Quick trip to Tokyo

I knew everyone always talks about Tokyo and the craziness it can bring. But I never expected the type of crazy that I encountered.

Before going, I had made a list of things to do and a general itinerary for each day since I only had a few days to see everything. Once I arrived, those itineraries promptly went out the window. Our trip centered around 3 things that were on our "must do" lists: seeing the tuna auction at the Tsukiji Market, visiting the Studio Ghibli Museum and taking a teriyaki chicken cooking class.Getting up at 2:30 am the morning after I arrived in Tokyo was difficult to say the least. I had tried to go to sleep early, but I had one of those "I know I have to get up early and should to go to sleep right now, so naturally I'm wide awake" nights that you have in college before a huge test. But I got up and drug myself out the door to meet Lolly to get a taxi half way across the city. 15 minutes later, we were running around trying to find the ticket line. Several of our friends had gotten up and tried to get tickets but failed, so Lolly and I got up extra extra early to ensure tickets. We finally found the ticket room, at at 3 am, 70 of the 120 tickets had already been given away. But we could rejoice! We were in!

 At 3:15 am, the tickets (aka vests) are nearly gone!

After waiting another 2 and a half hours, our group was guided through the parking lot full of fork lifts whizzing around to the auction rooms. The auction lasted for a short 20 minutes, but it was quite interesting. These buyers took the business seriously. Walking around with notebooks, flashlights and ice picks, they carefully inspected each slice of tuna under their flashlights and poked around the tender meat before scribbling notes then going to inspect the matching fish, chipping a piece off of the tail with their ice pick for a taste test.

 

After watching the auctioneer quickly sell off the huge, and expensive fish (the first fish of the year sold for $35,000) Lolly and I decided to follow the crowds to enjoy a sushi breakfast. An hour later, we were sitting in a tiny sushi restaurant in front of a sushi chef that spoke a little of at least 4 languages. We ate the most divine tuna, along with many other delicious types of fish.

Overall, it was an early morning, but totally worth it. I highly suggest ignoring the Lonely Planet's and all the other official online suggestions of arriving by 4 am, our friends took that advice and they woke up so early for no reason. The day we arrived, tickets were gone by 3:35.Our second (well my first) priority was going to the Studio Ghibli Museum. A few months ago, Adrienne, Marcelle and I made plans to go to the exhibit in Seoul. Having never heard of Ghibli, I had to binge watch his movies, and I instantly fell in love. The stories hold a lot of troubled issues, but also great lessons in life, along with wonderful relationships between characters. The story lines, along with the breathtaking art, had me instantly hooked. So when I got a chance to go to the studio and be able to see original works, I couldn't pass it up. Getting tickets though the Korean travel agent was a pain, but totally worth it. We had a chance to see interesting ways of making their artwork come to life, a 20 original short that was adorably cute and the intricate work that goes into making the perfect shade of each and every detailed color. Our two hour time block was a perfect amount of time to get lost in the beauty of the stories, and was a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Another travel activity that has become quite a tradition in my trips is taking a cooking class. Lolly and I had found a lovely woman that offers several different cooking classes from her home. Originally, we wanted to take a sushi class, but they were fully booked, so instead we signed up for the teriyaki chicken course, which ended up being really fun and delicious. We learned to cook Japanese traditional soup, chicken, noodles and dessert. It was amazing, and I can't wait to cook it again!

 

A pleasant surprise activity added to our trip was a night at the Robot Restaurant. Lolly suggested we go after a recommendation from a friend. At first, I wasn't on board to pay a $70 entrance fee to a restaurant (where you then have to pay more money for food and drinks) but after a little research I realized the "entrance fee" was for the show. And it was totally worth it. The show was absolutely the WEIRDEST thing I've ever seen. From Japanese girls dressed in weird clothes drumming in wigs to a gorilla hanging from a machine butterfly blowing up a warlord riding a dragon, it was an hour and a half of insane, craziness. But a craziness that I would recommend to everyone visiting Tokyo.

 

Aside from my favorite memories from Tokyo, we had other great memories too. Visiting the SkyTree and enjoying the beautiful view of the city over a glass of champagne, watching the insane amount of people cross Shibuya Crossing from the window at Starbucks, eating delicious ramen and sushi, taking in the beauty of temples and enjoying great people-watching in the park.

I have to admit, Tokyo might be one of my favorite cities yet!

Life changes so quickly

It's been a while, I know. I wish I could say I've been too busy to update, but I can't. To be honest, I just haven't gotten around to it. It's been over a year since I last updated, and let me tell you, times have changed.

I think the biggest change in my life is that, as of a few months ago, my program pulled all high school teachers from schools (which is where I was) and moved us all to elementary. I was nervous, sad, angry, and just plain disappointed. I loved my high school. I loved my students. I loved my teachers. I loved it all. But I have to say, I'm not disappointed any longer. Yes, I still miss my old students. Yes, I still miss my old teachers, but I go visit from time to time. But I love my new school. And the little bouncy ball students that I teach are absolutely adorable. They are so energetic and full of life. I honestly can say I'm just as happy here.

Another change huge change in my life was the tiny addition to my family. My baby girl (who isn't such a baby anymore), Kiki. It all started one day when a co teacher and I decided to join the local animal shelter dog walk. The day before we were going, I mentioned that the visit to the cat shelter was before, so we could just meet everyone at the dog shelter after the cat visit was finished. But when she expressed interest in going to the cat shelter as well, I (reluctantly) agreed to go. But once I was there, I was in love. These cats were so fluffy and adorable. I instantly realized that getting a cat was the solution to my pet-withdraw problems. Usually, I'm a dog person. I've only ever had dogs (mostly because my dad and I are both allergic to cats), but I realized my life is to crazy for the responsibility that having a dog brings. So after doing some research on how to manage living with cats while having allergies, I decided I'd adopt.

The first step was asking my landlord if I was even allowed to have a pet. So my co teacher went off to ask, and came back with an answer I was not expecting. "He says 'yes' you can have a cat. And he has a kitty for you." Huh? What? He HAS a kitty for me? Wait, kitty? Kitty as in cat? Or kitty as in kitten? "Baby cat!" Uhhh. I don't know if I'm ready for that. I've never raised a cat before, much less a kitten. "Just come see and then you can decide." Wait, what? It's here? At school? So we set off down the hallway, abandoning my newspaper students in the classroom to do their own "self study". I should've known. Who can look at an abandoned kitten and not take it home? Well, not me. They take me outside to our soccer field and unlock the equipment room door. And there she was, down in the bottom of a trashcan meant to keep soccer balls and hockey sticks, was my scared and shaking baby girl, no food, no water, no blanket. Just this tiny kitten. So I instantly scooped her up, wrapped her in my scarf, and whisked her away.

Once I got back to my classroom, it hit me. Uh, what have I done? What am I supposed to do with this? I found a box, put her in with my scarf, then took a picture, quickly sending it to my friends. "Um, this just happened." Luckily, Adrienne's boyfriend (who is Korean) was in Daegu, so after school, we met and he took us to the vet then to the store for all the supplies.

7 months and one bout of ringworm later, I've got the best cuddle bug in the world. Yes, she's still a kitten at heart, but when she isn't trying to chew off my hand or toes, shes the best companion I could've asked for.

Other than acquiring a family member and moving to a different apartment and school, not much else has changed. Friends departed, which was extremely hard, but we still keep in touch. And other friends moved to the opposite end of the city, but we still hang out regularly.

I've traveled a ton, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Myanmar (aka Burma), Japan (twice) and around Korea (partially with my mom, who visited in October!). But I'll get around to posting about those places, I promise!