Day 142,143 and 144: Another job!? And Party!

Friday 26th of June
Yooo! Getting pretty tired of writing my blog xD It takes such a long time, and doing the blog while on vacation vs daily life is very different! But I'm going to stick with it till I'm done with my exchange program~ 

So today I actually had to skip Social change in Japan-class because I had to go to Shibuya to replace my lost keycard. Shen was soooo kind to follow me all the way and helping me with the Japanese. I don't know how I would survive alone! So many meetings and paperwork-stuff! Blaa! But it went pretty smooth and while I was in Shibuya I thought I would surprise Jimmy by coming over ^_^ I don't have internet on my phone so I just had to hope he was home. Luckly he was (lol, where else would he be!? haha!), and we went out to eat dinner :) I didn't stay over because I work 08:00-15:00 tomorrow, so I had to get back home. 

As you might know, I have my "ordinary" job at the cram school (picture of my "classroom")

but recently I teach English privately (for now, only for onestudent), but I'm actually going to a "trial lesson" at a new school. There I'll teach English to students (if they like me as a teacher there). So my trial lesson is on tuesday 30th of June and I'll teach English to 3 year olds. How cute is that? Awwww <3 And the best part is...The pay is 3000 yen per hour (190 kroner per time). That is 3 times as much as at the cram school I work at now. So I'm really hoping to get many hours at the new place. And of course they pay for transportation (it's 1 hour, 15 min by train). For the trial lesson they'll pay me right away, and if I stay there it's pay the last day of the month every month. So let's hope I'll get a lot of work! :D 

Saturday 27th of June
Wooooork. Today I really didn't bother with Japanese xD I just spoke English. I mean, they're taking an English-test so.. One of my co-workers were so sick, but he still came to work...Poor guy... 
Ramen lunch picture:

But everything went smooth~ But of course they just expected me to work for all the TOEFL-tests, even though I never said anything about that... So annoying... After a long shift I went to Steffi ^_^ Steffi is my friend from my former Share House in Omori. I still remember the code to get in, haha! I was there around 16:00 and later we, together with 4-5 other, were going to go out to drink. But that was not until 21:00, so Steffi and I went singing karaoke for 2,5 hours! So much fun! So then suddenly, EVERYONE ditched the plans to go out. Even the douchbag that made Steffi make a reservation suddenly went "I don't have money, so I'm not going"... Then the other douchbags were like "oh, is it not going to be a big thing, then I'm not going". Such backstabbers, only thinking about themselves. So Steffi and I were all, fuck you all, and went drinking just the two of us! And we had an AWESOME time :D We were at the restaurant for about 3 hours before relaxing at the park nearby. Then we went back to the house and drank some more with some of the others. I think maybe we went to bed around 02:30 or something xD But before that I managed to hurt my arm on the sofa >_< I was kind of picking on one of the guys sleeping at the sofa and he kind of almost kicked me over the sofa and I hurt my arm...YEah...Haha! 

Sunday 28th of June
I work about around 10:00, ate breakfast, drank water and was ready to go. I went to Jimmy's place and bought flowers on the way because I'm a sweet girlfriend xD

After doing some Japanese we went out to eat:

Then we went to Ikebukuro to buy me a data-sim so I can have internet on my phone, and buy a prepaid card for my Japanese phone so I can make phone calls! The we went back, and while Jimmy was Skyping with his dad I fell asleep on the bed xD Then I had to get back home at 20:00 because I need to go to the police to tell them I found my bike. So Kazuki went with me, and once again I had to fill in my adress twice... So much kanji! So much paperwork...WHY!? Why the fuck do I need to fill out shit just to tell them I found my own bike!? Instead of signing with my signature, I used my fingerprint to sign. And my fingerprint went like 6 different places...Wow...But yeah, 30 minutes later, it was done! Then I had to do some random shit at home before I finally can go to bed...

Day 140 and 141: Kanji homework and my first private English tutoring!

Hello!

Wednesday 24th of June

EXAMS ARE COMING SOON! All my exams are next month, so it's about time I get serious about it. I have already begun on my group presentation in the Global Mindset-class. We're four in the group, me being the only non-japanese. We're doing a presentation about tourism in Norway and Japan, so I'm excited how it's going to turn out. Hopefully good, because I want a good grade, lol! We met today during lunch and it seems like it's going the right way.

For work, I actually had a lot of fun! During the last part, me and two of my students slipped over from English to teach me kanji. They we're so enthusiastic they used their whole body to explain me, of course all in Japanese. Then I had to guess as to what it meant, and when I got it right they had such a good time. We talked about kanji and they both agreed that kanji are "a pain in the ass" (めんどくさい). They found it funny that I couldn't read any of the kanji that was on the exercisepapers. Because when kids can do something adults can't, no matter what, it's funny to them. But of course they understood that it's difficult for me, being non-Japanese. They concluded that I needed kanji-homework! So we switched roles, them being the teacher and me being the student. We had so much fun! So they eagerly wrote down homework for me and stated that it indeed had to be done within next wednesday. I'm looking forward to do my homework and give it back to them. I wonder if they'll remember...

After work I went to Jimmy. And today Jimmy made me dinner :D

It was delish fried veggies, mushrooms, chicken and rice! Thanx, honey <3

Thursday 25th of June 

I was supposed to do alot of Japanese studies, but I ended up napping for x amount of hours xD

Jimmy napped first, after eating breakfast together and watching Supernatural. I did Japanese in the meantime, then somehow we switched and I took a nap while Jimmy did Japanese. Then we went out to eat lunch. So much napping! It's like a drug! Hahah.

Later I had to get ready to go to Shibuya! Because it's my first time giving private English tutoring :D I joined an English teaching-site and by now I have been contacted by two people. So Today I had my first tutoring which went very well! My "student" was an adult, wanting to maintain his English after coming back to Japan (after living in America for many years). We scheduled one hour with the price of 3000 yen per hour (190 kroner/time). He was happy with me as his English tutor so we're going to schedule our next meeting! Generally we talked about hobbies, different cultures and countries, traveling, food etc. In Japan it's easy to find a spot to talk, because it's just finding the closest cafe. Cafes in Japan is being used for most things; sleeping, homework or jog related work, chatting, and meetings.

Day 138 and 139: Mad Max and Japanese yukata

Monday 22th of June

Ok, I'm going to tell you a little about my experience with the English-logic at my job. I work at a cram school, which is a "school after school"-system. And there are different subjects being taught. I'm, as you properly know, work with English. And today my boss came to talk while I was preparing for class. He said that one of the students didn't understand the "chant along"-part in his textbook. It's a little melody where you sing along English sentences. And this was apparently so difficult that he had cried over it. My boss showed me in the book, and I was thinking about different solutions to solve the problem. My first thought was to go through the words together, and slowly build up the the meaning of the sentence. While I was thinking, my boss took out a new book for me to give the student. I got a little confused, and asked if the student was to SKIP the parts he didn't understand, and that was exactly what he was thinking. So...If something is difficult, we just skip it!?

Japan got this "perfectionism" going on, where it's more important for a child to get a perfect score than to understand what he/she is doing. It's such a shame because I have the resources to help the students. But that is apperantly not how it's done at my workplace. So the student got a new book and all worries were left behind. 

Tuesday 23rd of June

Jimmys got 2 weeks of from Uni! It's always nice to have a little vacation ;)  After my Global Mindset class I bought tickets for the Mad Max movie at 15:30. Jimmy has never been to a Japanese cinema so, since I'm a pro at this, I'm taking him~ Then I rode my bike home and soon after Jimmy took the train to my place ^_^ We hang out a little before heading to Minamiosawa to eat lunch 

We had some time before the movie started to we went to the mall nearby. They sell yukata

A yukata (浴衣^?) is a Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono usually made of cotton or synthetic fabric, and unlined. Yukata are worn by men and women.

and I found one that I really liked so I bought it! Pretty random, but it's something I have wanted for a long time. Now I just need an occasion to use it, hehe. This is my first time trying to wear it, so be kind! I think I'll have to ask someone with experience when I'm wearing it outside. Don't want to make any "gaijin"-mistakes :P 

Either way, back to the cinema! There were only 5-6 people in the entire hall so it was very nice. The movie Mad Max it self was weird because of the storyline. But the action and style was cool! 

 After the movie we hung out at my place and didn't really do anything special xD Our favourite hobby is to snuggle and nap, true story! 

Day 135,136 and 137: 4 months anniversary with Jimmy

Friday 19th of June

Todays breakfast~Yummy~

 I brought my workout clothes to Uni, hoping to be able to jog in while I don't have classes, but it rained too much :( So I ended up being inside and chatting with the others which was very nice ^_^
We quit a little earlier than usual, so I went straight to Shinjuku to meet Jimmy <3 

We went to the mall at Shinjuku station to eat dinner:

Then we went to Jimmys place. We went to bed pretty early! Around 21:00, haha! Sometimes you're just sleepy ^_^

Saturday 20th of June
Today Jimmy and I celebrated our 4 months anniversary ^_^
But let's do this the chronological way, shall we?

So, for some reason Jimmy and I woke up a little after 07:00... I think it may be because we went to  bed 21:00 yesterday! Either way, the day was veeeery long! :D We ate breakfast, then I went jogging while Jimmy was playing on the PC. I somehow got lost a 5-6 times, but managed to get back after 1,5 hours~ It's not recommended for someone without a sense of direction to go jogging random places.. 

After taking a shower and playing around Tumblr etc, I went to Ikebukuro to shop a little bit while Jimmy did some work.  As it was lunch time (or laaaate lunch) I had some delish sandwhich

I found this light blue dress that I saw on the mannequin. Everyone that entered the store was "awwww"-ing over the dress, but there was only one dress left (in blue) in the size Small. So I grabbed it and now it's mine! This is a picture from my Instragram from when I tried it on:

When I went back it was time to get ready for our dinner date! So the restaurant is in Ebisu, only a few stations away from Itabashi. 

On the way to the restaurant we saw a hawk! WHY!?

 IT'S AWESOME!!!

For some reason TradgardDaikanyama is the address...Why it's half Swedish, we don't know. But it's COOL!

 Ready for Cedros! Not really, because we were 20 minutes too early for our reservation... So we went for a stroll in the neighboorhood.

 When the clock was 18:00 we went to Cedros. The staff spoke english! We didn't expect that, but it was very nice. When we came we were the only guests. We thought it was a little weird, but an hour later it was full!

 This was my starter (even though it was a side dish), it's oven roasted vegetables:

 Jimmy had todays starter special (not on the menu), which was a filled mushroom. Both starters were very good! 

 Then it was time for the main dish~ Jimmy had the swordfish and I had the lobster risotto. Both was incredible good! The texture of the swordfish was very interesting, it almost felt like a piece of meat!

 So creamy!

 And of course, the dessert! The cheesecake was small, and I though "I need at least 3 of these!" But one was more than enough! It was so rich, silky and smooth. So good! 

 When we left, we left a fully booked restaurant. There were actually many foreigners there! The whole resturant had a Scandinavian feel to it! For a time, we forgot we were in Japan, haha! It felt very "at home" which was very nice. The staff was awesome too!  

 But the night is not over, so we singing karaoke in Ikebukuro! :D 

 It was cool having all the view to Ikebukuro station

 We got a huge booth, too!

 Our favourite!

 ALL THE POWER!

 And of course we couldn't forget our small presents for each other. So I wrote a card and gave matching keychains from FujiQ~

 Jimmy had ordered this awesome nail wraps for me! I love the patterns~

After singing for 2 hours we walked the way home ^_^ This day has been really nice :D 

Sunday 21th of June

Today Jimmy had his JLPT practice test in Ikebukuro.  

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (日本語能力試験 Nihongo Nōryoku Shiken^?), or JLPT, is a standardized criterion-referenced test to evaluate and certify Japanese language proficiency for non-native speakers, covering language knowledge, reading ability, and listening ability

So while he was doing that I went jogging. If someone need motivation to jog/run, download the "zombies, run!"-app. There is a storyline, and you have to run to not be eaten by zombies! It's cool! But very stressing when you're a t a red light but zombies are coming! Hahaa. When Jimmy was done with the test I met him in Ikebukuro and we ate dinner:  

 We had more food, but I forogt to take picture :P 

After eating I went home after being all weekend at Jimmys place. I had a lovely convo with Penny, washed clothes and I'm going to do my Japanese homework before going to bed :) When I think about it, I should buy some breakfast for tomorrow...And dinner... Tomorrow is Uni and work as usual~