Blue Hawaii would seem like an awesome fruity drink, but sadly, it leaves a lot to be desired.  But, it smells great!   As you twist the lid off, the fizz turns into the sound of your local ice cream trunk coming around the corner.  You sense that this will taste similar to a snow cone.  How wrong your senses are.  It tastes a bit like a balloon with a little kick of fruity wax.  All you end up having is a blue tongue.
Bummer.

PS
I just got to watch an English teacher attempting to record a listening quiz by speaking directly into the stereo speaker.

I inhaled deeply but found no mysterious smells. The teacher next to me was on to something. He was quite positive that something funny was going on. So, I gave it another shot and nearly singed my nose hairs trying to detect the hiding aroma.

“Nope, I don’t smell anything”

“I think it’s the toilet.”

“Thanks man… thanks a lot.”

Instead of getting upset that he brought the smell of a filthy bathroom to my attention I decided to play detective with him. Was it something burning? Were kids burning toilet paper? By now the smell was getting stronger and I was genuinely curious about its origins. Is there a leak in the pipes?

“Maybe you should close the doors?” I propositioned to the teacher. He didn’t really care for that solution and decided to ask the teacher across from us if he knew what that smell was. The teacher solved the riddle.

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There goes spring. Here comes rain

After we enjoyed the sites of this spiritual village we went into the city for the annual Dontaku Festival. The parade basically consisted of old ladies in traditional wear dancing in the street along to blaring music vibrating out of tin can like speakers. For one of the biggest events in Fukuoka it was quite dull as evidenced by this father/son bonding.

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It’s been awhile since my last post. I suppose one gets used to living here and the humor and mystery that is Japan slowly vanishes. But here are some random things I’ve experienced this past month:

Last week I didn’t wear a jacket for the first time in the last six months while in Japan.

I found 150 yen on my bike ride home yesterday.

I purchased my first watermelon.

Saw Propagandhi in Osaka on the 17th. Great show, great guys!

I can now jog/run 4 miles in under an hour.

The basketball coach at school is my new buddy.

Drinking parties with teachers are still just as boring and horribly expensive.

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Luckily for me, our hostel had a couple computers connected to the internet with zero security. That meant I could download the slingbox application and watch the tournament from my brother’s cable feed. I was able to watch both UCLA games early in the morning while Theresa slept, and the other time while she went off for a massage. (Note to Matt, I deleted the slingbox player from the computer, no worries. I’ve got some Pineapple Hi-chews for you as an expression of my gratitude.)

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With just under an hour left in my workday I strolled into the teachers’ room and found someone else sitting at my desk, or rather where my desk used to be. There were a couple teachers giggling at me, and one of them finally decided to point me to where my desk now rested. I no longer have my back against the wall at the end of the row giving me the privacy to enjoy internet television and video websites. I am now smack in the center of all the teachers, no longer shielded from the principal and vice principal’s stares. It will now also be more difficult to sneak in late as I will now have to walk right down the center of the room. I’m almost positive that the moment my desk found it’s awful location, my spaghetti snapped from the strainer and waterfalled down into the sink.

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“I wait for pleasure”

Unfortunately, no pleasure arrived for her. So she responded, “you came?”

I replied that I was on my way and received this in response, “I came :-)”

The following day she sent me a follow up message, “You came, I was glad. I will wait for pleasure tomorrow. :-)”

Once school started we stopped chatting and I ran into her a few times at the grocery store. But last September I received this gem, “By the way, I have 1 news. I have a baby in my body now. It will be born in April of the next year :-)”

1.) I could talk to my students about who’s hot or not, but they’re just kids and would probably just recommend who’s ever doing the newest McDonald’s ads.
2.) There’s also the occasional Karaoke night out with all the local foreigners where undoubtedly there will be a few who rock at Japanese. Here they must show off their skills by singing some J-pop hits. Those songs usually sound exactly the same, and when drinking is involved, those songs will poof out of existence from my musical memory.
3.) I could always turn on the TV to catch a musical variety show but that would mean having to put up with bizarre commercials that either end unexpectedly or finish with a cheesy jingle that would even make Uncle Jesse cringe.

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