July 29-August 2: Working...due to some very bad miscommunications, it was NOT a good week. Barry and Matthew and I went to the park to set off fireworks Thursday night, which was fun. I did have a few good things happen though:
1) I met a little kid named Ryouya, which was the first class I ever taught on my own. He is the sweetest little kid. I didn't think I'd like teaching kids, but they're really fun and I'm finding I like it a lot.
2) On my last day of training, the manager said one of the boys I was teaching (about 9 years old) came to her and said, "Did you see our new teacher? She's so beautiful!" Getting compliments from kids is a real treat because you learn quickly that kids are brutally honest.
3) I went and bought myself a new Final Fantasy CD. It's called "Potion" and it's a mix of a whole bunch of CDs, softer stuff. Good for relaxing and writing. I highly recommend this one.
August 3: Now this was fun! Matthew and some of his friends and I went to Nagoya port to go to the aquarium. We went to lunch at a dessert place overlooking the harbor. There were a bunch of antique ships there. Afterwards, we went to the aqaurium. I got to see whales, dolphins, and a bunch of fish I don't know the names of. I also got to see box jellyfish which I had never seen before. We went to the dolphin show, and then went souvenir hunting in the gift shops. On the way to the train, Matthew mentioned he had thought about going to fireworks but it was probably too late. Our friends replied, "Fireworks? Ok, we'll go!" We switched trains and headed out to the river. When we got there, we walked to the festival grounds, where there were tons of booths for food and such. It was very crowded. We sat on what appeared to be the remains of an old road, had snacks, and watched the fireworks. They are incredible! The opening of the show would have been the grand finale in America. They had fireworks in all shapes and sizes, including butterflies and flowers. The butterflies were blue and pink wiht yellow antennae...amazing. They filled the sky, all colors, and reflected off the river. Absolutely amazing. They have fireworks all over Japan in the summer; I've heard it called the Symphony of Fire.
August 4: I met Tomokazu for the first time today. We went to lunch and then to Nagoya to the observation towers over Nagoya station. We wandered around and looked at the city, then sat and had tea. There was a theater exhibition going on in the towers, with costumes from all the major Broadway shows, which was fun to see. Tomokazu is a very sweet guy. We had a good time.
