Blog

February 14th, 2010. Boston, MA

2010-03-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

-coming soon-

---I promise!

Napa Valley & San Francisco

2010-02-11T18:09:00.000-08:00

Girl's Weekend ~ Napa Valley, California

Jan 29th - Feb. 2nd 2010

From left to right: Nicole, Erin, Carly, Annie's friend, Annie, Brittany, Kim, Lindsey and Rebecca.

First I must give a special *THANKS* to Carly Hill, pictured above on the far right. After all, It was Miss Hill's wonderful idea to invite all us girls to her family's home in Yountville for the weekend! She comes from an incredible family who owns the Hill Family Estate tasting room in Yountville. I felt so lucky to be extended such an invitation! It was a weekend full of great girls, yummy food, many laughs, exquisite wine, new friends, high school reunions and more.

Hey girls, we brought the San Diego sunshine all the way to Napa Valley!!

Mumm Napa

Pictured above, is my long-lost best friend from elementary school! Nicole and I had so much fun reminiscing about our elementary and junior high school days together! After all these years, we still have SO much in common! It was so nice to have this mini-reunion with her while simultaneously introducing her to some of my friends from San Diego! It was a sensational day!

And of course I cannot forget to mention my other best friend from high school, Annabanana (on the far right), who graced us with her presence later that night. I am so proud of this one! She is so bright, currently in her first year of law school! Someday she'll be my attorney! It was equally amazing to catch up with her! Love this girl!

We had lots of fun in Carly's kitchen! Us girls made sushi rolls, miso soup, seared bok choy and ahi poke!

That night we enjoyed a mouthwatering meal which was the result of many many cooks collaborating all together! Even the neighbors made food and brought it over! It was such an extraordinary meal! Plus, Carly's father opened a magnum bottle of red wine that was bottled in 1983! I drank wine that was older than myself and, for the record, it was delicious and perfectly aged! Ha!

-San Francisco, California-

Carly, Kim, Lindsey, Brittany and Erin (:

Walking along Pier 39, admiring the few remaining sea lions.

Warning: PG-13:

Okay, so we were walking around and suddenly the 'Bush Man' scared us from behind his stolen bush collection. My first impulse was to take his picture, of course. And in response to my picture taking (and my not giving him a tip for scaring the h*ll out of us) he said, "Hey lady, I'd pay you if you showed me your bush!" I must admit, his remark was pretty clever. You go Bush Man!

Oh yeah. fresh crab. the way to my heart is, of course, through my stomach!

Okay, this is REALLY cute. Brittany, we love you! (Brittany on the far left)
Brittany secretly bought all five of us gifts while we were on Pier 39. She waited until we were at Ghirardelli Square to give us our matching necklaces. How awesome is she?! So sweet!

Girls, as promised, below are a few of Brittany's famous quotes from the weekend:

"Shut the Front door"

"For the love of twizang!"

"off like a prom dress!"

"I'm on it like a bonnet!"

While taking a picture: "1......2......say SEX"

"He has an ass you can cut butter on!"

-Pleasanton, CA-
(My hometown)

After Napa and San Francisco, I spent a couple nights in Pleasanton with my Grandmas. They even took me out to Japanese food for lunch one day (how did they know I was having withdrawals already!?) We watched some music awards on tv and did lots of talking. I had to answer many questions about my immediate future. Honestly, I just didn't have the answers (not to the liking of my grandmother). I'll either end up back in Japan, possibly Australia or just stay put in San Diego. Exciting, nothing to worry about! It all depends on where the best opportunity presents itself. It's good to be optimistic.

This is my Great-Grandmother Helen Gallegos. She is in her mid-nineties and she is healthier than most people! She's so cute.

I'm going, going, back to back, to Cali Cali!

2010-01-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

Ok. Now, you know you're a foodie when you start taking pictures of airplane food! But honestly, I feel this is something I must share with everyone. Our 9 hour and 50 minute flight from Osaka to SFO was miraculously upgraded to business class, and all it took was a simple question, "Any free upgrades?" Cameron asked as we checked into our flight. As a matter of fact, they did.

So what's the difference between business and first class? I can't honestly say, because I've never been in first class, but I can imagine that it is pretty sweet considering the kind of service we received in just business class. So, we were greeted at our seats with glasses of champagne in real campaign glasses. We had reclining chairs with lots of leg room, so much that I had to take my seatbelt off every time I tried to reach my purse beneath the seat in front of me. We were given cute little "hygiene packs" that contained convenient things like socks, slippers, eye covers, ear plugs, tooth brush n paste, lotion, etc.. then we were delighted with a huge 3-course meal (including our first steak [let alone filet minion] in over 6 months!) Yeah. talk about living the good life.

United, wow. that was amazing. Thanks for stuffing our faces with great food paired with bottomless glasses of wine. Once we finished the fruit and cheese plate for dessert, we PASSED OUT. Like, instantly. Sleep on a plane, what a concept! Never really been able to do that before....

And the best part? I haven't even told you yet. We woke up to this:

Yeah, that's right. We slept the entire flight. Woke up with a little over an hour left 'till landing. Oh, and of course, another filling and yummy meal. Breakfast.

-San Diego, California-

My number one paradise on EARTH.

It's GOOD to be back

I mean, C'mon. Are words even necessary? look at this, just look at it.

All I can say is that this is my home and these are my friends. To be away from your normal life for so long, and to be able to come right back to it [like nothings changed] is simply wonderful. I returned to San Diego knowing exactly what I loved most about it and why. Japan taught me to appreciate all the little things. I could even make a list for you of, like, 51 things that I love most about California. But why do such a thing? I have way too many things to share before I can start making lists.

Ok, ready?! Let's play tourist in Southern California! or how about 'so-cal-stay-cation'? I swear now that we have all the time in the world to hang out in san diego, with no jobs, and a completely new view of the world, we've been living it up.

Margo's Mexican Grill. tortilla soup. adobado tacos with cilantro and salsa verde. God how I've missed you!

So we did things like go to the San Diego Zoo (twice. found out our season passes are still good 'till April!), the Los Angeles Natural History Museum, tacos every tuesday, watching the sunset every-single-night, bronzing like everyday, elaborate home cooked meals. mimosas. like I said. Paradise.

That would be Cam, me, Kim and Travis. Our super amazing friends who have been letting us stay with them most of the time. There are no words to describe their awesomeness.

Another awesome thing was that I really surprised my sister (age 5) when I came home for Christmas. You see, I'd been talking to my little sis via Skype from Japan and pretty much all we ever talked about was her saying, "are you coming home for Christmas?" I told my parents that I'm coming home, but Shhh! don't tell Tina. Let's make it a surprise. and it was. And I quote, "This is the best christmas ever. I have the best big sister" She was so cute and so excited. We played with her toys. played with her cats, discussed Santa's upcoming visit. Made homemade tamales. It was fun, a nice welcome home. Thanks mom

Oh, duh!!! and New YEARS!?

Pacific Beach

The world famous San Diego Zoo

View from Roger's house

Los Angeles Natural History Museum

Hong Kong & Macau [China]

2010-01-07T21:10:00.000-08:00

Located on China's South Coast, Hong Kong City is on an island with one of the most dense populations in the world. The entire territory of Hong Kong, including Kowloon and the New Territories, is approximately 426 square miles with a population of 7 million.

The blue pin on the left marks Macau, where we spent two days of our trip. Macau is about 35 miles west of Hong Kong.

The blue pin on the right is HK Island.

Separating Hong Kong Island from Kowloon Peninsula is Victoria Harbor. This naturally deep harbor handles some 400 massive ocean-liners each week, connecting to more than 500 destinations around the world.

-Hong Kong-

Hong Kong is a sensational destination. It's incredibly diverse, boasting one of the largest and affluent financial districts in the world. It's highly international, attracting people from all over the globe. Once a British colony, Hong Kong boundaries were extended beyond Hong Kong island to include the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories in 1898. It eventually became sovereign territory of People's Republic of China in 1997.

Cameron and I flew into Hong Kong on December 15th. We stayed for six days! We spent a total of 4 days on Hong Kong Island and two days in Macau.

The Hong Kong megalopolis, reflected on the Victoria Harbor, is one of the most famous and easily recognizable skylines. Its dramatic wall of lights, from the horizon to the heavens, will leave you feeling small and insignificant. It's truly a beautiful sight to see.

The Happy Valley Horse Races exudes a unique, electrifying type of energy. It's the kind of pure energy that makes you want roar in laughter, shout out to your lucky horse, befriend the Australian standing next to you, and even dance to the outdated rap music blaring on the speakers.

We were invited to tag along with our new Dutch friend, Joroen (pronounced Yorin), to enjoy this invigorating atmosphere. [See the picture below]

Standing along the track, surrounded by high-end residential towers, enjoying a pitcher of beer and admiring these beautiful horses, it occurs to me that we are standing on an island. in the middle of the South Chinese Sea. surrounded by locals and tourists alike, listening the British announcers over the loudspeakers. Indeed, the world is a colorful place and we are so lucky to be here to experience it all.

This is the Bank of China Tower located in Central HK, which is by far my absolute favorite skyscraper! How ironic though, that this building has long been criticized for its lack of attention to the laws of feng shui. The locals who practice this ancient Chinese system of aesthetics simply don't like it, not one bit. It is said that this building gives off 'bad' feng shui to the surrounding buildings due mainly to its sharp, triangular edges and numerous "X's", which resembles that of a meat cleaver and is perceived to give off negative symbolism. Nonetheless, it's still my favorite!

Here is a slideshow of photos taken in Hong Kong:

-Macau-

[Special Administration Region of the People's Republic of China]

Traces of Portuguese cultural influence and architecture can be found throughout Macau. In 1557 the Portuguese established a permanent settlement in Macau. The Chinese government assumed formal sovereignty over Macau on December 20, 1999. Cameron and I were present for this ten-year anniversary, as we were staying in Macau December 17th through the 18th, 2009! Consequently, we received free T-shirts and hats from the Chinese Government. Yippee!

Macau, often referred to as the "Las Vegas of China", has many attractions to offer to its curious visitors, including several big-name casinos, restaurants, shows, luxury hotels, shopping and more. Cameron and I indulged at the Venetian, had dinner at Cafe Deco's and watched the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil show. Afterwards, Cameron quadrupled his money at the Roulette and Blackjack tables!

The next day, we ventured all over Macau, visiting all the historical sites. Pictured above is Macau's most famous historical landmark, Ruinas de Sao Paulo. It was built in the 17th century to serve as a Portuguese cathedral dedicated to Saint Paul the Apostle.

Below is a slideshow of our adventures in Macau:

Goodbye for now... Japan

2009-12-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

As I prepare for what might be my final bicycle ride through Osaka, my mind wanders...... Gloves? Check. Should I go to Hanshin Market, again? Yes, of course. Is there such thing as too much sushi? No! Will I miss Hilton Plaza and ¥700 hot cocoa? Probably, then again, maybe not. Scarf? Check. Should I take pictures and videos of all the familiar things? Yep. Should I collect some of those yellow ginkgo leaves and take them home? Yes, I'm sure we don't have ginkgo trees at home [EHM, Linda!]. I wonder what Hong Kong is like. What time is my first lesson? 8am. Do I need my computer? No, you don't even have 5 minutes to yourself today. Lesson plans? Check.

Scattered. That's how my mind gets when faced with a day like this. Multiple students to meet in multiple cafes scattered all over town. Is it gonna rain? Is it going to be sweltering or freezing? [a point of confusion for us during the precipitous change of seasons in October]. Do I have enough time to travel between each cafe and be on time for every appointment? ((Note to self: Saturday in Shinsaibashi is as crowded as it could ever be. Give yourself at least an hour from here to Umeda - or you can ditch your bike and just take the Midosuji subway??)).
Finally it's time to go already! Where's my bike key? Oops, left it in my bike, which means it was unlocked all night. Run downstairs to check - and of course, no one has stolen it. I will miss this omnipresent sense of security and safety found in all places in Japan.

Tuck in my scarf, button up my jacket, put on my beanie. Now I feel like I can't turn my head. That's okay. I know this route very well. I've been riding it for the past six months almost every day (except for when it rains). I Jump on my bike and turn right down the main street. As I ride, I pass the usual suspects. Tiny old ladies walking to the store hunched over their miniature grocery baskets. Secretaries riding their bikes to work in stilettos. Elementary school kids at the bus stop wearing their little yellow hats and blue uniforms. The robotic salary men, dressed in black suits, watching TV on their cell phones....

Once you reach Yoshinoya, hang a left. After you pass the petrol station and the Porsche dealership, start pedaling as fast as you can. This bridge can be a pain to cross if you are too slow. My heart starts pumping. Need all the momentum you can get! My legs feel like machines. It takes approximately 6 minutes to cross the Yodogawa River from beginning to end. On any given day, from the top of the bridge you can see fish jumping, a wakeboarder being pulled by a boat [cool! they wakeboard here!?], strange cloud formations above, and Osaka's skyline directly in front of you.

Up and over the bridge and now I'm flying. Take a few shortcuts to bypass the next train station. Barrel down another busy road for about 5 minutes. Cut over to the other side to take a small side road. Weave around the pedestrians, avoid head-on collisions with other bicyclists. Bicyclists who are always talking on their cell phones, sending e-mails, holding an umbrella, with a child strapped to the front of the bike and groceries in the rear basket [we call them mamacherries]. I don't know how they unfailingly dodge certain pileup [or maybe they don't? I see a lot of girls (who walk pigeon-toed on purpose) fall up the stairs all the time. They can't be that graceful].

I Pass the luxury condominium towers on the left, admire the shimmering river on the right. Follow this for about 7 minutes. Notice a sign with ticker tape spitting out English phrases. Who am I? Why am I here? What makes me happy? What is life? Hmm... profound, good questions. Continue on. Turn left at Midosuji Dori. Admire the yellow ginkgo trees. Turn right just after the American Embassy. Finally! Mission accomplished. Made it to work in approximately 20 minutes and I feel perfectly energized for a day like this.

I love using my bike as my car. It's cheap, gets me to where I need to be and consequently gives me a great cardio workout. When I get back to San Diego, can I trick myself into doing a comparable exercise in a gym? Is it possible to recreate the satisfaction of using your own energy to power yourself to work in a spinning class??? Life is funny. The things you never thought you would ever consider, you do. Travel, learn.

Next day. Wake up at 7AM. First go to immigration to get some bad news. We decide to make the best of it - that means, doing all the tourist activities in Osaka! We take the subway over to the aquarium. Heard they have a massive tank with a spiral walkway through it with whale sharks?! What shall we do next to make the most of this day? Oh! Let's go have lunch at that yakiniku spot where you grill your own meat! What's next? Umeda Sky Building! Heard you can go to the top of it for a nice view over Osaka. Next? Let's go to Hanshin to buy some sushi and champagne.

We need to celebrate. Japan, distance only makes the heart grow fonder, and I'm quite fond of you already. This means we will come back. But right now we are so excited. So excited to explore Hong Kong. So excited for San Diego.

We spent our last week in Japan taking everything in, truly living in the present. Hope you enjoy these few videos, which I took during this time.

Just another day walking in underground Osaka, on our way to Hanshin Market.

My favorite food market in Osaka, Hanshin Market. It's unlike any place I've ever been before. Hanshin Market is underground, always packed with tons of people, the vendors are always yelling to get the customers' attention, and I'm even on a first name basis with one of the sushi vendors! Fresh fish, veggies, fruit, bread, pastries. What more could a foodie ask for?

I found it! A freeway bridge through a building.

The Christmas party held at Cameron's school turned out to be pretty fun. The students were nice, plus there was great food and wine. Also, the kids were so cute!

おおさか (Osaka)

2009-12-06T06:28:00.000-08:00

A river running through the heart of downtown Osaka, around the corner from our school.

This is so Japan: all the stray cats are collected, neutered and given vaccines and then returned to the "wild". I love petting these friendly, clean, beautiful street cats of Japan. :)

As I was walking to my school, I had to stop and capture this shot. Just another typical day in downtown Osaka with salary men everywhere and that one glowing Ginko tree on the left. So ordinary to some, but so special to me :)

The Ginko trees' golden leaves litter the streets.

This is Hilton Plaza near Osaka's largest train station. I conduct the majority of my private English lessons at that cafe on the left. I love this place because in between lessons I can get lost in the "foreign" books section in the upstairs bookstore :)

Here is a picture of my weekly Thursday night job. That is Zhang Yongquiang on the left, the 24-year-old Chinese CEO of SSQQB, Inc (an IT company). On the right is Kimura-san, the Japanese CEO of WebShark (also an IT company). What do I have to do with these two gentlemen you ask? It's simple really... Eat. Speak (English). Drink. Repeat. I love this job! We also love to compare our cultural backgrounds, which always proves to be uncommonly fascinating and educational!

One of the more interesting conversations we had was about Valentine's Day. Celebrated in both China and Japan, they are celebrated very differently. In Japan, the women give chocolate to the men and the men give nothing in return! Valentine's Day is a man's holiday in Japan. I know, shocking, right?!

China, on the other hand, is the polar opposite: men buy chocolate and flowers for the woman. Also in line with the whole "ladies first" notion common in the US, China's women take it a step further: In all aspects, men are expected cater to the women year-round. The man is expected to work, clean the house, cook dinner, and take care of the children. The woman's job? Only to stay at home and encourage her husband, "Honey, I know you have what it takes to get that promotion at work. I believe you can do it. I just know you can. You will get that promotion...So do it already!" No wonder Zhang moved to Japan!

One of my favorite Japanese/Italian fusion dishes!

Cheese, crackers paired perfectly with a chilled bottle of chardonnay from Napa! Another opportunity to share my culture with Zhang & Kimura san!

Lindsey's 25th Birthday

2009-12-06T05:47:00.000-08:00

Birthday celebration round #1:

Bug, Rika, Isaac, Harumi, Lindsey and Cameron

Lindsey in Japanese = リンジ "Rinzi"

Apparently Tony was right!

Harumi & Lindsey eating cake!

Birthday celebration round #2:

My great friend, Harumi, surprised me with this beautiful cake!

Autumn in Japan is Beautiful

2009-11-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

We went to Kyoto on November 15th, 2009

This is the famous Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Beneath this main hall is the Otowa waterfall where three channels of water fall into a pond. Visitors can catch and drink the water, which is believed to have therapeutic properties. Drinking the water of the three streams is said to confer wisdom, health and longevity.

We went to Nara on November 22nd 2009:

This is the famous Todai-ji Temple which houses one of the largest bronze Buddha statues. This building ranks as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Then, we went to Kyoto again on November 28, 2009:

Standing in front of the famous きんかじ (Kinkaku-ji a.k.a. the "Golden Palace"): another lifetime achievement to check off the list!

Cameron's photography skills!

These colors are for REAL!

Sushi Party

2009-10-16T00:54:00.000-07:00

October 16, 2009:

Our student, Teruyo, invited me, Cameron and Bug over to her house for a sushi lunch party! She provided many types of fish and vegetables and we made our own hand rolls. It was a great experience because I LOVE SUSHI!

She provided us with toro (fatty tuna), maguro (tuna), squid, tomago (egg), cucumber, eel, roe, pickles and various roots. Traditional Japanese sushi = MMMmmmmm good!

^ Here we are eating fermented pieces of plum wrapped in rice and a sour green leaf. Not bad, just surprising taste!

^ This is umeshu (plum wine) made by Teruyo. She said that she made it herself and that it has been fermenting for the last ten years. She even canned some of it up for us to take home! Once we were completely stuffed, it was time for tea. Mitsue and Teruyo were so kind as to teach us all about traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony...

^ These are like frozen sugar cubes with sweet beans inside. They are often eaten while drinking tea.

Kyoto - Almost Autumn

2009-10-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Oct. 12th, Cameron and I spent the day in Beautiful Kyoto. First we went to a flea market where we found many treasures..

Afterward we went to the massive Imperial Park, which is surrounded by beautiful trees and ponds.

I am SO excited for Autumn! Kyoto is famous for its gorgeous Autumn colors during the month of November. As you can see below, the first signs of Autumn are just barely starting to show. We are planning to come back to Kyoto in about three weeks so that we can see the full-fledged fall colors! I can't wait!

^ Cameron taking a nap.

^ The beginnings of Fall!!!

After that we went to admire this beautiful temple:

Then we went walking through the pleasant streets of Kyoto...

...and we came across this parade:

^ Remember this photograph! I will re-take this same picture when we go back in three weeks and you will see that this green hill will change to a mosaic of deep reds, oranges and yellows...

People watching

2009-10-15T23:15:00.000-07:00

Typhoon Melor

2009-10-07T04:29:00.000-07:00

Looks like we'll be right on the edge of the Typhoon's path (Osaka). Don't worry about us. We live in a safe and strong new building meant to withstand both typhoons and earthquakes.

I must admit that I was a little excited when I heard that a typhoon was headed our way. Neither Cameron nor I have ever been through a hurricane or typhoon before so this was a first for us both!

The typhoon turned out to be just enough excitement, without getting too dangerous (for us at least). At approximately 12:00AM on October 8th the typhoon finally made landfall. We were lying in bed trying to sleep but I couldn't because there were so many noisy 'airplanes' flying overhead.

"How dangerous," I thought "to be flying when a typhoon is coming." But I was wrong. They were not airplanes. They weren't even freight trains (my next guess). It was only the wind.

I've never heard wind like that before -- EVER. So, we immediately went to the balcony to watch mother nature's spectacular show, and it was pretty cool! Unfortunately though, there was no rain or lightening or thunder near our house (I was hoping to see something dramatic). So, I was a little disappointed but at the same time I was very happy that we were not in any danger. Overall, it was a good first typhoon experience. Here is a video taken from our balcony:

Asahi Brewery & good times with Isaac, Rika & Steve

2009-09-28T01:33:00.000-07:00

<--matching bags. Another great gift from Rika!

Steve & Isaac-->

<--Rika, Lindsey, Isaac & Steve.

Raw bird organ (I forget which organ it was exactly, but I didn't eat it. Cameron did though)-->

<--Cooked chicken hearts (quite delicious)!

Raw chicken hearts (even more delicious than the cooked ones!) ^

Bali, Indonesia

2009-09-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

Wow, where should I begin? I feel like we were in Bali for a decade! We experienced so many wonderful things and met so many great people from all over the world! I suppose I will go about this chronologically....

Kuta and Nusa Dua:

When we first arrived in Bali, our Japanese friend, Uenishi-san, had two of his staff pick us up at the airport. [Reminder: Uenishi owns a nightclub in Kuta]. His staff, Gede and Komong, took us out to dinner and then straight to Uenishi-san's beautiful house (see slide show for pictures). FYI Gede and Komong became great friends of ours throughout this trip. They are great people!

When we arrived at Uenishi's house, to say the least, we were amazed! His house was beautiful with a gorgeous pool just outside our spacious master bedroom. What a great place to be invited to stay (for free)! Although the housekeepers spoke zero English, we thanked them with many universal gestures and smiles for all their hospitality.

Over the next few days, Uenishi-san took great care of us - providing us with a driver, taking us out to eat at delicious restaurants, to get massages, to go jet skiing, wake-boarding and parasailing. Also, Uenishi took us to his nightclub every night for unlimited drinks and fun (for free of course). We had a ball in the upstairs karaoke room where we got silly and sang our hearts out! One morning Uenishi even cooked us breakfast! He treated us like royalty and we were blown away by his eagerness to show us a good time. We have never experienced such utter generosity before (and we thought we knew the Japanese by now!)

One day Cameron and I went to Nusa Dua, which is a gated resort outside of Kuta. Nusa Dua is full of really really expensive hotels with gorgeous pools. We went there for lunch one day (about $10 each) and then we snuck into the pool and hung out there for the rest of the day. Well worth the expensive lunch!

Although we appreciated everything Uenishi-san was doing for us, it still didn't change the fact that we were stuck in Kuta. Kuta turned out to be my least favorite city in Bali. To put it simply, Kuta is crowded, dirty, smelly, impoverished, and raging with juvenile drunk foreigners. We did not come to Bali just to party. With that said, we needed to get out of the hectic city of Kuta and go find the quiet, beautiful beaches we originally came here for.

Nusa Lembongan Island:

On our third day in Bali, Cameron and I took a speed boat to a tiny island named Nusa Lembongan. It's about 25 minutes off the east coast of southern Bali. We shared the boat with a British couple named Paul and Tracey. They are from the UK but have been living in Sydney, Australia for four years now. Immediately, we clicked with them and we spent the next couple days together enjoying Lembongan island! We are so lucky to have met Paul and Tracey because they are amazing people and tons of fun! They taught us all about where they are from (including impersonations of the many different British accents - which I couldn't get enough of), told us all about their lives in Australia, shared with us a list of their favorite books, and more. We spent hours together sharing ideas and learning from each other.

Our first night on the island, Cameron and I stayed at Tarci Bungalows on Shipwreck's surf break, well known to be a surfing mecca. There were many people staying at the bungalows who were from all over the world. We met Germans, Dutch, more Britians, Americans, Australians, French people and more. We had dinner with this group of international travelers, drank a few too many Bintangs and talked for hours. It was then that I realized that English truly is the universal language. The Germans spoke English, the Dutch spoke English, and even the pompous French people spoke English! From that point on I noticed that regardless of a person's origin, English was the only language used. Even the local Balinese spoke some English. I do not think a tourist could get by if they were unable to speak English.

The next day Cameron and I rented a scooter (for $6 a day) and explored the entire island including the neighboring island named Nusa Ceningan. The only industry on these islands (besides tourism) is seaweed farming, so we got to see lots of people harvesting their seaweed. The locals were very friendly, always smiling and saying "Hello!" as we rode by.

It just so happens that we were vacationing in Bali during the Balinese cremation ceremony week, which occurs every two years. Consequentially, there was non-stop Hindu singing blaring through announcement speakers from all the villages, day and night for ten days straight (we were told). Fortunately, we only heard the chanting during our ride around the island and we could not hear it from our bungalow. We were also told that during cremation ceremony, the family members dig up the graves of their deceased loved ones and take the remains to be cremated. I must admit that it was somewhat eerie to see all the empty graves...

For the next two nights we decided move from Tarci and stay at the Tanis Villas instead (which is located on our favorite beach in Mushroom Bay). The water was stunning with good snorkeling! Plus, Paul and Tracey were staying there too. The four of us spent hours at the infinity pool and the beach, just soaking up the sun and the clear waters, enjoying many laughs with our new mates (mates adopted from Paul and Tracey's vocabulary). Breakfast was included in the price of the room and dinner was always ridiculously cheap. The price of dinner usually ranged between $1.50 to $3.00 and it was delicious every time.

Here is a video of what a typical street looks like in the island of Lembongan:

While we were riding our scooter around the island, we also stopped at Devil's Tear where the beautiful turquoise waves smash into the cliffs. The waves were massive! Here's a video:

Ubud:

After Lembongan, we took a boat back to Bali's mainland and hired a driver to take us into Ubud, which is located in Central Bali (about one hour north of Kuta). Ubud is a quiet art village surrounded by rice paddies, valcanos, rivers, ducks, and monkeys. We stayed at Ubud Aura, which is a yoga retreat center. Although we didn't do any yoga, we spend hours at the elegant infinity pool, watching the ducks in the rice paddies next door. The food in Ubud was also great, but expensive! I'm talking like $5-7 per meal (I guess we were spoiled in Lembongan)! Just next door to our "retreat" was a peaceful spa named Zen Spa. We went there several times over the next few days. One day, Cameron and I both got one-hour long facials for $10 each. And later, Cameron got a one-hour massage and I got an one-hour avocado cream bath (which was amazing btw for only $10). We were spoiled!

Monkey forest was beautiful and green, full of lots of happy monkeys and tons of cute monkey babies! The monkeys are wild, extremely mischievous and not afraid of humans what-so-ever. Luckily, we met an old German man the night before who warned us about the monkeys (and the possibility of rabies) and he told us not to bring anything with us. So, we went empty-handed and watched the unsuspecting tourists get bombarded by greedy monkeys.

At the entrance of the forest, most tourists buy bananas from the street vendors to feed to the monkeys. But apparently, the monkeys don't like to wait for you to feed them! Instead, they just jump on you (usually two or three at the same time) and steal the bananas along with your water bottle, sunglasses, jewelry, and anything else they can get their little hands on. We kept our distance and watched in amusement....

Later that night we went to a traditional Balinese Legong dance, which I found fascinating. Cameron found it to be creepy because the dancers twitch their eyes back and forth really fast and give everyone in the audience really bizarre looks. I was impressed with their acting skills and their dedicated facial expressions. The dancers gave expressions of wonder, fear, curiosity, excitement and only sometimes they actually smiled. The music was performed live by a band of little old men banging away on drums, bells and other unidentifiable instruments. I found them to also be very entertaining, often times not paying attention and sometimes nodding off. Good stuff! Nonetheless, the music was exotic and intriguing and so was the dancing. Here is a video:

The next day, we joined a bike tour (I know, totally not our style - but we heard it was great, which it was). There were about ten people in our group comprised of mostly Germans, Dutch and a few British. The van picked us up at our hotel at 7:30am and took us near the top of a volcano named Mt. Batur. We had breakfast at a lovely (pretend I'm speaking with a British accent) restaurant atop a mountain overlooking a lake, the nearby volcano and the valley below. We had a stunning view from up there! We had fresh fruit, bananna crepe-style pancakes, and nasi goreng (fried rice) for breakfast.

Then we went to a cash crop plantation where we learned about the cats that poop gourmet coffee beans. Yes, that's right! These cats are caged and fed coffee beans. According to our tour guide, once the coffee beans come out the other end, the beans are perfectly fermented for a scrumptious cup of brew. We passed on sampling the coffee and instead enjoyed a few exotic fruits and teas.

Finally, we got to pick out our bikes (and helmets) and began our excursion downhill. We rode through the tiniest of villages and delightful rice paddies. We got to go inside a Balinese family compound where we witnessed the family members mending and weaving bamboo mats (their main source of income).

We learned that traditional Balinese families live in their family compound their whole lives (except for when the daughters get married and go to live in their husband's family's compound). So, within one compound you will find one kitchen, one temple, one farm and several separate buildings that serve as bedrooms to each of the sons and their respective wives and children. They live together like that as one big happy family! To the left is a picture of the grandmother, mother of 9 children, a.k.a. the ruler of the compound. Our tour guide said she was about 85 years old.

Next stop on our bike ride was to explore the rice paddies. We were even allowed to go inside the rise paddies, walking on the edges. This was one of the highlights of the bike tour! We got to go where ever we wanted and we saw three locals working in the fields. Also, I found another sacred cow who was even more charming than all the other sacred cows I've met. It was a beautiful site to see.

Amed:

After Ubud, we hired a driver to take us to Amed, which is about 3 hours East of Ubud. We came to Amed for one reason and one reason only: to obtain our scuba certification in the most renowned dive spot in all of Bali.

Amed is a tiny village located on a rocky black beach, just to the east of Bali's largest volcano, Mt. Agung. The beach isn't much to look at, but it's what lies within the turquoise waters that draws people from around the world to this very spot (us included).

The first day we arrived, we rented snorkel gear to see what all the fuss is about. And literally, within one meter of the rocky beach, there are hundreds of brilliantly colored fish and vibrant coral!! It was absolutely sensational! Convinced of the beautiful marine life, we proceeded to sign up for the Open Water Certification course at Adventure Divers.

Adventure Divers is a private dive shop owned by a very nice Dutch couple. They moved to Amed two years ago to continue to pursue their passion of Diving. Ian Coe was our instructor, and he is both PADI and SSI certified. He's done well over 5,000 dives in his life! He was a great instructor and made this process very fun for us.

When it comes to scuba diving, there are many levels of expertise and skill-levels, which you can achieve. Open Water is just the first level, but it allows you to dive anywhere in the world up to 30 meters (100ft) deep. The certification process required three days, five dives, reading a six chapter book and taking one 50 question multiple choice exam. And one added bonus is that Open Water Certification applies toward university credit! Wahoo!

During the certification process we learned how to assemble and operate all the equipment, how to safely descend and ascend, how to achieve neutral buoyancy, universal hand signals, how to navigate with a compass, what to do incase you run out of air (very important), what to do if your mask comes off (my least enjoyable part), and much much more. Also, we had to adapt to the metric system, which is used everywhere in the world except the U.S.

As I said above, we had to do 5 dives during the course (twist my arm)! The first dive was in only 2 meters of water just getting used to breathing underwater and practicing all emergency exercises. The second dive was along a steep drop-off to practice achieving neutral buoyancy (I'm glad I got over my fear of deep water) . The third dive was in a place called "Coral Gardens" which was gorgeous, full of vibrant and healthy coral.

The fourth and fifth dives were our favorites because we got to dive in Tulamben at the site of the U.S.A.T. Liberty shipwreck! Here is a description of the dive site:

"The U.S.A.T. LIBERTY, a 120 meter long shipwreck, is the remains of a US World War II freighter, torpedoed on January 11,1942...by a Japanese submarine while crossing the Lombok Strait carrying material...from Australia to the Philippines...her crew ran the vessel up onto the beach of Tulamben 70km away from the nearest safe harbor.

For 21 years she stayed there [on the beach], the people of Tulamben secured all items of any value, even parts of the deck. In 1963 the Liberty was pushed [back into the ocean] to her present location by the fatal eruption of the volcano Gunung Agung. During this process the hull broke into two pieces. Now she is laying only 30 meter from the Tulamben beach on a sandy slope 90° on her side parallel to the shore. The deck side faces the ocean.

The Liberty ship wreck is the most visited diving site of Bali at a perfect depth for scuba diving ranging from 2.5 meters down to 29 meters...An amazing growth of encrusting animals cover the wreck, marine biologists estimate that about 400 different species of reef fish live on the Liberty. It is not usual for this site to be visited by big pelagic species."

[Quoted from: Water Worx Dive Center. http://www.waterworxbali.com/tulamben-ship-wreck-usat-liberty.shtml]

After our last dive, we took the exam. I passed with 96% (but I must admit the material is rather easy and mostly common sense though). Cameron also passed with flying colors and Ian Coe (our instructor) said we were his best students - so quick to learn and so calm in the water!

Here is a video taken during our dive at the Liberty:

Satisfied with achieving our goal of Open Water Certification in the most beautiful dive spot in Bali, we were ready to go home. After being in a third-world country for two weeks, we were so happy to get back to Japan. Beautiful, sophisticated, clean, and first-world Japan. Home sweet home!

THE END

Italian food in Japan

2009-08-28T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, one last blog post before we embark on our adventure to Bali.

During the last couple weeks, many great things have happened! For instance, we got two new students at our school! We also have several other interested people. Hopefully they sign up while we are vacationing.

What else... Oh, on August 27th I started my new part-time job at SSQQB, Inc. where I teach English over dinner. SSQQB, Inc. is a start-up IT company. The owner, Zhang, is Chinese, he is only 23 years old and he speaks English fluently. My job entails going to dinner with Zhang and a CEO of another company to speak English while indulging in delicious food and drink, for free. They also pay me the equivalent of $20 per hour. So, my first night of "work" went like this: I met Zhang at the train station and we walked over to meet up with the CEO of Webshark. The CEO of Webshark was very nice, about 33 years old, had casual dress and knew little English. His office was very high-tech. One can enter his office only by scanning your thumb on this huge, space-aged looking machine. Inside, they have a relaxation room where employees can play PS3, Wii, use exercise balls and many other fun things. I was impressed with their silicon-valley-like thinking. Then, the three of us made our way to an Italian restaurant down the street. We got a bottle of wine and ate plate after plate of delicious (and healthy) foods. It was the Japanese' interpretation of Italian food, so everything was very new and interesting to me. I tried a little of everything and was once again pleasantly surprised by every single dish! Tempura fried shrimp over sesame salad with cherry tomatoes, caesar salad with tiny shrimp and octopus, penne pasta with boiled pork and vegetables and cheese, a vegetable mix (above), and much much more. At the end of dinner we determined that our meeting had been a success! I had a very good rapport with the CEO of Webshark so it looks like we will be exchanging languages over incredible foods on a regular basis.

Last night, August 28th, Isaac and Rika took Cameron and I to another INCREDIBLE Italian restaurant near our house. It was even better than the dinner I had the night before. The restaurant was tiny. It had a maximum capacity of just 9 people. There was only one chef. The place was littered with little jars of spices and sauces. Bottles of wine and various liquors lining the tiny bar. It was the cutest little restaurant I've ever seen in Japan! It is a place Anthony Bordain would definitely enjoy. Also, the food was the most mouthwatering food I've ever had! SERIOUSLY! The chef/owner/bartender/waiter was the most talented and meticulous food preparer I've ever seen. We had caprese salad made with genetically engineered tomatoes (Isaac informed us of this). We had tako (octopus) appetizer with baby tomatoes; pizza with spicy sausage and a egg cooked on top; penne pasta with three kinds of cheese and marinara sauce. I had a glass of white wine and a glass of red. It was another night full of succulent, finger-licking food and drink. I love Osaka.

   But wait, there's more! I got another part-time job! This job is very part time though, only working once every three weeks. It's at an English Cafe and I have been hired to be the guest English-speaking spectacle at their monthly parties. My job entails mingling with the students, speaking my native language, all while enjoying unlimited food and drink. The Cafe is owned by a very nice Australian couple who love to cook, so all of the food will be homemade.

   Cameron got a part-time job too! He has also interviewed with some other companies, so he has several opportunities right now. All in all, we are having a blast, meeting new people everyday, and eating lots of delicious food. Its seems as though the opportunities here in Osaka are virtually unlimited. Cameron has been doing lots of networking within the art community. He has met people from all over the world who come here to show their masterpieces. And Bug has been networking with some professional skateboarders and media people.

   Cameron and I leave for Bali in just two days. We are thrilled and exhilarated at what lies ahead! Here is a map of Bali and I've marked several places we plan on visiting. We do not have an itenerary because we like to travel spontaneously...

View Bali in a larger map

Look for our next blog post sometime after September 15th. Until then, Bon voyage!

Miscellaneous

2009-08-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

July 31, 2009:

A night out in Dotonbori again, one of our favorites places to go in Osaka.

Eat these tiny fried fish whole! yum!

Fishing for dinner. Talk about fresh!

The streets are very festive for Obon. Obon is an annual holiday similar to "El Dia de los Muertos" in Mexico. All the Japanese spirits come home to visit their families.

Steve, Isaac & Cameron.

I love taking candid pictures of the locals!..

No she's not looking into a mirror. There's actually two of them.

Cute bows in your hair, dude.

August 3, 2009:

This is Ryuge-san. He lives in Nagoya and we met him while he was visiting Osaka. He literally pulled us off the street, and into this art studio so he could offer us wine and play music for us.

It was a good time!

August 7, 2009:

This is Mr. H. He is the owner of our apartment building. On the night of the culmination of the Obon festival, we had a party and watched the fireworks from our apartment building.

You can thank Rika for photoshopping the fireworks into the background!

There was plenty of sushi, sake, shochu and grilled vegetables and meat. Delicious!!

Isaac about to open a yummy bottle of gold-flaked sake!

Next door, was the party room for kids. I believe they were all in high school. At one point in the evening, Cameron, Bug and I decided to pay the kids a visit. When we walked into their room, they began screaming and reaching out for us as if we were movie stars or something! They freaked out at the sight of us gaijin! It's the most strange, bizarre thing ever - I don't think we will ever get used to it.

Lindsey, Rika & Miki. Rika also works in the office at our apartment building - she gives me the most fashionable gifts! Miki is one of our employees at the school.

August 9, 2009:

On our way to Kobe.

Fresh fruit on the streets of china town in Kobe.

Memorial from the 1995 Kobe earthquake.

A great-white shark head submerged in formaldehyde at the Kobe Aquarium.

The dolphin show at Kobe Aquarium.

These eels were so creepy looking!

August 11, 2009:

Here are the men, building a storage unit for the office.

August 13, 2009:

Just another day walking down a street in Osaka! I love the atmosphere!

At our favorite bar near our house, Pick-up Bar.

This is the owner of Pick-up Bar, Uenishii-san. As a matter of fact, he owns another bar in Kuta, Bali. To say the least, Uenishii-san was very excited when he found out were going to Bali at the end of August. He immediately offered us a ride from the airport, a place to stay, the use of his jet skii's and his private beach, etc. etc. he even offered us body guards if we so wished. Although it sounded too good to be true, our good friend Isaac assured us that Uenishii-san is a good man with only the best intentions. Isaac is trying to get away from work so he can come too.

Mustaches.

This is the street below our balcony at home. I was experimenting with different ISO settings and shutter speeds. Those white lights are from a passing car's headlights.

We have an amazing, unobstructed view of downtown Osaka from our balcony (pictured in the background).

August 14, 2009:

Sweet van.

from left to right: Cameron, Bug, Max, Sam, Isaac, Rika and Lindsey. Sam is Bug's mom and Max is Bug's step-father. Max & Sam had us all over for a great BBQ!

Backpacking through Japan

2009-07-31T04:18:00.000-07:00

July 24, 2009: Shin-Osaka --> Hiroshima --> Miyajima --> Back to Shin-Osaka --> Night train to Naoetsu.

SLIDESHOW: (It will autoplay, but you can also control it yourself)

We had a long and wonderful day in Hiroshima & Miyajima. This is a video of our Shinkansen pulling up.

July 25- 27, 2009: Naoetsu --> Nagano City --> Matsumoto --> Okaya --> Kamikochi

SLIDESHOW:

Video: Drum performance in Matsumoto.

Video: Many many tori gates leading to a dog shrine in Matsushiro.

July 27-29, 2009: Nagano --> Tokyo

SLIDESHOW:

Here is a video of us walking through the busiest intersection in the world in Shibuya, Tokyo.

July 29-30, 2009: Tokyo --> Yokohama --> Atami --> Ito --> Shimoda --> Shirahama Beach

Video: On our way to Shirahama Beach on the shinkansen.

SLIDESHOW:

Here is a map of everywhere we went on this trip:

Then we went home. Home sweet home! It was a fabulous 7 days!

Video: several bullet trains pass us by.

Kobe

2009-07-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

Parties

2009-07-13T23:48:00.001-07:00

During the last few weeks, we've been to many parties! Every time we go out, we make lots of new friends - some from Japan, some from Australia, the UK and sometimes we even run into people from the states!

July 4, 2009:

Fourth of July at Sam & Dave's night club!

Our new friend Hiro and Cameron.

They really liked our dancing skills...haha

July 10, 2009:

We were invited to our friend Mami's birthday/costume party and it was so much fun!

That's Mami on the left and Jake (from Australia) on the right.

We went as M&M's!

Then we went to karaoke...

...and sang our hearts out!

That's Natasha on the left. She's also from Australia.

Home Cooked Okonomiyaki!

2009-07-13T05:03:00.001-07:00

July 8, 2009:

Two of our students, Mitsue & Teruyo invited us over to their house for a real home-cooked Japanese meal!

Mitsue, Bug & Teruyo.

The japanese-style low table was very nicely set. They had two appetizers set out for us and they were SO yummy! see below:

The tomatoes were boiled, pealed, and marinated in shoyu and sesame oil- This is when it became necessary that I learn to say "kore wa mecha oishii" which means "this is very good!" On the right is a delicious shrimp & avocado salad - also mecha oishii!

Teruyo & Mitsue cooking okonomiyaki on the grill.

Okonomiyaki is like a japanese pancake/pizza. The word is derived from "okonomi" which means "anything you want" and "yaki" which means "grilled". Basically, okonomoyaki has many options for ingredients but most commonly it consists of cabbage, flour batter, egg, octopus, squid, bacon, and various vegetables. As you can see above, they also made us "modanyaki" which is okonomiyaki plus soba noodles on top. Once it was done grilling, they put a dark sauce and mayonnaise on top. Yes, the Japanese love mayonnaise on pretty much everything.

Then, it was time for dessert. For dessert we had a delicious vanilla ice cream dish with blueberries, pineapple, and watermelon mixed in. [FYI fruit is ridiculously expensive in Japan. One-quarter of a watermelon will cost you about 450 yen ($4.50)!] By this point we were all very full, about to burst! You might be surprised to know that the Japanese have VERY large appetites, even larger than mine! They kept trying to feed us more food but physically, we couldn't.

Then it was time for tea. It is customary for Japanese meals to end with green tea and a sweet bean dessert. The purple gelatin looking thing on the left is made from sweet beans and you are supposed to eat it along with your tea. It was okay. not bad, but not great.

All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful meal! Mitsue and Teruyo were great hosts and we enjoyed every minute of it!

Kyoto

2009-07-04T20:47:00.001-07:00

July 2, 2009:

I made another slideshow. Although it is nearly impossible to capture all the beauty we saw that day, I hope this gives you an idea of just how amazing and beautiful Kyoto is. Check it out:

Kyoto is only a 28 minute train ride from our home in Osaka. We only saw about a quarter of the shrines and temples that exist in Kyoto. There is just too much to see in one day. We can't wait for our next trip to Kyoto to see some more.

I know that some of you like to save our pictures to your computer. So, help yourself to some of my favorites from the slideshow...

This building houses about 25 ancient relics, some of them from China. It was illegal to take pictures inside, but we accidentally took two (oops!)

I swear, this dragonfly was posing for us. He let us take like 20 pictures of him.

We sat on that bench and had a snack so we could absorb all the beauty that surrounded us.

This is the famous Toji Temple. I remember taking a picture of a replica when I was at the Epcot center in Orlando.

Oh, this bird was posing for us too. amazing.

We sat in on this ceremony. There was lots of incense and chanting. It was very interesting to watch.

Later that night, we went to dinner with our landlord and the other office workers.

Steve, on the left, lived in Hawaii for 20 years so he spoke English fluently. Isaac speaks good English, and Rika (on the far right) speaks very little English but she knew how to give lots of compliments. Its funny, Rika thought I had long eyelashes and she asked me if they were real. Also, throughout dinner, we enjoyed free english/japanese exchange! It was very fun and helpful.

Of course, once again, they did NOT let us pay for our meal. It was another "Welcome to Japan" event. The Japanese are so generous!

Have you ever had cantaloupe wrapped with prosciutto? It was a first for me too and it was pretty good!

This is our new favorite bartender! His mother gave us all bananas as a parting gift. The Japanese always give us gifts. They are so thoughtful.

Out 'n About in Japan

2009-07-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

June 23, 2009:

On June 23rd we went out to dinner with some of Bug's close Japanese friends. They were awesome! Despite the language barrier, we all seemed to bond over good food and lots of drinks. We had a great time with them!! We had so much fun exchanging languages throughout the night. Needless to say, we all learned a lot from each other! We learned some Japanese and in turn they learned some English (and Spanish). We truly had a fabulous night! We spent about 4-5 hours at dinner and when the bill came, they refused to let us pay our fair share. They said it was our "Welcome to Japan" dinner. As hard as we tried to give them cash, they flat out refused. How nice is that? I think I'm really gonna like it here!

The girls were very curious about Cameron's arm hair. They wanted to know if he was hairy like that everywhere. Hahahahaa

Ryoko and I plan to go shopping together someday. First, I need to learn more Japanese!

It is rare that you see Japanese people with tattoos. We talked him into taking his shirt off so we could see all his tats. This picture proves just how awesome our new friends are!

Check out our new bike crew! After dinner they were nice enough to show us how to get home from the restaurant. We rode half way home together and it was a blast. I can't wait for round two with them!

June 25, 2009:

Here is a glimpse into the underground world of Japan. Literally, it is a city under a city. It is basically a mall that connects to the train and subway stations.

Also underground is our favorite place for food, Hanshin Market:

Hmmmm... too much sake!

Ah ha! Proof that sushi rolls really do exist in Japan (I seriously thought they only had sashimi).

Live crabs already seasoned!

June 27, 2009:

On our day off, we rode our bikes from our house all the way to the ocean. It only took about a half hour to get there.

On the other side of the Pacific!!!

This is the skyline of Umeda, Osaka (where our school is)

On our way home, we ran into this random shrine. Randomly beautiful.

Osaka Castle & misc.

2009-06-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

June 19, 2009:

Hello there! Ok, I experimented with making a slideshow video about our visit to the Osaka Castle. I hope you enjoy it!

btw, the lyrics are not important, we just like the song!

And here are some pictures....

The castle is amazingly huge. Its construction began in 1583 and was finished in 1598. There is a mote surrounding the whole castle. It amazes me when I try to imagine how they lifted and stacked those massive boulders and stones way back then. We went inside the castle, which is now a museum. We went to the very top of the castle to enjoy the view from the viewing deck, which you can see in the YouTube video above.

In the spring, during Hanami, all those tall trees you see display their annual cherry blossoms which only lasts about one week. Unfortunately, we missed it this year but we will be sure to see it next spring! Nonetheless, it is still beautiful even without hanami. Here is a link so that you can see what it looks like during Hanami.

If you click on this picture you can barely see the top of Osaka Castle just above my head on the right.

Other than sightseeing, we have been busy studying Japanese. To begin, Bug advised us that we should first memorize the Hiragana and Katakana alphabets in order to get our pronunciation right. Hiragana looks like this: ひらがな, and this is what the Katakana alphabet looks like:

Believe it or not, Katakana is the easiest out of the three types of alphabets to memorize. Kanji is the third, and it is nearly impossible to memorize all of the Kanji because there are somewhere between 50,000-80,000 different characters (the actual number is disputed) and they all look like this: 漢字峠榊働. Needless to say, the Kanji looks really hard to write and even harder to recognize one from the other. For now we are just going to stick with the Hiragana & Katakana. Once we get the Hiragana & Katakana alphabets memorized we will be ready to start speaking and reading Japanese.

Oh and here are some older pictures taken when we flew into Osaka from Tokyo (from Cameron's camera):

Mt. Fuji

Some aerial shots of Osaka.

I must admit, when we flew into Osaka I thought that the city looked kind of cluttered. It has that appearance at first because everyone hangs their clothes outside to dry because there are no clothes dryers here. But in reality, every street and ally is very clean and the buildings are nice. The streets are not necessarily in a grid pattern, so that's why it looks cluttered. But its not cluttered or dirty at all. Japan is a very clean, orderly place.

And some others taken at the Oregon airport:

One more thing, here is a link to another video I made from the pictures we took in Dotonbori:

Progress on our new school - new bike - Dotonbori

2009-06-18T04:58:00.000-07:00

June 18, 2009:

It's official. The sign is up!

We're ready to teach you English!

This is our classroom. A typical class size will only be about 3 students per hour.

This is my new bike:

My bike came with a front basket, back rack, built-in lock and a self-generating headlight. It's pretty clever how the headlight works - It has a tiny motor that is generated by the spinning of the front wheel. Very cool! Oh, and it only cost $108 plus it is registered with the police in case it ever gets stolen.

Chatting with my dad on Skype!

Dotonbori Slideshow:

YES!!! Finally I've fulfilled my dream of pigging out in Dotonbori. They have a saying here called "Kuidaore" which means "to bankrupt one's self with extravagant food" - and they weren't lying! We ate okonomiyaki, takoyaki, grilled crab legs, lots of beer (its legal to walk with an open container), and sushi on a conveyor belt. I became a fan of Dotonbori by watching Anthony Bordain on the Travel Channel. Here's a link to the video that made me want to come here: Osaka

Oh no! how did that okonomiyaki get on my head!

Ask Cameron, there are some NICE beamers in Japan

I made a friend. He spoke good Engrish.

Check out this drunk salary man stumble down the sidewalk. He then proceeded to urinate on a tree. Bug informed us that urinating in public is perfectly legal. Also, it is not uncommon to see people this drunk on a daily basis.

mas

2009-06-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

June 14, 2009:

Another field trip to the grocery store near our apartment.

Ok, now, this is hilarious! hear the music? It was on repeat throughout the entire store. Consequently, it was stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

Only $8.80 for that whole crab?!!! Too good to be true.

Kobe beef is very expensive here. This tiny piece will cost you $15.16!

Nice to know there are some familiar foods here!

On the way home from the store, we saw more cool stuff (were fascinated by everything):

Even the manholes are beautiful here.

Lunch! crab meat, seafood salad, edemame/bean salad & fried stuff.

I found it very strange that the garbage truck plays music like the ice cream man...

Later, we went exploring around our neighborhood some more.

This is the river that separates our apartment from Umeda.

That evening, we went to Bug's parent's house for dinner. First we did some exploring around that area.

As Bug calls it, "It's like Seaworld in a box"

This is a different ferris wheel, on top of an arcade building.

There are lots of stray cats in Japan, but they still get fed.

At last, our first encounter with nature in Japan!

BEAUTIFUL.

Later that night we went to Bug's parents house for a good ol' home cooked American dinner! my tummy really appreciated that.

Sam (Bug's mom) opened this bottle of champagne with gold flakes in it.

We caught the last train home and it was empty. we had a ball.