The Evening

On Friday, April 21st, the University held its formal event called the Evening. Faculty, staff and students went to the Museum of Flight dressed in their best clothes, masks were optional. Here, Bob is showing off his mask at dinner.

Chantanees

Before heading to the Evening, a group of us headed to Chantanees in Bellevue. Excellent Thai food!

My TESL Students

Alisha and Taly are students in my TESL classes, and they convinced me to attend the Evening event. Of course they are young and gorgeous, so the evening was much kinder to them.

I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese...

The Heugels pose with Ken, a student from Okinawa.

Tim and his Girlfriend (Mikael?)

Teenage Mutant Ninja George

Museum of Flight

The Evening event was held at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Savoring the last bits of brain cells I have left...

There are only 2 more weeks of school left!!! The end is in sight, but before I can get there, I have to read student papers. While I enjoy reading a good paper, a bad one will suck the life out of you. A friend used to say that a bad paper can suck the intelligence right out of your brain. He's so right. So before I get to grading, I will sit and relish what little cells I have left...all three of them. I used the other two for the dissertation.

Cell Phone Accessories

I am every marketer's dream. I am the reason why the impulse section at a grocery store exists. I contemplate not if I should buy chapstick, but how many chapsticks I'll need. I am a consumer...and I love buying. One of my favorite things to buy are accessories. You can only imagine how giddy I was when I saw all the cell phone accessories in Japan. Pictured here and below are two of the accessories I bought. One is a kewpie doll in Okinawan attire. The Okinawans are my people...I'm full blooded Uchinanchu. The second trinket is Shinjuku Kitty. Hello Kitty in a black top, mini skirt, black high heel boots, and a Louis Vuitton purse. I had to have it!!

Aren't they cute?

Kitty and Kewpie

Home Again

Well, the Heugels and I departed Tokyo on Sunday, 4/2 and arrived back in Seattle on 4/2. I had so much fun. Catching up with Callie, Phil, and Christina was so cool. They have this life in Japan which they have established for themselves. Callie and Phil will be returning in July, but Christina has re-upped for another year. Regardless of when they come home, they should be proud of what they have accomplished. Enough of my maternal monologue.

Even though I had a ball in Tokyo, I really was glad to come home and sleep in my own bed. Nothing like home. Unpacking suitcases was a little overwhelming...I bought so much stuff. However, there's one souvenir I brought home which I did not pay for. I caught a cold. Yes, I'm sick. My ears are plugged, and I'm congested (sinus and chest). Arghh. Well, if everything goes the way it usually does, I'll finally be rid of my cough at the beginning of June. Oh well, a small price to pay for one of the best vacations I've ever had.

Shabu-Zen

Friday night the gang enjoyed a rather decadent meal - Kobe beef shabu-shabu. Shabu Shabu is a Japanese style fondue where you cook beef and vegetables in a boiling broth. After the food is cooked, you take it out of the pot and dip it into a soy-citrus sauce or a sesame sauce. It was amazing. We decided to take some pictures BEFORE we started eating, or there wouldn't be any pics. Jim and Cherie pose here for a picture, but notice the steam rising from one of the fondue pots.

Callie & Phil

Moooooooooo!

Our Shabu-Shabu dinner was an all you can eat affair. Here's a tray (one of many) of Kobe beef. Kobe beef is famous...and now we know why. It is marbled and delicate. It was like eating buttered beef. I'm sure the wait staff was concerned they would run out of beef, but there was a point when we all realized that we couldn't eat a whole cow.

A Night of Singing...

...and singing...

...and singing.

Marybeth in the House

I got to see Marybeth today in Shibuya! MB and I met in Shibuya and dropped in to Starbucks for a frappucino. MB and I go back to SIT days where we both studied for our MAs. Since then, MB has had 3 kids, bought a home in Yokohama, and teaches part time at a women's university. Takao, her husband, works at a women's university in Yokohama. Next time I come to Tokyo, I'll be staying with her. They have a 5 room house - huge by Japanese standards (modest by US standards).

Mini Reunion

We had a very pleasant surprise tonight when Fusae and Kengo dropped by the hotel. Fusae and Kengo graduated in 2002 and since then have moved back to Japan. Fusae lives near Tokyo Bay and works at GEOS. Kengo lives in Tokyo for part of the year and then moves to the mountains for seasonal work. We had a great time catching up and learning about their lives.

Jim & Fusae

Here's a shot of teacher and student.