japan, and we've decided to do some blog updates together. That means, we'll probably have a lot of them, and they'll more than make up for the three week draught I've caused. If you're interested in what you can accomplish in a two to three week extravaganza through Honshu, then stay tuned, 'cause Laura and I will put in the details of our trip around here, as well as any little fun places we try out. For all I know, this could be worthy of "Lonely Planet." Just saying that gets me excited...

One thing to talk about is that I've joined a gym here in Japan. More on this later (when I finally get a single day off), but here's a quick pic of me doing some bench-presses. The gyms here in Japan are almost always expensive... but this city gym (more akin to a Rocky movie gym) is very cheap. We're talking almost as cheap as the dirt on the pull-up bar. One stamp card allows you to enter the gym twelve times... and at my current calculations, one stamp card costs $17.32 Canadian. Subarashi desu yo. (I believe that it's awesome.)

Oh, and hey, I just got an e-mail from a really nice guy that I've been e-mailing a bit over at Nova! He told me that they've decided to put my face up on the official Nova Website. Check it out, and check out the "TESTIMONIALS" page. You may just see my ugly mug talking about my experience with Nova, as well as a link to this very site.

http://www.teachinjapan.com/


Now that's exciting,

ja mattane,

-benjamin

Episode 20: Canada Day in Japan?!

Konnichiwa Mina-san! Genki?
Hello again, and happy Canada Day everyone! Yes, it is July 1st, as of right now (in Canada) and though the day has ended here in Mie prefecture, it was definitely a rockin' day.




When I first got the e-mail from Matthew about having a Canada festival here in Japan, I was totally blown away! I mean, come on, who has a Canada festival besides Canada, right? At least, that's what I though, but I wasn't going to pause for a minute, and being that slightly patriotic person that I am, I managed to get a shift swap just in the nick of time! (Thanks Karen!!!) The festival was great, as I'm sure you're about to find out, and although there was a little bit of rain, the beach was pretty clean, and enjoyable.

Anywho, yesterday night I was scrambling around for things that I could find to wear for the festivities, and I was at a loss. All I had that was Red and White (besides my super-hot sweatshirt) was a gift from Hiroyuki-sama (my archery teacher) which, although beautiful, doesn't have the words Canada on it anywhere... anywho, it was just at that time that I went to check the mail one more time before bed.

CHECK OUT THIS SH**!!!!


My mom totally rocks, and Mrs. Lynch definitely came through! In the package were the following pieces of Canadian paraphernalia: a Red T-shirt, a Grey T-shirt, 2 pairs of boxers, a set of Red and White sandals with a flag design on them, A Red bucket-hat, a big Canadian flag, a set of Canadian flags on a string, and of course, some more chocolate (Canadian foil coins), and.... Tim Horton's Coffee!!! (She really does love me, eh?) Decked out with my new armament of goodies, I attended the festivities in style... I kinda felt like I was at the Olympics though... lol.



Anywho, Ashanthi, Kaori, Matthew, Rachel, and some of our friends all attended the festival at the big beautiful Marina. There, I got to meet a lot of really cool people, some students from other schools, some teachers from other schools, and even some Canadians! Surprisingly, there were about 8 of us Canadians at the festival of around 60 people. An amazing turnout, and much more than I thought there would be. We were checked at the door, and then got a ticket for a free drink, and were offered some discount price Yakiniku. A special thanks goes out to Queen's English school for hosting this bad-boy of a party, as well as Matthew for putting our names down on the Guest list and allowing us each to save $5. Rock on man! The two people on the left are Jo and Dominique, both are pretty cool Canadians (notice the Quebec representation???) and if you don't love their hats, then I'm going to have to Ninja you right in your face. For serious.


Anywho, here are some wicked pictures of some of the festivities. As you can see, there's nothing like some hardcore rock bands playing, and some Gaijin and Japanese people awkwardly trying to rock out....




Also, check out this kid! He played so well that we were all blown away... alright, so he didn't really play mic'd, but still, I mean, look at him! Kawaii, neh? (I think his dad played lead guitar in the band.)




This woman was a hardcore Bassist, and her band played some wicked Led Zepplin. My only complaint was that I wasn't sure if the lead singer was singing the words to the songs, or just the sounds... hmmm....




Anywho, we finished off the day at Kappa Sushi, and I ate until I was full for about $7 Canadian... such a great deal. I hope everyone back home had a great Canada Day, and that you got off your lazy duffs and watched some fireworks, and celebrated multiculturalism. Honto.


Just before I go, I want to take a moment and share the fact that I've recently been feeling really happy and loved, as my brother and sister and old workplace did something wicked, and they sent me a shirt in the mail. The new PPV t-shirt, in exactly my size. I was totally blown away, and have worn it with pride. I'll have to post a picture... how about now!


Ja mattane,

-benjamin

On a side note, I just wanted to mention that I've been spending an exorbitant amount of time at Starbucks, or "Staa-Baa" as it's called here in Japan. I don't even really like Staa Baa, but since the rest of the coffee here kinda sucks, it isn't too bad, and also, they play some decent music... in fact, the other day they were playing some Rufus Wainright.

Would you check out the Naans on her? Yes, Ashanthi has contracted Elephantitis.. of the food-ear variety. It all happened when Ashanthi and I went out seeking adventure the other day, and we found ourselves at Everest. Everest is basically the best place around for getting some Indian cuisine. It isn't really cheap, but it certainly is delicious... and their typos in the menu are hilarious... and of course, the Naans are Oki. (big.)