November in Nagasaki….

So it has been a little while since I wrote – no excuses really, just a little lazy with my updates. But November has been pretty good so far! The weather has been surprisingly warm – although it feels cool with the breeze off the water. But I have had to turn on my heater in the mornings when I first get out of bed…but considering its November, and most of you are probably already in your winter coats, I’m not complaining!

I’ve had a busy few weekends and my weekdays seem to be filling up with activities! Weekend before last I went up to Karatsu with Nicola to see the Kunchi festival. Every year they hold this harvest festival where they pull these huge 7 to 8 tonne floats through the streets of the city to the beat of the taiko drum and Japanese flute, while shouting “Enya” (no, not the singer….but I’ve yet to find out what it means!) It was really cool! And it was sooo hot that day as well! Nicola and I got a bit of a sunburn! In November! Shocking….

Anyways, after the festival, we drove up to Fukuoka to meet up with the gang to experience their lively nightlife….and lively it definitely was! We first went to dinner at an isakaya that was themed called The Lockup. It was like a haunted dungeon when you first walk in, then you travel downstairs where a woman in a PVC cop outfit greeted us. Since it was Ben’s birthday, he was handcuffed and we were escorted to our “cell”. Then the lights went out, loud music started playing, and people in masks would come up to the door and shake on the bars! Clearly, that was not my favourite part of the evening, and I avoided leaving the “cell” to go to the bathroom in case it happened again! But they had some themed food as well, so it was very entertaining!

Then we headed out to “Happy Cock”, a famous international bar in Fukuoka. 3000yen entry (about 30 dollars) and free drinks all night! Not a bad deal at all! It was pretty quiet at first, but it started to fill up after a while and I had my first Japanese “nightclub” experience. It’s much different than Canadian ones – guys just go there to dance! They are just off, dancing by themselves…..so entertaining! I don’t think that ever happens in Canada!

After Happy Cock, we went to Sam & Dave’s, another nightclub that stays open until 5am! It was very crowded, but still pretty fun. The nice thing about clubs here is that they have lockers! Sooo smart….bars back home should do that! Anyways – once again, it was a pretty late night, but we headed back to our hotel for a few hours of rest before checkout.

Saturday, Nicola and I left the boys and decided to find Costco and make our way home. It was nothing like my first visit – I restrained myself from excessive buying, but I got a few more essentials, so it was a successful trip! And most importantly I had Costco pizza!! Ooooh so good – pizza here is nothing like it is back home!

Monday and Tuesday was our Nagasaki Conference for all JETs in Nagasaki-ken. It was nice to finally get to see everyone and had a few useful workshops where we learned new teaching techniques and games. Monday night was clearly another night to party – we had an isakaya dinner yet again, drank a fair bit, then made our way to a bar in the area. The bar was okay – until we got invited to a party across the street. It was at a hair salon, and when we walked in, they just handed us beers! Word had spread, and soon the place was filled with JETs….most of them pretty intoxicated. Kind of a random place to have a party, but it was a fun time! Needless to say, Tuesday was not the best day for workshops all day for some people! I was doing okay though – didn’t feel the exhaustion until work on Wednesday!

Last weekend I took a weekend off from the partying! It was definitely needed! Had a shopping and get together with some of the other ALTs on Saturday and watched a movie at Nicola’s on Saturday night. Nice and relaxed! Except I caught a cold of some sort…which has not been very fun! But Sunday I had planned to go touring with my Japanese teacher…and I didn’t want to cancel on her. But it turned out to be really fun! She took me to China on the Park – an exhibition space and shop of the famous pottery made in the area. Then we drove up to Karatsu for lunch atop of Mt. Kagami. We then visited Karatsu Castle, which was pretty cool – my first experience inside a Japanese castle! Then it was off to see the Karatsu floats (which I had seen the week prior!) and Tatatori House – a huge Japanese home that is open to the public with a really pretty garden and neat detailing. I was feeling pretty miserable by the end of the day – but it was really nice to have a Japanese person show me around!

On a different note – last week I started Japanese dance lessons – or odori. My teachers are two women (a mother and a daughter) who have a studio in their home. The daughter speaks a little English, but mostly I just follow along! I am really enjoying it! They are private classes, so things are going by really fast. I’ve already learned my first dance “Yanagi no ame” (Rain of the willow) and have started my second dance “Harusame” (Spring rain) – which has proven to be really hard so far….its with a fan and I have to flip it! That’ll take some practice in the privacy of my home….

Anyways – that’s about it for now! I hope all is well with everyone! Take care!