Posts tagged Todd
Trip to Tottori
Aug 31st
I was able to spend three days and two night over this past vacation visiting a friend of mine in Tottori. He was one of the three of us who trained together in Okayama so many months ago. In addition to the fact that he seems to be doing quite well, the extent to which he seems to have adjusted to life in Japan stands even more impressive.
Tottori is a really nice little city situated on the Sea of Japan. Famous for its crabs and pears, the city is a place that reminds me a lot of Tokushima. If not for the extremely long commute, I would love to visit again in the near future. It was really good to get out of the prefecture if only for a few days.
Also, I’ve added a link to a series of Picasa web galleries. Although I’ll still be posting photos in my ‘photo gallery’ I’ll upload the full albums into this section. If you would prefer to see only the highlights, take a look at the ‘photo gallery’ and if you’d like to see everything, take a look at the Picasa albums. I hope everyone is doing well!
Weekend Update
Apr 16th
Although we had a bit of trouble at dinner on Saturday night, the post-dinner activities were fantastic. We went to a neat karaoke place called “Big Echo” with about a dozen of our co-workers, our trainer and his buddies. For a little more than 2400 yen (about $20), we were given a private room, a big-screen karaoke machine and as much as we could drink in two hours. Not a terrible deal.
After karaoke, some of our group decided to call it a night, but the rest of us went out to a club. It was interesting being in Japan and going to a club where typical American dance music was playing; a lot of R&B, hip-hop, rap, and surprisingly, a ton of Latin music. It was only toward the end of our time there that the music turned to techno and house. By that time we were all ready to leave. After a brief stop in a little bar and a half-round of pool, some of the group (myself included) hailed a cab and went back to training center. Although I thought I got in late, around 3:30, my roommate (Todd) didn’t stagger in until around 8:30 that morning. The bulk of the other trainees left that morning leaving just Todd, Stephanie and myself. It was eerily quiet at the training center without them.
That next morning, I woke up early, and decided to walk down to the gardens. Stopping along the way to pick up some books at a massive bookstore called Maruzen, one of the other trainees (Stephanie) and I met up and spent the morning unwinding. On the way back to the training center, we stopped at a fantastic noodle place and I picked up some eel & rice with a side of cold soba. I’m hoping to make it back at least once before I head out.
After an afternoon nap, the three of us decided to go out for our last diner together. Although Stephanie was a bit nervous, she agreed to try sushi for the first time. Although Todd and I thoroughly enjoyed the food, Stephanie was considerable less excited about the assorted slices of raw fish. I applaud her bravery though and we decided to take her to McDonalds after the fact to celebrate with a hamburger, fries and a coke.
Sitting in what has become my favorite Internet cafe in Okayama, we just dropped Todd off at the train station and it’s now just Stephanie and me for the next two days. It’s raining here and everything seems quiet.
