Pepsi Carnival / Pepushi Kaanibaru

The camp-est cola in town. PePuShi KaaNiBaRu. Good ol' Pepushi with the taste of tropical fruits. Could you ever see this bottle design catching on in the UK? I'm a fairly easy sell on new soft drink flavours but it really isn't bad (not as good as Pepsi Red though).

Regular readers may recall....

... the new year departure of a filling. Well... after the initial pain it didn't hurt so much and due to my strong dislike of dentists I kind of ignored it.... This decision has come back and bitten me (so to speak). The pain is now incredible, making one side of my face feel slightly numb and my whole head feel like a facehugger's spawn has taken temporary residence in my jaw and is looking to move on soon. I had previously posted that paracetomol was not available in Japan. The pain made me search a little harder and I discovered that acetomenophen is what it is called in the USA and it's sold under the brand name Tylenol. I found tylenol in my local pharmacy. Five quid for 20 300mg tablets!!!!! I bought them anyway. I have the number for a local english speaking dentist and I will be visiting him in the near future. AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGH!
Here are some pics from our recent trip to Takayama and Hida.....

The thatched roof of a Hida village house.

Hida village in the rain. A beautiful museum village. People don't live here but there are a number of traditional craft workshops.

The rickshaw guys were discussing latest footwear fashions.

Everything you need in one little shop. Beef, beer and icecream.

Why is this cheeky young chappy so happy?

...Because he is riding a huge fish. Wouldn't you be cheery if you had transportation like this?

It sounds like you've nicked our heat!

I was checking the BBC and I saw temps of up to 38 degrees in the UK!! What's going on?!
It's cooled down a little this week (20-28) but flooding has kicked in across the country, landslides and mass evacuations. Today or tomorrow I'll put up some of our Takayama/Hida pictures. We had a great weekend (despite the torrential rain).

Very quick post...

Just posting to say that the temperature hit 35 degrees C today... Whew! It's hot!

Another tough one

Ok... so it seems that having one less teacher means very long days.... We taught 22 lessons each on Monday and Tuesday. Yesterday I was in the office from 9:30am to 9:30pm. Luckily today is a little easier for me (working from 3:15 to 10) but Sarah has a normal 1-10 day. Next week should be a little easier without a couple of intensive students. I have taught a few TOEFL lessons this week and find them to be a bit of a minefield for potentially embarrasing language. I certainly don't want to teach a lesson involving Uranus again.
This weekend we are heading to Takayama and Hida Village. It should hopefully be a nice break!!

A tough week

This week has been tough and next week looks to be similar. One of the other teachers is moving to greener pastures and it will be interesting to see how the teaching schedules will change to take it into account. We have had a few intensive students recently (50 lessons a week!!) and it really does make the working day considerably busier. It has, however, changed my appreciation of my free time and sleep. Sunday is my only day completely free of lessons and will be wonderful!!!
Tristram Shandy was an unusual film. It really felt like an extended BBC2 comedy special rather than a movie. It was funny but not in a laugh-out-loud way. I would recommend it to Steve Coogan/Rob Brydon fans only.
Everything is Illuminated was a great film. I was expecting a quirky comedy but it is actually a fairly moving story about Ukranian Jews in WW2 and the effects still being felt by their families. So... I was really off the mark with the comedy genre. It has many humorous characters but it is definitely not a film to watch if you are feeling in need of some belly laughs...

Bonjour - A random blabbering today

Last night was a Berlitz summer party for staff and students.
We went to a French restaurant called Deuxieme. It was nice although French restaurants are not known for their veggie options... It was a little strange eating 'French' food with chopsticks! Afterwards we headed to an Australian bar where we witnessed the destruction of Englands world cup dreams and I spoke to a local Brazilian guy about repairing engines. I was completely in my element - football and cars ;)

This morning I tried a new Fanta flavour, Melon Cream Soda, and it wasn't bad. It doesn't beat Pepsi Red, my latest favourite non-alcoholic beverage. The combination of Pepsi and Cinammon works for me! I also purchased some shochu made with a herb called perilla giving it a nice taste and a crazy name, "Tantakatan". Our fruit liqueur hasn't gone mouldy yet and is already looking quite appetising..........

This week we watched Chronicles of Narnia (or Narunia as it is known in these parts) and it was a fairly bland but watchable film. We also watched Troy which was a bit pants but again passed the time. I think I should be a film reviewer... Tonight we will either watch Tristram Shandy or Everything is Illuminated. Keep visiting for my insightful and entertaining opinions on the world of cinema...