A New Challenger Approaches!! (Day 1) - Midori

Charlie arrived on Wednesday - in time for lunch with Hirase-Sensei! He also brought along a damsel in distress. Er... he also brought along my luggage. Long story short, I left some stuff in Kobe because I thought I'd be coming back sooner than I actually did. And by some, I mean a lot. Basically, all of the gifts Jill and I have been buying for everyone back home. It's a pretty big suit case... thanks again, Charlie!

Wednesday night we had dinner with our friend Midori, who is had just finished up preparations for a big exhibition. She was kind enough to host, and invited Jillian, Charlie, Kaori and I to spend the evening with her.

Kaori, Jillian, Midori, Charlie and I. This is the "Serious" picture. You'll see why later.

To my embarrassment, Jillian did all of the cooking on our end. She made the amazing chicken nanban that Kaori's mother taught her the recipe for. Kaori and Midori also made a really tasty udon dish, salad, and rice, and Midori also shared an amazing crunchy apple pie with us, as well as ice cream, edamame, and some snacks from her exhibition. Kaori, in addition to helping Midori with ingredients and cooking, also brought the drinks. Charlie and I felt really bad, but they assured is that it was okay. (Jillian had also planned to make french toast, but we were all so throughout stuffed already, and with plenty of leftovers!)

Quite a feast!

Charlie, being amazing at Japanese, helped conversation flow quite quickly, and Kaori, Midori, Jillian and Charlie were always ready to help me if I didn't understand something. Midori also helped Jill, Charlie, Kaori and I plan our trip for the next day. We chatted all night about things ranging from German sweets (which Midori also shared with us) to Japanese Love Hotels, and didn't leave until nearly midnight. (Midori is a bit of a night owl, it seems) It's always really interesting to chat with Midori and Kaori, who have both been to Evergreen, and both know English really well. Midori is actually a really international person, and has traveled to parts of Europe, America, and Asia. (Probably more!) She also knows French, and maybe German? I'm not sure. Midori has helped Jillian and I out a lot with making reservations and things throughout our trip, and even helped me get my flight ticket for leaving Miyazaki for Japan. Such an amazing person!

And now, the silly picture. Jill and Midori are making mustaches with their hair. Me... well, I'm just being creepy.

And so, we were all planned out for the next day. On the agenda was Kojima island, famous for its monkeys, (YAY!) and Cape Toi, famous for its horses. (Also yay!) Jillian and I had wanted to go to Midori's exhibition, but since Jillian was leaving for her GSO trip to Nagasaki / Saga on Saturday, she wasn't going to be able to go. (Kaori, Charlie and I were able to attend, though - more on that later!)

So, yes. Next time: Kojima and Cape Toi. Yahoo!