So this weekend began on Thursday...

Thursday
A Japanese friend of mine took me and one of my co-workers from the next city to a Salsa lesson...FUN FUN FUN!!! It's one thing to be Black in a salsa class with all Japanese people, but it's a completely different thing to be Black and already know how to salsa in a class with all Japanese people! Instant Stardom! After the class, the three of use headed to a Ramen restaurant and ran into two of the students from the class so we all ate together.

Friday
At my school, a former JET returned to visit. He is now the principal at an international school in Mongolia and before that he taught at an international school in Uganda. Sounded like the ideal job until I thought about the teaching part. Friday night was spent cleaning up and getting ready for all the fun I planned to have on Saturday/Sunday away from home.

Saturday
I took some documents that a friend of Justin's family gave me to the International Exchange Association in the next city to be translated. Then, I walked up and down the main street to look for some boots. The one pair that I liked there were only in small sizes...like a 6 1/2 or something. A man at the train station offered to be my boyfriend because he "loves Americans!" No Thanks! I ran into a couple Black men who work at the urban wear stores. I stopped to find out where one of them was from and he said, "New York City, but really London." So I asked where his New York or London accent was. He said, "I don't have an accent?" He's clearly African but I guess you can't force people to tell you the truth about themselves if they don't want to. So when I got to the second store, I just said hello to the guy outside and kept walking.

That evening, a group of us went to the Kirin Beer Farm for dinner and bottomless mugs of beer. So needless to say I enjoyed my bottomless glass of orange juice. In Japan, Rock Paper Scissors is the official national way of settling confusion among kids. Well apparently the same goes for adults. Two men did Rock Paper Scissors on the train to decide who got to sit. Complete strangers are so nice and diplomatic around here. At home it would have only taken a one round of "You sit. No you sit, I insist" before someone took the seat. I've even seen a seat remain empty here because the people wanted to be polite. I call that silly. I got to the Beer Farm super early (3pm) because the person I was meeting said get on the 14:45 train when her really meant the 4:35 train in a text he sent me. It was ok though because I was able to see what should have been called the dog fashion show (yes that dog is wearing a dress) and frolic in the sea of Cosmos (flowers) across the street. Stunning! I learned that day that I do indeed have super powers, namely the power to stop fleeing babies in their tracks. A little girl was running full speed ahead from her parents until she saw me. She stopped instantly and froze. By the time her parents caught up and realized what she was looking at I was laughing hysterically and so did they. Those of you who are familiar with Dave Chappelle's "James The N!@@^ Hatin' Dolphin" will be delighted to hear that I encountered "Chen the Black Folk Hatin' Dog"...A woman was trying to take a picture of herself and her dog with her camera phone so I offered to take the photo for her. When I went to reach for the phone Chen (her dog) started barking like a maniac! She clenched him in her arms and said "I'm sorry" over and over (in English). That dog barked long after I was out of site. CRAZY! By the time folks started coming, the sun was setting so they missed the flowers. We went inside at about 6 for dinner once everyone got there. I think I make people feel bad when they ask if I drink and I say no. Oh, well they'll get over it or just forget after the 4th beer anyway. The dinner was good. There was a set meal of cheese and crackers, sausage with sauerkraut and mustard, salad, ribs and fries, chicken, pizza, and seafood pasta in marinara sauce. Sounds like a really odd combination not that I'm typing it but everything was good.

That night a group of us headed to Fukuoka City. Well a group of them and me. They live in the northern part of the prefecture and I don't know any of them. So, on the train ride to the city, they talked to each other and I sat in a different section. They went to karaoke and I went to salsa. Salsa was great. I was introduced to everyone in the place including the owner, Sonia from El Salvador. I've been invited to dance with a team in January. So, we'll see. I'm wondering if dancing with a team with take the fun out of it. Two of the people from the Thursday class were there. A guy wanted me to "wait here, dance with my friend!" I saw his friend earlier...short stature, small frame, short hair cut, glasses, round face, striped oxford shirt, black slacks, casual shoes. But even when I say "friend" earlier, I wasn't 100% sure that friend was a man. Now, young men around here don't really look all that "masculine" in the Western sense. The perfectly styled, dyed, and tapered hair...tapered blazers...tapered pants...jewelry...floral prints...shaped eyebrows...quieter voices...maybe it's just me. So you can't really say until you've gotten a close look sometimes. One thing I can say though is that "friend" surely could lead like any male I had ever danced salsa with. However, as an owner of..."the girls"...I know how people with them look and I swear that "friend" had some!!! Talk about confusing, but whatever. After salsa, I headed to Cybac (Internet cafe) to take a nap in my cubicle in the lady's section.

Sunday
I continued my quest for boots. I searched three shopping districts in Fukuoka city and another two malls in Kurume only to find that the one pair I liked was...what? You guessed it, TOO SMALL! It's so strange that a lot of shoes here come in small, medium, and large. So when I asked for my number size (which happens to also be L-size I guess) the sales ladies responded, "We only have M-size and smaller." So no boots for me, not yet anyway. To take my mind off of my less than fruitful search for boots, I stopped for a little taste of home...Starbucks, Grande Soy Chai and cheesecake. I did get a new tall ironing board. It was a little pricey but I'm sick of going to bed with a backache after being slouched over the small, short one. On the train ride home, I got a text from one of my co-workers so we met at the ramen shop for dinner and we went grocery shopping afterwards.

So that was my fun filled loner weekend. Here's the photo of the weekend: You don't need to read Japanese to know what this one's about!