MILK+WATER Show, Sunday May 25th

MILK+WATER

What a show! Nicole and I went to Shibuya (one of Tokyo's hot spots) to see Milk+Water. The show was held in a tiny little club called 'Home'. There couldn't






have been more than 20 people total in the audience! But once Milk+Water hit the tiny stage, they totally made us feel like we were at a huge rock show. What charisma. Nicole took these photos of Kozo, the lead singer. When he sang, he fully opened his mouth and practically swallowed the mike. And look at his eyes; as he sang they bulged out, which made him look a little crazy but it was actually a pretty cool effect.
After the show, practically the whole club went to an izakaiya (Japanese pub) for drinks and food. Here you can see what Japanese rock stars eat. That's slimy seaweed in vinegar and ponzu (citrus soy sauce), served with a cucumber slice and grated fresh ginger. It goes great with beer! Then there's chicken stew- all types of chicken bits, simmered in stock with veggies. Yummy! Anyways, Nicole, Andrea, Koji and I had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, we had to leave kinda early so Nicole and I could catch the last train back to Chiba. It was a 'school-night', after all.

Miso Soup Video!

http://www.misskoco.com/2008/05/misoshiro-fried-tofu.html

Go to this link and watch the utube video at the bottom of Nicole`s post. It`s hilarious!

:)
Mia

Cooking Night!

Last Wednesday, my neighbor Nicole and I made dinner. She wants to learn a few Japanese recipes so I gladly volunteered. I love cooking! We made shiromiso stew: potatoes, chicken, tofu, carrots, green pepper, leek, and lots of mushrooms with white miso paste soup. Shiitake, shimeji ... mushrooms are so cheap here!



We also made a homemade version of agedashi tofu. It's fried tofu served with grated radish, fishflakes and seaweed in a soy marinade.

I woke up this morning with a fever, so it's no wonder I was feeling so exhausted all week!
I called my company and would you believe that they not only got a sub to cover my classes, but they also sent someone all the way to my apartment so I could go to the doctor?! What a great company. A man named Takeshi came at 3pm to escort me to the clinic. He was wearing a suit and came in a taxi (white-gloved chaffeur and all!). I got out of the taxi at the clinic, and the nurses got all excited, as if I were someone super important, ha ha! The doctor couldn't speak English, but we managed. They gave me something to put in hot water (it's a brownish powder that smells like ginger and cinnamon) ... it did bring my fever down. All free, thanks to national health care!

I just finished watching the news and there's a typhoon on the way, so lots of rain coming. Chiba is closest to the ocean, so we will get hit the hardest. Luckily, it will pass pretty far offshore, but it still is strange to turn on the news and see a typhoon warning! I hope I don't get too wet tomorrow morning on the way to work.

I am trying to get a few more photos for you to enjoy ...

how to comment

thanks for the comments!

if you want to comment, click on the green letters that are next to the number at the bottom of each post. the number shows the number of posts, so 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. Once you finish typing your post, then click on the orange button to post. the blue button takes you to a preview screen.

hope that helps!

love mia

leopalace

Okay, I'm still figuring out how to use the Japanese menu on this blog, so I'm going to just post all the photos of my apartment and then describe them.

My apartment is small! Yet, it's actually average sized for Tokyo, Japan. I have a small hallway that contains the kitchen area plus a washer (no dryer). There's a door that goes into the bathroom. I love Japanese baths! They are so deep and you can fill the water right up to the top because it's enclosed in a sealed room ... which means it can splash over! I love relaxing with the water up to my neck. If you look at the toilet, there is a panel on the side. If you push those buttons, a nozzle comes out and sprays your butt with warm water! Plus, the seat is heated! What do you think of that?

The bed is up top and I feel pretty nervous about climbing that ladder: I'm afraid that I'll fall off one morning when I'm all sleepy-eyed. I have to make sure I'm totally awake before I get out of bed ... :)

Can you see the Japanese letters on the TV next to my laptop? Japanese TV is full of writing. They have so many different characters that they write them on top of the picture or at the bottom of the screen. Too bad I can't read it! It's too difficult.

There's a smaller table on the other side of the main room. That's where I eat dinner. It's kind of lonely eating by myself, but sometimes I get phone calls from friends during dinner and then it's not too bad. I also have a really cool co-worker who lives next to me, so we plan on making dinner together once a week. Her name is Nicole; she's from Philadelphia, and went to NYU in NYC. She's great.

I have to say that I'm really happy with my little apartment. Enjoy the photos!
p.s. if you want to comment, then click on the writing that is underlined/highlighted at the bottom of this post.

meiji ... wow!

I started work on Thursday ... wow! My campus is absolutely beautiful. I work right in the heart of Tokyo, in Ochanomizu. On the left is the view from my classroom. As you can tell, there are buildings and skyscrapers in all directions for miles. That's right in the center of 12 million people ... including surrounding cities it's 35 million people!
The campus is quite new; the building that I work in is brand new. I work on the top floor of this building here, called Academy Commons. Everything is state of the art: I have all the latest audio-visual equipment in my classroom, so I'm looking forward to planning some exciting lessons. The students are very polite and kind. They are a bit shy, naturally, but eager to learn English. Since Meiji University is one of the top 6 universities in Japan, many of my students are planning on working at the top companies. They have ambition and drive, so I intend to fully challenge them! Then again, I try to challenge all of my students ... so I'll just keep doing what I enjoy best. :)

My apartment is in a building called 'Leopalace' (kind of funny) but it's a really nice place. My apartment is also brand new. The only complaint is that I have a long commute to work on the train every morning. It takes an hour because my apartment is in Chiba. However, most people in this area commute on the train, even students. Some students live two hours away from school! The commute is pretty crazy: the trains are full of people so I have to stand the whole time. Luckily, they have one train car that is for women only and I like riding on that one. My chances of getting a seat are better! Everyone is so quiet on the train, and most people fall asleep, myself included. The commute home is a little less crowded because a lot of people go out with their co-workers after work, so the crowds are staggered. I prefer getting home quickly because I'm trying to save money. Going out in Tokyo is super expensive!

I will post photos of my apartment in the next blog.

here goes ...

i never figured i would ever blog but here goes ...

so im spending the summer in japan, and i have a lot of people who i need to stay in contact with.
hopefully this blog will help me achieve that!

fyi: the blog menu is entirely in japanese, so im just starting out simple and will try to add more photos, etc. after i figure out how to read the menu options.

wish me luck! i hope you are doing well :)

love mia