Sasebo+Shenanigans= My Weekend!

Friday I went to Kurume with Cory so that he could return a shirt and I ended up buying a cute off-white (for those of you Post-Labor Day fashion critics) linen dress that was on sale from about $140 to $30. As we were walking around the mall I got a call from the Navy folks from Sasebo that I met at Isla de Salsa. Cory and I were going to meet them in Sasebo on Saturday but they were going to be in Fukuoka Friday. So we went home, packed, and headed to Fukuoka. We met them at Sam and Dave. I guess it was hip hop night cuz that's all they played. All the Japanese folks there had on their "Urban Wear" and they were "dancing"...Strange but entertaining all the same. It's so interesting how even dance translates strangely and with a little difficulty...Even the Young Joc dance looks different when they do it...hahaha! At about 3 am Cory and I were hungry so we left, ate at a ramen stand, and came back. Fukuoka, the City that really never sleeps...Tiffany and Cory, the people who never sleep! We left Sam and Dave at about 4am and headed to the after after hours spot...Safari. It was like I had re-entered the U.S. there were way more foreigners (Americans) than Japanese people there. A Japanese guy was walking around lighting his cigarettes with a lighter that was as big as my hand (my new favorite standard of measurement) that shot up a torch or fire. Once he'd gotten people's attention, he started doing magic tricks with this little red ball of light that he made appear and disappear in different locations...It was really neat. And even though I'm now in good ol' safe Japan, I still checked for my wallet and all my jewelry the second he walked away! "Magicians" can rob you blind without you even knowing it and I was amazed, not stupid. At about 6ish (yes, AM), everyone was absolutely exhausted and Cory decided to go home instead of hanging out all weekend...So the Sasebo folks and I headed to McDonald's for breakfast and then to the bus station to go to Sasebo. 2 hours (and a serious nap) later, we were in Sasebo. I felt like we were in St. Thomas...Except everyone was Japanese! The main part of town is flat, right on the water, and surrounded by hills/mountains with houses and stuff situated on them. We caught a cab to the base and hopped in Desi's Porsche and went to her house. It's bad enough that Sasebo is 100 times better than my lil city...Desi's two-story palace was in a real subdivision!!! Everyone crashed when we got there...Wanna' talk about SLEEPY! I guess I got a couch b/c I was company...lol. We all got up at about 6 pm...lol...Everyone got dressed and we headed to the cookout that began at noon. hahaha! On the way, they took me to an observation park up on Mt. Yumihari so that I could see the "99 Islands" that are in the opening of The Last Samurai...They're shown in the clips of scenery at the beginning of the movie. On the way up I had a flashback to whipping around the curves of the back roads in St. Thomas with my Grandmom in her Expedition...Which made me smile to myself all the way up and back down. At the cookout we played one of the funnest games of Taboo!

Here's the Quote of the Weekend...

Player: "What is something that Black people don't do...White people do it...In the winter???"
Teammate: "Eat Mayonnaise!!!"

It was mixed company and EVERYONE was doubled over laughing! The guy said it with such conviction, like it was a proven fact that Black people don't eat mayonnaise. As everyone slowly started to recover and breath again, I thought to myself, "Hmmmm...I've only seen Miracle Whip in most folks fridges...It's true!!!" Guess what the word on the card was...SNOWBOARDING!!! Hahahaha! We left the cookout and headed to the Snack bar/Club on the base...I had Nachos! It was like being at a teen center...lol. I swear that overseas duty stations are parallel fashion universes where regional styles are amplified times a million! i.e. Black G-Unit tank top and black long shorts with G-Unit embroidered on both in silver thread....or Apple Bottom jeans with a glittery belt. Unfortunately a fight broke out so we left but we couldn't leave base for like 45 minutes. When we were finally able to go we went to Sailor Town (strip of bars) and The Ginza (shopping area with clubs) where are the Navy folks hang out. The trick to not being pestered about not being a drinker is to order an orange juice and people stop questioning you...lol. As we were leaving, we ran into one of Desi's friends who is a DOD teacher from Decatur...With natural hair. So of course we had a "Guuuuuuhrl" moment when we found out we were both from Georgia. It felt great to turn that "southern" on full blast again! Until Saturday night I hadn't realized how much I missed Black folks and bad grammar...Namely Black folks and bad grammar from the south! We got to Desi's about 3:30ish, crashed, and woke back up at 5:30ish because they all had duty...At the bus station there were hugs all around, I bought a hot can of cafe au lait from a vending machine and my ticket, and I was on my way back to my raggedly lil city to do laundry and my hair! It's strange that the major brand of coffee here is Georgia...So of course people ask me about Georgia coffee all the time then they crack up when I tell them that we don't ever grow coffee and there aren't any famous coffee companies there. There is some really amazing scenery on the highways here...I might be too distracted to drive...lol. So far so good on the commitment that I made to myself....To travel and enjoy this place as much as I can!

I call this piece Defeat!...As I waited for the trains...Early trains...Wrong trains...To get my keys!!!



Soooooo apparently I'm an idiot because I managed to leave my keys on the train from Fukuoka to my city. It took a whole 4hrs to track them down...Part of which was me on the wrong train...TWICE! When I got them back, I headed home to get on that hair and laundry that were both in dyer need of doing! So now I'm fine and fresh...lol There was a welcome party for us in the next town over...A bunch of weird old people...They were nice though. I was starving because I assumed there would be food...And not just finger sandwiches. Only two of us went...No wonder why the others who have been here for a year + decided not to go...lol. Today for lunch I had Black Curry. Looks a mess tastes amazing! There's seafood in it! YUMMY! By the way, these pictures were taken with my new super great 10.1 pixel digital camera!!! I love it! Now to figure out how to use it...I start teaching tomorrow so I don't know if I'm going to have Internet access in the office at the schools yet so if you don't see any new stuff till next Monday, don't cry! To keep you busy until then here are some more pictures...

This is a photo of a poster in the train station...Japanese hot springs...It's like a family reunion in the bathtub!

Another photo of a poster in the train station...Japanese sand bath...thanx to underground volcanic activity the sand is HOT!

These are no smoking ads in the trains...Too funny!

Please believe I'll be rocking the side ponytail with my collar popped as soon as my hair decides to grow...Until then, I'll just keep my collar up! Even grandma's rock their collars popped....Too much!

They have Godzilla and giant mutant AFLAC ducks here...They lay colorful eggs that are as big as balloons!



Displays and advertising is out of control here...From Gangsta' baby dinner parties to...I dunno what kinda mannequin that is!

I'm not even going to start on how fly the shoes (those are converses) and hats are round these parts!!!

GO TIFI, IT'S [almost] YA BIRTHDAY!