TV Star!

Well, not really....

But yesterday I filmed my bit for the show that Dan (the CIR) and a Japanese lady co-host on the local cable TV network.

I was a bit nervous and didn't speak much Japanese, but that's okay, that's what Dan is for! I smiled and nodded alot!

They introduced me and then we talked about Australia.  For example, the flag and what it means, Ayers Rock, money, the kangaroo and koala stuffed toys I had, and some Aussie slang.  We also ate Vegemite and did the Tim Tam Slam!  Except they couldn't suck the drink up the Tim Tam!  So I don't know how that will work out on the show.

Anyway, the segment is supposed to go for 10 minutes but we had about 15 minutes of footage so I wonder what they'll cut. 

Unfortunately I don't have local cable TV!  But I think they will put it on a DVD for me.  Hoorah!

In other news...

I have no classes until....August!  Hoorah!  And Friday I think the whole school is going to a baseball game in Yamagata City so I hope we win!  Although I heard Yamagata Chuo is in the top 4 in Yamagata so I think we might be out of luck.

Now I'm just planning for my two week holiday with Kellie still.  Trying to work out transport and how to get to places that we want to see in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, etc.

Soon I have to go out shopping for groceries.  Last week in Useful School we studied about ordering fast food, so this week we are going to make fast food!  Burgers, fries and shakes.  Healthy I know.

Three more sleeps until Disney!!

A Bloody Big Photo Update!

Trying to catch up before more stuff happens I have to write about!  Rewind.....

21st June.

I hung out with Monica all day.  She came into Yonezawa in the morning and we got our hair cut at Fumi's house by Umetsu (now working as a freelancer).  Yaay for saving money!  It took ages though because I got a couple of colours put in.



Umetsu and Monica.

After that, we were starving so we went to a cafe and ate way too much for lunch!  We rolled ourselves out the door and went to SATY for a look.  And to take puri kura!  Then we headed back to Nagai via Kawanishi and the park there.  The flowers weren't in bloom but we still had fun walking around taking photos of stuff.



Rice paddies everywhere!



*Sniff*



These caterpillars are so cute!!  I used to love playing with them when I was a kid.



Ducky!   About four of them swam straight over to us, obviously expecting some bread or something.  Sorry, we had nothing!



Clouds are cool.



Monica playing on the playground!

After the park we went to a nearby temple for a look.





Then back to Nagai to chill out with a Disney DVD (until it stopped working!), and then we went out to dinner with Maggy and JoeyD.  Even though it was a late dinner, we were still a bit full from lunch.  Of course, I then overate at dinnertime too!  >_<

That night Maggy and I slept over at JoeyD's.  It was the first time I had ever been to his place, and maybe the first time he had had guests stay over!  But he was nice and looked after our demands for air con!

22nd June.

Maggy left to head back to Kahoku while JoeyD and I headed to Iide for his taiko concert.  I got to go on the bus with his taiko group, meaning I didn't have to pay to enter the park.  Yaay.  I was JD'S manager for the morning.  He was pretty nervous but he did well.  While they were preparing I walked around the park taking photos of the many kinds of lillies.















I so wanted to go on this...



Hello ant!  Thank you nice new camera!



JoeyD and Kaitlin with their taiko group.



The face of concentration.



Finish!

After the concert we went and drank some green tea.  It's not even that bad (as I first thought when I tried it at 16!).



Then it was back to city hall or somewhere so they could drop all of their gear off.



No idea what they are, but they're cute!

After that I said goodbye to JoeyD and headed back to Yonezawa to relax for the rest of the day.  Mmm, lazy Sundays!

24th June.

Was Al's birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant.  Except when we got there the restaurant was closed.  Oops.  So we tried another Italian place....which was now a fish place!!  So we said stuff it and went to Coco's!  Where they have the best lemon drink ever!  Hi C!!!  Why can't I find this in the supermarket though?

Anyway, about ten of us ate dinner and Al opened his presents, and got some cake given to him by Coco's.  Then we headed to Sega World to play games and take puri kura.



Deciding what to order...?



Lovely greasy pizza!



Happy with a slice of cake!  And a birthday hat.



Chris and a picture of Al's mum.



Ceed tried curry icecream!!  The flavour wasn't so strong luckily!



JoeyD and Dan playing air hockey.



Racing face!



Decorating puri kura.



Wow, wish I could win this prize.  Not.



Jesse wanted to hit stuff.



So did JoeyD and Ceed.



More faces of concentration!

27th June.

I was going to stay home and relax, but JD called and said he was coming into Yonezawa so we went and ate dinner (Maccas), then checked out speakers at Yamada Denki, and then went to Sega World for puri (can't get enough!) and played a couple of games.  I'm not good at video games but we played air hockey (my second time ever I think) and Mario Carts (so much fun!!).

28th June.

JoeyD had a curry craving and I love the stuff too, so I made a couple of different ones, as well as rice, and bought some naan, and went to his house.  He made another curry and then we noshed out.





Alot of curry!



Delicious!



We washed it down with parfaits from Lawsons.

We watched TV and chatted, and I stayed over at his house again.

29th June.

Today, JD, Monica and I went to Kahoku to see Maggy and hang out at her house and watch Disney movies, in preperation for our trip to Disneyland next long weekend!!  Nicole also joined us.



Yaay for small inaka roads.



Shy driver.



Bit cloudy....



Maggy's building...not so new!

Before watching movies we went out to lunch to a mexican restaurant!  I don't know how a really small town has a mexican restaurant, but they do!  Apparently it's the place to hang out on Friday / Saturday nights because it has yummy drinks and darts!

The food was delicious although I don't know how 'Mexican' it is!



Onion rings were delicious!



Nicole's shocked face when she saw my new camera.



Cinnamon chips were addictive.

After lunch (and being FULL yet again) we went to Shimamura, then to Maggy's house.  I finally met Luna!!



Nicole's chest and Luna.

Hamsters are so friggin' cute!



Monica playing with Luna (at least it didn't pee on her, ay Nicole!?!)

We watched movies and ate snacks, and I did some marking of tests!



Playing UNO instead of watching 'Rescuers Down Under'.

Nicole and especially Maggy seemed to know all of the songs of the Disney movies.  I know nothing!!!  My parents were never ones to buy videos for me (until I got older and then I wanted music videos!).



Luna!  かわいいね！

After watching four movies (A Goofy Movie, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Rescuers Down Under) and eating ourselves into oblivion, we headed back to Nagai / Yonezawa, exhausted!

2nd July.

Class Match Day! 

I managed to watch more of this one than last year's, although I still missed the last game (the eat really fast game) because the gym was hot and I wanted to bask in the air con in the English teacher's room.

As usual, the t-shirts the homerooms wore were funny.







My favourite!



Third years playing basketball. The actual club members were really good to watch!



Interesting because the last name on the right is 'Ryan'.  What?  Japanese joke....



I went outside to watch some of the softball.



My sunnies look better on me!



Indeed you are.....

not really!



This student is good looking and has a brain!  He wants to work in rehabilitation in the future.



Tanabata decorations.



Wagatsuma's class t-shirt had his face on it!  Lovely!



Utensils for the bean game (moving beans from one plate to another using different utensils).



I guess that's why chopsticks were invented, pens are just too cumbersome.



One of the shyest guys in the 2nd grade pro course is actually good at gymnastics!  The things you don't know about people...



This is Zhang, who I talk to after school twice a week for an hour or so.  His English is pretty good and he is enthusiastic to learn more.  He wasn't fond of the t-shirt his class chose though!



Hallway in school (in the 'old' section).



This should be my shirt!



Waiting around for the next event.



Big!



They're laughing at his outfit.

Or maybe that was just me.



I like her hair!



More jumping.

Each class had to jump as much as they could in five minutes and the class with the most jumps won!  I think it would be pretty hard!

Anyway, that's about my update for now.  Not so detailed (no, really, it isn't), but that's because as I turned another year older, my brain lost a few more memory cells.

The rest of July is going to be pretty busy with stuff.

Tomorrow and Sunday - Goodbye party for JETs in Sakata.  Yaaay, Sakata!!
14th July - Filming a segment for the local cable TV show (aaaahhhh!!!)
17th - Eikaiwa
19th July - Heading to Tokyo in the early morning with JD, Monica and Maggy (Monica is leaving and this is her goodbye trip!).  Dumping our stuff at Tokyo station and heading straight to Disneyland!
20th July - Another early start... and heading to DisneySea!  I think Fumi and Nicole are joining us too.  Hopefully going out in Roppongi that night!
21st July - Recovery, and heading back to Yamagata in the afternoon.
24th - Eikaiwa
25th July - Beer garden with people in the front office (apparently!)
26th July - Heading back to Tokyo at some stage during the day.
27th July - Kellie arrives from Australia.  It is also my FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY IN JAPAN!!!  So hopefully Steve will meet up with me and Kellie for some celebratory drinks!
28th July-11th August -  Seeing the sites of Tokyo with Kellie for a few days, then heading to Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima, Okayama, Kobe and Osaka (again!).

WHEW!!!

Hope everyone has a fun weekend!!