The Slack is Back
Today was finally warm and dry enough to set up a slackline in the park near my house. For the inquisitive, a slackline is a length of webbing strung between two trees on which you can walk, like the tightrope in a circus. Slacklining usually draws a crowd of onlookers back home, so you can imagine some weird foreign guy slacklining in the park would be a pretty big event in the sleepy neighborhood of Tai. I invited Amanda, an exchange student from Canada, and some of my neighbors. Everyone gave it a try and luckily no one fell on their face! (Takuro came close).
Before the afternoon's slacking, my family took me to a famous Ramen and Soba restaurant in Okayama called Ichigen. It was not our original destination, which was another famous Ramen shop about halfway between Tamano and Okayama, but when we arrived we found the Ramen shop reduced to rubble. No kidding, you could actually see the bricks and iron rebar from the demolished building. After recovering from laughter over the obvious closure of the restaurant we decided on the alternate dining location.
After lunch I taught English at a Juku to some junior high students who are taking the high school entrance exam next week. The high school entrance exam is big business because getting into a decent Japanese high school usually means getting into a good college. This obviously increases pressure on kids, but results in a better planned educational process than in other parts of the world. Regardless, I had fun teaching English.
Yesterday was Tomoya's "Farewell Concert" at Uno Junior High School. He played the contrabass in a piece entitled "Romanian Folk Song" and the electric bass for a "Disney Super Mix." Surprisingly, school bands sound the same all over the world. I don't know what I was expecting. There was an accordion selection of "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" which rocked as hard as an accordion can rock.
Tomorrow I am going to city hall for an interview. They specifically told me to "come alone." I hope this isn't another one of the Mayor's crazy traps!
Before the afternoon's slacking, my family took me to a famous Ramen and Soba restaurant in Okayama called Ichigen. It was not our original destination, which was another famous Ramen shop about halfway between Tamano and Okayama, but when we arrived we found the Ramen shop reduced to rubble. No kidding, you could actually see the bricks and iron rebar from the demolished building. After recovering from laughter over the obvious closure of the restaurant we decided on the alternate dining location.
After lunch I taught English at a Juku to some junior high students who are taking the high school entrance exam next week. The high school entrance exam is big business because getting into a decent Japanese high school usually means getting into a good college. This obviously increases pressure on kids, but results in a better planned educational process than in other parts of the world. Regardless, I had fun teaching English.
Yesterday was Tomoya's "Farewell Concert" at Uno Junior High School. He played the contrabass in a piece entitled "Romanian Folk Song" and the electric bass for a "Disney Super Mix." Surprisingly, school bands sound the same all over the world. I don't know what I was expecting. There was an accordion selection of "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" which rocked as hard as an accordion can rock.
Tomorrow I am going to city hall for an interview. They specifically told me to "come alone." I hope this isn't another one of the Mayor's crazy traps!
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