Birthday

It was my birthday on Friday, and I had a fantastic time in Kagoshima City with some other JETs, all thanks to the good offices of one Gabriel October. 

At an izakaya, contemplating injustices?

Crazy times--I didn't not have to climb into my house through the second-story window.  Is Saul also among the prophets?

Me inveighing against vegetable juice to Ethan of Joisey fame.

I also was the humble recipient of several wonderful birthday gifts.  (Unabashed inventory follows.)  My English conversation class surprised me with a cake (and dried persimmons and other treats) during the second half of class on Thursday.  Hayashi-san (not to be confused with Hayashi-sensei, or the other Hayashi-san) gave me a beautiful plaque, too.

Thanks, Hayashi-san!

And Minamimagari-sensei, as sort of an early present a week or two ago, gave me a ceramic piece with my name in Chinese characters on it (it will get its own blog post soon).  I even got a sweet Adidas towel from Sue, the bartender I was singing with in this picture.

For sweaty days.

On top of it all, Charlie and Nadine (JETs) gave me a Japanese guide to Cambridge (where she went to school) and a calculator that smells like chocolate.  And, I got a beautiful 50-sen (half a yen) coin from Moriya-san.  It's really something to look at--mostly silver!  And it's from Meiji 31, or 1898.  Crazy!!  It was passed down through Moriya-san's family, and I'm incredibly honored to have it.

Seriously, Moriya-san's the best.

J'ai passé une anniversaire formidable, entouré de très bons amis qui m'ont gâté avec des tas de cadeaux.  Ma classe de conversation en anglais m'a surpris avec un gâteau et d'autres pâtisseries vers la fin du cours de jeudi.  Puis, grâce à Gabe, j'ai passé un moment très agréable dans la ville, où des autres profs d'anglais m'ont très chaleureusement acceuilli.  Le chef du conseil d'éducation (mon boss) m'a donné une pièce de 50 sen (la moitié d'un yen) frappée dans la 31e année de l'ère de l'empereur Meiji, soit 1898 !  Et Charlie et Nadine, des amies dans la ville, m'ont donné une calculatrice qui sent le chocolat.

昨日、２３歳の誕生日に迎えました。日本ではまだ短い日々を過ごしたとはいえ、まるで私が肝付出身のように友達からすばらしいプレゼントをもらって、誕生日を一緒に祝ってもらいました。本当に、言葉にならない感謝をします。英会話の皆さんは木曜日の授業においしいケーキ、果物などをもって来てサプライズ・パーティーをしてくれました。林さんが素敵な掛け物を、スーさんからすばらしい和菓子をもらいました。２，３週前の話ですが、南曲先生から私の漢字での名前の書いてあるきれいな陶芸をもらいました。そして、守屋さんから見事な明治時代の５０銭の硬貨をもらいました！一生大事にする宝です。皆さん、ありがとうございました！