i have money!

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yes, it was pay day yesterday so laura and i celebrated by going to a shopping mall in saga which i never even knew existed until recently! and it's only a 15 minute cycle from my apartment! i bought some really cool black ankle boots and a grey jumper dress but sadly we didn't have time to stop for starbucks as we were meeting up with some peeps for food and drinks. we'll definitely be making regular visits there now that we know where it is!

in the evening, we were to mura hatchi and had all you can eat and drink for about 8 pounds each! i met a few more lovely people who are teaching around saga, as well as some of their japanese friends who speak excellent english. sadly a few of our friends who worked for nova weren't there, as they had to return home because of everything that has happened with their company. i don't know how much of it has been on the news but the company has basically gone bankrupt and their employees haven't been paid for 2 months so they're really struggling to pay for their rent and food etc. some of them have been lucky and found new jobs elsewhere in japan but one guy is moving to taipei as he has heard there are lots of english jobs there. such a shame for them but i'm so relieved i didn't come to japan with that company!

it's been a busy week really... my hip hop class on monday was lots of fun, though i'm still pretty rubbish! i just wish i could look as cool as my teacher! i think i need to buy some bling to wear, as i look so boring in just my trackie bottoms and t-shirt!
on tuesday evening, saga's main high street came alive as they had the 'saga light fantasy' - they had decorated all the trees with beautiful coloured lights and had a parade with dancers and musicians etc. it's all in honour of the saga balloon festival which is quite an international event and is being held in saga this weekend! the lights also make it look really magical and christmassy, which is fab!

they really don't celebrate christmas here - new year is a much bigger event. but i did hear something funny the other day about how the japanese think that KFC is associated with christmas and that people even book a table there on christmas day so that they can get their fill of fried chicken! maybe they get confused because they dress the colonel statue outside all the restaurants like santa?! ah, which brings me on to another story... i was told that one year a shopping centre in tokyo wanted to put up a christmas display, but they obviously didn't think to read the background to the christmas story as horrified shoppers entered the store the next day to find a giant statue of santa nailed to a cross!

school has been fun this week - i've played a few halloween games with my classes, as it's a really huge event here! in a second grade class, i was laughing at one of the chapters in the textbook which talks about the way Americans greet each other with a compliment. The dialogue went like this:

Jim: Hi, Yuki!
Yuki: Hello, Jim.
Jim: Yuki, you look really great in that sweater.
Yuki: Oh, no... not really.

Yuki: Mike, can I ask a question?
Mike: Sure. What is it?
Yuki: Well, Jim always says nice things to me. Is he in love with me?
Mike: Oh, ... I don't know. Maybe he's just very polite.

Yuki: Do Americans always say nice things to each other?
Mike: Sometimes. It's a kind of greeting. Here, I'll give you an example. When you have a new bag, I can say "I like your bag."
Yuki: What should I say then?
Mike: You should say "Thanks."
Yuki: Should I say anything else?
Mike: No. Just "Thanks."

ever since then, my male JTE has made a point of complimenting me every time he sees me in the morning! he's always like 'ahh heidi sensei - your hair looks great today' 'i like the colour of your jumper' etc! I feel like I have to return the compliment though and I'm quickly running out of things to say!

I got a call from Mum and Dad the other day and they're having a fab time in Tokyo! it sounds amazing! and they made it to Tony Roma's restaurant so i'm very jealous!

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