where cider meets condensed milk: March 2007

where cider meets condensed milk

Monday, March 26, 2007

It's Koreal.

Secret spring break starts tomorrow! I've never had any desire to visit Korea, but I was feeling bored with Japan and bought a ticket to Seoul on a whim. I'm travelling solo for a week, and not telling my schools in hopes of avoiding the veiled annoyance that I went abroad yet again. On the record, I am on Shikoku. Off the record, I am going to shop, see the DMZ, stay in a temple, eat Buddhist food, and perhaps seduce the hot Korean movie star, that one who is really buff and has good hair. (Yes, there is only one. It's not the guy in the picture. But I will learn his name.)

posted by Raychaa @ 1:05 PM 2 comments

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Good intentions, better boat rides

The road to... somewhere on Shikoku... is paved with good intentions. A-belle and I had grand plans for spending the holiday-of-the-month (Vernal Equinox for the Elderly) biking on a pretty peninsula. These plans were scrapped in favor of lattes and a ferry ride, because we were lazy. And thirsty. Also, we met a lot of old people. Best Sanuki person we met along the way was a 90-year-old who quoted Scripture for fun, before a TMI monologue:
"You may be asking yourself... why do I speak English, though I have old age? It is to stop senile dementia. Many years ago, I got into a French woman. She has broken my heart, in deep point." Heeeeey Shikoku!

And today's reason why Bob-san and I fail at Japanese:

The first two kanji are so easy that toddlers should be able to read them, but I get confused by different fonts. Late late at night we read it as either 'big person' or 'big entrance'. I am glad that it's the latter ("packed to capacity"), because it would be really disturbing to buy an *Adult* Juicy Meat Bun. Yum yum. Juicy!

posted by Raychaa @ 1:52 AM 0 comments

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Crushed.

So, the good news is that I'll be coming home by the summer! The bad news is that my reason for going back is being unable to apply for a teaching job on the Peace Boat, which has been my dream for so so long. And that has made me mopey and I wish I could go around kicking walls. Or kicking boats. The reason: the next voyage will stop in Cuba, along with 20 other countries. Because of the Cuba stop, they have banned Americans from the entire voyage, for safety reasons. Odds are, I would've been rejected anyway, but I would have liked to think that the Peace Boat was principled enough to stick with its primary value of not discriminating based on nationality. Sure, you can't cater to everyone... but I'd like to propose that the next voyage visits North Korea. They're in need of peace, and I'm sure once you eliminate participants and teachers from the countries on bad terms with NK, you'd still get a good group. Right? Yeah, that's what I thought, too.

posted by Raychaa @ 6:02 PM 1 comments

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Sip Bacardi (from a tippy-cup) Like It's Your Birthday

The best Potential Nightclub in Okayama award goes to... Mars. For the double birthday party, we rocked up at midnight and were promptly shushed in the staircase. And then we were scolded for not making one line in the stairwell. In the... empty... quiet... stairwell. I sat down on a step to wait for the last stragglers, and the bouncer glared and asked me to stand up. Another 10 minutes and I think he would have been announcing that everyone should go use the potty before recess time. Seriously, bouncer-man, those announcements are my domain. Go back to acting like this is a nightclub.

On the left is a freestyler on stage, flaunting his rebellion via tattoo. Hey Mister 55, don't wander around outside in heeled shoes or sit in the stairwell, or there will be hell to pay! The rapping sounded good, I suppose, but we lost all respect when they took a looong break to teach quasi-gang signs to the crowd of posers. The hand in the right photo is trying to be hip. Trying? Failing. But it sort of looks like it's picking the rapper's nose....

And here's the crew, most of which was hardcore/cheap enough to stay out all night long:
(Back): some guy, Vasco, Dimple, Bday Boy Andyroo, Jarek, Lyric, Maurissa, Tara, Marilu Who; (Front) Dami, Bday Boy Darren, Deverly, Bob-san Park/Park, me. (Where's Kanae?) And more importantly... how did SJP not make it in this picture?? I know you all miss him AND his Windexed couch.

posted by Raychaa @ 10:23 PM 0 comments

Monday, March 05, 2007

I don't want no yaks.

Today's Japanese lesson:

In this peaceful 'hood, we DON'T need no gangstas.

The OL, salaryman, and ojiichan (true cross-section of Japanese society) add:

Ho! No! We don't need no open-shirt thugs or high-heel-wearing, line-dancin' fools around these parts. No thugs, no scrubs, no Slap Leather. Please, boot-scoot yo'self to Matador for that. Gimme a high-five and leave in peace.

posted by Raychaa @ 2:32 PM 1 comments

Thursday, March 01, 2007

"Reichel is Black woman."

Note to self: Wear more colorful clothing next week. The Accidental Goth look is leading to awkward comments.

Two more gems of the week:
1) I am pimped out to the nursery school when my junior high kids have testing days. Today the local elderlies were also there for a Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival) party. If the thought of naps, mochi, and drooling toddlers doesn't appeal to you, then this should melt any heart, 2 sizes too small or otherwise: kids in hats, grandparents in cellophane.

2) Junior high student one: "A-Lu-To... what does ALT mean?"
Omniscient student two, with a scoff: "Allen Lachel Teacher." (Duh.)
Classmates: "Ahhhh! Wakatta! Sugei!"

I shouldn't have corrected them. I am all that is ALT. Bow before me.

posted by Raychaa @ 10:48 PM 0 comments

So wrong it's right. And then wrong. And then wrong again... welcome to the inaka.

About Me

Name: Raychaa
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About Me: “No man, not even a doctor, ever gives any other definition of what a nurse should be than this - 'devoted and obedient'. This definition would do just as well for a porter. It might even do for a horse. It would not do for a policeman.” (Florence Nightingale)
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