BABY GOT INTAWEBS!

So now that I am finally hooked up to the nets, I can present you with wonderful wonderful bits of life from the last month or so of my time in Japan. I'll be doing a chronological reverse, so you get the earliest first. Read it in order, peeps!


Training Blog

On Friday, we finally wrapped up nearly two weeks of training, and the night ended with a bang (this is very funny, but you won't realize why until later in the story).

I'll admit that many people in the house were getting a bit restless with living with 7 other people (originally 9 total) for so many days straight; it was clear the proximity was starting to weigh on everyone's minds. The first to go was a teacher, D, who had actually worked with the company before, and actually had been a trainer 3 years ago before moving back to Canada. However, he came back with his Japanese wife for another go at teaching--and while it was clear that he had a lot of patience, all of us had been surprised to find out about his former position with the company, since he didn't seem to have a strong command of what was going on. Earlier this week, he was working with another trainee on a lesson plan they had to present the next day, when he began acting funny. We have to use drill cards with phrases on them in the lesson, and one of the ones he had was "skip lunch"--so when his partner was practicing with the cards, apparently D became confused and began asking whether they really had to skip lunch that day. His partner said he then began to act really odd--for example, he asked him why he had left Japan, and D's reply was something like, "I have to protect her; I have to protect her. But Canada has many good qualities. We have a really good relationship with Russia." When they went to the supermarket to get lunch, his partner mentioned getting sushi, and D then asked if they were allowed to get it. After they bought it, he told his partner he was allergic to it (I don't think this is true though...I think it just came out). Finally, back at the training house, he ate one piece of sushi and decided to go lie down (but only after asking his partner for permission first). After that, we found out he wasn't feeling well, and was taken to a hospital. Apparently, they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, so they sent him home to his wife and told us he wouldn't be coming back to training, but that at least he was feeling better.

Part 2
If anyone has ever seen Superbad, let me preface by saying two of the boys on the trip experienced a true bromance very similar to the main characters of the movie when they met at training. B & U were rarely seen separated in the house, and could often be found mouthing jokes or throwing gestures at each other's direction if they were paired with other people during training. B was cute, though a bit dorky looking, but definitely tried to over compensate with his trendy apparel; U made dumb jokes but was generally a pretty nice guy. It often seemed that U was really nice to me, and B gave off the impression that he wasn't very happy about it, especially when I began to tease them about their bromosexuality. I clearly exaggerated it so that they would know I was joking--U did and would laugh, but B was a very grumpy guy and didn't take it well (and actually has the face of a grumpy old man).

On the last night of training, U decided to show of his reversible belt to B; unbuckling it and showing the versatility of it all while B admired it in wonder. I stared at them with a pretend look of disgust, and as they sat down, B looked at U (who was distracted by something else), then looked at me, and quickly looked away as he flipped me off. I nearly died laughing at his attempt at retaliation. But the real death by laughter was yet to come...

Boobs
(the first of the promised topics)

P.S. It didn't end all badly with B. We had a bonding moment in the train station at departure on Monday when we were approached by a short, stooped old man in a suit with slicked back hair that was white at the rots and black and the tips. The man kept pointing at us in our business suits, then giving us an "OK" sign. Then he started miming female curves before pointing at me and giving me the OK sign. We both were choking back laughter, and I told him in Japanese that I already had a boyfriend (I figured that if my lie would get him to stop the gestures, then it was worth it). He then pointed at both of us and gave the OK sign. Next, he pulled out some snacks, which we both rejected; but after his insistence, we each took one. He kept trying to give us more, but when we refused, he stuck the entire bag in B's bag. After that he said good-bye and we waved him off.