More father highlights

So, I have two computers.  My main one, that's just over 3 yrs old and a refurbished one that is mainly kept at the school, b/c the school doesn't believe in providing enough computers for teachers to do their work on.  I mostly post from my main computer, but since it's 3 yrs old, it sometimes has issues.  For example, last week it became necessary that I take it into the school to use with my projector.  All was well, the class I needed it for went beautifully, everyone was happy. 

Until, of course, I got home and realized that for some reason, the screen has decided not to work!  Of course! (Actually, I think it must have gotten bumped or something)  Since I work all week and am busy the next several weekends, I'm not sure when I'll get to take it somewhere and get it fixed.  So now I'm hauling the refurbished computer between home and school.  Basically what I'm trying to say is: there's no port for my camera card, so any blog posts for the next however long won't have pics.

That being said, here are some other fun things I did with my daddy:

-Hiking the mountain.  Well, more like leisurely walking the mountain.  We took the cable car up to the herb gardens and then walked down.  Dad wasn't super impressed with the gardens, but he did enjoy the reservior and waterfall and more foresty areas.  I've posted about the route previously, so you can see some pictures of it in the post "Hiking"

-Seeing the Akashi Bridge.  Again, this is something I'd done before (see the post "Visitors"), but Dad and I enjoyed soaking in the sun by the water and then walking on the bridge

-Nara.  I tried to feed the deer.  They bit me.  Dad gave them a plastic candy wrapper and when I tried to retrieve it, they tried to eat my map.  Also, we had some really delicious Indian food.

-Hamburgers as a final supper.  NOT my idea (though they were tasty)

-Getting up at 5:30 to take Dad to the airport.  Checkin went well and we had breakfast together before he went through security.  I wanted to watch his plane take off, except the viewing platform was dreary and wet.  So I went home and did excactly nothing for the rest of the day.

Other news:
There was  big storm a couple weeks ago and my toilet room leaked, so maybe they're going to redo that entire area of my apartment, which would be lovely.

I started a language exchange with a couple Japanese girls.  They teach me Japanese and then we sit and talk in English for awhile.  Everyone's happy.

I completely messed up my big toe when we went cherry blossom viewing last week.  It's getting better though.

My sister is graduating college this week.

The rest of my evening will be spent doing stuff like making popcorn, studying Japanese, filling out my application for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, getting utilities paid, puzzles, and...well, I have to go to bed in 2.5 hours, so that's probably all

As I was saying...

Sunday after church, we decided to grab lunch in Sannomiya.  It was Dad's first experience with Okonomiyaki (fried cabbage, egg, and meat deliciousness)

Yeah, that's right.  My daddy's eating food using chopsticks!  (I was so proud of him)  In case you missed it the first time, here it is again:

Most decent okonomiyaki places make your food at your table, so you get to sit and watch it cook while you wait.  Hence the hot plate on our table.

Next, we walked down to Merikan Park and the Port Tower, which is apparently a long way, if you're old and jet lagged and stiff from sitting on a plane.  Oops.


On the way through, we hit up Chinatown and got some delicious dessert; this huge parfait type deal, which was super yummy and huge.  I was glad I didn't have to eat it all by myself.  Also there was bubble tea (which is less tasty here than it was in Taiwan.  fyi)

At the Chinatown square:

We read all about the Great Hanshin earthquake at the earthquake memorial, visited the Maritime Museum, and then went up in the Tower, which was really cool.  It was kind of a cloudy day, so we couldn't see far, but it was still exciting.  They have this rotating cafe, so as you eat you spin around in a circle.  Very fun.

On Monday, I had to go to the closing ceremony, so I made Dad go with me to Umeda, set him up at one of the station cafes with a book and coffee and told him not to get lost before I came back a couple hours later.  When I got back, we wandered around the station area a bit and we went to a bookstore, where I tried to get him to look at guidebooks and see if  there was anything he wanted to do...  needless to say, that was a massive failure.

After we had more okonomiyaki for lunch, we went to the Osaka castle, which was excessively crowded with tourists and grumpy people whose feet hurt.  And I didn't get any pictures.  Sorry.

For supper, we went to Namba (big shopping area.  Great for people watching) to a cool little restaurant I know of.  Then we went home.  I think Dad got tired of riding on trains after awhile.

To be continued....

Adventures with the father

So, my dad came to visit me recently.  I think he was a bit loopy after his plane ride.  At one point he rode off on my bike, singing "Follow the Yellow Brick Road."

The first day he was here, I wanted to treat him to a uniquely Japanese experience.  So we went to the St Patrick's Day parade in Osaka.  (What can I say?  I *heart* Ireland.)

Hey look!  It's St Patrick himself!  Polyester robes and everything!

We had fish and chips

 Because I hadn't worn him out enough wandering around Osaka, the next day we walked...kind of all over Kobe.


Right, well, my computer if obviously evil and won't load any more pics, so we're going to stop there and continue...at a later date.