Various events leading to my birthday
First, I need mention Shoko Aramaki who volunteers at the Kitakyushu Municipal Art Museum as a tour guide because she treats me to lunch every year at a Japanese-style restaurant with a Zen-style garden of rocks which nobody sits on sand amidst ivy-like vines on fences bordering the parking lot. Before we have gone to restaurants in Kokura South but this time we visited one closer to where she resides in Yahata East. Some tall blonde lady passed by us when we came out.
Today, the eve of my birthday this twenty-fifth of August, I went to Iwaya Beach for the 24/7 English School near Kurosaki Station’s annual party. Details were here: http://www.247englishschool.com/news.php or through Tim Kibila who runs the school. I arrived late after my voluntary lecture/reading which was more than full - the most ears I’ve ever had, and hard to reach while not disturbing the earnest students of Korean language on the other side of the screen/partition. Parking cost 500 yen which along with not car-pooling because I came by myself was a bit of a waste. Zee who was famous at OWLS amongst the ALTs hailed me with “Jambo mama” but unfortunately my Swahili isn’t so great. We chatted in “English” because his Japanese is better than mine. He said nobody knows him in Kitakyushu. I guess everyone went back to their various countries. Then paid the 2000 yen admission (rather than 2500 which I had expected) and 400 for some mango juice as I was driving. None of the Fijian curry this time around, though.
They were doing capoeira. The teacher is an Australian who came all the way from Osaka. He was apparently a stunt double for Universal Studios Japan and with the Sydney Olympics somehow, at heart from Brazil. Es(u)peto-sensei in Japanese on the poster. They did more traditional mock-fighting, and a newer style which inspired breakdancing.
Then they broke into African drumming. Tim Kibila who’s originally from Senegal, another fellow from Fiji (“Fiji’s in the house”) played tall bongo-like instruments with their hands and another fellow joined in using sticks after Tim anounced he’d start an African Faiyah (as opposed to fire) maybe like the Spanish or Catalan for the fe(a)st of St. Joseph the foster-father of Jesus and betrothed (but not quite husband) of the Virgin Mary? A DJ from Fukuoka was also there. It is quite a riot with all the people there who dwarf me by comparison or rather contrast.
Anyway, tomorrow there’s some “do” for my birthday to which I’m invited and expected to take my jumbo wife. Maybe Patrick from Australia and his Shie (which sometimes I mishear as “she is”) will go, and many volunteer students so I’m somewhat nervous or embarrassed as to how it will all turn out.
Today, the eve of my birthday this twenty-fifth of August, I went to Iwaya Beach for the 24/7 English School near Kurosaki Station’s annual party. Details were here: http://www.247englishschool.com/news.php or through Tim Kibila who runs the school. I arrived late after my voluntary lecture/reading which was more than full - the most ears I’ve ever had, and hard to reach while not disturbing the earnest students of Korean language on the other side of the screen/partition. Parking cost 500 yen which along with not car-pooling because I came by myself was a bit of a waste. Zee who was famous at OWLS amongst the ALTs hailed me with “Jambo mama” but unfortunately my Swahili isn’t so great. We chatted in “English” because his Japanese is better than mine. He said nobody knows him in Kitakyushu. I guess everyone went back to their various countries. Then paid the 2000 yen admission (rather than 2500 which I had expected) and 400 for some mango juice as I was driving. None of the Fijian curry this time around, though.
They were doing capoeira. The teacher is an Australian who came all the way from Osaka. He was apparently a stunt double for Universal Studios Japan and with the Sydney Olympics somehow, at heart from Brazil. Es(u)peto-sensei in Japanese on the poster. They did more traditional mock-fighting, and a newer style which inspired breakdancing.
Then they broke into African drumming. Tim Kibila who’s originally from Senegal, another fellow from Fiji (“Fiji’s in the house”) played tall bongo-like instruments with their hands and another fellow joined in using sticks after Tim anounced he’d start an African Faiyah (as opposed to fire) maybe like the Spanish or Catalan for the fe(a)st of St. Joseph the foster-father of Jesus and betrothed (but not quite husband) of the Virgin Mary? A DJ from Fukuoka was also there. It is quite a riot with all the people there who dwarf me by comparison or rather contrast.
Anyway, tomorrow there’s some “do” for my birthday to which I’m invited and expected to take my jumbo wife. Maybe Patrick from Australia and his Shie (which sometimes I mishear as “she is”) will go, and many volunteer students so I’m somewhat nervous or embarrassed as to how it will all turn out.