i finally got in touch with austin, a guy i met at a starbucks in seoul who ended up being my sightseeing buddy for the day. he sent me some pics and you can see them here if you're interested:

http://mattholland.org/seoul/

Now that I'm registered on mixi, I can post in Japanese there and just loosely translate my posts over here. Here goes:

Last week was quite busy. My Canadian friend (Karen) who is teaching English in Korea, came to visit for a week. But I had school so I wasn't able to be a very good host.

On Friday the Okazaki summer matsuri (festival) took place, and I was allowed to help carry the Okazaki International Associations mikoshi (portable shrine). I, some other Yamasa students, and other OIA members carried the mikoshi down the parade route, wearing Happi coats, and yelling (wa shoi! wa shoi! <-no meaning, just a yell). But the mikoshi wasn't constructed very well and by the time we reached the most important part of the parade route, where we'd be judged, the mikoshi had all but fallen apart from all our violent shaking (you're supposed to shake the mikoshi up and down as you carry it). But, undeterred, we used our last remaining energy and enthusiasm, yelled OIA! a few times, and returned to the parking lot where we began.

I'm not used to that kind of exercise (the mikoshi took about 8 men to carry, and was still heavy enough that we took turns) so I was quite sore for the next several days. But, it was a memorable experience and totally worth it.

Next I'll post about the Okazaki Fireworks festival.


先週はとても忙しかったよ。一週間ぐらい、韓国で英語を教えているカナダ人の友達が遊びに来た。なのに、学校があったから、あまり案内出来なかった。

金曜日には岡崎夏祭りが行われた。僕は岡崎国際交流協会の御神輿を運ぶのを手伝わせてくれた。指でOK訪ねていた友達も私たちと歩いて行った。他のヤマサ学生とかOIAの一員と一緒に「ワショイ！ワショイ！」とかなって運んでた。だけど、その御神輿はあまり丈夫に作られなかったから、一番大事な所に付く前に御神輿の(decoration?)の部分が殆ど壊れちゃってきた。なのに、判断の所もう一度元気を出して「OIA!」とかなって駐車場に戻った。ビール

僕はあまり運動しないせいで其の次の三日ぐらいの間、腕が大変な痛みがあった。けど、本当にいい思いで作った。ぴかぴか（新しい）

i just got back from having a few beers at zig zag. zig zag is basically the student bar, but a few months ago the management was switched to a japanese guy named satoshi. since satoshi took over more and more japanese people are coming. also, he has great sense in music so the atmosphere has also improved. anyways, i like to go to the bar on weekdays, when there are hardly any students around. i order a beer and just talk about whatever with satoshi and whoever of his friends happen to be around. my japanese is still not very good, but i think it's pretty cool that we can chat and make eachother laugh without using english (i suppose that's more a testament to his patience). i'll definitely miss him and his coworker junko (pronounce that june-ko) when i come back.

here's a picture of my current class at yamasa.
front row:
ファンさん (韓国), スサンナ（スウェデン）、ドナ（フィリピン）、光る（台湾）、杉浦先生
back row:
ドン（アメリカ）、マシュー（イギリス）、me、ダニエル（カナダ）、コスタス（ギリシャ）

the rainy season (tsuyuu) has begun.

the loudest thunder i've ever heard (or at least since my childhood in phoenix) just boomed overhead. unfortunately my MD recorder has given up the ghost so i can't make any recordings.

it's been pouring for the past hour or so, and from what i understand, the weather will be pretty much like this for the next several weeks.

just as i sat down to write this post, a freaking cockroack ran across my desk. that is NOT OK. my roommate has been waging war with them (five killed so far) but this is the first time i've laid eyes on one. the fact that it was IN MY ROOM and not just under a cupboard in the bathroom or something totally freaks me out. i'm more of a wimp about bugs than i thought.

anyways, back to the actual post. i just got back from my weekly english lesson. once a week i meet up with a girl named hisako for an english lesson. it's totally freeform. she brings a diary written in half japanese and half english and i correct her grammar mistakes. the japanese half is really useful because i can see what she actually meant to write. then we just converse for 45 minutes or so. i fix her grammar on the way and take her on explanatory asides as necessary. i've come to really enjoy teaching her, and take comfort in that i could still do that for some sort of living if nothing else pans out. it's especially rewarding to me when i can switch to japanese to explain something that is beyond her level in english.

the second of three quarters is nearing a close, and during the break my sister and dad will be coming for a visit. i'm really looking forward to that. it's hard to gauge my progress objectiveley, but maybe i will feel more accomplished if i can guide my family around and handle all the language problems. i think i will try to convince them to check out kyoto, and maybe nara.

ok that's all for now. 以上です。

rest of pics here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattholland/sets/72157600314280369/

click on this link

i bought a few recipe books and will translate what i make and post here.
this one's from a bento lunch recipe book:

( キャベツたっぷり卵焼き弁当/plentiful cabbage fried egg lunch (or something like that) )