I-tai!

Itai (pronounced ee-tye), means "ouch" in Japanese.

We had a soccer game yesterday and last night I started getting wicked ankle pains. When I was limping around the office this morning, the school nurse bandaged my ankle for me and then gave me a cookie.

School rocks.

Doofing Around at Elementary School

I did double duty last week at Elementary School. Man I those kids are so cute and such devils. They wipe me out every time, but every time I see them they get so amped and then they get me amped and I always end up giving 110% when I promised myself I would only give 70% so I wouldn't get so damn tired. Little Monkeys!

On Wednesday, I had the day off so I went to Elem. with Markane. It was fun riling them up into a frenzy while Markane was trying to maintain order. Check out the cheeks on chubs!

I dunno how the kids can eat this crap. It's the same every time - a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup (usually a comination of veg, seaweed, and tofu). And my favorite... "mystery plate!" Check out the fish-puree shaped into a ring things! Can you spot the grey "konyaku," which is undescribable in taste or texture. EWW!

"How not to pee all over your shoes." Uh, you know those are daisy-dukes, right dude?

See the tricky thing is with these kids, you think "aw, so cute, how nice..."

NOT SO!! They are wild Monkeys! As soon as you turn your back (or when they are eye level with your crotch) they will go crazy on you! Beware!

Case in point. Cute one second...

... demons the next.

Here's the King of the Chameleons... This guy in the middle is probably the cutest and most adorable kid in all of 2nd grade... and he will bash the shit out of your nuts and butt the second you drop your guard, all the while laughing like it's the most hilarious thing he's every seen in his whole life. Fucker!

My favorte class of 3rd graders. I think I threw out my back giving them all airplane rides after lunch. At one point they were piggybacking each other, and then jumping on for a piggyback ride unbeknownst to me... little shits.

Ah Fridays, they'll be the death of me yet.

India

India pictures from December... sorry it took so long...

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=elnpe2n.8tbw8r7&Uy=xesvyt&Ux=1

Enjoy! (let me know if you guys have any problems with the link...)

Another Installment of Ha-Chan

(click on the picture for a close up)

Hazuki, my 9th grader, wrote me another love letter. This is after she found out that I had a girlfriend.

My Favorite line... "My Eyes are Ranshi" -- I looked up "Ranshi" in my dictionary, it means "astigmatic."

What?!

HA! Ha-chan (her nickname) cracks me up. Her English is actually improving!

Sumo

Finally getting around to posting the pictures from the Sumo Tournament in Osaka in March. Big dudes, small seats, good times.

Sumo is an all day event in Japan. They start in the morning and go until the late afternoon/evening, with the undercard matches at the beginning of the day, leading up to the headliner as the final match. People make a total day of it and bring in box lunches, and big bottles of beer and sake. The funny thing is, the "box seats (which i deceptively got roped into buying - each box is supposed to hold four people)" are about 4 ft. x 4 ft. So picture these enormous dudes in wrestling and then all these Japanese people crammed into little tiny squares, getting totally shitfaced as the day goes on.

That's got good times written all over it.

At the beginning of each set of matches, the wrestlers come out and parade around the ring. These guys are the upper echelon wrestlers, big wrasslin' dudes wearing fancy aprons.

Each match begins with the wrestlers taking to their corners to get their minds in a zen-like state before the whoop ass commences. There's a lot of pomp and ceremony in sumo, which by far outlasts the actual match (usually only 10 seconds). Check out the chops on this guy!







Hey dude, you got some wicked camel-toe in your butt.







Asashoryu, the reigning champ. Face like an angel.

Kobe Beef at Misono

Yesterday, Nikki and I went to Kobe in search of good food and good shopping. We found both. Not only does Kobe have some really sweet (albeit overpriced) vintage clothing stores, they have the world famous Kobe Beef. Oh man this is the best steak I've ever had in my whole life.

We ate at this place called "Misono," which I HIGHLY recommend to anybody coming to visit Kansai. It's on the top (8th) floor in downtown Kobe, with a tremendous view of the city.

The place is the originator of "Teppanyaki" style cooking, where the chef stands at your table (actually a hot gridle... think Benihana's in America) and cooks your meal in front of you. No silly birthday songs or 'catch the shrimp' hijinks here though.

The cows for Kobe Beef are massaged and given sake and beer to drink. They want their cows happy and relaxed here in Japan, and boy you can really taste the difference (just think, those Harris Ranch cows are standing around in their own shit all day, and that's a damn good steak too!).

The steak just melts in your mouth, like butter (or really good sushi), and the chef even makes fresh garlic 'chips' by grilling slices while you eat. Lobster tail is served as an hors d'oeuvres, and then the rest of the lobster is made into miso soup. Unbelievable meal.

I've been lucky enough to have Kobe beef three times while in Japan, and Misono was by far the best. Highly recommended.