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Monday, May 17, 2004
youkosou!
The welcome party with Ikuno was really really fun. I genuinely had such a great time. We went to this restaurant called Chanto in the Namba/Dotonbori area. I don`t know what it is about me and Japanese people... like i can function better around them. Maybe it`s because i think they don`t expect so much from me. dunno. anyways I have discovered a favourite drink: kashisu grapefruit/orange juice. I could drink buckets of these… so good! It`s pretty sweet (still tastes like the base fruit juice) and is the same colour as a cosmopolitan. What more do I need in a drink?! There were about 11 people there, including Nishino, my fellow Taisho-ku resident Kizu, Nakagawa, Fukuda, Mami, Beku(HAMU!), Tsujigami and the VP, CHAKU!!! (scream & faint heehee). On the first day that I met Kyoto sensei and Nishino at the principal`s meeting, they revealed that their respective nicknames were Chaku (“like Chuck Berry!”) and Nino. I haven`t called Nishino anything other than Nishino, even though he`s said “call me Nino.” I dunno, Nino sounds too familiar? Almost inappropriate? Anyways, the food was soo good, and apparently one of Kizu`s friends is the chef there. The décor was nice… plain black walls, wooden tables and benches, with red accents and low lighting. Man, everyone should be so lucky to work at a school like Ikuno. The students are so unique and sweet, and the teachers rock! Figuratively and literally. Nishino is a guitarist, Fukuda sings with a few bands (everything from punk to rnb), Kizu is learning the sax, and another, Ishii plays the drums. When pressed to reveal what my contribution would be to a possible Ikuno band, I stated firmly that I would be their number one fan, ONLY. No musical input from me is allowed =)
It was really awesome to see how well the teachers got along. For example, Kizu by way of my trusty dictionary, told me that Nishino was in fact a playboy (“affair affair!!”) and a bully (ijimeru)… to which Fukuda and Mami exclaimed “atarashi nishino sensei miru!” ahahah….! Of course nishino protested vehemently, reminding me of his love story and that he has NEVER (will ever) cheated. He then proceeded to blab that Kizu had a secret bf amongst the staff at Ikuno! Oh the drama! Afterwards, the nijikai was at Big Karaoke, and Nishino and Fukuda can SING. She sang this one song in English, which was about a lonely seventeen year old girl… it was darn catchy. She has a really cool voice, a bit on the husky side, so is perfect for the kinds of songs she wants to sing. I ran into her in the washroom, and before ducking into a stall, she revealed her “big secret” which accounts for why her voice is husky: she is in fact a heavy smoker, which was weird because I have never seen her smoke, not even during dinner. Chaku can also sing, and kept on pestering me to pick out Beatles songs for HIM to sing =) He did pretty well with 8 Days a Week and Michelle. I was actually pretty surprised at how many Japanese “classics” I knew. So maybe all of those torturous nights of watching enka shows with mom and ots paid off eh? I found out Mami and I have similar taste in music, more specifically in one singer… Mr Naotaro Moriyama!! Wooohooooooooo! And the best part is, Mami is going to try to get tix to his concert on JULY 24 IN OSAKA!!!!!!!!!! SAIKOU!!!!!!!!!!! Eeeeeheeehe!! Imagine! Moriyama Live in Concert!
The welcome party with Ikuno was really really fun. I genuinely had such a great time. We went to this restaurant called Chanto in the Namba/Dotonbori area. I don`t know what it is about me and Japanese people... like i can function better around them. Maybe it`s because i think they don`t expect so much from me. dunno. anyways I have discovered a favourite drink: kashisu grapefruit/orange juice. I could drink buckets of these… so good! It`s pretty sweet (still tastes like the base fruit juice) and is the same colour as a cosmopolitan. What more do I need in a drink?! There were about 11 people there, including Nishino, my fellow Taisho-ku resident Kizu, Nakagawa, Fukuda, Mami, Beku(HAMU!), Tsujigami and the VP, CHAKU!!! (scream & faint heehee). On the first day that I met Kyoto sensei and Nishino at the principal`s meeting, they revealed that their respective nicknames were Chaku (“like Chuck Berry!”) and Nino. I haven`t called Nishino anything other than Nishino, even though he`s said “call me Nino.” I dunno, Nino sounds too familiar? Almost inappropriate? Anyways, the food was soo good, and apparently one of Kizu`s friends is the chef there. The décor was nice… plain black walls, wooden tables and benches, with red accents and low lighting. Man, everyone should be so lucky to work at a school like Ikuno. The students are so unique and sweet, and the teachers rock! Figuratively and literally. Nishino is a guitarist, Fukuda sings with a few bands (everything from punk to rnb), Kizu is learning the sax, and another, Ishii plays the drums. When pressed to reveal what my contribution would be to a possible Ikuno band, I stated firmly that I would be their number one fan, ONLY. No musical input from me is allowed =)
It was really awesome to see how well the teachers got along. For example, Kizu by way of my trusty dictionary, told me that Nishino was in fact a playboy (“affair affair!!”) and a bully (ijimeru)… to which Fukuda and Mami exclaimed “atarashi nishino sensei miru!” ahahah….! Of course nishino protested vehemently, reminding me of his love story and that he has NEVER (will ever) cheated. He then proceeded to blab that Kizu had a secret bf amongst the staff at Ikuno! Oh the drama! Afterwards, the nijikai was at Big Karaoke, and Nishino and Fukuda can SING. She sang this one song in English, which was about a lonely seventeen year old girl… it was darn catchy. She has a really cool voice, a bit on the husky side, so is perfect for the kinds of songs she wants to sing. I ran into her in the washroom, and before ducking into a stall, she revealed her “big secret” which accounts for why her voice is husky: she is in fact a heavy smoker, which was weird because I have never seen her smoke, not even during dinner. Chaku can also sing, and kept on pestering me to pick out Beatles songs for HIM to sing =) He did pretty well with 8 Days a Week and Michelle. I was actually pretty surprised at how many Japanese “classics” I knew. So maybe all of those torturous nights of watching enka shows with mom and ots paid off eh? I found out Mami and I have similar taste in music, more specifically in one singer… Mr Naotaro Moriyama!! Wooohooooooooo! And the best part is, Mami is going to try to get tix to his concert on JULY 24 IN OSAKA!!!!!!!!!! SAIKOU!!!!!!!!!!! Eeeeeheeehe!! Imagine! Moriyama Live in Concert!
// posted by naomi @ 8:26 p.m. 
